7kish budget, 1 series?

[Josh93]

I'm finding it hard to come up with an alternative to getting a 1 Series( 04-11), mk6 Golf, A3? Basically I'm looking to find any details or past experiences. I've read a lot of bad things, with regards to their reliability mostly. I'm looking at petrol models and thinking 118i is the best option. I do low mileage now (under 7k) and I'm trying to join the RAF this year so if successful the mileage could vary but will be inconsistent and will include a lot more motorway driving but also potentially around London and may have periods where it isn't being used so a diesel isn't really an option I don't think.

Anyway, anything you can share with me about my choices or my alternatives I would greatly appreciate it.

Edited by Josh93 on Wednesday 27th April 17:29

[Josh93]

RZ1 said:

I recently sold my wife 2010 118d M Sport. It was an absolutely lovely car, great fun to drive, however she decided that she wanted to replace it with something with a slightly larger boot so now has a 335i.
The one thing to look out for on the 1 series is the timing chain rattle, i had mine replaced when i bought it as a precaution, can be very costly if they fail. I understand the BMW have now done a recall on this so now no reason not to change it.
As a buyer you should do well, mine was an absolute pain to sell, lots of whats your best price messages and traders saying that it was a time bomb even though the timing chain had been replaced, in the end i knocked the price down to 5500 (WBAC offer was 5400) just to get rid.

Yeah I've read a lot about the timing chain rattle and it doesn't sound very good. I'm looking for one from 08-10 at under 60k miles really so I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not, should I ask for proof of the timing chain recall being done on each particular car? Also, I've heard about dealers not wanting to take them which was another worry, were his worries just on the timing chain issue?

[Josh93]

bodhi said:

For that budget I would be looking to see if you can find a 130i if possible. Hardly uses any more fuel in the real world, and has a much nicer (and more reliable) engine than the 116i.

I've had a 125i Coupe for 2 years now and it's been pretty much faultless, and is utterly superb to drive.

As tempting as that is I'm gonna be a bit more sensible and go for the 118i (which I think is the same engine as the 120i just not tuned?) as I think it's got more than enough power for me, anymore and I'll just get myself in trouble, plus I'm coming from a 1.6 mk1 focus so the performance is gonna be a decent increase regardless.

[Josh93]

Agent XXX said:

and ugly as sin

I must admit I used to find them really ugly now every time I see one I think they look unbelievably nice

[Josh93]

Does anyone else have any experiences to share?

[Josh93]

Deerfoot said:

Honda Civic 1.8 Type S is worth a look I'd have thought....

It's a great option but I think it's quite ugly and also maybe a bit too big to justify when I don't need that extra place

[Josh93]

The problem is, the more I read the more I'm put off by the initial charm of the 1 series. At this moment I'm thinking it would probably be more suitable if i scraped the idea and moved on to the more rounded and far more sensible mk6 golf (1.4 TSI).

I'm not a fan of the m3 compact, and I wouldn't consider a 130i as it's too much of a performance car, I don't want the power nor the insurance/fuel bill. With regards to the travel if I was to get into the RAF I would be travelling back every once in a while doing a 200 mile round trip and then 10 weeks later I would be even further away (400 mile round trip) so it definitely needs to be something comfortable on the motorway, i'm sure the golf would be excellent. I'm not sure if this usage will make it more justifiable to be looking at diesels?

Edited by Josh93 on Thursday 28th April 10:23

[Josh93]

That Mazda is a very good option but just as a personal taste thing I don't think I could have it. I feel like the mk6 golf is the only car in my budget that's sensible and that I really do like the look of. I'm planning to test drive one this weekend and see how it feels before taking my interest any further.

[Josh93]

There's a lot of good comments and suggestions for me to read through, I'm looking deeper into all of the cars mentioned and the volvo c30 for example was one I completely missed. I'm being exceptionally fussy with regards to looks which is annoying me to a degree but I can't really help it.

I've spotted a few mk6s with decent trim/age/condition that may be worth a look but as I haven't spent a lot of time looking through golf ads it's harder to spot a bargain. One I have my eyes on at the moment is this though: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[Josh93]

gizlaroc said:

That looks nice enough.


Have you considered a Merc?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

I'm terrified of merc running costs to be honest, plus I'm not a fan of any within my budget.

[Josh93]

eztiger328 said:

I suggest you read up more on the mk6 1.4 TSI problems , you'll probably be back to square one!

I bought a 2011 Golf Match 1.4 TSI (turbo'd not twin charged) last Sept. At less than 5 years old and with 55k on the clock I needed a new water pump. Also intermittently, after being driven for about 20mins a very unsettling knocking sound is clearly heard when within the cab at idle. I'll be getting rid before the end of this year, hopefully before the chain tensioners start playing up.

You may want to look at mk7 belt driven TSI's instead.

Edited by eztiger328 on Friday 29th April 13:07

Yeah I saw some bad stuff, it's frustrating because there's so few cars I like. The newest Mazda3 is stunning but quite comfortably out of my budget and my only other real alternatives that I like the look of at this moment are the 1L ecoboost fiesta and the polo TSI. Perhaps the newest focus coming in as an outsider but I think the back is ugly and is perhaps a bit too sluggish and with the 1L ecoboost engine

[Josh93]

I'm seeing a lot of love for the 130i but the fact is that it's over my already stretched budget even when i extend to 8k so it's not an option, which means the whole 1 series idea is sadly out of the window with the 120d being potentially under used because I can't predict my mileage at the moment. I'm still open to suggestions to offset the golf but i'm struggling and trawling through a million options is so frustrating haha. Maybe I should just give up and get a ecoboost fiesta

[Josh93]

Gompo said:

You can get a decent 130i from £6k upwards.

what sort of mileage and stuff are you considering a good model? The only 130i I could see were really high mileage examples and that's up to 8 grand.

[Josh93]

Mr Tidy said:

OP, I hope you find something that suits you.

My local BMW indy told me to avoid any 4 cylinder BMW, especially the petrol ones (and he is ex-Sytner so has some experience of them!

I had a 2007 123d that I bought in Jan 08 pre-registered and kept for 6 and a half years and 81K miles. I sold it because I was no longer doing business miles, fancied a change and was a bit worried about the cam-chain issues. Since then BMW seem to be picking up the tab if it has full S/H, which mine did.

It was a great car - other than servicing and tyres it only had a battery and a starter motor (and I think the letting the stop/start operate may have contributed). It was still on original wiper blades and brakes when I sold it (in June 2014 for £6,600).

But I replaced it with a Z4 Coupe (same N52 engine as the 130i) and realised what I had been missing all those years! It is a fantastic engine, and pretty economical for the performance it offers (but you don't have to use) - mine is averaging over 32 mpg.

I was so pleased with the straight 6 petrol experience that when I bought a daily driver 18 months ago I got a 325ti Compact! I wouldn't even consider another 4 cylinder BMW.

In your position I would only be looking at 130i, 125i, 325i or 330i.

If insurance isn't a huge expense, why not try one (and maybe a 118i or 120i for comparison purposes)and see what you think - you don't have to buy it!

now that I've been more informed I wouldn't consider any other engines, but I'm finding the car to be out of my budget and so I'm looking at other options.

Even strayed as far as to looking at this:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[Josh93]

I think the bmw is a dead case now really, gotta rule it out until a later date where I could maybe look at the newer shape as well. Yeah, the problem with the hyundai i30 is although it may be good I think it's a bit of a vanilla car, basic and good value but perhaps not what I'm looking for. I've moved my attention to the 06-11 model (1.8 type s) honda civic. Perhaps a more sensible and reliable option with decent economy and performance for everything I need it for.

[Josh93]

daemon said:

+1

My son had a 1.8i Civic and my sister has had one too. Great cars. Extremely reliable. Took a serious amount of abuse with my son driving his and never flinched or gave any trouble at all.

Great news! I can get a really clean example with a really high spec comfortably under my budget so it's appealing there too. Only thing is i'd quite like parking sensors with in because I can imagine it could be a nightmare to park! I'm looking for around 2010-12, should be achievable.