Bmw 1 or 3 series
Discussion
Simple rule of thumb:
Avoid ANYTHING petrol 4 cylinder. 118i, 120i, 318i etc. Just don't go there. If you do, be prepared for some very expensive mechanical mishaps.
4 pot diesel - the N47. Great when new but old ones getting a little flaky now. The timing chain is the biggie. £1000 to replace before it breaks, rather more afterwards. There's no real age/mileage - some fail at 70k, others do twice that. Try and get a really low mileage one. High pressure diesel pumps becoming more of an issue now and that's a very expensive fix as it buggers everything else in the fuel system. Rattly dual mass flywheels are ££££. Second gear synchro is weak.
In short they're sort of alright, but German reliability is a myth. They do drive well though.
Avoid ANYTHING petrol 4 cylinder. 118i, 120i, 318i etc. Just don't go there. If you do, be prepared for some very expensive mechanical mishaps.
4 pot diesel - the N47. Great when new but old ones getting a little flaky now. The timing chain is the biggie. £1000 to replace before it breaks, rather more afterwards. There's no real age/mileage - some fail at 70k, others do twice that. Try and get a really low mileage one. High pressure diesel pumps becoming more of an issue now and that's a very expensive fix as it buggers everything else in the fuel system. Rattly dual mass flywheels are ££££. Second gear synchro is weak.
In short they're sort of alright, but German reliability is a myth. They do drive well though.
So that leaves a lot of the smaller cars out
So most chains around the £1000 mark
What model of car is the n47
She’s had a Skoda fabia and timing chain snapped so looking for a different car but budget I’ve told her could be looking at expensive high costs just to keep on road
Love this forum yrs ago bought partner a old car xkr with advice from here bought a cracking one when having mid life crisis
That wa a old car a 99 plate and so techical then
So most chains around the £1000 mark
What model of car is the n47
She’s had a Skoda fabia and timing chain snapped so looking for a different car but budget I’ve told her could be looking at expensive high costs just to keep on road
Love this forum yrs ago bought partner a old car xkr with advice from here bought a cracking one when having mid life crisis
That wa a old car a 99 plate and so techical then
In theory with a timing chain they should never need to be replaced, but BMW made some where that isn't the case!
I had a 2004 3 Series E46 Compact 320td for 3 years followed by a 2007 123d for over 6 years.
The E46 had the M47 engine, and the 1 Series had it too until the facelift in early 2007 when they got the N47 which can suffer from timing chain failures. (My 123d got to over 80K miles without an issue).
You can also tell which engine the 1 Series has by the emissions - facelifts with the N47 engine are in a lower band, and also have a DPF unlike the earlier ones. Facelifts also have stop/start which means they have an (expensive) AGM battery that needs to be coded to the car if it is replaced. And mine lasted about 4 years. I'd recommend turning stop/start off every time you use the car - I certainly did after I needed a new starter motor before it was 6 years old!
Sorry I don't know much about the 4 cylinder petrol engines, but the independent BMW specialist I use told me to stick to 6 cylinder engines preferably petrol. So for the last 5 years I have!
Servicing is condition based, so depending on how the car is used it can be up to 2 years. Doing 10-12K a year with some motorway trips services can be as far as 16K miles apart.
So if I was looking at another 1 Series for me it would have to be a pre-facelift 120d, or better still a 130i.
I had a 2004 3 Series E46 Compact 320td for 3 years followed by a 2007 123d for over 6 years.
The E46 had the M47 engine, and the 1 Series had it too until the facelift in early 2007 when they got the N47 which can suffer from timing chain failures. (My 123d got to over 80K miles without an issue).
You can also tell which engine the 1 Series has by the emissions - facelifts with the N47 engine are in a lower band, and also have a DPF unlike the earlier ones. Facelifts also have stop/start which means they have an (expensive) AGM battery that needs to be coded to the car if it is replaced. And mine lasted about 4 years. I'd recommend turning stop/start off every time you use the car - I certainly did after I needed a new starter motor before it was 6 years old!
Sorry I don't know much about the 4 cylinder petrol engines, but the independent BMW specialist I use told me to stick to 6 cylinder engines preferably petrol. So for the last 5 years I have!
Servicing is condition based, so depending on how the car is used it can be up to 2 years. Doing 10-12K a year with some motorway trips services can be as far as 16K miles apart.
So if I was looking at another 1 Series for me it would have to be a pre-facelift 120d, or better still a 130i.
Inneedofhelp said:
Thanks Dave
I thought approved dealers only sold a car a few yrs old
On autotrader can you search for approved only
I don’t think so. But if you google ‘BMW Approvef used’, you can check out BMW’s site. The cheapest at £6100, is also on Autotrader. However, I found that not all the BMW dealerships, advertise on Autotrader, but they all seem to appear on the AUC site.I thought approved dealers only sold a car a few yrs old
On autotrader can you search for approved only
StevieT735 said:
From what I can gather, the most reliable 1 series are the early 120d and the 130.
If it’s to be treated as white goods, look for an early 120d. If you value a nicer drive go for a 130.
I had an E87 120d (M47 engine) and it was not reliable at all. Kept it for 2 1/2 years and the longest it ever went without breaking was 6 months. Injectors failing on two separate occasions was the biggest issue. The car was off the road for a week each time. Eventually sold up, bought an Audi A3 and it seems to have bomb proof reliability and build quality. I do really miss the great drive the BMW had though. If it’s to be treated as white goods, look for an early 120d. If you value a nicer drive go for a 130.
BFleming said:
For the OP, every diesel has had a DPF for years now; if you buy an older car without one, it'll be cheap, but ancient & possibly unreliable.
As others have said, £6k buys you a lot of Kia or Hyundai, even one with a warranty. Go petrol for city use.
I'd go for a Fiesta with the 1.0 Ecoboost engine if it were me - fantastic cars with a great engine and feel very grown up, easily within budget.As others have said, £6k buys you a lot of Kia or Hyundai, even one with a warranty. Go petrol for city use.
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