BMW 320i opinions

[kanezahra92]

Hi guys,

So I'm looking to buy a BMW e92 coupe, now the issue is I hate diesel engines and always loved petrol engines. My dad drives a 1994 BMW petrol and never had issues with them and he loves it. I drive it occasionally and it's really an amazing machine. Now I'm looking in to buy an e92 coupe (preferably m sport) and since I like petrol engines I'm thinking of buying the 320i. I heard many complaints about them and their poor fuel system which apparently gives a lot of issues(and expensive ones they say) and I would like to hear your opinions on them.

Are they that problematic as they say or just an issue that if you take care of your car it will run smoothly? and is the automatic version more reliable than the manual one ? or should I go for a 320d, my friend has one and drove it and isn't as bad as thought but still would love a 320i e92 coupe

I'm gonna use it most of the time for weekends when I go out (so about 80/100kms a week at most) since for work I use a scooter(easier to use here in Malta), fuel economy isn't an issue since I won't be using it a lot and a 325i/330i are a bit out of my budget since in malta we have expensive tax registration which doesn't make them affordable tbh

Thanks in advance guys would really appreciate some help here haaha

Edited by kanezahra92 on Thursday 9th May 09:59

[rassi]

If you want a petrol E92, go for a 325i or 330i 6 cylinder, rather than the 320i 4 cylinder.

[Touring442]

Absolutely avoid the 320i at all costs. It uses the N43 four cylinder unit that is an absolute disaster area. It's not only the worst engine BMW have ever made, it beats most things for unreliability and staggering repair costs.

Coil packs
Injectors
High pressure fuel pump
Oil pump
Oil pressure solenoid
Timing chain
Timing chain guides
Oil leaks
NoX sensor


That's most of it covered.

[helix402]

And fuel rail low pressure sensor.

[naturalaspiration]

Maybe the E92s on Malta have port injection N46 engine instead of the dreaded direct injection N43? N46 is far less troublesome. You can check if you have the VIN (last 7 digits). Failing that a 2.0L convertible which does have the N46 engine is the Z4.

[Touring442]

Still crap though - just a bit less so.

[dcb]

rassi said:

If you want a petrol E92, go for a 325i or 330i 6 cylinder, rather than the 320i 4 cylinder.

Bad advice. If its got the N53 engine, strongly suggest avoid.

Similar set of problems to the N43, only worse, because it's got
six cylinders, not four.

I found problems with the N53 engine so bad, I won't be buying another BMW.

[bmwmike]

dcb said:

Bad advice. If its got the N53 engine, strongly suggest avoid.

Similar set of problems to the N43, only worse, because it's got
six cylinders, not four.

I found problems with the N53 engine so bad, I won't be buying another BMW.

Is that the one you kept for 7 years?

[Mr Tidy]

For so few miles (or kms) I wouldn't think a diesel was a good idea!

But whatever, I wouldn't think a 320i would be a good idea either - more show than go.

I had a pre-facelift E91 325i for a year, but it felt bit "flat" so I recently replaced it with a pre-facelift E90 330i - much better!

Both with the N52 engine - the post-facelift N53 just seems like a world of pain.

[rassi]

dcb said:

rassi said:

If you want a petrol E92, go for a 325i or 330i 6 cylinder, rather than the 320i 4 cylinder.

Bad advice. If its got the N53 engine, strongly suggest avoid.

Similar set of problems to the N43, only worse, because it's got
six cylinders, not four.

I found problems with the N53 engine so bad, I won't be buying another BMW.

The OP has a limited budget so it would be an early E92, therefore N52 that is generally very reliable, with a few well-documented weakness (electrical water pump, mainly)

[Triumph Man]

Touring442 said:

Absolutely avoid the 320i at all costs. It uses the N43 four cylinder unit that is an absolute disaster area. It's not only the worst engine BMW have ever made, it beats most things for unreliability and staggering repair costs.

Coil packs
Injectors
High pressure fuel pump
Oil pump
Oil pressure solenoid
Timing chain
Timing chain guides
Oil leaks
NoX sensor


That's most of it covered.

If that's same engine as our office 2010 116i with 20,000 miles on the clock, we've just had to replace the NoX sensor, and that was after it broke a Camshaft position sensor!

Amusingly, it went for an MoT, and the garage called the office to say they couldn't do the MoT test because their emissions equipment had broken, so they had to get a man out to sort it the next day.

The next day we got a call to say the machine was actually fine - the emissions on the office car were so bad, the worst the garage had ever seen, that they thought their emissions testing equipment was broken. A few hundred quid and various sensors, and it was back to being it's usual horrible self.

Sorry, slightly O/T.

[bmwmike]

Triumph Man said:

If that's same engine as our office 2010 116i with 20,000 miles on the clock, we've just had to replace the NoX sensor, and that was after it broke a Camshaft position sensor!

Amusingly, it went for an MoT, and the garage called the office to say they couldn't do the MoT test because their emissions equipment had broken, so they had to get a man out to sort it the next day.

The next day we got a call to say the machine was actually fine - the emissions on the office car were so bad, the worst the garage had ever seen, that they thought their emissions testing equipment was broken. A few hundred quid and various sensors, and it was back to being it's usual horrible self.

Sorry, slightly O/T.

Interesting because my n53 initially "failed" on the emissions and the MOT tester said he'd never seen anything like it. Lamda of 2.6 iirc. The thing is, these are *supposed* to run super lean and unless the computer recognises the engine code properly (this one didn't) the computer assumes lamda 1. Rather than replace anything I got him to enter the engine manually, and hey presto - pass.

[p4cks]

Touring442 said:

Absolutely avoid the 320i at all costs...

This. I had one briefly although it did come with a warranty and I had a local friendly garage who were able to get a lot done under the warranty as they knew what to do and what to say to the warranty company. Thinking back it was £600-£1000 of warranty work for each of the 6 months I had it.

It was also gutless.

[Mattiebmw]

I've just got rid of a 120i ran it from 62k up to 218k was always fine. Only got rid as needed something bigger