N52 or N53 330i

[willmagrath]

Hi all,

Need some advice. I'm soon going to see both an N52 and N53 330i to hopefully buy.

Which would you recommend? I understand the N53 is more economical but less reliable?

Economy is relatively important as I'll be doing about 250/300 miles a week. But it's not a deal breaker.

Andy advice would be great. Thanks

[bmwmike]

thats a tankful of fuel in either car per week.

An older n53 is likely to be less reliable than an (even) older n52.

300 miles a week is surely in diesel territory? But then, i'm not sure the diesels are all that reliable either.

[stevesingo]

willmagrath said:

Hi all,

Need some advice. I'm soon going to see both an N52 and N53 330i to hopefully buy.

Which would you recommend? I understand the N53 is more economical but less reliable?

Economy is relatively important as I'll be doing about 250/300 miles a week. But it's not a deal breaker.

Andy advice would be great. Thanks

You're correct in terms of Economy/Reliability. Direct injection gives better economy, but there are well known issues with High Pressure Fuel Pumps (HPFP) and injectors. Faults on the latter can cause bore wash resulting in high oil consumption also, and depending on how long and how severe the bore wash has been the replacement of the injectors might not bring the oil consumption down as permanent wear on the bores rings may have occurred. When viewing the N53 car, ask if the HPFP and injectors have been changed and when. Also ask about oil consumption, although they may not be honest with you - caveat emptor.

N52 can suffer from VANOS solenoid problems £100 each from the dealer and 10 min fix, and DISA valves can go wonky. On the more serious end, cam bearings can wear, but this is not so common. N52 can also use a little oil, so again ask.

Economy wise, the N52 can be economical. I did a 280mile round trip on the motorway last week. Cruise set to 80 in free traffic. 38.7mpg.

[Touring442]

Ten+ year old BMW.

It's likely to go wrong at some point so fix it when it does. Buy whatever is cleanest with the best service history. There's not much in it at this stage.

[to3m]

My manual N53 330i has been reliable enough since having various engine bits replaced - injectors, coil packs, spark plugs, injectors, fuel sensor, NOx sensor. That was 3 years/25,000 miles ago and no engine problems (yet?) since. It does consistently use 1 L oil/~1,500 miles, which is annoying, but does make me feel better about the very long oil service intervals.

The engine is a bit clattery and unrefined at low revs, but the performance is good and it revs nicely.

I have a pile of fuel receipts to enter into my spreadsheet, so who knows for certain, but the car claims 38 mpg on the motorway, driving at normal motorway speeds, and that doesn't seem to be way off. I usually got ~30 mpg on my usual commute, 25 miles of 50 mph A road then 5 miles of 10 mph traffic jam.

[willmagrath]

Thanks for all the replies! Good to see that an N52 can do late 30's mpg wise at 80!

I would buy a diesel but with emissions regs getting tighter I'd rather tray a petrol My friend has a 130i N52 and I love the engine.

The N52 i'm going to see does look like the better car IMO so we'll see.

Thanks.