The 1 Series is the most available BMW second-hand and the make's entry point. Its fleet reflects typical BMW use in France: mostly diesel, largely fitted with automatic gearboxes.
The purchase price is that of a well-equipped compact; the servicing cost stays that of a German premium car. That gap is what has to be anticipated.
Of the 388 used BMW Serie 1 listed right now: 54% are diesel. 60% have manual transmission. Half are priced under €15,000.
The F20 and F21 generations, built from 2011 to 2019, are the last rear-wheel-drive 1 Series. That is their particularity and what gives them a distinct character in the compact segment, with better weight distribution but less traction on a slippery road.
The F40 generation, from 2019, switches to front-wheel drive and gains real rear space and boot volume, at the cost of what made the model distinctive.
Choosing between the two is a genuine trade-off, not simply a question of year.
Running costs are the main subject: large tyres, sometimes run-flats on the generations concerned, brakes and services at upmarket rates.
On diesels, the oil-change history governs the life of the timing chain on several units: insist on the invoices.
On the automatic gearbox, the oil change at intervals should be in the book.
A complete main-dealer service history is worth more here than a few thousand kilometres less on the clock.
A driver covering significant distances who puts road behaviour first, and has budgeted servicing above a mainstream compact's.
The links below narrow by engine, gearbox or budget.
