Reliability Report · European Market

BMW 118 Reliability

The BMW 118 (current generation) scores 76/100 on our composite reliability index — good territory — drawn from DVSA data.

Composite Score
76
/ 100
Good
Sources: DVSA · latest 2023
European Market Snapshot
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Reliability by Source

Each independent organization measures reliability differently. TÜV reports inspection defect rates by age band. ADAC reports pan-European breakdowns per 1,000 vehicles. NHTSA aggregates US consumer complaints. DVSA MOT data is the UK fleet's annual safety inspection — every car 3+ years old. Lower variance across sources = higher confidence in the composite.

DVSA MOT (UK Inspections)
Model years 2003–2020 · 2023 report · n=134850
134,850 UK MOT tests · overall 19.1% fail rate vs UK fleet baseline
View source ↗
76
/ 100

UK MOT Reliability Detail

Based on 134,850 MOT tests in the UK during the 2023reporting period. Score for each age band reflects this model's fail rate vs the UK-fleet baseline fail rate at the same age — a generation-aware metric.

Age 35 yrs
72
10.4% fail vs 10.9% fleet
39,021 tests
Age 69 yrs
79
14.9% fail vs 19.2% fleet
42,393 tests
Age 1014 yrs
76
27.6% fail vs 32.1% fleet
38,259 tests
Age 1520 yrs
78
31.5% fail vs 38.8% fleet
15,177 tests

Most Common MOT Failure Categories

#1
Condition
8,244
31.3%
#2
Tread depth
6,030
22.9%
#3
Shock absorbers
4,514
17.1%
#4
Brake pads
3,819
14.5%
#5
Windscreen
3,764
14.3%

Categories ranked across all MOT tests of this model in the UK during the 2023period. "Condition" covers cosmetic / wear issues; suspension and braking dominate the rest.

Compare Against Alternatives

See how the BMW 118 stacks up against direct rivals — same segment, similar price band, side-by-side risk + reliability.

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