BMW California MOT reliability

BMW Californias passed their MOT first time 33% of the time across 3 tests in 2025.

These figures come from only 3 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.

First-time pass rate

33%

MOTs analysed

3

Still licensed (GB)

–

Body type

–

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

3 MOTs

Passed first time 33%. Typical mileage 108,466 (most between 108,432 and 108,467).

2017: 100% → 2018: 100% → 2019: 100% → 2021: 0% → 2022: 100% → 2023: 50% → 2024: 0% → 2025: 33%

Most common failures

Headlamp: not working on main beam (66.7%)
Position lamp: not working (66.7%)
Rear fog lamp: not working (66.7%)
Registration plates: does not conform to the specified requirements (66.7%)
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively (66.7%)

Where 1997 Californias fail

Lights & electrics

66.7%

Visibility & wipers

66.7%

Looking at a particular car?

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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.