Photo: Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0
BMW
1,747 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where X5 M Competition Autos pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 16.8 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
94.3%
Pass-after-fix
0.5%
Fail
4.9%
Avg miles
29,919
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 · 1,747 tests
Pass rate climbs 1.0 points across the cohorts — newer X5 M Competition Auto examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
93.7%
Fail
5.4%
PRS
0.9%
Avg mileage at test
35,574 mi
Pass
94.7%
Fail
4.5%
PRS
0.3%
Avg mileage at test
26,254 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
Across 1,747 MOT tests, the X5 M Competition Auto returns 94.3% first-time pass — comfortably ahead of the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a tyre with the cords showing. Windscreen damage and tyre tread under the limit round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 29,919, 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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A tyre cords visible or damaged
23 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
22 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
20 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
A tyre seriously damaged
19 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements
13 occurrences · 0.7% of tests
Wiper blade defective
12 occurrences · 0.7% of tests
Windscreen or window excessively tinted but not adversely affecting driver's view
12 occurrences · 0.7% of tests
Number plate showing an incorrect registration
6 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
6 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
Brake lining or pad worn down to wear indicator
3 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
£135–£225
If every one of this X5 M Competition 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 1.0-point gap between bands is modest — the year you buy BMW X5 M Competition Auto makes a small but real difference to MOT outcomes.
Best band to buy
94.7%
2021+ registration
the 2021-on band climbs to 94.7% — a 1.0-point improvement. Tests in this band average 26,254 miles — roughly 9K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: has ply or cords exposed, excessively tinted but not adversely affecting driver's view — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.
Band to be cautious about
93.7%
2018–2020 registration
On the 2018–2020 band, the data shows a 93.7% pass rate against a fleet average of 94.7% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, and has a cut in excess of the…. Average mileage on test for this band is 35,574 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2021+ (94.7% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: 2018-2020 (93.7% pass). That's a 1.0-point spread across 685 older tests and 1,062 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
MOT-spec replacement number plate
Faded or non-standard plates fail outright. Replacements take ten minutes online with V5C details.
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 an X5 M Competition 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.