Ranked #13 car in the UK · Saloon · 10,015 units sold last year
The benchmark compact executive saloon. G20 (2019+) drives sweetly and feels tech-rich. 320d remains the long-distance king; 330e plug-in hybrid is the company-car favourite.
WLTP
The short version
Forecourt score
Value 32 · Reliability 28 · Insurance 22
The BMW 3 Series loses value faster than most cars and is dearer to run than most. Its MOT-based reliability is average, 68 out of 100, ahead of 28% of the cars we track. On three-year value retention it ranks better than 32% of models. The main things to check on a used one are the timing chain (n47 diesel, pre-2014).
The Forecourt score blends how this car ranks against the catalogue on value retention, reliability and insurance cost (weighted 40/40/20). Higher is better; running cost is not yet folded in.
Fuel
Diesel · 1995cc
Power
190 ps
Drivetrain
RWD
Cam drive
Chain
Quoted MPG
57 mpg
The all-rounder — the look, the economy, the resale.
Tidy and well looked-after for its age — the typical car.
Remembered as you browse other cars.
Optional — fills in the exact year and ULEZ status for your specific car. The registration isn’t stored.
Estimated market value
How we got this number — click for the breakdown, or to challenge it.£30,350
Range £25,400 – £35,700
medium confidence
How a 2023-registration BMW 3 Series loses value over time.
Based on the 2023 car with 33,000 miles you entered above — worth about £30,350 today — here is the cost of owning it for the next 5 years, at roughly 11,000 miles a year.
5-year total
£28,893
Per year
£5,779
All-in per mile
£0.53
Fuel per mile
15.8p
If a company carAround £556/mo Benefit-in-Kind tax at the 40% rate (£278/mo at 20%) — 37% band
If you're a company-car driver
At 37% BIK, a 40% taxpayer would pay about £556/month in company-car tax (£278/month at 20%) — on top of the running costs above. Full BIK table below for context.
Best age to buy — around 5 years
A 5-year-old example loses roughly £1,700 a year — under half the £3,650 a one-year-old sheds. The steepest drop is behind it.
Uses current UK pump and home-charging prices (DESNZ weekly), typical-driver insurance and manufacturer service intervals. "Fuel per mile" is just the energy input — so an EV at ~9p and a diesel at ~22p make running-cost comparison direct. A guide; your own costs will vary.
Where this car ranks against the 340 vehicles in our index — higher is better.
Percentile rank across our full index. A measure is shown only where the data spreads meaningfully across the index.
How the available versions compare on price, running cost, and the headaches each tends to develop.
The budget entry to 3-series ownership. 184 PS petrol is unstressed and reliable — base SE is rare on the used market because most buyers ticked M Sport.
Watch for
The motorway-mile champion — 55 mpg makes diesel still make sense if you do 15k+ a year. Sport trim sits between SE and M Sport, with adaptive dampers.
Watch for
The volume seller — most used 3-series will be a 320i M Sport. Sweet petrol drivetrain but the M Sport pack pushes ride quality down on rough UK roads.
Watch for
M Sport's economy hero — combines diesel torque with the sharper look and chassis. The most failure modes to budget for, but also the longest legs.
Watch for
Plug-in hybrid that makes sense if you can charge at home — 36-mile EV range, ULEZ-compliant, lower BIK for company drivers. More to go wrong than ICE.
Watch for
The sweet spot for a fast 3-series — B58 inline-six is a gem, xDrive grips in winter. The most punishing on consumables but the most rewarding to drive.
Watch for
The full-fat M3 — 510 PS, 0-62 in 3.8s, holds value better than lesser 3-series. S58 had oil pump TSB attention — check service history closely.
Watch for
Fuel/energy costs based on this week’s UK averages (w/c 22/06/2026) · Petrol 153.3p/L, Diesel 172.5p/L, Electricity 27.0p/kWh · DESNZ
Group 30 of 50 (upper-mid — pricier to insure) · Comprehensive · 3 years NCB
Indicative annual comprehensive premiums for this car, by driver age band and risk profile. Pick the combination closest to your circumstances.
Estimated annual premium · typical, age 33-39
£1,360/ year
Roughly £113 per month
Typical
Average UK driver — 3 years NCB, average postcode, no recent claims.| Age band | Lower risk | Typical | Higher risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age 17-25 | £3,101 | £3,876 | £5,039 |
| Age 26-32 | £1,618 | £1,904 | £2,323 |
| Age 33-39Selected | £1,197 | £1,360 | £1,605 |
| Age 40-49 | £1,016 | £1,129 | £1,309 |
| Age 50+ | £906 | £1,006 | £1,188 |
How we estimate this
Indicative annual comprehensive premium estimates. The 'Typical' figure represents an average UK driver in each age band; Lower and Higher risk show the realistic spread driven by factors UK insurers legitimately price on (postcode, occupation, claims history, NCB, voluntary excess, modifications). Based on 10,000 miles/yr, £250 voluntary excess, and the no-claims bonus selected above. Always get individual quotes before buying.
Adjust the annual mileage to match how you'll actually use the car. Insurance is what you selected above (age 33-39, typical risk, 3 yrs NCB).
Routine service
£380
Annual main-dealer service
Major service
£340
Every 2 years, annualised
Road tax
£620
Standard rate, post year-one
Electricity
£1,024
2.9 mi/kWh, 27p blended
Insurance
£1,360
Age 33-39, group 34
Clean-air zones
⚠ Depends on variantBased on London ULEZ standards — Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, Sheffield, Glasgow and other UK clean-air zones generally follow the same rules.
Excludes depreciation and unscheduled repairs (see next section).
What out-of-warranty repairs typically run, by mileage band. Your selected mileage is highlighted.
0-30k miles
£100
per year · low risk
30-60k miles
£320
per year · low risk
60-100k miles
£720
per year · medium risk
100k+ miles
£1,300
per year · high risk
225/50 R17 · 225/45 R18 · 255/35 R19 (rear) · run-flat
What a full set of four will cost you (including fit and balance), and which brand each tier of buyer should pick. A typical set lasts about 19,000 miles.
Budget
£455
set of 4, fitted · £95 per tyre
Mid-range
£655
set of 4, fitted · £145 per tyre
Premium
£935
set of 4, fitted · £215 per tyre
Michelin Pilot Sport 5
The pick for 330i / M340i drivers. Excellent dry grip and steering feel.
Pirelli P Zero PZ4
OE choice on many 3 Series. Marked with BMW * symbol — matters for RFTs.
Michelin CrossClimate 2
Available in run-flat. The right answer if you keep stock wheels year-round.
BMW spec run-flats from new — switching to conventional tyres requires a tyre repair kit and saves about £50/tyre. Many owners do.
Drawn from owner reports and warranty data. Filtered for relevance to 33,000 miles.
Watch now
Failure typically happens around your current mileage.
Upcoming
A known weak point — but you haven't reached its usual mileage yet.
Already due
Past its usual failure mileage. Either already fixed, or about to.
Almost exclusively older F30 — rare on G20 B47 unit.
Carbon build-up. Walnut-blast service often resolves.
Flickering common on early G20 8.0 systems.
Clunk under acceleration.
Original failure point on B48/B58.
Granny cable failure is the typical warranty claim.
"Parts low/medium/high" indicates how easy the replacement part is to source — discontinued or specialist parts mean longer workshop time and bigger bills.
Euro NCAP's independent crash-test rating for the BMW 3 Series, from its 2019 assessment.
The passenger compartment of the 3-series remained stable in the frontal offset test.
Independent crash-test data from Euro NCAP. Star ratings reflect the test protocol of the year shown — newer protocols are stricter, so a 5-star from 2024 represents a higher bar than a 5-star from 2014.
How this model fares at its MOT as it ages — from 15,139,407 real DVSA test records.
MOT pass rate by age
A 3-year-old 3 Series passes its MOT 85.8% of the time; by 25 years that has slipped to 71.4%. The y-axis is zoomed to this model’s range so the trend is readable.
Longevity
From 177 vehicles registered in 1972.
Survival by registration year
Each point is one registration cohort. Older cars on the left, newer on the right. A flatter line means the model holds up over time; a steep drop means cohorts disappear from UK roads faster.
What’s on the road
The fuel-type split of every 3 Series currently MOT’d in the UK. From 1,558,269 vehicles.
Common MOT failures by mileage
The defect categories this 3 Series fails on most often, and how the failure rate climbs as the miles add up — from the same DVSA test records.
| Category | 0-30k | 30-60k | 60-100k | 100k+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres & wheels | 5% | 6% | 7% | 8% |
| Suspension | 2% | 3% | 7% | 12% |
| Brakes | 1% | 3% | 7% | 12% |
| Lighting & signalling | 1% | 2% | 4% | 8% |
| Driver's view | 1% | 2% | 3% | 4% |
| Emissions | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% |
Share of MOT tests in each mileage band with at least one defect in that category. The peak band for each is highlighted.
Typical mileage by age
The average odometer reading for a 3 Series at MOT, by age — measured from the same DVSA records, not assumed. A useful yardstick for whether a given car has done more or fewer miles than its age suggests.
Mean recorded mileage at MOT by vehicle age, from DVSA test records (ages with at least 10 tests shown).
Average
MOT outlook · age 5 years
33th percentile — Below catalogue average
Based on 982,028 MOT tests · ranked against 248 catalogue models with comparable data
Where this car sits in the catalogue
Pass-rate distribution across 248 catalogue models
Safety recalls
Manufacturers occasionally issue safety recalls to fix a fault free of charge. You can check whether the BMW 3 Series, or your exact vehicle, has any outstanding recalls on the official DVSA service.
Check on GOV.UKOpens the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency recall checker. Choose the make, model and year of manufacture — no registration needed.
A general indicator from UK 2025 theft data and this car’s characteristics — not a prediction for any one vehicle.
Whole-car theft
Higher
The BMW 3 Series is frequently targeted by thieves (UK 2025 data). Keyless entry on later cars makes relay theft the usual method.
Parts theft
Higher
Hybrid versions are a catalytic-converter target — a hybrid cat is rich in precious metals and can be cut out in about a minute.
Worth doing
Whether driving a BMW 3 Series into a UK clean-air zone will cost you anything. Rules use the same Euro standard across most zones — petrol from 2006 and diesel from 2015 onwards are exempt; pure electric is always exempt.
| City | Area | Daily charge | Likely outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | All of Greater London (within the M25) | £12.50 | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Birmingham | Inside the A4540 Middleway | £8.00 | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Bristol | City centre and part of the Portway | £9.00 | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Glasgow | City centre | — | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Edinburgh | City centre | — | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Aberdeen | City centre | — | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
| Dundee | City centre | — | Likely exempt Diesel from September 2015 meets Euro 6. |
Model-level guidance only. To check a specific registration, use the official gov.uk clean-air zone checker. Zone charges and boundaries are set by local councils and change over time.
UK charging network
As of 2026-04-01, the UK has 119,080 publicly available EV chargers, up 12.6% on the prior year (13,281 added in 2025). 23% of those are rapid (50 kW+) or ultra-rapid (150 kW+), so the network can support both home and on-route charging.
3-8 kW
50%
Standard
8-50 kW
27%
Standard plus
50-150 kW
12%
Rapid
150 kW+
11%
Ultra-rapid
Source: Department for Transport / Zapmap · Released 2026-05-21 · DfT statistics
What HMRC's Benefit-in-Kind charge looks like if you ran this BMW 3 Series as a company car, by tax year and income-tax band. Calculated from a CO₂ of 164 g/km and a WLTP electric range of 60 miles, using £45,100 as the P11D value.
| Tax year | BIK % | Tax @ 20% | Tax @ 40% | Monthly @ 20% | Monthly @ 40% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 37% | £3,337 | £6,675 | £278 | £556 |
| 2026-27 | 37% | £3,337 | £6,675 | £278 | £556 |
| 2027-28 | 38% | £3,428 | £6,855 | £286 | £571 |
| 2028-29 | 39% | £3,518 | £7,036 | £293 | £586 |
| 2029-30 | 39% | £3,518 | £7,036 | £293 | £586 |
P11D value is approximated from the latest new price; the exact figure on your tax code will depend on options fitted. The 4% diesel surcharge applies only to non-RDE2 (pre-2021) diesels — we assume RDE2 compliance for current models. Bands and rates from HMRC's Autumn Budget 2024 confirmation through 2029/30.
How well-supported BMW is across the UK — a practical read on how easy servicing, parts and warranty work will be to find.
Franchised UK dealers
~145
Large network
Premium mainstream
Network size relative to the UK's largest (BMW is 3.2% of all franchised outlets)
Servicing, parts and warranty work are easy to find UK-wide, and most independent garages know the brand well — which keeps maintenance competitive.
For context, the UK has roughly 4,500 franchised car-dealer outlets in total, plus about 15,500 independent garages.
Approximate figures, curated from public UK industry sources (NFDA, Car Dealer Magazine). Franchised networks shrink year on year — these indicate network size, not an exact count.
Of every BMW 3 Series ever registered in the UK, this is what's actively on the road, parked off the road on a SORN, or gone for good.
Total ever registered
703,460
Currently taxed & on road
472,423
67% of all registered
SORN (off road)
120,642
17% of all registered
Scrapped or exported
110,395
UK fleet trend — 2014 to 2025
-4.4% vs 2024Source: DfT VEH0124 vehicle licensing statistics (year-end 2025) · Updated 1 Jul 2026
Common questions
Similar cars
Same underpinnings
Rear/all-wheel-drive longitudinal platform for BMW's 3-Series and above. Steel-aluminium hybrid construction. Different badges, often substantially different residuals, but broadly the same mechanicals and repair cost profile.
BMW Cluster Architecture · BMW
Common questions
Answers are generated from this car's Forecourt data — DVSA MOT records, DfT licensing statistics and our valuation model — and update with the weekly data refresh.