BMW 5 Series 1999: MOT failure rate for its age

42.3% of 6,076 MOT tests of the BMW 5 Series first registered in 1999 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 107.3 (95% CI 103.2–111.5; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 1999 BMW 5 Series fails more often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

BMW 5 Series built in 1999 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	42.3	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	6076
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 103.2–111.5)	107.3	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	6076
Rank among this model's 23 build years	21	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	6076
Tested in 2024	213	tests	median 127,650 miles	2024	213

Built 1999 against BMW 5 Series normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 20: 44.8% vs 41.1%; age 21: 41.1% vs 39.1%; age 22: 39.6% vs 36.8%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 1999 BMW 5 Series by registration · All BMW 5 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 1999 BMW 5 Series fail at each age?

Cars built in 1999 were tested at ages 20 to 22 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 5 Series built 1999: 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)
20	2,567	44.8	42.9–46.7	41.1	108.9
21	1,919	41.1	38.9–43.3	39.1	104.9
22	1,590	39.6	37.2–42	36.8	107.5

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 6,076 (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 1999 BMW 5 Series?

The most common failure group on cars built in 1999 is suspension: 40.2 items per 100 first tests, against 12.4 across all build years of the BMW 5 Series. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 1999 were tested at ages 20 to 22.

Failure items per 100 first tests, BMW 5 Series built 1999 against the BMW 5 Series in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 1999, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	40.2	12.4	3,529
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	34.8	10.2	3,056
Brakes	30.9	7.6	2,714
Visibility	14.4	7.1	1,265
Tyres	9.3	10.3	821

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 8,785 (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 1999 compare with the years around it?

Among the 23 published build years of the BMW 5 Series, 1999 ranks 21 (1 = fails least for its age). 1998: index 106.0. 2000: index 105.9.

BMW 5 Series build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	106.0	100.5–111.5	worse (rough estimate)	3,354
1999	107.3	103.2–111.5	worse	6,076
2000	105.9	102.4–109.5	worse	8,430
2001	102.4	99.6–105.2	no different	13,222
2002	102.1	99.8–104.4	no different	20,391
2003	102.7	100.6–104.9	worse	22,459
2004	105.0	103.0–106.9	worse	29,664
2005	102.6	101.0–104.3	worse	42,672
2006	102.9	101.5–104.4	worse	54,740
2007	99.5	98.1–100.9	no different	62,849
2008	96.6	95.1–98.1	better	54,219
2009	97.2	95.7–98.8	better	52,268
2010	100.9	99.3–102.4	no different	60,872
2011	107.7	106.3–109.1	worse	82,368
2012	110.1	108.7–111.5	worse	91,273
2013	105.1	103.6–106.6	worse	90,732
2014	92.2	90.8–93.6	better	100,383
2015	86.0	84.7–87.4	better	105,137
2016	89.1	87.6–90.7	better	97,376
2017	92.2	90.4–94.0	better	84,150
2018	101.5	99.5–103.5	no different	80,512
2019	104.6	102.0–107.2	worse	50,714
2020	101.5	97.2–105.8	no different	18,390

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,232,251 (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 5 Series 1999 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-5-series/1999/

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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