Are BMW engines reliable?

Pretty much any modern engine has plastic timing chain guides and has had them for decades. It’s meant to be replaced when the chains are replaced. But if they aren’t being serviced like they should then guess what? It’s not just a BMW thing. Tight tolerances isn’t an issue on BMW engines, it’s an issue on VAG engines, especially the 2TFSI models from 2008-2013, specifically the tight piston to bore clearance on those engines.

And I deal with independent mechanics all the time. Some are good and some aren’t. Just like plumbers, electricians, garden technicians and the person that made your Kentucky Rounder.

BMW’s decision to stick to Castrol and long service intervals wasn’t a great idea. Nor was it a great idea for any and all other manufacturers who went the same route. Don’t get me wrong, there are many dumb design choices they’ve made, like the bearing design on the S54, S65 and S85 engines. But they’re not the only manufacturer guilty of this
 
So this past weekend I had a friend come over in her new 118i Msport Mzani edition. She seemed very excited about it and insisted that I drive it which i declined many times. Not a fan of cars with some engines.

So anywho..... the car is in black with a huge boot spoiler , M performance stickers plastered all over , huge Red brake calipers , carbon fibre looking mirror covers, mind you all this stock from factory cause she will never do any of those things to the car.

So I folded and decided to drive the car
100kw, 220nm
1.5 litre
Auto box

Man I was so stunned at the lack of power, it runs out of power and torque so fast, I decided to put it into Sports mode, same runs out of steam. My 1.0T ecoboost Ford Fiesta titanium felt more alive than this car.

Maybe the engine is still brand new it only had about 1800km on the clock .

For R699 999.00 Eish and that performance eish, I owned an E36 316i only BMW mistake I made buying 4 cylinder and if that car feels more alive when you drive it. I still have it in DBN
1662968721051.png
This exact spec in black.

Another thing I noticed is that the gear shifter is very oddly placed if you rest your hand on the middle armrest its not within reach.

Am I the only one that has driven this car and feels like this? too much expectations? maybe coming from an executive diesel sedan that has 6 cylinders and never feel the car run out of power until the speed limiter and before someone comes and says should have driven the 120d thats not what this post is about its about this 118i, any owners out there ?

R699 999.00 is alot of money - I would go a good certified pre owned 7.5 GTi

Imagine you at the lights with all your M performance stickers and body kit and someone wants to race you - what do you do ? race is over before it starts.
 
Nithan15 said:
So this past weekend I had a friend come over in her new 118i Msport Mzani edition. She seemed very excited about it and insisted that I drive it which i declined many times. Not a fan of cars with some engines.

So anywho..... the car is in black with a huge boot spoiler , M performance stickers plastered all over , huge Red brake calipers , carbon fibre looking mirror covers, mind you all this stock from factory cause she will never do any of those things to the car.

So I folded and decided to drive the car
100kw, 220nm
1.5 litre
Auto box

Man I was so stunned at the lack of power, it runs out of power and torque so fast, I decided to put it into Sports mode, same runs out of steam. My 1.0T ecoboost Ford Fiesta titanium felt more alive than this car.

Maybe the engine is still brand new it only had about 1800km on the clock .

For R699 999.00 Eish and that performance eish, I owned an E36 316i only BMW mistake I made buying 4 cylinder and if that car feels more alive when you drive it. I still have it in DBN
View attachment 1381143
This exact spec in black.

Another thing I noticed is that the gear shifter is very oddly placed if you rest your hand on the middle armrest its not within reach.

Am I the only one that has driven this car and feels like this? too much expectations? maybe coming from an executive diesel sedan that has 6 cylinders and never feel the car run out of power until the speed limiter and before someone comes and says should have driven the 120d thats not what this post is about its about this 118i, any owners out there ?

R699 999.00 is alot of money - I would go a good certified pre owned 7.5 GTi

Imagine you at the lights with all your M performance stickers and body kit and someone wants to race you - what do you do ? race is over before it starts.
Click to expand...
Perhaps they did not buy the car to race folk from robot to robot? They like how it looks, the spec, 0-100 of around 8.5s is plenty for most folk. Not saying I'd buy a car like this and sure maybe the go doesn't match the show and I think that's the point of this edition - it's about how it looks. So if you're buying it to look good in the school parking lot or outside the club, hey you could do far worse.
 
Sepeng said:
Perhaps they did not buy the car to race folk from robot to robot? They like how it looks, the spec, 0-100 of around 8.5s is plenty for most folk. Not saying I'd buy a car like this and sure maybe the go doesn't match the show and I think that's the point of this edition - it's about how it looks. So if you're buying it to look good in the school parking lot or outside the club, hey you could do far worse.
Click to expand...
There are people out there that buys cars to park outside the club and school parking lots. Now I am really gone old :ROFL:
 
Nithan15 said:
There are people out there that buys cars to park outside the club and school parking lots. Now I am really gone old :ROFL:
Click to expand...
There's people that buy cars for all reasons but yeah, how it looks would be in the top 3 I reckon.
 
Nithan15 said:
So this past weekend I had a friend come over in her new 118i Msport Mzani edition. She seemed very excited about it and insisted that I drive it which i declined many times. Not a fan of cars with some engines.

So anywho..... the car is in black with a huge boot spoiler , M performance stickers plastered all over , huge Red brake calipers , carbon fibre looking mirror covers, mind you all this stock from factory cause she will never do any of those things to the car.

So I folded and decided to drive the car
100kw, 220nm
1.5 litre
Auto box

Man I was so stunned at the lack of power, it runs out of power and torque so fast, I decided to put it into Sports mode, same runs out of steam. My 1.0T ecoboost Ford Fiesta titanium felt more alive than this car.

Maybe the engine is still brand new it only had about 1800km on the clock .

For R699 999.00 Eish and that performance eish, I owned an E36 316i only BMW mistake I made buying 4 cylinder and if that car feels more alive when you drive it. I still have it in DBN
View attachment 1381143
This exact spec in black.

Another thing I noticed is that the gear shifter is very oddly placed if you rest your hand on the middle armrest its not within reach.

Am I the only one that has driven this car and feels like this? too much expectations? maybe coming from an executive diesel sedan that has 6 cylinders and never feel the car run out of power until the speed limiter and before someone comes and says should have driven the 120d thats not what this post is about its about this 118i, any owners out there ?

R699 999.00 is alot of money - I would go a good certified pre owned 7.5 GTi

Imagine you at the lights with all your M performance stickers and body kit and someone wants to race you - what do you do ? race is over before it starts.
Click to expand...
There was one exactly like that, standing outside my local dealership the other day…as I approached, I thought “is this the M135i”?

Had a laugh when I saw the 118i badge. Really…that wing on a 118…eish.
 
Nithan15 said:
So this past weekend I had a friend come over in her new 118i Msport Mzani edition. She seemed very excited about it and insisted that I drive it which i declined many times. Not a fan of cars with some engines.

So anywho..... the car is in black with a huge boot spoiler , M performance stickers plastered all over , huge Red brake calipers , carbon fibre looking mirror covers, mind you all this stock from factory cause she will never do any of those things to the car.

So I folded and decided to drive the car
100kw, 220nm
1.5 litre
Auto box

Man I was so stunned at the lack of power, it runs out of power and torque so fast, I decided to put it into Sports mode, same runs out of steam. My 1.0T ecoboost Ford Fiesta titanium felt more alive than this car.

Maybe the engine is still brand new it only had about 1800km on the clock .

For R699 999.00 Eish and that performance eish, I owned an E36 316i only BMW mistake I made buying 4 cylinder and if that car feels more alive when you drive it. I still have it in DBN
View attachment 1381143
This exact spec in black.

Another thing I noticed is that the gear shifter is very oddly placed if you rest your hand on the middle armrest its not within reach.

Am I the only one that has driven this car and feels like this? too much expectations? maybe coming from an executive diesel sedan that has 6 cylinders and never feel the car run out of power until the speed limiter and before someone comes and says should have driven the 120d thats not what this post is about its about this 118i, any owners out there ?

R699 999.00 is alot of money - I would go a good certified pre owned 7.5 GTi

Imagine you at the lights with all your M performance stickers and body kit and someone wants to race you - what do you do ? race is over before it starts.
Click to expand...

118i be the reason. All of these editions are underpowered.
 
Pho3nix said:
118i be the reason. All of these editions are underpowered.
Click to expand...
Nothing like a lity in their Moms 316i M-sport, c180 AMG line, and A4 1.0T S-line blasting past you down the main road like they're in Fast n Furious.
 
The issue is those engines are seriously underpowered which means you going to have to ring it to get it to move, Fuel efficiency and reliability is out the window.
 
bluepoole said:
There was one exactly like that, standing outside my local dealership the other day…as I approached, I thought “is this the M135i”?

Had a laugh when I saw the 118i badge. Really…that wing on a 118…eish.
Click to expand...
Down force for those front wheels :D:D:D
 
Have an opportunity to buy a 2018 BMW X1 xDrive20D M Sport A/T (F48). I am not a car dude. Moving from a 2013 Polo Vivo. Car is going to be driven primarily by my wife, as I work very close to home and am happy to use 10 toes-GP for transport.

Any helpful comments on the reliability/what to get checked out/preventative maintenance ?

TIA
 
Hazy_Living@79 said:
Have an opportunity to buy a 2018 BMW X1 xDrive20D M Sport A/T (F48). I am not a car dude. Moving from a 2013 Polo Vivo. Car is going to be driven primarily by my wife, as I work very close to home and am happy to use 10 toes-GP for transport.

Any helpful comments on the reliability/what to get checked out/preventative maintenance ?

TIA
Click to expand...

I ended up buying a 2018 X3 20d and honestly I have had no problems with the car so far.

The only maintenance I had to do was a service cause the Motorplan just ended. It cost 6K for a “Full Service”. Besides that I did my usual balancing/alignment, I don’t push the car hard and it’s been running great (I just drove back from Cape Town with it)
 
Hazy_Living@79 said:
Have an opportunity to buy a 2018 BMW X1 xDrive20D M Sport A/T (F48). I am not a car dude. Moving from a 2013 Polo Vivo. Car is going to be driven primarily by my wife, as I work very close to home and am happy to use 10 toes-GP for transport.

Any helpful comments on the reliability/what to get checked out/preventative maintenance ?

TIA
Click to expand...
New gen engine, B47C if I'm not mistaken, good luck
 
LLoydizle said:
I ended up buying a 2018 X3 20d and honestly I have had no problems with the car so far.

The only maintenance I had to do was a service cause the Motorplan just ended. It cost 6K for a “Full Service”. Besides that I did my usual balancing/alignment, I don’t push the car hard and it’s been running great (I just drove back from Cape Town with it)
Click to expand...
probably same engine B47 as the X1 above
 
Hazy_Living@79 said:
Have an opportunity to buy a 2018 BMW X1 xDrive20D M Sport A/T (F48). I am not a car dude. Moving from a 2013 Polo Vivo. Car is going to be driven primarily by my wife, as I work very close to home and am happy to use 10 toes-GP for transport.

Any helpful comments on the reliability/what to get checked out/preventative maintenance ?

TIA
Click to expand...
My girlfriend bought a 2018 X2 at the beginning of 2023. The motor plan was about to expire, so she opted for a three-year extension. Her car was serviced in November, and according to the invoice, it cost just under 6k, which is similar to the cost of servicing the X3 so I assume the X1 would be around that cost range. She hasn't experienced any issues so far. I would recommend asking BMW to run the VIN and check the service/repair history. I believe the X1 would be a solid buy.
 
Nickster said:
My girlfriend bought a 2018 X2 at the beginning of 2023. The motor plan was about to expire, so she opted for a three-year extension. Her car was serviced in November, and according to the invoice, it cost just under 6k, which is similar to the cost of servicing the X3 so I assume the X1 would be around that cost range. She hasn't experienced any issues so far. I would recommend asking BMW to run the VIN and check the service/repair history. I believe the X1 would be a solid buy.
Click to expand...

It really is a solid buy. My father in-law has a 2016 X1 20d. Its got 200k+ mileage now and he toes a trailer with bikes in the back of it. The car still runs great.
 
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