BMW 1 Series Coupe's. Best engine? Problems? Stuff to check?

Stormster

Stormster

Stormster

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I'm thinking ahead a little bit really but there are not many cars I can see myself wanting in the future as it's all just sidesteps, so I fancy something a bit different to what I usually end up with but still fine as a daily drive.

Work in a new job/industry is going well and it'd be nice to get something with a bit more of a premium badge.

I was looking at BMW 1 series coupe's. This is a car I know little about. All I know is styling wise, the M sport kit and wheels so it looks as per the pic below to me make it look like a lovely motor. I can't see myself staying interested in a Golf GTI or Audi A3 so I want something I am going to keep. Not so keen on the 3 series. No want for anything bigger what so ever.

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But, I've no idea which model is best, what spec these things have or what I should be looking to have in a second hand car in terms of spec, common issues and things to look for. Which is the best transmission etc. Which year cars are the best.

I want something I no longer feel the need to mess with or make faster, look different than standard etc and I really do like the look of these things.

I don't need a fast car as such... so I am mainly more interested in the best drive vs. cost to own/maintain. Obviously a 135i would be lovely, but if they're a potential money pit, turbo's exploding, transmission issues etc I'd rather get something less hot so money can be put in the pot to fix whatever goes wrong.

Money wise I was thinking around £10,000. I am not sure if this is a budget even up to scratch for the kind of car I want from the description above. If it's not enough then I will have to save a bit longer if it means getting the best model for my needs. Petrol or diesel.

I do about 12-15k a year. A fair chunk within the town rather than open roads. I like a bit of torque. I like 200BHP+. But if it is pokey/torquey, I would cope with that. I'm used to about 26mpg average. I don't like massive running costs in terms of OTT maintenance bills or potential money pits with a plethora of common, expensive issues!

So, if people can tell me if this idea is a worthy one and if so what engine, spec, models etc I should be concentrating on that would be great.

Thanks all.
 
The 125i is a good compromise in the coupe, quick enough, refined and relatively economical too.

Of course the 135 is really quite superb and will knock your socks off. The na 6's are so refined that you never really feel like its moving that quickly. Is a 130i hatch out of the question? Another good combo
 
rodenal said:
The 125i is a good compromise in the coupe, quick enough, refined and relatively economical too.

Of course the 135 is really quite superb and will knock your socks off. The na 6's are so refined that you never really feel like its moving that quickly. Is a 130i hatch out of the question? Another good combo
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This, basically.

If you can live with 218bhp then go with a 125i, otherwise get a 135i, but that adds turbos and the possibility of more expensive bills.

Alternatively, get a 130i 3dr.

As for spec, haven't seen prices but better idrive and satnav starts 3rd quarter 2008.
I'd personally want heated leather, climate, cruise and pro satnav (2008+)
If you find some with some Performance stuff, even better.

I'd personally go for a late model 130i LE. 265 NA bhp of straight 6 goodness, with the added practicality of a hatch.
 
The 125i is the best choice. It never got the newer more complex direct injection engine, just the reasonable reliable N52.

All the other engine choices are rubbish or diesel or both, 135i excepted but you wont get a good 135i for £10k.

I don't think the 130i ever got CIC iDrive. It was end of life around then. Also never available as a Coupe.
 
Think you're right but even of it did the chances of finding one are low at best. On the flip side I find the later screen implementation to look like even more of an afterthought than the pop up original
 
Cheers guys lots to learn with this one with whatever CIC means and if there are particular versions of IDrive I need to look at etc.

I'd like to aim for a 2010 or newer but maybe 10k aint enough, it's a while off yet but even so :)

125i M Sport seems a good shout. I'd love a 135i, but as said from a real quick browse that budget is nowhere near. Still, that'd be more performance than I'd ever need, which'd be nice :D
 
The budget isn't nearly enough to land you a good, well specced one that's 4 years old. I'd say you've enough for a nice (late) 2008 car though
 
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I dunno, depends when its bought and how much he can get off the asking I guess. I'd see £11k cars as fair game, the real problem is people don't really seem to have specced them up
 
Stormster said:
Cheers guys lots to learn with this one with whatever CIC means and if there are particular versions of IDrive I need to look at etc.

I'd like to aim for a 2010 or newer but maybe 10k aint enough, it's a while off yet but even so :)

125i M Sport seems a good shout. I'd love a 135i, but as said from a real quick browse that budget is nowhere near. Still, that'd be more performance than I'd ever need, which'd be nice :D
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135i is fantastically fast, but it doesn't handle uneven surfaces very well and feels skittish and not well planted. The 3-series feels heavier and more planted which inspires more confidence.
 
Sounds interesting, also interested to hear the score there. Need to do some reading to work out what all these abbreviations mean :D

*googles CIC*

Aye it seems 10k aint a great amount of money for one of these as new as poss. Or do I finance a bit and have something a lot newer?

My current car has not long had a cambelt and waterpump done and now the waterpump (genuine) is rattling and leaking which is awesome. It'd be amazing to have a new/near new car with warranty, send it away, pick it up when fixed, done.

Not sure where to go. Some new shape 1 series stuff around 15k. Know nothing about them either though!! Will sit down and do some reading over the Xmas break.
 
Stormster said:
Sounds interesting, also interested to hear the score there. Need to do some reading to work out what all these abbreviations mean :D

*googles CIC*

Aye it seems 10k aint a great amount of money for one of these as new as poss. Or do I finance a bit and have something a lot newer?

My current car has not long had a cambelt and waterpump done and now the waterpump (genuine) is rattling and leaking which is awesome. It'd be amazing to have a new/near new car with warranty, send it away, pick it up when fixed, done.

Not sure where to go. Some new shape 1 series stuff around 15k. Know nothing about them either though!! Will sit down and do some reading over the Xmas break.
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IF you can get over the seriously fugly looks (dunno if I could or not tbh) and loss of the two extra cylinders then I think the new 125i is potentially an interesting little car. Though it would mean substantially increasing budget - even if you're talking a year away I can't imagine anything less than £15-17k being required to get a reasonable one. Plus there are hardly any about
 
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Hi guys, thought I'd revisit this. I am getting to the point where messing with motors trying to make them faster and then constantly battling the problems it brings with it is wearing thin when I only have 1 car for a daily driver. My Astra has been messed with and now at 260BHP so yes it's quick but little issues I have to "keep my eye on" are popping up all the time until it gets bad enough to know what the problem actually is! :D

125i M Sports specifically... do they have many common issues, engines or otherwise? I am wanting something nice out of the box I can jump in and enjoy and just spend on servicing and upkeep. Obviously maintenance, but I need to know if they are niggly and cause issues regularly.

Totally contradicting what I said above however... I read somewhere you can load the OEM 130i map on and it'd run the same power? Have to say, I've not looked into the engine differences between the 125i and 130i at all, but I know they don't do 130i coupes?

Thanks all :)
 
The 1 Series is a bit of an outlier in terms of BMW engines.

It was introduced when the current and most advanced range of BMW engines was the N52 indirect injection straight six. This is what powered the 130i - a 260ish bhp variant of the 3 litre N52.

The 1 Series Coupe was not released until quite a few years after the hatch first appeared - in 2007. At this time the N52 engine was being largely replaced across the range with the more advanced N53 direct injection engine. But because the biggest markets for the new 1 Series Coupe and Cabriolet were outside of Europe and the N53 engine relied on low sulphur fuel not readily available in those markets, it continued with the older engine.

The Coupe appeared with 2 3 litre options - the 306bhp 135i and the 218bhp 125i. As a result of this it was presumably felt there was no place in the range for the 130i and so it didn't appear in the Coupe and was soon discontinued from the hatch.

The N52 is a more reliable and more hardy engine than the N53 (which has a very fussy direct injection system) so the only real disadvantage of this older engine is that it's more thirsty than the equivalent N53.
 
Thanks for the info Fox. Still lots to learn. The 125i Coupe's seem quite rare but something tells me it's the most reliable yet one of the sweetest engine choices out of the lot. A smooth 6 cyl would be great to try for a while.

Are they known to be problematic? Or quite a solid choice? Having read a little from the BMW owners thread, the under 60k and BMW warranty option for simplicity and somewhat "minimal hassle" motoring does sound appealing too. Need to do some good thinking :) I could go and buy something quite pokey and brand new/near new like a Fiesta ST, new shape, but I'm getting on a bit now and would like to move away from the more boy racery stuff.
 
You know I don't know if I'd be too fussy about picking up a relatively low mileage 125 then getting the warranty.

It's certainly worth considering, but they don't really seem to go wrong. My Dad's N52 engined z4 hasn't given him any issues in the two years he's had it. From memory he does have the warranty but has never mentioned taking it in for any work.
 
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