BMW 3 Series insurance group & cost

If you’re familiar with BMW, you’re almost certainly familiar with the BMW 3 Series of compact executive cars.

Around since 1975 and originally marketed as a range of sedan cars, the 3 Series has since expanded to include a wide range of models including hatchbacks, convertibles, and station wagons. The car has been and is the best-selling BMW model, accounting for around 30% of the brand’s annual total sales (excluding motorbikes). It won ‘Most Loved Car’ in the Auto Trader New Car Awards 2020 and Best Estate Car to Drive at the 2021 Which Car? Awards.

In this guide we’ll look at how much it costs to insure a 3 Series model and how to keep your premiums low.

BMW 3 Series insurance groups

Vehicles in the UK are categorised into insurance groups, ranging from group 1 (the cheapest) to group 50 (the most expensive), which helps determine the cost of your premium.

BMW 3 Series models range from insurance groups 18 to 43, so the cost of insurance can vary significantly. For example, a 30-year-old driver in an average postcode could pay:

• around £715 for cover on a BMW 3 Series 316d ES 4dr, which is in insurance group 21
• or around £2,454 for a BMW 3 Series 330d xDrive M Sport Sport Automatic 4d, which is in group 36

That’s a difference of £145 to insure the same make of car. The insurance group a particular model is placed in depends on a number of different factors, including the car’s price.

However, the insurance group isn’t the only factor determining the cost of your car insurance; one of the most important other factors is your age.

The younger you are, the more risk you represent to insurers, and the more you’re likely to pay for insurance. A 20-year-old driver in London may have to pay around £4,870 for insurance for a 320i ES model, but a 40-year-old driver from the same location would only pay around £1,040.

That’s why, in the table below, we show you the insurance group for each BMW 3 Series model and also the likely cost at a few different ages.