Volkswagen Golf VI or BMW 1-serie F20: which has fewer APK problems?

At 9–10 years (mostly built 2015–2017) 2.2% of inspected Volkswagen Golf VIs had at least one A-problem, against 1.5% for the BMW 1-serie F20 and 4.7% nationally. The difference is small: the confidence intervals overlap, so at this age they are close. Over all ages together the Volkswagen Golf VI has an A-problem 11% more often than average, the BMW 1-serie F20 54% less often.

Window: Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · Updated: 16 Oct 2026

At this age the 1-serie F20 has fewer A-problems.

Also check the weak spots and the history of the specific car.

ModelModel years

Volkswagen Golf VI

2009 – 2018

Illustration Volkswagen Golf VI

BMW 1-serie F20

2011 – 2020

Illustration BMW 1-serie F20
AA-problemsDefects at the APK

2.2%

n = 273 · 95% CI 1.0 – 4.7%

1.5%

n = 5,028 · 95% CI 1.2 – 1.8%

All defectsAll kinds of APK defects

26.7%

n = 273 · 95% CI 21.8 – 32.3%

25.6%

n = 5,028 · 95% CI 24.4 – 26.8%

Three points to checkMost common defects at the APK

Not enough data

  1. 1Brakes
  2. 2Exhaust and emissions
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A-problems side by side

Percentages with 95% confidence intervals.

02468101214161820 A-problems (%) National: 4.7% · n = 877,805 · 95% CI 4.6 – 4.7% Volkswagen Golf VI2009 – 2018 2.2% (n = 273 · 95% CI 1.0 – 4.7%) BMW 1-serie F202011 – 2020 1.5% (n = 5,028 · 95% CI 1.2 – 1.8%)

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More comparisons

Source: RDW Open Data (CC0), analysis CarXray.nl. 6,857,004 inspected passenger cars aged 3 years and older, Oct 2025 – Sep 2026. Each car counts once. How we know