BMW series 1 116i

[Markzz1]

Iam thinking of buying a BMW series 1 116 59 plate i the model iam looking at is the 2.0 sport, but have seen on the spec sheet and the 1.6 has more horse power and torque and quicker to 0 -60 than the 2.0 is there a reason for this . How do the engine's compare is one more reliable than the other thank you

[thebraketester]

The 2L is n/a and the 1.6 is turbo.

[Markzz1]

Thanks for the quick answer the turbo makes sense please could you tell what you mean by n/a on the 2l and is the 1.6 worth waiting for on the sport or are the 2l ok thanks Mark

[thebraketester]

Normally aspirated.

Never driven the 2.0L but the 1.6 is quite a nice engine and returns fairly decent MPG.

[Markzz1]

Thank you very much

[helix402]

59 plates will both be the old shape 1 series with the N43 or a similar variant.

These are unreliable engines. A Google search will reveal all. Have a look at babybmw forum for more 1 series info.

[Markzz1]

Hi thank you very much this is why I asked the question i had heard few things about the earlier 1 series I think I will stay with what I have got for the moment. I have a 318i had a few problems with it a missfire from number one injector . Did find out that I had calipers stuck on three wheels do you no if this could of coursed this problem now gone as calipers have been replaced could it of been to much fuel into the engine thanks Mark

[Touring442]

The 116i is slow, the N43 2.0 version is nearly as slow and infinitely less reliable. In fact they can be bloody terrible.

You can count on a whining differential as well at some point.

Not really recommended.

[Markzz1]

Thank you very much I think I will stay with what I have

[anonymous-user]

helix402 said:

59 plates will both be the old shape 1 series with the N43 or a similar variant.

These are unreliable engines. A Google search will reveal all. Have a look at babybmw forum for more 1 series info.

Isn't pretty much every BMW engine from around 2000 on unreliable?

[Court_S]

My other half has an E87 116 with the 1.6 petrol engine it is indeed very slow and uses a bit too much fuel for the performance available. And costs quite a lot in VED

It is however been reliable (it was her mums car for 11 years prior so we know the history). It’s not actually a bad little car and has nicer steering than my M140i.

[Markzz1]

Thank you I have been reading up on the 116 and most articles tell you they are quite slow for the size of car

[Touring442]

Joey Deacon said:

Isn't pretty much every BMW engine from around 2000 on unreliable?

No not really although some have 'issues'. They're nowhere near as good as Japanese engines (Honda/Toyota) but that applies to VAG and Merc as well. BMW engines aren't as tough as they once were but they're more powerful and economical. None of them are 300'000 mile engines but do the public want that now?

[colin_p]

Could be worse.

I'm currently bimbling around in temporary (since March and ongoing, temporary) 116d.

All I know is that it is dog slow, has a three cylinder 1.5 turbo diesel, allegedly is a "twin turbo" reading the words on the engine cover. If it has two turbos, I'm sure one has fallen off.

[thebraketester]

colin_p said:

Could be worse.

I'm currently bimbling around in temporary (since March and ongoing, temporary) 116d.

All I know is that it is dog slow, has a three cylinder 1.5 turbo diesel, allegedly is a "twin turbo" reading the words on the engine cover. If it has two turbos, I'm sure one has fallen off.

Twin power turbo (some form of twin scroll)..... not twin turbo.

[helix402]

Joey Deacon said:

Isn't pretty much every BMW engine from around 2000 on unreliable?

No. I’ve run an M57 in a 2000 car to over 250k miles. Original turbo, swirl flaps (intact) removed at 220k. Current 2002 M57 is only on 164k.

[colin_p]

thebraketester said:

colin_p said:

Could be worse.

I'm currently bimbling around in temporary (since March and ongoing, temporary) 116d.

All I know is that it is dog slow, has a three cylinder 1.5 turbo diesel, allegedly is a "twin turbo" reading the words on the engine cover. If it has two turbos, I'm sure one has fallen off.

Twin power turbo (some form of twin scroll)..... not twin turbo.

The engine cover says twin turbo, but I think BMW are fibbing and it is more likely what you describe.

[thebraketester]

It doesn’t. It says “Twin Power Turbo”

[Mr Tidy]

Joey Deacon said:

Isn't pretty much every BMW engine from around 2000 on unreliable?

When I asked my BMW Indy for some buying advice he told me to stay away from the 4 cylinder ones and rated petrols above diesels. No surprise he had an E39 530i parked outside then!

So I had an E46 3 Series with an M54 engine and am now on my 2nd E9* 3 Series with an N52 and haven't had any major issues with any of them, despite all 3 having done over 100K miles. I've also had a couple of E86 Z4s with the N52 engine (albeit on lower mileages) and didn't have any big problems with those either.

[anonymous-user]

Mr Tidy said:

Joey Deacon said:

Isn't pretty much every BMW engine from around 2000 on unreliable?

When I asked my BMW Indy for some buying advice he told me to stay away from the 4 cylinder ones and rated petrols above diesels. No surprise he had an E39 530i parked outside then!

So I had an E46 3 Series with an M54 engine and am now on my 2nd E9* 3 Series with an N52 and haven't had any major issues with any of them, despite all 3 having done over 100K miles. I've also had a couple of E86 Z4s with the N52 engine (albeit on lower mileages) and didn't have any big problems with those either.

That was also what I believed, but isn't it the case that any post 2007 6 cylinder engine is unreliable? Plus some earlier four cylinder engines are "somewhat reliable?"

M47 = Somewhat reliable
N46 = Timing chain stretch

M57 = Reliable if you remove the swirl flaps
N57 = Timing chain stretch

Actually would it be simpler to say, if the engine begins with an M it is probably reliable, if it begins with an N then not? Don't even the N six cylinder petrol engines suffer with all sort of injector/coil pack/misfire issues?