BMW 1 Series: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy

Year-by-year data table

Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.

Photographs and every generation of the 1 Series, through the years →

1 Series sub-models & family

Variants & trims on record

Body, powertrain and trim variants of the 1 Series on the federal record. Variants folded into this nameplate are counted in this page's data; the rest have too thin a record for a page of their own yet.

What goes wrong on the BMW 1 Series

Across every 1 Series model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.

• Air Bags121 complaints across all 1 Series years · typical job: Airbag module, clockspring or sensor replacement$600–$1,700
• Engine55 complaints across all 1 Series years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
• Electrical System36 complaints across all 1 Series years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
• Engine And Engine Cooling20 complaints across all 1 Series years · typical job: Water pump, thermostat and coolant service$600–$1,040
• Power Train15 complaints across all 1 Series years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
• Fuel/Propulsion System13 complaints across all 1 Series years · typical job: Fuel pump or injector replacement$680–$1,620

Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.

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