BMW C1 MOT reliability

BMW C1s passed their MOT first time 88% of the time across 25 tests in 2025.

Example photo of a BMW C1 — Photo: Achim · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

These figures come from 25 MOT tests. That's a fairly small number of cars, so they may not be typical of these cars as a whole.

First-time pass rate

88%

MOTs analysed

25

Still licensed (GB)

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Body type

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Pass rate by year of first registration

Older cars fail more often, so compare a car with others of the same age. Years with very few MOTs can show extreme pass rates, even 0% or 100%, so give more weight to years with more tests.

In detail:

First registered

1997 petrol

18 MOTs

These figures come from only 18 MOT tests. With so few cars, a single pass or fail changes the percentages a lot, so treat them as a rough guide rather than a true average.

Passed first time 89%. Typical mileage 99,425 (most between 67,142 and 136,526).

2006: 0% → 2007: 100% → 2008: 100% → 2009: 100% → 2010: 100% → 2011: 100% → 2012: 0% → 2013: 100% → 2014: 100% → 2015: 100% → 2016: 100% → 2017: 50% → 2018: 100% → 2019: 100% → 2020: 100% → 2021: 69% → 2022: 78% → 2023: 68% → 2024: 76% → 2025: 89%

Most common failures

Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.6%)
Catalyst emissions: carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (5.6%)
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (5.6%)
Condition: has ply or cords exposed (5.6%)
Headlamp aim: too low (5.6%)

Where 1997 C1s fail

Wheels & tyres

5.6%

Lights & electrics

5.6%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

5.6%

Suspension & axles

5.6%

Looking at a particular car?

See its own MOT history, mileage and red flags, compared with these figures. Free.

Based on 2025 initial MOT tests in DVSA's anonymised MOT dataset (cars and light vans). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Model details: Vehicle data by VehiclesDB.