In 2004, the BMW 1-Series appeared in the back of the E87, this car is considered the most modest and inexpensive BMW brand cars. The body of reliability is no different from their counterparts. Also a large layer of paint, paintwork quality and durable, corresponds to BMW cars. The 1st series is built on the basis of the BMW 3-ki in the back of the E90.

The car looks good for a long time, it loses its luster slowly, if chips appear, they still do not bloom due to the galvanization of the body. Rust is rarely found even on 12-year-old cars. Of course, it is difficult to find a BMW, which did not participate in an accident, but it is possible. The main thing is to check the installation angles of the wheels before buying, if the suspension is intact, and the corners cannot be adjusted, then it is better to look for another option. You should also check whether the safety circuit breaker is safe on the positive terminal. But if you wish, you can also replace the emergency contact on the positive terminal, for this you need to pay 130 euros. Therefore, this is not an indicator that the car did not participate in the accident.

If the body is well protected from corrosion, then the electrician is susceptible to corrosion, most often, the main power supply chain from corrosion suffers. Sometimes it happens that after 4 winters, the positive wire will seriously rot, if it is not treated with an anticorrosive.

After about 5 years of operation, the rear wiper can no longer work, rust usually disables the mechanism inside the trunk lid, a new one costs 120 euros, road dirt can eventually damage the trunk door lock, this lock costs 50 euros, hides he is behind the emblem of the BMW. It also happens that the cabin begins to creak inside the front panel, which suggests that the electric fan of the stove, which is quite expensive - will soon be out of order - 170 euros for the original and 90 for the original.

There is also an unpleasant situation, when the waterproofing on the doors departed and after the rain the water got into the cabin, that the entire mat was wet. But this situation is easy to fix - just remove the door trim and normally glue the waterproofing that went.

Motor

The diesel engine M47 with a volume of 2 liters is considered to be very reliable, but on the 1st series it is very rare to find such a motor - for a car produced before 2007. Approximately 3% of the BMW 1-series can be found such a motor. The diesel engine M47 with the right care can easily serve 400,000 km. After 2007, 6% of cars began to install a new diesel engine N47 with an aluminum cylinder head. Weaknesses in this engine has become a bit more. The drive of the gas distribution mechanism in it is rather weak. On the earliest motors, the chain could already wear out after 50,000 km. run

But besides diesel engines there is still a huge variety of different configurations with other engines. Of course, the Germans began to correct the situation with the engines, did the modernization, but it is better to bypass the cars with a diesel engine N47 older than 2009. After 2011, the chain can already hold out at 100,000 km. But all the same, on all cars you have to listen, if there is a clatter from a weakly tense chain. Replacing the chain tensioners, gaskets and sprockets will cost about 450 euros. Moreover, the timing chain is installed at the back, so in order to change the chain and all these little things - you have to remove the engine, that is, you still have to pay for the work.

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The fact that the fuel pump, which costs 1,100 euros, and piezoelectric nozzles costing 470 euros, which do not serve more than 180,000 km. - This is nothing compared with the difficulty of replacing the chain every 100,000 km.

Petrol engines

Motors operating on gasoline, also have problems with the timing chain. Back in 2004, when in the 1st series began to install a 2-liter engine N46. Cars with this engine - about 25%. Usually after 100,000 km. mileage motor starts to work louder and rumble like a diesel. Here the reason may be in a stretched chain or in a worn tensioner. Sometimes there are rare cases where the drive can reach a service of up to 150,000 km. The original new chain costs 100 euros, the tensioner costs 45 euros, analogs can be found 2 times cheaper.

The most popular engine is N45 with a volume of 1.6 liters, all cars with this engine about 50%. But after 80,000 km. there may also be problems with the timing belt, especially if the engine is fully unwound.

But in this motor the chain breaks very rarely, but it happens that if it stretches, it can jump over the sprocket teeth. The engine uses variable valve timing clutches of the Vanos system, they usually serve 180,000 km each. Their replacement will cost about 370 euros. Approximately the same resource and the cylinder-piston group. These motors are thin-walled and light-alloy, so usually, if the time has come to change the cylinder-piston group, then the short-blocks are changed, but since the new ones are expensive - 2600 euros, in order to save, many craftsmen have learned how to gels the old ones.

Also with these motors there is a situation when the gasket of the timing chain tensioner flows, because after some time the tensioner bolt loosens. This situation can occur after 50,000 km. run, but this leak does not affect the performance of the tensioner, everything will just be in the oil.

After 2007, direct injection engines N43 began to appear in the 1st series. In them, the timing chain is already serving longer, but other unpleasant things have appeared. For example, fuel injectors, each of which costs 200 euros, and they serve approximately 100,000 km. In order to understand that it is time to change the injectors, a situation will say when the engine does not work properly in a cold condition.

Also here already after 50,000 km. Ignition coils fail. Sometimes there are cars with 3-liter engines, such cars are not more than 4%, they sometimes have problems with the electrical system of the cooling system and fuel injection pump, this usually happens after 100,000 km. The new electric pump costs 350 euros, and the fuel pump - 1100 euros. These are original spare parts, and the pump from Bosch can be taken for 470 euros. These motors do not like overheating, so every 3 years it is advisable to do a serious cleaning of the radiator.

All gasoline engines have unreliable vacuum pumps, usually after 80,000 km. they begin to flow. Oil wiper caps also wear out quickly, at about the same mileage, which is why oil consumption is greatly increasing. The oil in all BMW cars should be changed more often - every 7-10 thousand km. If you tighten with the replacement of oil, the crankcase ventilation unit may clog and the oil will go into the intake manifold, after which carbon deposits will appear on the valves. Sediments will also appear on the solenoid control of clutches of variable valve timing Vanos, idle vibration and weak traction will tell about it. But if you do the washing, then everything will return to its place. In addition, there may be problems with Valvetronic, so the oil in a BMW should be changed more often and not be aware of these problems.

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Transmission

Gearboxes, unlike motors, are more trouble-free. After 120,000 km. time to listen to the rear gearbox on cars with 6-cylinder engines. If during a quick acceleration a slight click appears, this means that the nut of the flange of the cardan shaft has loosened and it is necessary to tighten it normally. Approximately 150,000 km. seals axes and serve oil. The same mileage will sustain the cardan coupling, which costs 90 euros.

The manual gearbox is installed on about 12% of cars, it is quite reliable and rarely needs to be repaired. Regardless of the motor, the manual transmission lasts a long time, except in 160,000 km. need to change the glands. But there are cases that after 200 000 km. you have to change the clutch, for this you will need to remove the box. A clutch kit will cost about 300 euros, a non-original can also be found for 180. A clutch replacement must be done right away; the clutch must not be allowed to slip because it can damage the 2-mass flywheel of the engine, which costs about 1,000 euros for the original. Brake pads are kept on 40 000 km. in front, and behind on 60 000 km. Disks usually withstand 2 replacement pads.

With the 2000 ZF 6HP19 automatic transmission, problems may arise. It is this box that is installed in cars with 1.6 and 2.0 engines produced in 2004. These gearboxes do not like overheating and too low temperature. Therefore, it is not necessary to start abruptly on a cold box, the more powerful the motor, the more harm will be to the box. In winter, it is advisable to warm up the automatic box before the trip - turn on the drive and hold the car on the brakes.

Engineers made this box brisk and quick-firing - the lock-up of the torque converter is turned on as soon as possible, starting from the first gear, thus the box is tense as much as possible. Clutches slip in traffic jams, over time, wear products appear in the oil, so the oil quickly begins to age and needs to be changed so that the box lasts longer. In general, bushings, friction clutches, a torque converter, solenoids, and the entire hydraulic unit wear out quickly. It often happens that the automatic transmission requires overhaul after 120 000 km. run

In 2006, a new automatic gearbox 6HP21 was released, in which the mechatronics was seriously modified, the valve plate, friction clutches and solenoids were changed. This box began to serve longer - about 230 000 km. According to the regulations, it is necessary to change the oil in it every 60,000 km. A signal that it is time to change the oil immediately will be shocks or vibrations. Also, it is necessary to monitor whether leaks do not appear, because in the winter time the gasket of the solenoid block may freeze. Approximately 4 years later the sealing of the block may leak.

In the same 2006, they began to install in addition to the German box and the American automatic box GM 6L45 / 6L50. It is rarely where it can be found, it usually stands in cars with gasoline 2-liter engines with a capacity of 150 and 156 liters. with. and 3-liter engines. With this automatic box, even less trouble than in German. It can fail, if you often drive at maximum speed, because it does not always withstand a rotary oil pump, especially on cars produced before 2008. And the hydraulic units themselves can serve at least 250,000 km., The oil must be changed every 90,000 km. But it is better to take the car after 2010, then there was a modernization of this box.

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But you still need to follow the "bagel" torque converter, because after 150,000 km. its nave wears out, the epiploon which will suddenly begin to flow will tell about it.

Suspension

In the BMW 1 Series, the suspension is good in terms of reliability, the same as in the X3 E83, even in the 3-ke E90, the suspension is not so reliable because the car is heavier and requires more attention. In the suspension of the BMW 1-series, it is necessary to change every 100,000 km. shock absorbers, you just need to change the shock absorber support, which costs 90 euros. The shock absorbers themselves cost 100 euro per original, but you can also find a high-quality equivalent for 40 euro. Rack stabilizers usually need to be changed every 70,000 km., They cost 35 euros, steering rods (85 euros) and silent blocks in the rear arms should be changed after about 120,000 km A complete revision of the suspension should be done after about 180,000 km.

There have been cases when the steering column adjustment mechanisms on the earliest cars were changed under warranty, because they already had time to wear out to 70,000 km. run This problem was fixed after restyling in 2007. It also happens that the rake starts to knock after 120,000 km. But it makes sense to change it after 180,000 km. When it starts to flow and there is a serious backlash, but for the time being just knocking, you can not change it. Moreover, it costs a lot of money - 2,200 euros.

In general, the BMW 1-series is a fairly reliable car due to its simplicity. It is best to look for a complete set with a diesel engine M47 and manual transmission, but to find such a car in good condition will be difficult, and the mileage of this car will already be more than 200,000 km. You can also look for a version with a gasoline engine after restyling, so that the mileage is up to 100,000 km. You can find such a car with an age of 5 years for about 550,000 rubles.

Feelings of driving a BMW 120d

BMW 120d with a capacity of 177 liters. with. It accelerates to 100 km / h in 8.5 seconds, which is pretty good for such a small car with a modest engine. The car is good to drive, the gearbox is smart, quickly responds to the accelerator pedal. In the car there is a German drive, although on a bad road, the car can be demolished on the sides, it is especially noticeable when it wags while driving along ruts. If desired, and you can podtrifit.

Then test drive the BMW 120d on video: