BMW M3 2008: MOT failure rate for its age

15.1% of 7,203 MOT tests of the BMW M3 first registered in 2008 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 92.2 (95% CI 86.7–97.6; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2008 BMW M3 fails less often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

BMW M3 built in 2008 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	15.1	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	7203
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 86.7–97.6)	92.2	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	7203
Rank among this model's 20 build years	7	of 20	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	7203
Tested in 2024	1061	tests	median 82,667 miles	2024	1061

Built 2008 against BMW M3 normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 11: 16.6% vs 15.1%; age 12: 15.4% vs 14.4%; age 13: 16.2% vs 15.3%; age 14: 14.7% vs 15.9%; age 15: 12.6% vs 17.8%; age 16: 14.4% vs 20.4%. Axis from 0% to 30%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2008 BMW M3 by registration · All BMW M3 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 2008 BMW M3 fail at each age?

Cars built in 2008 were tested at ages 11 to 16 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 M3 built 2008: 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)
11	1,440	16.6	14.8–18.6	15.1	110
12	1,197	15.4	13.4–17.5	14.4	107
13	1,200	16.2	14.3–18.4	15.3	105.9
14	1,171	14.7	12.8–16.8	15.9	92.4
15	1,134	12.6	10.8–14.7	17.8	70.7
16	1,061	14.4	12.4–16.7	20.4	70.6

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 7,203 (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 2008 BMW M3?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2008 is tyres: 6.2 items per 100 first tests, against 5.8 across all build years of the BMW M3. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2008 were tested at ages 11 to 16.

Failure items per 100 first tests, BMW M3 built 2008 against the BMW M3 in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2008, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Tyres	6.2	5.8	449
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	5.1	7.8	367
Visibility	4.8	4.9	343
Noise, emissions and leaks	3.7	3.5	270
Brakes	3.7	6.8	264

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 7,203 (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 2008 compare with the years around it?

Among the 20 published build years of the BMW M3, 2008 ranks 7 (1 = fails least for its age). 2007: index 84.1. 2009: index 90.7.

BMW M3 build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	139.3	115.9–162.7	worse (rough estimate)	526
1999	146.7	121.2–172.2	worse (rough estimate)	455
2001	120.9	109.5–132.4	worse (rough estimate)	1,809
2002	113.9	108.8–119.1	worse	8,167
2003	104.0	100.0–107.9	no different	12,835
2004	98.1	93.6–102.6	no different	9,148
2005	99.3	93.8–104.9	no different	6,348
2006	92.1	82.9–101.3	no different (rough estimate)	2,190
2007	84.1	76.0–92.1	better (rough estimate)	2,830
2008	92.2	86.7–97.6	better	7,203
2009	90.7	83.5–97.9	better	4,420
2010	95.9	87.8–104.0	no different (rough estimate)	3,963
2011	97.5	89.4–105.6	no different	4,300
2012	90.1	81.5–98.6	better (rough estimate)	3,711
2013	88.5	78.7–98.2	better (rough estimate)	2,902
2014	107.7	92.2–123.3	no different (rough estimate)	1,430
2015	105.7	95.7–115.8	no different (rough estimate)	3,541
2016	102.5	94.0–111.1	no different	4,816
2017	107.8	99.2–116.3	no different	5,262
2018	91.9	82.4–101.4	no different (rough estimate)	3,716

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 89,572 (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 M3 2008 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-m3/2008/

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.

Other pages for this model

BMW M3 1998 · BMW M3 1999 · BMW M3 2001 · BMW M3 2002 · BMW M3 2003 · BMW M3 2004 · BMW M3 2005 · BMW M3 2006 · BMW M3 2007 · BMW M3 2009 · BMW M3 2010 · BMW M3 2011 · BMW M3 2012 · BMW M3 2013 · BMW M3 2014 · BMW M3 2015 · BMW M3 2016 · BMW M3 2017 · BMW M3 2018 · BMW M3 by postcode area · BMW M3 body, chassis and structure failures · BMW M3 brakes failures · BMW M3 vehicle identification failures · BMW M3 lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · BMW M3 noise, emissions and leaks failures · BMW M3 road wheels failures · BMW M3 seat belts and airbags failures · BMW M3 steering failures · BMW M3 suspension failures · BMW M3 tyres failures · BMW M3 visibility failures