330i economy?

Justintime · 4 Aug 2013 at 15:39

Musing about a 330i Saloon atm, wanting to go back to petrol as i've had it with diesel cars. My 320Ds Turbo siezed at 61k and just cost me a Grand, gonna get shot of it. Also had injector issues last yr.

Will the torque difference be massive? (talking clutch wise, am a bit spoilt) and does the 3L return a reasonable economy? Not doing much more than 9k a yr. Looking at 2010-11 models.

[TW]Fox · 4 Aug 2013 at 15:43

A 2010-11 330i saloon? Good luck with that. They sold almost none of them - so few infact that I beleive production ended entirely in February 2010 and it was removed from the range. There are a very small number of them around.

Those that are around are N53 powered - this is a stratified direct injection engine. This makes it remarkably fuel efficient but it also means its saddled with much of the stuff that goes wrong and gives diesels a bad reputation - and it's not really any better on the N53. Make sure you keep up the BMW warranty on it.

I once averaged 39mpg in an N53 engined E60 on a 150 mile A road trip from Devon to Hampshire. As a benchmark the same trip in an E39 530d was also about 40mpg, various E90/E87 120d/320d's were 47ish and my E39 530i does about 33mpg.

Justintime · 4 Aug 2013 at 15:44

Ah so only 335i and up? Was trying to avoid turbos

[TW]Fox · 4 Aug 2013 at 15:45

No, the 325i stayed in the range. this is a 218bhp variant of the same engine found in the 330i.

A good LCI 330i M Sport saloon with warranty and Pro media is, IMHO, the best E90.

Justintime · 4 Aug 2013 at 15:48

I'll have a look at the 325s then, probably try to book a test drive. Also contemplating the 5 series as well, prolly going to td a 528i next week, keeping up my turbo boycott

.

[TW]Fox · 4 Aug 2013 at 15:50

Justintime said:
I'll have a look at the 325s then, probably try to book a test drive. Also contemplating the 5 series as well, prolly going to td a 528i next week, keeping up my turbo boycott .

This implies your budget extends to the F10.

Absolute no brainer, don't even waste your time looking at the E90. The F10 is a considerably better car in every possible way (Though the 528i has that same N53 engine so warranty is important!).

Also note that post 2011 528i's are twin-turbocharged 4 cylinder.

Justintime · 4 Aug 2013 at 15:52

[TW]Fox;24714833 said:
This implies your budget extends to the F10.

Absolute no brainer, don't even waste your time looking at the E90. The F10 is a considerably better car in every possible way (Though the 528i has that same N53 engine so warranty is important!).

It does, however.. what model dosen't have the N53? Thanks.

[TW]Fox · 4 Aug 2013 at 15:53

Justintime said:
It does, however.. what model dosen't have the N53? Thanks.

The mid 2011 onwards 4 cylinder turbo.

All 6 cylinder non-turbo petrol F10's have the N53 engine.

To be honest at this amount of money you'd be mad not to keep up a decent warranty anyway so reliability becomes BMW's problem not yours. There isn't an F10 I'd buy and not get a warranty for so you might as well enjoy the N53.

Gaygle · 4 Aug 2013 at 16:38

The reports of problems with the N53 (and N54) engine these days are overblown. Just because it had a few problems when it was brand new 4 years ago, does not mean it is a reason to discount what is an otherwise brilliant engine. It's like the N54 with the fuel pump problems. Back in 06-08 the HPFP was an absolute nightmare and you heard of people having 3 or 4 of them a year. My own lasted 6 years and 45000 miles - was i lucky? Probably not, as many people had them last this long. But now in 2013, the HPFP on the N54 is, as far as i'm aware, all but fixed.

Besides, with the budget you likely have and the age of the cars you're looking at, you'll have a warranty, which means it's even less of a worry than before. Many of the problems with the injectors and coils were fixed during routine services when BMW have done "Product Enhancements" (basically a recall but without the obligation to contact owners and the expense that comes with a proper recall etc).

Every engine comes with it's problems. It's just on this forum there are a lot of BMW owners and knowledgeable ones at that, who know of these problems because of their interest in these particular cars.

Justintime · 4 Aug 2013 at 19:02

Thanks for the replies, will look into the N53 528, its more the inconvenience moreso than the warranty that bothers me.. i need a car 24/7.

[TW]Fox · 4 Aug 2013 at 19:21

BMW Emergency Service is fantastic. If your car breaks out of hours they get you a rental car from Enterprise. And its hardly going to go wrong every month!

Justintime · 5 Aug 2013 at 00:57

Oh i know i know. Daily wishing for a perfect world and easy life somehow always never seems to work out hehe. I'm leaning towards the 528 more and more, was a consideration at my last place as it didn't fit the drive (assume so as my old 525D and mates Saab 95 didn't) but my flats car park has tons of space and bays (a rarity in London to say the least!).

Gaygle · 8 Aug 2013 at 17:53

...

Ahem.... famous last words...

My injector 6 isn't looking too hot at the moment, if you know what i mean