What do you NOT like about the 1 series?

[Dat Aus]

I'm sure we all love our cars very much, but there has to be something you don't like about it. What is it?

For me it's the build quality. I came from 2 E39s and the build quality of the E82 just isn't up to scratch. It feels cheaper and not as well put together as my previous 540s. There are more squeaks and rattles and the materials don't feel as high quality. The little sill panel at the bottom of the window keeps on popping out and needs to be pushed back into place every few days. It doesn't really feel like a premium product. My mate's F20 M135 feels like a completely different car just because the interior is so much better. It is a very significant improvement.

I also don't like the way the front end looks. It's not offensively ugly but it certainly isn't a pretty car.

And I don't like how spartan it is. Granted, this gripe is more with the original owner who was too cheap to tick any options boxes and I could have shelled more money out for a better appointed car. I just wish it had iDrive and a sunroof.

And the waste gate rattle. I really don't like the waste gate rattle.

[mackeroni]

Somebody needs to trade their car for a new one...not a one...a new other one. Well, you know what I mean.

[YearOneOne]

Yeah just something that's not the one you have give it to me I'll love her faithfully. Poor e82.

[bmw1racer]

Similar thread here: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1122102

[doublevanosrc]

I'm on my second 135 in 6 years and still prefer it over any of BMW's new offerings(minus an M2,M3). I beg to differ on the build quality even though you seem to be encountering some issues on a car that's almost 10 years old. Even though no car is perfect I spent plenty of time debating an F20 before jumping back on another 135. BMW has done major cost cutting on all it's new cars especially the F20. You can tell by the lower grade instrument cluster, climate control buttons, interior door handles, plastic interior a-pillar trim and so on. As for the front end and lack of options that would have to be on you, seems like you bought the wrong car no?

[Mr Rooty Von Tooty]

Most BMW cars over the years have had very plain interiors, and exteriors too. Lots of plastics and medium grade materials. If you wanted something fancy, you'd have to buy 7-series. The rest of the car has excellent build quality!

However, my One is very good still with lots of plastics but decent quality. The instrumentation is very plain, but I plan on spending most of my time looking out the windows not staring at a dashboard. Until lately, most German cars had rather plain looking dashboards, but if you want something exotic, get yourself an Audi!

If you really want to go fancy, get yourself a Lexus with spaceship styling and an interior which resembles a Las Vegas strip club. Ugh!

[mr.fabulous]

You want cheap, hop inside a new Jetta. Kind of hard to believe the thing is a VW, the interior is beyond category awful.

I don't think the interior build quality of my car is bad at all. Actually, in some ways it's better than my departed E36. And I think my car is beautiful, not much I would change there (although strip off the 135 bits and it might look a bit lowly as a vanilla 128 [no slam to 128 owners intended]).

Things about the car I wish were different:

* rain sensing wipers drive me crazy, give me a plain intermittent wiper

* wish I had no sunroof

* wish I had no headlight washers (just more to break)

* don't like the adaptive headlights (just more to break)

* the rearward slop of the front window glass makes it easy for me to slam the top-rear corner of same into my face when opening the door (done that more than once, maybe I'm just getting old)

* M interior bits on a non-M car seem a bit poseur (to me, at least)

* arm rest is junk, one day I'll replace it with the plain hollow unit

All in all, though... love love love this little car, hope it holds together well with time.

[methodz]

I love my car. All I would change is the stupid DCT lag when coming to a stop. But I guess you 6MT guys don't need to worry about that one. Oh, and factory LSD would have been nice.

[Dackelone]

I think almost every(legitimate) gripe we have with the 1er coupe BMW addressed with the 2er. But then they saw to improve a few things like EPS and here we are still holding onto our analog 1er!

[SkullV]

1. Build Quality - This is the only car i've owned that has had the dash seperating due to heat/sun in under 15 years. The weather stripping is also cracking on one side, presumably due to heat/dry air. BMW is helping me out with some "goodwill" discount out of warranty for these issues though which is great. The leather is also pretty quick to wear despite proper maintenance and conditioning (Boston Lemon)
2. Suspension - This thing is "floaty". Hopefully changing the struts/shocks/springs, shock mounts, and adding subframe bushing inserts will help with that.
3. DCT - I don't know what BMW was thinking on this car, but the DSG in VW's GTI is so much smoother. I don't HATE the DCT in this car, but there is plenty of room for improvement. The PPK flash I did helped a lot, but it still has quirks....maybe it's just running Windows Vista or something.........(joking).

Other than these I'm pretty happy with the car in my month of ownership. It is at the dealership right now for some other issues, but those are to be expected for a car of this age. Luckily I have an extended warranty that is handling it.

[Cmoney135i]

Originally Posted by mr.fabulous

You want cheap, hop inside a new Jetta. Kind of hard to believe the thing is a VW, the interior is beyond category awful.

I don't think the interior build quality of my car is bad at all. Actually, in some ways it's better than my departed E36. And I think my car is beautiful, not much I would change there (although strip off the 135 bits and it might look a bit lowly as a vanilla 128 [no slam to 128 owners intended]).

Things about the car I wish were different:

* rain sensing wipers drive me crazy, give me a plain intermittent wiper

* wish I had no sunroof

* wish I had no headlight washers (just more to break)

* don't like the adaptive headlights (just more to break)

* the rearward slop of the front window glass makes it easy for me to slam the top-rear corner of same into my face when opening the door (done that more than once, maybe I'm just getting old)

* M interior bits on a non-M car seem a bit poseur (to me, at least)

* arm rest is junk, one day I'll replace it with the plain hollow unit

All in all, though... love love love this little car, hope it holds together well with time.

You know you don't have to use the sensor part and can set the speed like a normal wiper right? At least on my car I can choose.

M sport is a package straight from the factory so I don't think its poseur

[Iron Man]

I researched my purchase for about 1-2 years on this very forum, test drove one a couple of times, then ordered my car exactly the way I wanted it.

So far I have nothing really to complain about other than tire life (but that is really a lot of my own doing ).

Sounds like some people never drove the vehicle, or even bothered to take a good look at it, before buying.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by Cmoney135i

You know you don't have to use the sensor part and can set the speed like a normal wiper right? At least on my car I can choose.

This is correct.

Flick the wiper stalk up to turn on intermittent wipers, the dial on the front controls the speed of the swipe. Flick up again to increase the speed. Flick the stalk down to wipe once, flick it toward you and hold to spray fluid. Headlight washers are programmed to spray every few washes if automatic headlights are on. The button on the end is the toggle for Automatic Wipers. Mine works fine, but sometimes if the rain isn't quite heavy enough I will use the intermittent setting instead.

Wiping action after windshield spray can be changed (# of swipes) through car coding. I have mine set to 4 wipes per spray. Headlight washers can be completely disabled or interval changed via vehicle coding.

[Cmoney135i]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

This is correct.

Flick the wiper stalk up to turn on intermittent wipers, the dial on the front controls the speed of the swipe. Flick up again to increase the speed. Flick the stalk down to wipe once, flick it toward you and hold to spray fluid. Headlight washers are programmed to spray every few washes if automatic headlights are on. The button on the end is the toggle for Automatic Wipers. Mine works fine, but sometimes if the rain isn't quite heavy enough I will use the intermittent setting instead.

Wiping action after windshield spray can be changed (# of swipes) through car coding. I have mine set to 4 wipes per spray. Headlight washers can be completely disabled or interval changed via vehicle coding.

I didn't even know we had automatic wipers until I read my manual a couple days after purchase!

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

I think almost every(legitimate) gripe we have with the 1er coupe BMW addressed with the 2er. But then they saw to improve a few things like EPS and here we are still holding onto our analog 1er!

Yeah pretty much.

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by SkullV

Suspension - This thing is "floaty".

Floaty?? You running stock runflats or regular tires?? When I think of "floatly" a Lexus ES350 or Toyota Avalon comes to mind.

[SkullV]

Originally Posted by doublevanosrc

Floaty?? You running stock runflats or regular tires?? When I think of "floatly" a Lexus ES350 or Toyota Avalon comes to mind.

Regular tires, they are Bridgestone Potenza S04. From my research this is a pretty common complaint from people coming out of other "luxury" sport touring cars into a 135i. It's not a big deal, just not what I would have expected and easy enough to remedy.

[MightyMouseTech]

The only thing that bothers me is that they do not make it anymore.

[lowbudgethero]

they could have made it handle so much better out of the box

[Fume]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

This is correct.

Flick the wiper stalk up to turn on intermittent wipers, the dial on the front controls the speed of the swipe. Flick up again to increase the speed. Flick the stalk down to wipe once, flick it toward you and hold to spray fluid. Headlight washers are programmed to spray every few washes if automatic headlights are on. The button on the end is the toggle for Automatic Wipers. Mine works fine, but sometimes if the rain isn't quite heavy enough I will use the intermittent setting instead.

Wiping action after windshield spray can be changed (# of swipes) through car coding. I have mine set to 4 wipes per spray. Headlight washers can be completely disabled or interval changed via vehicle coding.

Are you serious? Thanks for this tidbit. And this is why I should read the manual. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to try moving the dial on the front after flicking the wiper stalk up once.

[MZWIE]

Originally Posted by Fume

Are you serious? Thanks for this tidbit. And this is why I should read the manual. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to try moving the dial on the front after flicking the wiper stalk up once.

Don't think so. Up one is slow, up two is fast. Down one is one swipe. Only way to start intermittent is with button in end of stalk.

If what you say is true it would have been mentioned 8 years ago.

[Dat Aus]

Originally Posted by mackeroni

Somebody needs to trade their car for a new one...not a one...a new other one. Well, you know what I mean.

Originally Posted by YearOneOne

Yeah just something that's not the one you have give it to me I'll love her faithfully. Poor e82.

It's not that I don't like my car. I absolutely love it. I adore it. It is easily my favourite car I have ever owned. I just don't love some certain aspects of it.

In my E39s, everything felt quality and they were twice as old as my 135 with twice the mileage. It was all beautiful soft touch materials and nothing squeaked or rattled. Everything felt premium. Even my mum's E46 has a similar feel. The E82, however, isn't up to par. The plastics feel a bit cheaper, it has fake aluminium trim and it has a couple of rattles. It just doesn't FEEL as high quality as my previous BMWs.