BMW 1M ideal spec?

[MDifficult]

I appreciate that pretty much any 1M is a good spec 1M, but I’m interested to understand what, among the limited options, are the most desirable on a used one?

Forget colour, mileage, condition, service history, warranty etc - I’m talking actual optional extras. Audio and Seats seem to be the limit but I’m struggling to find clear details.

For info, I’m conscidering downsizing from my M5 to potentially an M2, M2 Comp or 1M. Clearly 1Ms are rare and have held their value very well, but there’s still quite a bit of choice out there so would love advice on what options are the ones to have.

Thanks in advance!

(As much as I’d love to hear thoughts and advice on the other options of M2 and M2 Comp, the forum is drowning in that right now, so be great to stick to the 1M if poss! Cheers)

[ftypical]

I think you’re splitting hairs.

There were only 400.

So actually having one that’s never been abused or crashed is the only guide to value.

What stereo it came with so, so isn’t.

But, if this is a big thing for you, it might be best to stick with the M5.

HTH

[MDifficult]

ftypical said:

I think you’re splitting hairs.

There were only 400.

So actually having one that’s never been abused or crashed is the only guide to value.

What stereo it came with so, so isn’t.

But, if this is a big thing for you, it might be best to stick with the M5.

HTH

Gee, it’s almost as if you didn’t read my opening paragraph because you were so keen to type something snippy.

If it helps, there are currently 10 cars within reasonable distance of where I live, in my price range, with appropriate mileages, full BMW history etc.

I’m simply trying to get a little more information to try to narrow down which ones to take a peak at first. If it turns out that the Audio upgrade, Motorsport seats or the parking sensors are conscidered a ‘must have’, it might be good to know now right?

Anyway, you go back to being clever on the internet and I’ll go back to waiting for any owners to show up.

[ftypical]

I did.

Buy one with as low a mileage as possible.

Better?

[MDifficult]

ftypical said:

I did.

Buy one with as low a mileage as possible.

Better?

You’re nothing if not consistently helpful. Thank you.

[Alpinestars]

Sat nav. Cars without seem to take much longer to sell.

[MDifficult]

Alpinestars said:

Sat nav. Cars without seem to take much longer to sell.

Cheers - that’s interesting. I wondered whether it would have that big an effect these days - that gen of iDrive is getting pretty old.

[nw942]

Big three options are probably:
Navigation/iDrive - integrated navigation is nice, but everyone has a mobile these days with up-to-date maps.
Electric seats with memory - nice if you have it and several people use the car, but I'd imagine it's not a show-stopper for most 1M owners.
Harman Kardon - usually on 'high-spec' BMWs, but how much better it is than Professional or Business audio I don't know. Professional is good enough for me.

Then:
Bluetooth and USB - important if you spend a lot of time in the car and make/receive calls.
Comfort Access - potential security risk

Which leaves the following:
Sun Protection Glass
Exterior Mirrors folding and dimming
Adaptive headlights
High-beam assist
Seat heating
DAB

---

I guess a lot depends on how many miles you will do in it. If it's a daily then you'll probably want most of the convenience/comfort options.

As for the future, then I'd imagine most buyers would prefer the top 5, but the nature of the car means that they are probably more willing to compromise as it's mainly about the driving experience.

ETA: if you can find one with the M performance bucket seats, then that would be a good option.

[MBeemerman]

I bought my 1M new so can only comment on the options that I know I wouldn't want to be without.
The prof nav is nice to have because it gives you access on the screen to lots of different settings for the car as well as radio, phone and a hard drive to store music on.
Mine also has heated performance seats that are brilliant and makes a big difference to how the car feels.
I also speced heated folding mirrors DAB radio and privacy glass.
If I was looking for one today the two main options I would want is the nav and heated seats the rest I could easily live without.

[MBeemerman]

Just to ad cars with the electric seats are nice but they will not go anywhere near as low as manual seats due to the motors underneath.

[MDifficult]

nw942 said:

<Loads of great info>

Thanks fella, appreciate the insight.

[MDifficult]

MBeemerman said:

Just to ad cars with the electric seats are nice but they will not go anywhere near as low as manual seats due to the motors underneath.

Brilliant, thank you for both posts. This is exactly the kind of thing I was after!

[swanny71]

MDifficult said:

Alpinestars said:

Sat nav. Cars without seem to take much longer to sell.

Cheers - that’s interesting. I wondered whether it would have that big an effect these days - that gen of iDrive is getting pretty old.

Not the case for me. I wanted without idrive, don’t find it useful and don’t want the added headache of it going tits up in the future.

Other preferences for me were manual seats, HK sound, folding mirrors and DAB.

I considered all options within my budget, eventually found a car with manual seats and HK and was happy. Sun protection glass, parking sensors and blue tooth were a bonus.

A clean, well looked after car with great history was most important though.

Edited by swanny71 on Saturday 6th October 10:01

[MDifficult]

swanny71 said:

Not the case for me. I wanted without idrive, don’t find it useful and don’t want the added headache of it going tits up in the future.

Other preferences for me were manual seats, HK sound, folding mirrors and DAB.

I considered all options within my budget, eventually found a car with manual seats and HK and was happy. Sun protection glass, parking sensors and blue tooth were a bonus.

A clean, well looked after car with great history was most important though.

Edited by swanny71 on Saturday 6th October 10:01

Cheers, really appreciate it. I’m 6 foot tall so it sounds like manual seats might be a good call. When they’re wound low, how does it effect the rear legroom/foot room?

[swanny71]

MDifficult said:

Cheers, really appreciate it. I’m 6 foot tall so it sounds like manual seats might be a good call. When they’re wound low, how does it effect the rear legroom/foot room?

I’m 6’1” and in my driving position, foot room is OK but legroom is fairly tight - taller adults would likely get uncomfortable on longer journeys (same is true in my 130i though).

[chrisABP]

I had a fully loaded (dealer demo spec but never used as sold after 1st test drive!) 1M back in 2012 and having all the toys made it not only a nice place to be but also helped at resale time. All the spec as listed in above posts so I repeat but i'm 6ft4 and had no issues with head room and heated electric seats with memory. HK stereo upgrade was good as was DAB, voice activation, directional headlights ETC. Whilst the OE nav will now be woefully out of date it does still have a massive effect on resale and ultimately value so I would only ever consider a car with it.
Sold mine back in 2014 and still smile when I see one on the road - great car.

[couper]

I would agree that the ones without nav/idrive struggle to sell so thats an option worth having. It's just nice to have the screen for checking idrive for service intervals etc but for actually using satnav its not great. Low mileage cars are much cheaper to extend the full BMW warranty on, I just paid £530 to full BMW warranty a 17,600 mile car for a year. They said on the phone it would be much higher for higher mileages. However, if you are planning on putting a lot of miles on the car then purchase a high miler because they are quite a bit cheaper to buy and sit for a long time at dealers so may be easier to haggle a deal on.

[MDifficult]

Thanks guys, really helpful all-round.

I used the horrible weather on Saturday morning as an ideal opportunity to visit a bunch of dealers.

On the 1M, it’s clear they’re not spec sensitive (i.e. nomatter what, they’re tasty). Got to be black or white though Thanks to the above I’m building up a ‘want’ list as I’m not in any hurry.

Looked at a few M2s as well, but found them strangely underwhelming after the 1M.

[sato]

Could you keep us updated with how yet get on?
Starting to think about one myself, and an initial look shows quite a variance in asking prices on what appear comparable cars.

Incidentally, the 1M came up on podcast I was listening to the other day. A big US Porsche collectors (Spike Feresten), reckoned that the 1Ms without Sat Navs and cleaner dashboards would be the collectable ones in a few year. Probably only applicable on very low mile examples, but an interesting point none the less.

[MDifficult]

sato said:

Could you keep us updated with how yet get on?
Starting to think about one myself, and an initial look shows quite a variance in asking prices on what appear comparable cars.

Incidentally, the 1M came up on podcast I was listening to the other day. A big US Porsche collectors (Spike Feresten), reckoned that the 1Ms without Sat Navs and cleaner dashboards would be the collectable ones in a few year. Probably only applicable on very low mile examples, but an interesting point none the less.

Happy to! Next step is to try jamming the kids in the back of one

As for investment potential, I’m not banking on it! HowManyLeft shows LOADS of them on SORN. More than enough to satisfy future collector desire is my bet.

Don’t get me wrong, one of the attractions of a 1M is much softer depreciation than M2/M2 Comp etc, but so many look to be tucked away on low mileages that the future mega price ones aren’t being driven on the roads these days.