BMW Z3
Registered from 1997 to 2011.
About this model
The BMW Z3 is a range of two-seater sports cars which was produced from 1995 to 2002. The body styles of the range are:2-door roadster 2-door coupé
From the Wikipedia article BMW Z3, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What fails its inspection
Great Britain's MOT record for the 1998 1.9 petrol. 488 of 1,812 tests failed, 27%.
Better than 41% of 1998 cars. The typical one fails 25%, across 269 models with enough tests behind them to say.
| Where | Share of failures | Failed tests |
|---|---|---|
| Exhaust and emissions | 48% | 236 |
| Brakes | 38% | 183 |
| Suspension | 37% | 180 |
| Lights and electrics | 28% | 138 |
| Visibility | 17% | 84 |
| Body and structure | 16% | 78 |
The defects inspectors cite
- Emissions levels exceed default limits
- Emissions levels exceed the manufacturer's specified limits
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
- Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen
- A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
- Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer
Where it stands out against its peers
- Exhaust and emissions: failed more often than 91% of 1998 cars — 48% of its 488 failed tests, where an ordinary 1998 car has 22%.
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.
- Exhaust and emissions — 48% of its failures
- Emissions levels exceed default limits
- Emissions levels exceed the manufacturer's specified limits
- Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer
- Brakes — 38% of its failures
- Suspension — 37% of its failures
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
- A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
- Lights and electrics — 28% of its failures
- An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction
- Visibility — 17% of its failures
- Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen
- Body and structure — 16% of its failures
When it starts failing
At 160–180k miles this one fails 39% of its inspections, against the 29% an ordinary car of the same age fails.
| Odometer | Failure rate | Rate | Its age | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–40k miles | 13% | 17% | 108 | |
| 40–60k miles | 19% | 21% | 208 | |
| 60–80k miles | 25% | 23% | 338 | |
| 80–100k miles | 29% | 25% | 407 | |
| 100–120k miles | 30% | 26% | 353 | |
| 120–140k miles | 32% | 27% | 203 | |
| 140–160k miles | 36% | 26% | 114 | |
| 160–180k miles | 39% | 29% | 46 |
1,777 British inspections, grouped by the odometer reading recorded at the test.
Half of these have more than 80k miles on them. That is how far people drive this car, not how long it lasts.