Photo: Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0
BMW
2,862 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where 318i M Sport Autos pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 13.6 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
91.1%
Pass-after-fix
1.6%
Fail
7.0%
Avg miles
34,368
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Petrol cars first registered from January 2006 meet Euro 4 — compliant in London ULEZ, Birmingham CAZ, Bristol CAZ, and Glasgow LEZ.
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 2,862 tests
Pass rate drops 2.8 points across the cohorts — recent 318i M Sport Auto examples are doing worse than the early cars at the same tested age.
Pass
93.6%
Fail
6.4%
PRS
0.0%
Avg mileage at test
35,361 mi
Pass
90.8%
Fail
7.1%
PRS
1.8%
Avg mileage at test
34,267 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
Across 2,862 MOT tests, the 318i M Sport Auto returns 91.1% first-time pass — comfortably ahead of the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is tyre tread under the limit. A seriously damaged tyre and brake pads worn below 1.5 mm round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 34,368, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.
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Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
55 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
A tyre seriously damaged
44 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
30 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
27 occurrences · 0.9% of tests
A tyre cords visible or damaged
24 occurrences · 0.8% of tests
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
11 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
Wiper blade defective
9 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
6 occurrences · 0.2% of tests
Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated
6 occurrences · 0.2% of tests
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
6 occurrences · 0.2% of tests
Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.
Worst-case fix budget · top 3 failures
£200–£350
If every one of this 318i M Sport Auto's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →
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Build your own retest budget.
Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 2.8-point gap between bands is modest — the year you buy BMW 318i M Sport Auto makes a small but real difference to MOT outcomes.
Best band to buy
93.6%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 93.6% — a 2.8-point improvement. Failures here are mostly wear items: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, has ply or cords exposed — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band.
Band to be cautious about
90.8%
2021+ registration
On the 2021-on band, the data shows a 90.8% pass rate against a fleet average of 93.6% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, has a cut in excess of the…, and less than 1.5 mm thick. Average mileage on test for this band is 34,267 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (93.6% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: 2021+ (90.8% pass). That's a 2.8-point spread across 2,597 older tests and 265 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.
Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.
Item 01 · Amazon UK
Digital tyre-tread depth gauge
Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.
Search Amazon UK
Item 02 · Amazon UK
Brake pad measurement gauge
Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.
Search Amazon UK
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Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.
If you own a 318i M Sport Auto and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.