1. Forget about the badge. It is a NINE year old car. With all the possible problems of a car that age.

2. Check the service history. Hopefully, it's been over-serviced. If not, then it might only have had 4 services. Which is not enough in NINE years (continue to remember that bit). If it has so few services, walk away. Check the MOT history all adds up too, and any advisories (you can do that online).

3. Go to : www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/bmw/1-series-e81e87-...d and READ the 'what's bad' section. Properly.

4. If possible, get a friendly mechanic/garage to check for any old fault codes. These petrol engines seem to get coil pack issues quite often (notorious on the Z4)

5. Remember point 1 ? The badge ? Right. You're paying about £1000 - £1500 for the badge. If the badge means enough for you to do so, then go for it. But be very aware that you're paying a lot more for a 'prestige' badge.

Now, after all that lot, don't be completely negative about it. The 5 door 1 series is a great little car (avoid the 3 door variant though, useless). We ran a 118d for 4 years, and loved it. Never had a single problem with it either. I know someone else on here ran a 118d for a few years too, and was very happy too. I also know someone who has a 2006 118i with 130,000 miles on it, and it is still perfect. But be awake, and don't let that badge blind you.