Faults:

Radiator fan.

Clutch.

ABS.

Oil leak.

Timing chain (expensive).

General Comments:

Reasonably comfortable and economical when it was working. Positives end there.

One of the worst cars I ever had, not up to BMW standards. Build quality was poor and whenever anything went wrong it was always serious and expensive.

Timing chain stretched and I was quoted £3000 at BMW. I found an independent that did it for £1500, but this was still too much.

Cramped interior, cheap plastics.

Not bad to drive, but not great either.

Never again. Do not bother with a 1 series of this generation, they are too old now and they were not great even when relatively new. I heard the newer models from 2011 onward improved on build, but I'd still be cautious.

Faults:

Clutch + flywheel (expensive).

Oil leak.

Cam sensor, ABS sensor.

Plus all the usual wear and tear. The car was looked after well, received all services.

General Comments:

A typical car from the year 2010, this 1 series tries to be cool and fails. Fairly boring little hatchback and below BMW standards in my opinion.

ES model is very basic, interior felt cheap and plasticky. Not many options.

OK to drive, handled all right and the controls were smooth. Was also comfortable enough to be in for long journeys.

Engine was nothing special - diesel engine I thought would feel powerful in a pretty small hatchback, but it could barely move, you had to use full throttle to get anywhere. Even driving carefully I barely averaged 48 mpg. Official stats are 60 mpg on average. Unrealistic I know, but most cars I have drove I always got near or achieved the average, but never in this car no matter how hard I tried.

Very dull to look at, boring 16 inch wheels and silver exterior, as 90% of cars from this time seem to be silver!

Couldn't wait to get rid of it to be honest. Don't get me wrong, it is not a really bad car, just expensive to fix and overrated. There are better options out there for the money.