[rocat14]

My coworker is currently looking into an F30 328 x-drive and wants to know a few things:
1) Should he CPO this car - 11k miles 2013.
2) What maintenance costs should he expect if he does not CPO/get a warranty (I am not sure what the common issues are with the F30 of this year)
3) Are there any warranties that he should consider outside BMW CPO?
4) Is there any other information he should know before purchasing the car? (He will be getting a PPI)

Thanks for all the help!

[scostu]

Most of the questions depend on the length of ownership.

If co-worker wants to keep vehicle after BMW warranty runs out.......well.... never ever own a BMW outta warranty.... unless you have extra $$$ laying around.

[rocat14]

My family has 4 BMWs all out of warranty, and we just spend a few hundred on oil changes, tires, and filters. I would feel pretty comfortable telling him to buy the old N52, but I just don't know too much about the new engine or the maintenance of the F30.

Scostu, do you have experience with the costs of owning an F30 out of warranty?

He plans on keeping it at least 100k miles. He was also considering getting it CPO'ed.

[scostu]

So far the N20 engine has been solid. I got burned bad on a 2008 E70 years ago.

Some owners on this forum have chimed in about good reliabilty. But this vehicle is still relatively new and not too many owners are past 4yr/50 mile mark yet.

[rocat14]

I know that the N20 is pretty sweet in terms of performance and economy -- and its still new and we could see problems in the future. He is on the fence mostly because he doesn't want to be slapped with 3-4k of maintenance immediately. The purchase date indicates he has at most 1 year left of 4/50k and he could probably get CPO for anywhere between 1-2k. The car only has 11k though, and clean maintenance records. I told him on the safe side put away 1-2k a year just in case, but with my car and my parents cars, we have all had pretty good luck (or they are reliable after all).

[scostu]

Sounds like good advice.

[Labeef]

N20 is solid and doesn't really pose any issues outside of warranty let alone under warranty. If you search this forum, you would be hard pressed to find "common" problems with the N20 engines. In addition, the vehicle you he is looking into, still have plenty of warranty remaining and under full maintenance program. I see nothing that could be worrisome of this purchase besides price. The only thing I would recommend is a good look over of the vehicle to ensure no accident history and matching panel vins.