Buying 2.0 Petrol 1 series

Buying 2.0 Petrol 1 series

Author
Discussion

Exige77

Original Poster:

6,518 posts

190 months

Thursday 6th October 2016
quotequote all
Morning PH, my daughter is looking for a 1 series convertible of around 2010/11 vintage.

Anything to look out for on these ?

Any must have options ?

Anything to avoid ?

Going to start viewing a few cars this weekend.

Advice much appreciated.

helix402

7,832 posts

181 months

Thursday 6th October 2016
quotequote all
Google N43 problems. Then buy a 6 cylinder.

rockford22

357 posts

131 months

Friday 7th October 2016
quotequote all
helix402 said:
Google N43 problems. Then buy a 6 cylinder.
LOL..short but ultimately correct.

Any reason you are looking specifically at a 1 series with that engine? I'd think there were better options out there but depends on circumstances.

Exige77

Original Poster:

6,518 posts

190 months

Friday 7th October 2016
quotequote all
Daughter really wants a 1 series convertible.

We are a bit of BMW family. She has an E36 compact now and we have a very good BMW indie on our doorstep.


iSore

4,011 posts

143 months

Friday 7th October 2016
quotequote all
Avoid at all costs. The N43 has a list of problems.

Timing chain and rails
Oil pump
Coil packs
Injectors
Oil leaks
Big end bearings


Whilst the N47 2.0d isn't without problems (chain), a good low mileage one that is properly maintained is vastly superior in every respect.

helix402

7,832 posts

181 months

Friday 7th October 2016
quotequote all
And rail low pressure sensors.....

rockford22

357 posts

131 months

Friday 7th October 2016
quotequote all
Fair list of things to look out for above.

The trouble is if you Google any BMW engine code followed by "problem" you'll find something. The N43 and N47 do have far more than their fair share though and personally not worth the risk.

If that hasn't put you off I'd look for the updated CIC Nav system if possible (think that was put in to the E88 about 2010/2011), standard business radio with standard audio is also terrible, made worse when the roof is down.

Edited by rockford22 on Friday 7th October 13:53

northwest monkey

6,370 posts

188 months

Saturday 8th October 2016
quotequote all
iSore said:
Avoid at all costs. The N43 has a list of problems.

Timing chain and rails
Oil pump
Coil packs
Injectors
Oil leaks
Big end bearings
I think you are exaggerating slightly. The one I had suffered no problems whatsoever with the coil packs.

Fastdruid

8,623 posts

151 months

Saturday 8th October 2016
quotequote all
iSore said:
Whilst the N47 2.0d isn't without problems (chain), a good low mileage one that is properly maintained is vastly superior in every respect.
Apart obviously from missing the OP's criteria of being Petrol...

Exige77

Original Poster:

6,518 posts

190 months

Saturday 8th October 2016
quotequote all
Oil burner would be out of the question.

Imagine being on PH while one of your children drives an oil burner biggrin

Max M4X WW

4,789 posts

181 months

Saturday 8th October 2016
quotequote all
125i?

T16OLE

2,944 posts

190 months

Saturday 8th October 2016
quotequote all
My other half has a 120i Cabrio.

Just read this, its had no end of engine misfires and vibrations at idle.

BMW themselves cannot fix the problem.

I also think the engine is pretty asthmatic and not a very nice petrol engine.

driver67

976 posts

164 months

Saturday 8th October 2016
quotequote all
Max M4X WW said:
125i?
Great shout, 6 Cylinder N52B30 engine, can be remapped to 130i levels.

Exige77

Original Poster:

6,518 posts

190 months

Sunday 9th October 2016
quotequote all
Thanks all for your advice.

Daughter has just bought a very nice low miles 120i Cabrio in Silver.

Let's hope it's a good un and doesn't suffer too much from the well known issues.

Fingers crossed.

Thanks thumbup


Max M4X WW

4,789 posts

181 months

Sunday 9th October 2016
quotequote all
Is it an M Sport? They look pretty decent.

Make sure you keep the thread updated with how things go with the car.

northwest monkey

6,370 posts

188 months

Monday 10th October 2016
quotequote all
Exige77 said:
Thanks all for your advice.

Daughter has just bought a very nice low miles 120i Cabrio in Silver.

Let's hope it's a good un and doesn't suffer too much from the well known issues.

Fingers crossed.

Thanks thumbup
Good job you asked for advice & had some well informed responses or who knows what she might have bought...

Exige77

Original Poster:

6,518 posts

190 months

Monday 10th October 2016
quotequote all
northwest monkey said:
Good job you asked for advice & had some well informed responses or who knows what she might have bought...
Some of the posters raised concerns about the reliability of the motor which I investigated.

Thanks for high lighting.

I checked, and although there are some documented issues it seems they are not as bad as the Internet would have you believe.

Thanks all

northwest monkey

6,370 posts

188 months

Monday 10th October 2016
quotequote all
Exige77 said:
Some of the posters raised concerns about the reliability of the motor which I investigated.

Thanks for high lighting.

I checked, and although there are some documented issues it seems they are not as bad as the Internet would have you believe.

Thanks all
Honestly, they really are. They aren't necessarily unreliable, just poorly designed.

I had one with 100k on - FSH and 6 years old which should be nothing for a BMW. It needed a crank, pistons, oil pump and a top-end rebuild. I took it to 2 specialists & both of them told me not to bother fixing it - one bloke was quite impressed it had made it to 100k. One of the engine builders actually had a 2011 120i in with 37k miles on - that only needed the crank doing so the bill was only a couple of grand rather than the 4 ish I was looking at.

I've had more than a few BMWs & the engines were always one of the strongest bits of the car - in fact my old (1998 E36) 325d is still on the road today. I sold it in 2003 with 145k miles on it. The modern ones (in particular the 2 litre petrol and to a certain extent the 2 litre diesel) seem to have been built to last the warranty period rather than built to last.

Have a look at bimmerforums and e90post.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136...

iSore

4,011 posts

143 months

Monday 10th October 2016
quotequote all
Fastdruid said:
Apart obviously from missing the OP's criteria of being Petrol...
Apart obviously from me suggesting an alternative - but thanks for the worthwhile comment....

iSore

4,011 posts

143 months

Monday 10th October 2016
quotequote all
Exige77 said:
I checked, and although there are some documented issues it seems they are not as bad as the Internet would have you believe.
Yes they are.

But good luck with it.