MOT cost .
BMW 525
MOT 2023
Wikimedia

BMW

525

18,842 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where 525s pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 2.2 points below the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models — buyers should expect more first-time fails than the typical UK car.

Pass

73.5%

Pass-after-fix

4.9%

Fail

20.8%

Avg miles

138,452

Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%

The picture

525: middle-of-the-pack on first-time pass

Across 18,842 MOT tests, the 525 returns 73.5% first-time pass — below the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is windscreen damage. A defective headlamp lens and tyre tread under the limit round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 138,452, 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.

Top ten reasons for rejection.

  1. 01

    Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

    879 occurrences · 4.7% of tests

  2. 02

    Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective

    637 occurrences · 3.4% of tests

  3. 03

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    616 occurrences · 3.3% of tests

  4. 04

    A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

    504 occurrences · 2.7% of tests

  5. 05

    A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

    468 occurrences · 2.5% of tests

  6. 06

    A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

    450 occurrences · 2.4% of tests

  7. 07

    A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc

    421 occurrences · 2.2% of tests

  8. 08

    A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

    408 occurrences · 2.2% of tests

  9. 09

    A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play

    396 occurrences · 2.1% of tests

  10. 10

    A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated

    349 occurrences · 1.9% 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 4 failures

£158–£450

If every one of this 525'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 →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

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

Headlight restoration kit

Yellowed lenses fail the light-output test. A restoration kit lifts the haze in an afternoon for £20.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · 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 03 · Amazon UK

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

Search Amazon UK

Buying or keeping a 525?

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 525 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.