Hive opinions on BMW 128i, please

In my ongoing research to prepare for the eventual replacement of my E39 525i, I find myself considering the 128i (manual transmission and coupe only). I'm well-acquainted with BMW ownership, so that's not going to scare me off in general terms. What I'm looking for is info specific to the E82 chassis and N52 engine, and to the 128i in particular.

The chassis is just a narrowed E92 3-series chassis. literally every suspension component from an E92 will fit on an E82.

The N52 is about as reliable as modern BMW engines get.

Some people like the interior because they think it's simple and to the point. Some people think it's cheap.

The controls were sort of designed with I-drive in mind, so if you get one without I-drive (common on 128i's) then it's kind of a pain to do some things.

The back seat can fit an actual person, but isn't exactly comfortable. Think SN95 Mustang.

N52 is a good engine. Same cooling system issues. Water pumps, oil filter housing gaskets still maintenance items once you're st 80k miles

My wife has a 2012 128i with the N51 SULEV engine. Only issue we've had is a coil going dead and they were replaced under CPO along with the spark plugs. Great car at 43k miles.

oldtin wrote: N52 is a good engine. Same cooling system issues. Water pumps, oil filter housing gaskets still maintenance items once you're st 80k miles

They rag on rotaries for reliability but BMWs can be plagued with cooling system issues from 1980's and everyone praises them? come on....

as noted, e82 chassis is basically a smaller e92. Back seat is definitely tight if you want to actually haul people back there.

I have a 135i and it's been a riot. I've put ~40K on mine. The non-turbo should up the reliability aspect of it vs. the N54 common issues.

Thanks folks. I don't care about back seat space, so that's a non-issue. The I-drive thing is something to consider - I've never been a fan of I-drive, but it sounds like not having it is not entirely desirable either. drdisque, can you elaborate on your assessment a little bit?

Do we know anything about the long-term reliability of N52s? This is going to be a daily, and I keep my cars a long time.

fidelity101 wrote:

oldtin wrote: N52 is a good engine. Same cooling system issues. Water pumps, oil filter housing gaskets still maintenance items once you're st 80k miles

They rag on rotaries for reliability but BMWs can be plagued with cooling system issues from 1980's and everyone praises them? come on....

They are a great drive. Replacing your radiator / water pump to fix the problem isn't a big deal. OEM parts last for 100K or so, go aftermarket and you can permanently fix cooling issues. A small price to pay for longterm driving enjoyment. Most BMW engines are good for 250K miles and beyond.

I've got one N52 at 105K and another pushing 150k. 10 and 9 year old cars, respectively.

The one at 150K has some minor oil pan and valve cover leaks. Oil filter housing gasket has been done on that one as well.

Have had no ignition or cooling problems on either. Both are are their second replacement belt tensioners.

There is some opinion on these electric water pumps is that they are expensive enough and the usual failure modes (limp mode after failure to go to high flow) are moderate enough that a preventive replacement is not warranted.

I had an N52 with about 130K on it before I sold it and the water pump died at almost 60K (according to the previous owner's records) and the second one, almost exactly 60K miles later. I have an N55 now and that sucker killed the pump at 40K miles. So, figure every 40-60K for those pile of crap electric pumps. However, I'm almost an expert at replacing them .

The 130K N52 had oil pan leaks, valve cover leaks, and filter housing leaks. Therefore, it is consistent with every BMW I have ever owned. Despite these things, they are awesome motors (smooth, torquey, and thrifty) and the 128i's are fun little cars for the money.

In reply to Joe Gearin:

That's the thing. there are so many aftermarket solutions for a variety of engines - why didn't BMW implement something similar? BMWs eat cooling systems at 40-60k miles it seems which gone unchecked can certainly cause an engine failure.

I would assume penny pinching but we may never know...

Pop a head gasket on one, just replace with a used one with no head gasket issues. Techs hate doing head gaskets on these. Or, at least all the ones I've spoken to.

Most of the engine issues sound very similar to the M54 in my E39. Hardly ideal, but at least I wouldn't expect too many surprises. I need to do some comparison pricing on replacement parts between the two to figure out how long term costs stack up.

fidelity101 wrote: In reply to Joe Gearin: That's the thing. there are so many aftermarket solutions for a variety of engines - why didn't BMW implement something similar? BMWs eat cooling systems at 40-60k miles it seems which gone unchecked can certainly cause an engine failure. I would assume penny pinching but we may never know...

I can't speak to newer BMW's as I haven't owned one. I replaced the radiator / water pump in my E36 at around 100K miles as a precaution--- it wasn't failing. Perhaps the newer ones are weaker, but a failure at 40-60K sounds like a isolated problem, not the norm.

Records on mine show a water pump at 80k. I bought it at 90k

The radiator on my E36 M3 was dated stamped 2004 when I replaced it last season. It wasn't leaking.

I replace the entire cooling system every 75k miles on a BMW. It's cheap and easy to do, and the consequences of it breaking are dire, so why push your luck?

Standard procedure on my M54 is cooling system replacement at 100k (some say 80k for the V8 cars). That's what I did. Thermostat failed halfway through the interval (open, so no overheat), but other than that it's been trouble-free. The expansion tank seems to be the #1 problem on the M54 cars. From what I've read the water pump on the N52 only seems to keep going for ~50k before it starts to fail - that's pretty abysmal, even by BMW standards. I wonder how bitchy it is to change....

The N52 in my 328ix has about 60k miles on it. Coolant system is fine, but I did have to replace the eccentric shaft sensor due to oil penetration. Lots of $ and labour, but luckily I had an after market warranty. No other issues.

According to the BMW nerds on the interwebs, the N52 is about as good as it gets. Lots of examples with 300k plus miles with good maintenance and few problems.

I found the E82 to be a nicely updated E30. Better ergo and quieter road noise, but still cheapy interior bits.

I would personally rather have another E30, but that's mostly because it was 75% as much car for 20% as much purchase price.

I can see the comparison to the E30. Personally, I'd rather have another E28 (or maybe E34) with the big six, but finding one that's not rusted and has had essentially all the plastic and rubber bits replaced recently to make it reliable is not going to happen outside of a museum piece. Hell, finding an E39 like that is nearly impossible. The bigger BMWs have gotten way too heavy and packed with gizmos for my liking - the 1-series might be the last of the breed for me.

How's the steering feel on the newest stuff? I ask because that's at the top of my list of gripes with my F56 Mini, and there's a lot of bits-sharing with BMWs on this generation of Mini.

It's pretty wooden, and sport mode increases effort slightly, but doesn't seem to really improve feel.

Good question. I've heard the AWD cars aren't great, but I don't really know anything about the RWD versions compared with the earlier models.

In reply to 02Pilot:

It's really the electric assist that concerns me; I gather the earlier Minis felt much better. This is my first electric assist car (outside the Leaf, whose uninspired steering seemed in character), and it's much worse than other FWD cars I've driven. I do like the Mini's quick rack, but the feel is lacking.

For an electric assist, the E82 is pretty good. It's heavy with good feedback and decent (if a bit imperfect) on-center feel. I was shocked how heavy the steering was the first time I drove it.