All generations and engines together · 5,627 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 59k
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. 4,836 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.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
On the original 1990-1999 E31 coupe, rust eats into the sills from the inside out, starting around the jacking pad sockets and sill extensions. Owners and specialists report jacking a car at the factory point and finding the jack rising while the sill crumbles and the car stays put, because the metal has gone from the inside. This lines up with corrosion being the measured MOT fault for this segment: the underbody rot is real, it just tends to hide behind trim until it is structural.
The 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 in the M850i and earlier 850i/M8 models is known for burning oil through worn valve stem seals, showing up as blue smoke on a cold start once the car gets into six figures on the clock. The same engine family can develop timing chain and guide wear that rattles on startup before the oil pressure builds. Valve stem seal work runs to several thousand pounds, and a chain and guide job on the low side of that; the N63 family's oil-burning issue was serious enough that BMW extended warranty cover on earlier versions of the engine in the US.
BMW recalled 8 Series cars built between March 2018 and February 2025, alongside several other models, over a starter motor whose electrical contacts can overheat on repeated starting attempts, in rare cases igniting nearby components. A buyer should check the recall has actually been carried out, since a wider fix (a redesigned starter) followed an earlier, less complete repair campaign. The fix is free at a dealer once it's done properly.
On M850i and other N63-engined 8 Series cars, coolant pipework buried in the valley between the cylinder banks can weep or fail, a spot that's fiddly and labour-intensive to get at because the intake manifold has to come off first. Owners usually notice a slow coolant level drop or a sweet smell before it turns into a proper leak. It's flagged as a known weak point on modern BMW V8s generally rather than an 8 Series-specific fault, and there's no factory recall for it.
On the six-cylinder 840i (B58 petrol) and 840d (B57 diesel), the plastic oil filter housing can crack and let coolant and oil mix, and the EGR cooler and AdBlue/SCR system on the diesel are reported to fail from around 70-80k miles with white smoke, a check engine light or an AdBlue fault code. Repairs range from a few hundred pounds for a housing or sensor up to several thousand if the engine's been running mixed fluids for a while. Doesn't affect the V8 or V12 cars.
On the G14 convertible, owners report wind noise and water ingress from the frameless window and roof seals, and occasional roof faults where it stops mid-cycle, usually put down to a microswitch or sensor rather than the fabric itself. It's a common gripe on convertibles generally and opinion is split on how much of it is a genuine design weakness versus normal wear that any soft-top gets. A roof that won't finish its cycle is usually a fixable sensor issue rather than a full mechanism replacement.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Coupés, convertibles & GT), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.