BMW series 1

tomstickland

The 1 series has something that none of the alternatives suggested have: rear wheel drive. If that means anything to you then it might be important. Personally I rather like them because they're the smallest RWD car that BMW make. I wouldn't buy a new one though. They're way too expensive for what they are. They're not going to be worth the money until they're a few years old and the novelty has gone. Buy a run of the mill 3 series or a used 3 series.

If you are going to buy one new then do your internet research and ask on honestjohn website.

K9cuddles

I didn't know they were RWD!!!

balsingh

S_a_r_a wrote:

I didn't know they were RWD!!!

BMW dont make FWD cars .... it supposedly compromises the way the car drives. Yes, the 1-series, may be expensive, underpowered and underequipped but its the only RWD car in its class and that does mean a lot to the enthusiast. And no matter how much bad press the car gets, its a BMW so resale values are likely to be rock solid.

K9cuddles

You can tell I never owned a beemer! Still dog ugly though!

mae

Funny really coz I don't remember asking anybody if they actually liked the car!!! Just asked if anybody knew how to get best deal. But thanks anyway.

intel

mae wrote:

Funny really coz I don't remember asking anybody if they actually liked the car!!! Just asked if anybody knew how to get best deal. But thanks anyway.

http://www.edmunds.com/
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/
http://www.allthebrands.co.uk/

These links may help....

mr_accountant

Don’t forget even a 1 series will be VERY expensive to service as bmw charge for the badge. When Mercedes built the first a class it was a piece of junk with a prestige badge. I believe it was a bad car because merc had never built 'cheap' cars before, and boy did it show, add to that poor service, costly repairs and nasty looking interiors, it was not good. Mercs are good at building big luxury salons (with rust included for free!)

Bmw is in same boat, new in a market with much better cars. Personally i would wait till its been around for a few years, then see what its like in terms of reliability, residuals, ownership costs etc.

As an alternative the new civic, looks good on the outside ad it will be much more reliable and better built than a German manufacturer
.

$17mma

mae wrote:

buying a new car and thinking about the BMW Series 1 it will probably be one of the more basic models. Has anybody any suggestions on getting the best deal? Will be part exing my 02 golf and prob putting the rest on a credit card life of balance transfer at the best rate I can which is prob 4.9%.
thanks

1 series.. eurghhh.. why not go for a basic 3 series instead? either way i am sure it will be a nice ride..

Have you thought of getting in touch with inchscape ( think that is what they are called?) these are the people that deal with the BMW's that are on lease or reposssesed and sell them at auction or onwards for the dealers....you may be able to get a cheap one off them as all they are doing is covering the loss for BMW

tomstickland

Yes, the 1-series, may be expensive, underpowered and underequipped but its the only RWD car in its class and that does mean a lot to the enthusiast. And no matter how much bad press the car gets, its a BMW so resale values are likely to be rock solid.

It's about what you want. To me, the lure of a balanced chassis with RWD is worth a lot more than options that I don't want. Air con, electric windows, PAS, stability controls, sat nav etc are not worth anything to me over and above the engineering of the way it drives. Same goes with power; you need a certain amount, but power alone is really not very interesting once the novelty has worn off.
Expensive though, that could put me off.

Personally I like the 1 series, but not enough to buy a new one, give it a few years and I'd consider it. Autocar did a back to back test with the original 1980s M3 and the 130 and concluded that the 1series was worthy. Then again, on another test they reckoned that the Golf was a better all rounder.

I'd like to hear what sort of prices the OP can managed to find.

mcclim

You should check out https://www.babybmw.net for more information on the 1 series.