E30 325i Touring or E82 135i M Sport?

[Victell]

Had my fleeting romance with an n54 135i, was like dating a crazy woman who was amazing in the sack but utterly batshit insane. Tried to kill me more than once, broke my wallet, embarrassed too many cars worth far more, was lots of smiles & lots of heartache, & was pretty sure she was having an affair with my mechanic because she loved to spend time there

A++ review. Would read again

[mach schnell]

Would love to hear some details on these major maintenance issues. Generally when you search " X car issues" on internet all you hear is the bad stories.

Me too.

[Anthony B]

Would love to hear some details on these major maintenance issues. Generally when you search " X car issues" on internet all you hear is the bad stories.

N54 had a lot of issues, all the below I had in 1yr of ownership

hpfp prone to fail I replace mine twice in 1yr, one cam from bmw as a faulty part
injectors prone to fail relatively early direct injection tech(DI is still pretty rubbish)
direct injection carbon build up which just add the “walnut blast” to the service cycle
spark plugs last 20,000km & iridium plugs are expensive to replace multiple time per year
habit of spitting cooler pipes which is remedied by getting rid of the factory cool & charge pipes
waste gate rattle which could translate into loosing boost - mine started to develop this


that hat said I made 268rwkw & 540nm of torque, could cook tyres through 3rd with 295’s on the rear.

my wifey has an f20 m135i for the Americans bmw hatchback which you didn’t get for some weird reason, it’s running an late n55 & it’s been perfect in the near 2yrs we’ve had it.

[lukeADE335i]

Have heard the N55s are much more reliable - so maybe just get a really late e82 (say 2013?) if you want one?

Some of the issues like the electric water pump etc. aren't as big a deal these days as they have come down in price somewhat.

[Zambuzan]

pretty sure she was having an affair with my mechanic because she loved to spend time there

:rofl:

[z31maniac]

Have heard the N55s are much more reliable - so maybe just get a really late e82 (say 2013?) if you want one?

Some of the issues like the electric water pump etc. aren't as big a deal these days as they have come down in price somewhat.

2011-2013 is the years that received the N55. Which do tend to be more reliable. But even when doing the work yourself........look up what the valve cover costs (because when the gasket starts leaking, you might as well just replace the valve cover as well seriously). What the water pump costs. What plugs cost. What coil drivers cost. The oil pan and OFHG will also start leaking before 50k miles.

If you get the DCT know that there are a few replacement parts available, but again unless you do it yourself, most shops answer will be "We will put a new one"..........a new DCT is $10k

Here is one of the fun failure modes, if the OFHG starts leaking, it will eventually make the belt tensioner fail. And since the N55 has the harmonic balancer infront of the crank pulley, often the belt gets sucked behind the front main seal........hopefully it doesn't get into the bearings and trash the motor.

There is just a ton of stuff that go wrong that shouldn't really happen on any other modern car.


Since I basically needed to trade mine the day I confirmed what I heard, I'm not cruising around in a boring '18 Mazda 3 with 33k miles and factory warranty for as long as I'll keep it. It's boring, but it knocks down much better mpg, uses 87, etc, etc.

[Mars_e30]

Definitely get the E30 Touring. That wagon will actually hold value, and has more "cool factor". I owned an N54 135i with JB4 and loved every minute of driving it. I was lucky enough to enjoy it for a while without running into big problems, but lived in fear the entire time.

[cory58]

Can't get past the huge paint sag on the side of 1 series.

[earthwormjim]

E30 325i Touring. If I wanted a modern car, I would just buy an EV, which is exactly what I did. They do just about everything better.
You will never miss a yellow light in an EV.

I have an E30 325i Touring for fun, and a Tesla Model 3 for daily driving.

[lukeADE335i]

There is just a ton of stuff that go wrong that shouldn't really happen on any other modern car.
Since I basically needed to trade mine the day I confirmed what I heard, I'm not cruising around in a boring '18 Mazda 3 with 33k miles and factory warranty for as long as I'll keep it. It's boring, but it knocks down much better mpg, uses 87, etc, etc.

We have a new Hyundai Elantra our main family car for similar reasons :) It'd be even more boring than your Mazda 3!

The e30 + Tesla Model 3 sounds a good combination!

[nando]

I'd rather have a 128i than a 135i, long term anyway.

Would love to hear some details on these major maintenance issues. Generally when you search " X car issues" on internet all you hear is the bad stories.

Uh, just spend about 5 minutes searching for N54 or N55. The issues are numerous, and there are so many bad stories because they are true. They are fast/fun, but reliable and cheap they are not. I can't imagine keeping one long term, unless you like being on the bottom...

[S.J.1981]

I owned an E82 125i (we do not get the 128i in EU) for a year. It is a fun car indeed, same size of the E36 3 series and maybe a bit lighter (mine weighed in at 1,400 kgs with 17" winter wheels and tires and 2/3 tank).

Last NA engine from BMW, just lovely how refined the N52 is over the M20, but exactly the same character (foot down, nothing happens till you hit 4,000 to 4,200 rpms then it starts really going).

Sadly, i had to do a lot of work to get it "on par", such as flash the DME to unlock the power from 217hp to 265-ish or so. KW V3 coilovers installed and only then did it start to handle good, but even then it is nothing compared to my E30 325i M-Suspension handling wise.

It has a surprising amount of space but, why i sold it and got to the E30 is.....well track days for that car is expensive. Special order pads, upgraded to bigger E82 330mm front discs and it was a headache to find some proper light 17" wheels and matching slicks for track days. No one really "tunes" the E82 in Germany, just software and coilovers and you are done.

E30 is obviously much much more supported if you are looking for a daily, track car or a fun dual purpose machine (like mine). Parts are dirt cheap, always available (running parts that is such as discs, pads, oils etc) and handles so much better than the E82 with coil overs.

E30, especially the touring, is very desirable indeed, and the beauty of the E30 over the E82, is that all you need is simple hand tools. No need for OBD scanner, fault codes or remove the whole rear half od plastic covers to access engine components. Everything is visible, easy to get to and easy to fix.

Today, thinking about it, i should had purchased the E30 325i from the start, i invested a lot into that 125i and lost some money selling it, but i did have fun with it. Granted, i smile everytime i start my E30 and just love how you insert a key, start the car, and just drive (no computers, screens, warning bongs etc).

Id go for the E30 touring, but just remember, these cars are 30+ years old now, expect some work that, while parts are cheap, could cost you a lot, especially how bad the rust is. But go drive both back and forth for extended periods and make the choice yourself.

FYI: The E30 touring is one of those cars, that will just definitely jump in valve very soon, i believe anyways.

[MrBurgundy]

Well, do you wanna go fast as shit or slow as fuck?

Two VERY different cars, in their stock form.

Keep forever? definitely an e30.. I would never buy a "modern" BMW with the intention of it lasting for ever, let alone owning one until it dies.

E30 is way cooler IMO, going up in value and will def stand the test of time if you care for it.

The E82 is quite literally the opposite, BUT IT GO FAST DUUUUUUURRRRR

[z31maniac]

Well, do you wanna go fast as shit or slow as fuck?

Two VERY different cars, in their stock form.

Keep forever? definitely an e30.. I would never buy a "modern" BMW with the intention of it lasting for ever, let alone owning one until it dies.

E30 is way cooler IMO, going up in value and will def stand the test of time if you care for it.

The E82 is quite literally the opposite, BUT IT GO FAST DUUUUUUURRRRR

There are plenty of cars that are fast that aren't horrifically unreliable like the 1 series. It's pretty inexcusable.

Audi's are now more reliable than BMWs. How insane is that?

[varg]

Audi's are now more reliable than BMWs. How insane is that?

For real? I don't pay too much attention to newer cars but what I do know is that, barring maserati, audi was the gold standard for unreliable european junk.