BMW Alpina
Registered from 1997 to 2020.
About this model
Alpina is a high-end luxury automobile brand by BMW. Alpina originally started as an automobile manufacturing company named Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen, based in Buchloe, in the Ostallgäu district of Bavaria, Germany that develops and sells high-performance versions of BMW cars. The company was officially renamed BMW Alpina in 2025. Alpina works closely with BMW and their processes are integrated into BMW's production lines, and is recognized by the German Ministry of Transport as an automobile manufacturer, in contrast to other performance specialists, which are aftermarket tuners. The Alpina B7 is produced at the same assembly line in Dingolfing, Germany, as BMW's own 7 Series. The B7's twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 is assembled by hand at Alpina's facility in Buchloe, Germany, before being shipped to BMW for installation, and the assembled vehicle is then sent back to Alpina for finishing touches.
From the Wikipedia article Alpina, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What fails its inspection
Great Britain's MOT record for the 2007 2.0 diesel. 31 of 168 tests failed, 18%.
Better than 87% of 2007 cars. The typical one fails 27%, across 935 models with enough tests behind them to say.
| Where | Share of failures | Failed tests |
|---|---|---|
| Tyres and wheels | 48% | 15 |
| Suspension | 45% | 14 |
| Brakes | 42% | 13 |
| Lights and electrics | 23% | 7 |
| Visibility | 16% | 5 |
| Steering | 13% | 4 |
The defects inspectors cite
- A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage
- A tyre cords visible or damaged
- Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- A tyre seriously damaged
- A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
Where it stands out against its peers
- Tyres and wheels: failed more often than 99% of 2007 cars — 48% of its 31 failed tests, where an ordinary 2007 car has 21%.
Same model year only, at least 30 peer cars, zeros included. Every car has a worst part; this shows which, and how far from ordinary it is. A high share means more to check, not a verdict.
NHTSA's investigations are American; no European regulator publishes an equivalent record, so this section has nothing to draw on for a European car. There is no European equivalent of the service-bulletin register either.
Before you buy one
Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.
- Tyres and wheels — 48% of its failures
- A tyre cords visible or damaged
- A tyre seriously damaged
- Suspension — 45% of its failures
- A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage
- A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
- Brakes — 42% of its failures
- Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake
- Steering — 13% of its failures
- A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
- Lights and electrics — 23% of its failures
- A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- Visibility — 16% of its failures