No idea about these cars other than I like the way they look. Was price matching what else I could get instead of a Volvo C30 (2013s about 16-22k depending on equipment). This popped up, it's 1 owner 2012 with 70k miles -
http://rduautosales.com/2012-BMW-1Series/Used-Car/Raleigh-NC/6736462/Details.aspx
I hear BMWs are expensive to maintenance. But I only drive 8k miles a year so won't be beating on it a ton. Just wondering what ownership would be like on a 1 series.
Like could i take this car to pretty high mileage without it killing my wallet? At only $15k, I could potentially buy it and have zero payments.
Found some great info here - https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/128i-good-bad-or-ugly/98227/page1/
Sounds good to me. They seem fairly simple for a BMW. And almost think a $20k 2013 Volvo C30 with 40k miles might cost me a bit more in the future than a simple bMW.
When researching these last year, they were a relative bargain to get into a roundel car. I was looking at CPO models in the $25k range, which could be had with about 10k miles. My understanding is that they are among the most reliable modern BMWs. Few engine mods are available for the NA motor, though; seems like the 135i is the darling in that respect. They seem to be the modern equivalent to the 318, or the "poor man's BMW," if that means anything to you.
None of the local dealers had any in the 128/manual configuration that interested me, so I was never able to drive one. I drove a 328i with an auto, and it was uninspiring. I'm sure that the engine would have been better suited to the lighter chassis.
A coworker has one. I asked him about it hoping he would have a very sad story of it leaving him stranded and high consumable costs. No such luck. He loves the car.
They do have the electric water pump, but it is my understanding that there are a few good options to address this for around $500.
Hmm intersting. That sounds great. 128i sounds right up my alley, as no I wouldn't use any aftermarket anyways. And a simpleish straight six is a plus. They also have a sorta big trunk, for the size.
The BMW pro techs I know suggest that you should calculate about $2k/yr for maintenance and repair for most models (V8s, V12s, 7-series and M-cars more, obviously); this figure assumes you're paying them to do the work, not buying the parts and DIY. Any in year in which that money was not spent means you will eventually be paying it later. So by that rule, for the car you mention figure at worst (no maintenance done), you're looking at potentially $6k in deferred maintenance costs if you let someone else turn the wrenches.
Normal stuff to expect around 100k miles is the full cooling system and usually the suspension, as everything except the springs will be pretty worn by then.
02Pilot wrote:
The BMW pro techs I know suggest that you should calculate about $2k/yr for maintenance and repair for most models (V8s, V12s, 7-series and M-cars more, obviously); this figure assumes you're paying them to do the work, not buying the parts and DIY. Any in year in which that money was not spent means you will eventually be paying it later. So by that rule, for the car you mention figure at worst (no maintenance done), you're looking at potentially $6k in deferred maintenance costs if you let someone else turn the wrenches.
Normal stuff to expect around 100k miles is the full cooling system and usually the suspension, as everything except the springs will be pretty worn by then.
Ah, interesting. The car posted had regular maintenance, just had a routine 64k maintenance. Which makes me feel a bit better. I can swing $2k a year in maintenance.
This car seems like something I'd absolutely do a pre purchase inspection on.
So educate me, as I'm a bit dense on mechanics. What makes the 128i a bit more maintenance heavy than a volvo c30? Because it's a sportier car so needs fluid changed more often? I almost see the turbo in the c30 as a liability, where the 128i engine components seem pretty rock solid, except the cooling and water pump.
The newer BMWs like this have a fancy computer-controlled electric water pump, along with which the entire cooling system needs to be replaced every 100k or so. They have a ton of suspension bushings and ball joints that get sloppy and fail over time, and the automatic transmissions are designed not to have the fluid changed so they fail around 150k unless you take it to an indie shop who knows what the hell they're doing. Keeping a nice BMW maintained isn't too bad but if one has had the maintenance slide too long it's a nightmare to catch up.
The Volvo C30 is a really luxurious C2 Focus ST with Volvo's bulletproof whiteblock engine that's been continuously upgraded since the 90's; basically a super upmarket Ford, whereas the 128i is certainly a BMW from both a design and engineering standpoint, just a cheap one. It's also one of the first BMWs with their fancy new-generation engines with Valvetronic instead of VANOS and the electric water pump.
As somebody who's owned five, the BMW will indeed be more maintenance heavy, believe me. It always finds a way to sneak up on you. My last one cost me $7000 in the course of a year so I'm not losing any sleep driving a Honda for a while.
If you're looking at a 2008+ BMW, a 2012 128i is about as solid from a reliability standpoint as you can get.
Damn this one has been smoked in.
I really like that 70k one. Just drove it for over a hour. It drive more solid than some brand new Hondas and suburus I've driven. It's fancy but simple. Rwd, great visibility. Gosh! It's cheaper than the c30 and I think it drives a lot better.
Water pump/thermostat(both electric) and oil cooler housing gaskets are very common but not too hard to DIY at all.
Change auto fluid regularly (say every 30 to 50k).
They're good cars overall. Avoid a convertible, buy one without sunroof if you want to potentially avoid more headaches if its not important to you.
Car made me do a 360 on manual transmissions. It's like butter in this one and a pleasure to shift.
For $14,999, 2012 70k miles 200+ HP RWD I feel like its priced with some maintenance in mind ha-ha. Gonna get it inspected by a BMW specialist asap and if its up on its maintenance it's mine. Hopefully some past owners can put input here. But man that black with brown interior
Coldsnap wrote:
Car made me do a 360 on manual transmissions. It's like butter in this one and a pleasure to shift.
Jerry: So this ah, woman you plan on hiring, is she going to be in the
“Spokes model” category?
George: Sure. I could go the tomato route. But eh, I've given this a
lot of thought Jerry. All that frustration. I’ll never get any work
done. So I’m doing a complete 360. I’m going for total efficiency and
ability.
Jerry: That's a 180, George.
Couldn't resist the chance to use a Seinfeld quote! 
Haha! was posting from phone, blaming it on that.
Just got the Fiance one in September. Love it so far. We got a 2012 128i CPO with 17k miles. Still has a yr of original warranty then 2 more years of cpo warranty. Going to take it in soon for a transmission rear seal leak (tiny but want to get it done before it gets bad) and a loud creak in dash. But under warranty so it's all good. We did get a manual trans. but couldn't find a sport pkg. I'm not a fan of the standard seats as it feels like you are sitting on them and not held in. Best mod we did was to replace the clutch delay valve with one from ECS Tuning from the M cars. The CDV made it impossible to shift smoothly. The new one makes shifting smooth as butter. $12 and 20 min job and it transformed the car.
Ah yeaa. Alot of information I'm seeing is within warrenty. When ya in that warrenty no sweat. I'm worried about being out in the woods heh
In reply to Coldsnap: It seems like BMW engineer their cars (the good ones) to drive well, while Honda and Toyota engineer their cars (the good ones) to be reliable. I have a 98 328i, and pretty much everyone says that all of the generation 3-series are costly to maintain, especially if done at a shop.
Good looking car, but I would never buy one without the sport package, due to the seats more than anything else. Like others have noted, spend the extra money on top-notch cooling system equipment and ignore the "lifetime fill" junk they pitch. Just be aware that when you need a battery, you'll have to take it to the dealer so they can tell the computer it's new. Otherwise it'll treat it like an old battery and burn it up. You'll never see another new car with the "swoopy" hood of the older models, due to pedestrian safety standards in Europe driving the empty space between the bumper cover and everything else.
Ah, right the Honda vs BMW thing makes sense.
I loved the seats in this car. I've mentioned it here but I really dont like bolstering. The 128i seats were perfect!
The car also sat high.. which was great.
Yea. So after much consideration I think I'm gonna do it. That's IF the car is up on maintenance. My estimation is the car will need regular fluids soon (oil, brake, coolant, power steering, diff), will be more expensive to do this on a BMW than a toyota, but given my low mileage it's likely i'll never have to do those things for years except for brake fluid and oil. Then the unexpected can be the water pump and cooling system, which I'm willing to pay.
I also have my savings in line and it's either drive a Honda and spend the extra money on stupid stuff like video games and new hobbies (usually where my extra money goes because I'm on a forced savings plan that comes out of my paycheck). And I think I'd rather have a bit less things and drive a nicer car.
FWIW all those maintenance things are recorded in the instrument cluster computer. Also means anyone can just reset them if they use YouTube to find how to do it.
Oil changes every 15k or 1 year, brake flush every 2 years, cabin air filter every 15k or 1 year, spark plugs at 100k, brakes done at 30k intervals, with yearly "general" inspection, plus emissions inspection if applicable. IIRC that's all of it.
You can go through the cluster menu to see when all this is due.
Edit: BMW calls this their CBS or condition based service schedule.
Slight threadjack, because all the positive comments here have piqued my interest too:
What's the general consensus on the flappy-paddle gearbox(es? I think there's 2) BMW offers on the 1-series? Particularly - do they hold up well? And how frequent/expensive of service do they require?
