All generations and engines together · 119,232 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 63k
Middling for its age among coupés and convertibles, and better than most per mile driven. Watch suspension and emissions/leaks. A fair used buy, provided its MOT history has no repeating suspension advisories.
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
Some diesel 4 Series cars needed a new EGR cooler, and BMW ran a recall covering affected diesel engines over an overheating and cracking risk. Owners report the car being off the road for weeks waiting on the part. If the recall stamp isn't in the history, or the cooler has already been replaced once, budget for it happening again down the line. Petrol cars aren't affected.
A rattle from the front of the engine on cold start-up on the 420i/428i/430i's turbo four-cylinder is a recurring owner complaint, usually put down to a stretched chain or worn guides. It tends to show up from around 80,000 miles, more so on cars that have gone the full 20,000-mile service interval rather than an annual oil change. Left alone, a full chain and guide job runs into four figures. No UK-specific manufacturer bulletin found, so this is one to listen for rather than assume.
On manual cars the clutch and dual-mass flywheel can wear out well before you'd expect, one documented case needed both replaced at just 20,000 miles. It shows up as a shudder pulling away or a bite point that's gone high and vague. A full clutch and DMF replacement is one of the bigger bills on this car. Doesn't apply to the automatic, which uses a torque converter instead of a clutch.
The FEM handles lighting, power steering assist and other core electrics near the front of the car, and there are owner reports of it failing outright, lights, power steering and dash all cutting out together while driving. It doesn't appear to be something BMW has acknowledged as a pattern, and at least one owner was quoted close to £1,000 for diagnosis and a replacement module with no dealer contribution. Not common, but expensive and unnerving when it happens.
Owners describe a loose, vague feel through the steering along with a rumbling or knocking noise from the front, worse on turns, that in at least one case a dealer traced to a loose steering joint rather than something simple like a worn bush. The measured MOT data lines up with this: suspension is the standout failure category for this model. It doesn't tell you which specific part is at fault, so any rumble on a test drive is worth chasing down properly rather than writing off as road noise.
On the folding hard-top convertible, the seal where the roof meets the body can let in water and wind noise, and owners report it coming back after a dealer clean and reseal rather than being fixed for good. Separately, the side windows, which drop slightly to clear the frame as the door opens, can start doing this on their own with the roof up. Neither is a quick fix if it's the seal itself rather than just dirt in the mechanism. Doesn't apply to the coupe or Gran Coupe.
Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.
Saveable checklistThe physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 71,950 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Same segment (Coupés, convertibles & GT), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.
Head to head with the other popular cars in its class on reliability and common faults.