THE DATA

289 Million Reasons
to Trust the Numbers

BIB is built on the complete official DVSA MOT inspection record - not estimates, not surveys, not forum opinion. Every insight comes from the same data used by the UK Government.

Official DVSA sourceComplete record - not a sample13 types of intelligence derived
THE_SCALE
289M
MOT inspection records
Complete DVSA dataset - not a sample
97,106
UK car model profiles
Every make, model, and year with sufficient test history
35
Years of vehicle data
Production years from 1990 to 2024
20+
Years of MOT test records
Every UK MOT test recorded since 2005
15.5%
National MOT failure rate
The benchmark every model is measured against
13
Intelligence types per report
Derived from the raw data - built by BIB

Where the Data Comes From

THE_SOURCE

The DVSA publishes the complete record of every MOT test conducted in England, Scotland, and Wales. This is not a feed, a sample, or a licensed copy - it is the same official dataset used by the UK Government, updated as new data is released. BIB processes each release in full.

DVSA MOT records
Every pass, every failure, every advisory, and every mileage reading recorded at test - since 2005.
DVLA vehicle data
Official registration data confirming make, model, year, fuel type, colour, and current MOT status.
No estimates or proxies
BIB does not use forum data, editorial scoring, survey responses, or third-party reliability indices.
Updated with each release
DVSA data is released periodically. BIB incorporates every update - you always see the most recent official record.
THE_IP

13 Types of Intelligence
Built on the Raw Data

The DVSA data is the raw material. The intelligence is what BIB derives from it. Each of the 13 sections in a BIB report represents a proprietary layer of analysis - built, tested, and refined on the national dataset.

01
Vehicle Identity
Make, model, year, colour, MOT status - confirmed from the official DVSA record as the foundation for everything that follows.
02
Mileage History
Every mileage reading charted over time against what's typical for identical vehicles. Inconsistencies stand out immediately.
03
Model Reliability Rating
How this specific car compares against every other example of the same make, model, and year in the national dataset.
04
MOT Track Record
How this car has performed across every MOT it has ever had - and how that compares to others of the same model.
05
MOT Advisory Check
Were the advisories from the last MOT actually fixed - or quietly carried forward to the next buyer?
06
MOT History Summary
The complete test-by-test record: every date, outcome, mileage, and advisory. Always free to view - BIB surfaces what matters within it.
07
Wear Guide
Nine mechanical categories mapped against mileage across 289M records. Know what typically needs attention before you walk through the door.
08
National MOT Intelligence
The most frequent MOT failure categories for this model - ranked by how often they appear and how serious they are nationally.
09
The 3-Year Test
First-MOT failure rates before owner care becomes a variable. The purest signal of a model's inherent mechanical character.
10
Best Years to Buy
Not all years of the same model are equal. Failure rates across every production year reveal the good vintages from the problem ones.
11
Worth Comparing
Is there a more reliable alternative at the same price? Benchmarked against comparable models in its class.
12
Questions to Ask
A targeted checklist built from this model's most common failure points. Arrive knowing exactly what to look at.
13
Expert Notes
Verified owner knowledge reviewed before publication. Real-world patterns that official records alone can't capture.

Why the Methodology Matters

RIGOUR

Having 289 million records is not enough on its own. What matters is how you use them. BIB's methodology is designed to produce results that are statistically meaningful - and to show nothing rather than something misleading when the evidence base is too thin.

Minimum data thresholds

BIB requires 100 MOT tests per model-year combination before showing reliability results. Below that threshold, nothing is shown - a blank is more honest than a figure derived from too few examples. A rate built on 12 tests tells you very little; one built on 12,000 tells you a great deal.

First-MOT methodology

The 3-Year Test isolates a model's performance at its very first MOT - before any individual owner's care or neglect could have influenced the result. This strips away maintenance variables and reveals the model's inherent build quality as it left the factory.

Wear threshold derivation

Wear Guide thresholds are derived from advisory frequency across mileage bands for each model. For each of nine mechanical categories, BIB calculates the mileage at which 25%, 50%, and 75% of similar vehicles have historically developed that advisory - creating a statistically grounded wear profile.

Reliability scoring

The Reliability Score compares a specific car's MOT failure history against every other example of the same make, model, and year in the national dataset. A score of 75 means this car is outperforming 75% of comparable vehicles. The score is percentile-based, not arbitrary.

NATIONAL_PICTURE

What the Dataset Enables

At 289 million records, patterns emerge that no individual car's history can reveal. These national benchmarks are what make every individual BIB report meaningful - without them, you have data. With them, you have context.

15.5%
UK national fail rate

The benchmark every model is measured against. A model at 7% is failing at less than half the national rate.

97,106
Model profiles

Every make, model, and production year with enough test history to produce statistically reliable results.

100+
Tests before a score shows

BIB's minimum threshold per model-year combination. Below this, no result is shown - a blank is more honest than a weak figure.

See It Applied to a Specific Car

Enter any UK registration plate. The MOT history is always free. One Bib (£3) unlocks all 13 intelligence sections.

Open BIB