BMW 3 Series 2006: MOT failure rate for its age

33.4% of 161,180 MOT tests of the BMW 3 Series first registered in 2006 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 94.7 (95% CI 93.9–95.5; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2006 BMW 3 Series fails less often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

BMW 3 Series built in 2006 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	33.4	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	161180
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 93.9–95.5)	94.7	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	161180
Rank among this model's 23 build years	6	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	161180
Tested in 2024	18911	tests	median 131,400 miles	2024	18911

Built 2006 against BMW 3 Series normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 13: 32.7% vs 34.8%; age 14: 33.3% vs 33.8%; age 15: 33.6% vs 35.2%; age 16: 33.5% vs 35%; age 17: 33.5% vs 36.3%; age 18: 33.8% vs 37%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2006 BMW 3 Series by registration · All BMW 3 Series MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2006 BMW 3 Series fail at each age?

Cars built in 2006 were tested at ages 13 to 18 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

BMW 3 Series built 2006: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
13	35,243	32.7	32.2–33.2	34.8	93.9
14	29,737	33.3	32.7–33.8	33.8	98.3
15	28,624	33.6	33.1–34.2	35.2	95.6
16	26,069	33.5	33–34.1	35	95.8
17	22,596	33.5	32.9–34.1	36.3	92.2
18	18,911	33.8	33.2–34.5	37	91.4

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 161,180 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2006 BMW 3 Series?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2006 is brakes: 21.6 items per 100 first tests, against 12.8 across all build years of the BMW 3 Series. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2006 were tested at ages 13 to 18.

Failure items per 100 first tests, BMW 3 Series built 2006 against the BMW 3 Series in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2006, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Brakes	21.6	12.8	34,879
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	18	12.6	29,022
Suspension	15.8	11.7	25,458
Tyres	11.9	10.8	19,249
Visibility	11.1	7.8	17,961

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 161,180 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2006 compare with the years around it?

Among the 23 published build years of the BMW 3 Series, 2006 ranks 6 (1 = fails least for its age). 2005: index 100.7. 2007: index 94.2.

BMW 3 Series build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	103.6	99.9–107.3	no different	7,363
1999	107.9	105.4–110.5	worse	16,191
2000	105.6	103.5–107.7	worse	23,772
2001	105.9	104.4–107.4	worse	46,509
2002	102.6	101.4–103.7	worse	76,299
2003	102.7	101.7–103.7	worse	98,778
2004	105.8	104.7–106.8	worse	94,649
2005	100.7	99.7–101.7	no different	112,280
2006	94.7	93.9–95.5	better	161,180
2007	94.2	93.4–94.9	better	208,408
2008	98.1	97.3–98.9	better	174,203
2009	102.8	102.0–103.7	worse	162,273
2010	103.6	102.8–104.5	worse	181,892
2011	103.5	102.7–104.4	worse	191,518
2012	109.5	108.6–110.4	worse	212,613
2013	100.7	99.8–101.6	no different	216,834
2014	100.2	99.2–101.1	no different	200,145
2015	90.6	89.6–91.6	better	195,919
2016	87.0	86.0–88.1	better	197,463
2017	85.5	84.3–86.7	better	168,528
2018	92.5	90.9–94.1	better	102,875
2019	106.6	104.5–108.6	worse	79,084
2020	122.4	119.5–125.4	worse	45,081

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,973,857 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). BMW 3 Series 2006 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/bmw-3-series/2006/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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