Hello All,
I hope all are well, i've not been on here for a month or so, simply too busy.
We have however, after months of indecision, bought the Clio's replacement, not a nearly new Fiesta or Clio as we expected, instead a clean and tidy (almost mint) 2005 BMW 120i Sport with half leather seat, dual zone climate and various extras including Professional radio and very nice looking 17" alloys. 39k miles, full service history.
It drives very well with the "wheel on each corner feel" one expects, the engine is crisp and lively, while it doesn't feel fast relative to the Focus ST it makes quite brisk progress well in line with the quoted 0-60 of 8.7secs etc.
I say Clio's replacement however we traded the Mondeo which had only done about 400 miles in the last year. Very sad to see it go, I had it from new and took it to almost exactly 140k miles however the arrival of a company car last year (currently the Focus ST) and the wife's preference for a smaller car meant it was little used recently and we got a better deal trading it than if we had traded the Clio.
Any 1 Series experiences?
Three issues to address:
The supposedly stainless gear lever knob is delaminating, the stainless finish coming away from the plastic, reckon I need a new knob (ooh madam!!), perhaps an M-Sport one ;-).
The engine is a little noisy on idle though quietens with the slightest throttle, is this normal? Perhaps a VANOS characteristic? One other 120i we looked at seemed to be the same.
The brakes squeek on light applications, nothing a little copperslip wont cure me thinks.
Any thoughts, comments welcome.
Regards.
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Welcome back Cheddar, I've gone back to BMW (an X1) and had a lot of grief over it from here !
The 120 sounds like nice car - guy up the lane has a coupe version and it sounds good when he goes past.
What colour ?
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Thanks PU,
I know a guy with a white X1, v-nice all around but for the rear view IMO, just doesn't look like a BMW from the rear.
The 120i is a mid blue, kinda typical BMW blue, not sure what it is called.
Meant to say it came with £650 worth of four spanking new Bridgestone RE05A runflats.
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Mine is in Alpine White as well - I think it looks "different" but drives like one.
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Congratulations Ched, hope it does all you want, nice colour too BM cars look proper in blue, no offence PU only seen a couple of X1's and i can't mke me mind up about the trend to white again.
Unusual choice, i thought everyone who bought a normal 1 series went for the Diesel.
Which VED band does that engine put you in.
Handy having a new set of boots on it, will you continue with runflats when their time is up or make that decision depending on how they fare and will you winter tyre it?
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Sun 17 Oct 10 at 12:09
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A mate of mine downsized to a 118d about 2 years ago. It's automatic and has full leather interior along with the Professional Satnav. A very nice car, economical, good turn of speed and drives like only a rwd BMW can. No problems in 2 years and 80,000km. Only downside is lack of rear space but 90% of the time he's by himself which was one reason for downsizing from a 5 Series.
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Thanks all.
>> Unusual choice, i thought everyone who bought a normal 1 series went for the Diesel.
>> Which VED band does that engine put you in.
>>
There are many petrol 1s around, probaly 40% are petrol, many 116i, 118 and 120is.
Not sure re VED band though the current disc states £175.
>> Handy having a new set of boots on it, will you continue with runflats when
>> their time is up or make that decision depending on how they fare and will
>> you winter tyre it?
>>
I was sceptical about runflats so undecided on that one. Of course it is great that the wife can carry on motoring slowly if she gets a flat, on the other hand that tyre is then a write-off and cost iro £175 to replace. Before finding this car with brand new RFs I had considered buying a Continental compressor and goo kit as I have in the FocuST and putting conventional tyres on a 1 Series. The price difference is around £50 - £70 a tyre.
Winter tyres might make sense if we could find a cheap set of wheels, not really thought about it.
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...Winter tyres might make sense if we could find a cheap set of wheels, not really thought about it...
BMW realise their cars perform badly and snow, so they've introduced a winter tyres scheme.
Not sure of the details, but worth having a word with the dealer.
Last edited by: Iffy on Mon 18 Oct 10 at 08:41
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Yes Iffy, they do - I think that BMW users in mainland Europe are a bit more savvy as regards winter tyre options - certainly compulsory in Germany from what I remember from about now.
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>> certainly compulsory in Germany
Nope, not compulsory in Germany. You have to have tyres which are suitable for the conditions. Winter tyres are compulsory in Austria from November to April as are snow chains on some roads after fresh snow fall.
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I stand corrected, new it was a sensible country though !
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>> Nope, not compulsory in Germany. >>
A German colleague bsed in the north of the country says that they are effectively compulsory because between certain dates, autumn to spring, most insurance policies are invalid unless winter tyres are fitted.
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>> A German colleague bsed in the north of the country says that they are effectively
>> compulsory because between certain dates, autumn to spring, most insurance policies are invalid unless winter tyres are fitted.
Well they have urban myths in Germany as well, in this case possibly perpetrated by the tyre manufacturers. It's not the case. The insurance companies have to prove that an accident would have been prevented if the car had been fitted with winter tyres before they can refuse a payout of some or all of the claim. In practice this is only likely if you have an accident whilst using summer tyres in somewhere like a ski resort in the middle of January.
On the other hand, the police have the authority to take cars with unsuitable tyres off the road or send them to the nearest tyre replacement business. This also applies to foreign registered cars.
There's been a lot of debate about making winter tyres compulsory for certain times of the year. The problem is that above 7C or so, winter tyres have a longer braking distance than summer tyres. Most people here in the South work on the so-called November to Easter rule for winter tyres. A lot of people in the North and West don't bother unless we have a winter like last year. I get them fitted on my company car around mid November and leave them on until beginning of April. With my private car they get fitted when I get around to it.
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"I've gone back to BMW (an X1) and had a lot of grief over it from here."
Quite right, too! ;-)
Seriously, though I've often been interested in BMW's quality of engineering and design, I simply cannot cope with the "image". I just could not bring myself to drive one.
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>> I simply cannot cope with the "image". I just could not bring myself to drive one.
You sound more obsessed with the image of a BMW than the average punter that buys one :-P
>> i've not been on here for a month or so, simply too busy.
All the best with it Cheddar! Had wondered where you'd disappeared to... :-)
Last edited by: Skoda on Sun 17 Oct 10 at 13:53
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I'm not bothered by image - after all I drove a Skoda for 18 months and mightily impressed I was with it. :-)
Last edited by: Pugugly on Sun 17 Oct 10 at 14:45
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"You sound more obsessed with the image of a BMW than the average punter that buys one."
I think that says it all!
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No experience of the 'i' but I had three very happy years in a 'd'. I might well get another when I get bored of the 325 touring.
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Well done, Cheddar! I sometimes get given a 1-series as a courtesy car when my own 3er is in for a service. I rate the car highly. It performs more how I expect a real BMW to perform than a 3-series. The handling is both controlled AND sharp, if you know what I mean, whereas the 3-series feels just controlled.
Bit surprised that your runflat tyres are so expensive. Mine only come to 100 quid each, fully fitted (Bridgestone ER300). But I only have 16 inch wheels, so maybe that is the difference.
Also, I find that the newer(third generation) Bridgestone runflats are a lot more comfortable that the Continentals (Cough...spit) that came with the car when new.
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Goodbye TDCi, Hello 120i - R.P.
