[sorin1987]

I currently have a 2011 BMW E90 325i MSport with the N53B30 engine. The car has 80k miles and I've had it for almost 2 years. Recently I've experienced some problems with the car that were eventually fixed but they cost quite a little bit of money, mainly because the mechanics were not able to diagnose the real issue and they had to change spark plugs, coils and some oxygen sensors before they tracked down the problem which was a cracked valve cover causing engine misfires. The car works fine now even though I still feel the idle is a little rough once in a while.
Long story short, since the car had these issues I searched all the forums I could find and the E90 forum on this website is full of people with problems on their E90 cars, problems that I've never had with any of my previous non-BMW cars, expensive problems like suspension, engine related issues, sensors, turbos, all of these on cars under 120k miles. So I am thinking that the E90 is not a very reliable car and so I am thinking about going from it to the F30, a 6 cylinders version (335 or 340).
Are the f30 models more reliable than the E90. At least this is what I found in my research and from reading the forums? I know people say that the e90 feels sportier and you feel more connected to the car but to be honest I don't take the car to the track, I drive a little spirited on country roads once in a while but that is about it.
I would like to hear people's opinions on this transition, I am sure there are people here who went through this and would like to hear their experience.
I drove a 2016 2 series 220 and I liked the car and the auto gearbox, even though my e90 is a manual and always had manual cars.

Thank you

[whosagrubb]

Originally Posted by sorin1987

I currently have a 2011 BMW E90 325i MSport with the N53B30 engine. The car has 80k miles and I've had it for almost 2 years. Recently I've experienced some problems with the car that were eventually fixed but they cost quite a little bit of money, mainly because the mechanics were not able to diagnose the real issue and they had to change spark plugs, coils and some oxygen sensors before they tracked down the problem which was a cracked valve cover causing engine misfires. The car works fine now even though I still feel the idle is a little rough once in a while.
Long story short, since the car had these issues I searched all the forums I could find and the E90 forum on this website is full of people with problems on their E90 cars, problems that I've never had with any of my previous non-BMW cars, expensive problems like suspension, engine related issues, sensors, turbos, all of these on cars under 120k miles. So I am thinking that the E90 is not a very reliable car and so I am thinking about going from it to the F30, a 6 cylinders version (335 or 340).
Are the f30 models more reliable than the E90. At least this is what I found in my research and from reading the forums? I know people say that the e90 feels sportier and you feel more connected to the car but to be honest I don't take the car to the track, I drive a little spirited on country roads once in a while but that is about it.
I would like to hear people's opinions on this transition, I am sure there are people here who went through this and would like to hear their experience.
I drove a 2016 2 series 220 and I liked the car and the auto gearbox, even though my e90 is a manual and always had manual cars.

Thank you

I just replaced my E90 with a F36 435i six months ago. The E90 is a 2007 328i with the N52. Pretty similar to yours, in my case it's a RWD 6MT car with the sports package and not much else. I picked it up 7 years ago with 13k on it and put 115k on it before picking up the new car. My experience with reliability of the E90 has been great. The starter failed at 90k, a valve cover leak started at about 100k, and at some point I had to do front end bushings. I'm currently chasing an intermittent check engine light and flakey speed sensor on one of the front corners, but otherwise it's been a tremendously reliable car. I'm also lucky to have an excellent independent shop nearby who is probably more knowledgeable than most dealers. I think a lot of the gripes I've seen with E9x cars were with earlier N54 powered cars. As far as I know the later N55 powered cars were much better.

Since my E90 has little resale value I kept it when I picked up the F36, which was also a low mile CPO car. Haven't had it long enough to really have any issues other than one "drive train malfunction" related to a misfire. That resolved itself and roadside assistance chalked it up to moisture from a driving rainstorm at the time. I will say that while I love my 435, I still appreciate the 328. The E90 is definitely a more nimble car in my opinion. I feel more inclined to throw it around a windy road than I do my F36. It's probably due in part to to steering feel. On the flip side, the F36 is way nicer on the highway. A bit bigger, and obviously in my case much more powerful, I've enjoyed long drives in it more. I don't find myself as fatigued afterwards as I did in my E90.

Anyway, I guess the moral of the story is buy the F30 and keep your E90! I hadn't driven my 328 for a week or so and reading your post made me jump in it to drop the kids off at school this AM. I'm happy I kept it, but also going to be sad when my teenaged daughter starts to drive it this winter because I know she's not going to love it the way I do.

[Michael Schott]

Keep in mind that the last year of production for E90 sedans was 2011 so even the newest are 7 years old and the oldest have a lot of miles. You should expect issues as the miles accrue. The problem with BMW's is the cost to fix the issue. Certainly more than a Ford for example.

Also, the trend on car forums like this and Bimmerfest is over time they evolve into discussions on repairs as the models age.

[whosagrubb]

Originally Posted by Michael Schott

Keep in mind that the last year of production for E90 sedans was 2011 so even the newest are 7 years old and the oldest have a lot of miles. You should expect issues as the miles accrue. The problem with BMW's is the cost to fix the issue. Certainly more than a Ford for example.

Also, the trend on car forums like this and Bimmerfest is over time they evolve into discussions on repairs as the models age.

Having owned a "modern" Ford and a high mileage BMW, I'll say my experience was maintenance and repair costs were similar between the two. Certain OEM parts can be more expensive, but generally speaking there was no appreciable difference when it came to working on either of them. What I would say is while Ford has come a long way in terms of quality, my E90 was definitely more reliable. We ditched the Explorer at 50k, and still have the E90 at 130k. I wouldn't imagine keeping the Ford that long.

[kern417]

I would expect an N/A e90 to be more reliable than an F30. A cracked valve cover is a fluke that can happen to any car, but an N/A car can't blow turbos. I'm betting an N53 has half the sensors that an N55/B58 have. And at this point, E90 parts have dropped in price where you can get them more readily for cheaper. The only real issues you'll have are oil leaks and gaskets to replace. Plus new car payments + depreciation are typically going to be more than cost of repairs on a used car that's paid off.

If I were you, I'd go 1 of 2 directions:

1. Keep driving the car until there is another major failure, then ditch it. Like if you wanted an F30, you would have saved a lot by upgrading instead of fixing the e90.
2. Buy a new or at minimum CPO F30 so that repairs are covered under warranty.

IMO option 1 is your best bet financially. If you're more interested in getting a new car and want the new tech or you're just over the e90 in general, option 2.

[kikcaffine]

Paid off BMW's are always better than Financed BMW's. Remember that.

[sorin1987]

Originally Posted by kern417

I would expect an N/A e90 to be more reliable than an F30. A cracked valve cover is a fluke that can happen to any car, but an N/A car can't blow turbos. I'm betting an N53 has half the sensors that an N55/B58 have. And at this point, E90 parts have dropped in price where you can get them more readily for cheaper. The only real issues you'll have are oil leaks and gaskets to replace. Plus new car payments + depreciation are typically going to be more than cost of repairs on a used car that's paid off.

If I were you, I'd go 1 of 2 directions:

1. Keep driving the car until there is another major failure, then ditch it. Like if you wanted an F30, you would have saved a lot by upgrading instead of fixing the e90.
2. Buy a new or at minimum CPO F30 so that repairs are covered under warranty.

IMO option 1 is your best bet financially. If you're more interested in getting a new car and want the new tech or you're just over the e90 in general, option 2.

I will not change the car now that I've done almost 2000£ worth of repairs. Plus the plugs, coils, NOx sensor are things that might needed changing soon anyway.
I was just looking for the experiences of people who went from E to F.
And I love the car, my wife too. I could never live with an Audi or a Merc even though I've tried both. Hopefully when the E90's time comes I will find a nice F or G series

[kern417]

Originally Posted by sorin1987

I will not change the car now that I've done almost 2000£ worth of repairs. Plus the plugs, coils, NOx sensor are things that might needed changing soon anyway.
I was just looking for the experiences of people who went from E to F.
And I love the car, my wife too. I could never live with an Audi or a Merc even though I've tried both. Hopefully when the E90's time comes I will find a nice F or G series

Def keep enjoying it. My father still has his 2006 6MT 325xi and loves it. You had one issue, but overall those cars have a very reliable drivetrain.

[floydarogers]

A couple thoughts
1) Most people posting in f30post and e90post are "enthusiasts", and people looking for help fixing a problem. People that don't have problems don't post here.
2) My wife's F30 2014 328xd (320xd to you) has had more electrical problems in 3 years than my 2010 E90 335d has in it's 8.5 year lifetime. Electrical problems are becoming more common because new cars have more electronics.
3) My M57 engine's emissions systems are EXTREMELY expensive to maintain. If you get a diesel, try to avoid the BlueTec/SCR stuff (you can't in the USA/CA).

The BMWCCA's Mike Miller (trouble shooter) says: "BMWs are expensive to buy, expensive to run, and expensive to repair. I wouldn't buy one out of warranty."

IMO, modern BMWs are quite reliable, but it is pricey to keep them reliable. Models have little to do with reliability; they're all pretty much the same.

[BMW11]

I tend to think that the F30's will be just as reliable as any car if you take care of it. Almost all the new cars have turbo's in them the hondas, toyotas, chevys, etc they used to be "so called" reliable but now i believe that all cars with these turbo's & Electronic gadgets will last the same amount of time if treated properly and maintained. My opinion is that the F30 BMW will last just as long as s new Honda Accord and maybe even more reliable due to its build quality. I believe there is no more "Reliable car" above another any more. With all of them having more electronics etc they will all be the same expense to fix when required give or take a couple hundred here and there. I remember spending thousands of dollars to keep my 1969 Nova running back in the 70's I was lucky that one lasted 20 years till the motor seized lol

[upsidedownfunnel]

If you just spent a lot of money fixing up your car, you should drive your car to take advantage of all the work you just did. This is a pretty common mistake a lot of people make. They will spend a bunch of money to fix a problem and then feel like they need to get rid of the car because it's "unreliable". There's a chance you'll drive your car another few years with very few issues.

Like you said it was just a single problem, and it seems more likely it was caused by bad work done by a previous mechanic. Unless the issue was just a leaking valve cover gasket. Once you get that fixed properly, you likely will not experience the issue again. Was there oil built up in the spark plugs though? I'm curious how a cracked valve cover would cause a misfire unless a lot of oil had leaked in the spark plugs.

Be careful about looking at issues on the forums. You'll naturally see a lot of issues reading forums. This is where people try to resolve issues they're having.

[Sea-Tac]

Keep them both if you can.