Looking at buying a F31/F11 as my E61 is becoming "too old" please advise What should I buy?

[Willem 4]

Hi Bimmers

 

I've been driving a E61 530i from 2005 for the last 6 years imported from Japan.

Had 50.000 on the clock and now has 100.000 and it has been great.

This calm quiet engine, and the power when you give it a little push, I just love it.

Exploring the North & South island, surfing, camping, and what a wonderful ride, I live in Auckland.

"Freude am Fahren" says a sticker on the boot. Difficult to translate, drives like a dream might come close.

But I do not have a garage and the car is showing it. Rubbers getting dried out by the sun, also the rest of the rubbers on the car are getting old/ brittle, needing replacement, is going to be expensive in time and money.

So I'm looking at buying another Touring, a Touring because I always take my car out camping (typical what you'd do with a BMW, I've hit the ground a few times here and there with my M sport spoilers, so why not do it again And if I do not camp I go surfing with it. And then the boot is perfect for the gear and a short board , or the roof for a long board.

May be a E31? as it will be a few kg less compared to a F11 (1500-1800kg). I think it might be more fun to drive (if I'd fit well enough in a E31, I'm 189 tall). The E31 has only 100 liter less boot space than the F11. I think I can manage that. Now I had a look at Trade me and there is lots of relatively affordable E31's from around 2013 - 2019. Also a few F11 5 series, but all with a 2 liter engine and only 204 BHP, is that going to be fun????

I'd think of spending somewhere between 10 - 20 K

Now I need your advise. What do you guys think is a good engine in a E31, reliable and with enough power to move around enjoying the acceleration out of a curve (I know, the E61 is lead heavy, and now I'm buying a touring again, however the power to weight ratio for the E31 will be better than the F11 because of the lower weight)

Most common, 4 cylinder, 184 HP (320i) turbo & inter-cooler Also available 328i (245 BHP) and there are a few 335i's with 305 BHP. (do mechanics hate those because the whole engine bay is too full to work on it?). (I could not find a 5 series Touring with a big engine.)

With low mileages. (it is really environmentally sound, an EV is causing more pollution due to the battery environment impact than a petrol car up to 100.000 km)

At what mileage do these engines become maintenance intensive, is it the turbo's /inter-coolers that go first?

 

Well thank you for sharing your advice, I'm looking forward to hear what you'd like to say .

P.S.

I might have a pre-purchase check done in a BMW garage before making a definitive choice, It might be worth the money, The mechanics know what to look for , and I can take an motorcycle apart, but do not know the nooks and crannies of a F31. If something is showing up, it can be repaired, but it will impact what I'll pay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 18 by Willem
had a few mistakes in the text

[Sammo 2550]

Had our F31 for 2.5 years and 50,000km - it’s been great - 320d Msport.

Only niggle is the electric steering racks have a bushing that goes causing a front rattle - easy enough fix but ours is getting done for the second time this week.

Handles and rides well but the electric steering is uninspired.

They look fantastic in the right spec and plenty of space for gear as well.

[Willem 4]

Hi Sammo

Thanks for the very nice pictures.

I love the camping one and the old & new style one too

How tall are you (do I fit in the 320, 189 cm tall?) and apart from this steering trouble, how do you find the power of your car.

The weight power ratio (I'm an original motorcycle driver, where it is less than 1 kg for 1 HP,  that is fast acceleration).

The W/P ratio for your car is 8kg/HP. With my present car (530i) it is 6.4 kg/HP

And I'm wondering with the 328i (there it is around 5.8) do you know how did they got another 74 HP out of the same engine volume and is that engine or it's accessories vulnerable to break down easily.

Cheers Willem

[Sammo 2550]

1 hour ago, Willem said:

Hi Sammo

Thanks for the very nice pictures.

I love the camping one and the old & new style one too

How tall are you (do I fit in the 320, 189 cm tall?) and apart from this steering trouble, how do you find the power of your car.

The weight power ratio (I'm an original motorcycle driver, where it is less than 1 kg for 1 HP,  that is fast acceleration).

The W/P ratio for your car is 8kg/HP. With my present car (530i) it is 6.4 kg/HP

And I'm wondering with the 328i (there it is around 5.8) do you know how did they got another 74 HP out of the same engine volume and is that engine or it's accessories vulnerable to break down easily.

Cheers Willem

I’m only 178cm but can’t imagine someone your height wouldn’t fit - likely similar size to an E61.

The 320d is a little low on horsepower but diesel torque is strong (380nm from 1700rpm) and the 8 speed gear ratios help out too - a 328i would be much more lively - 250hp from a modern 2.0 turbo isn’t highly strung these days.

 

 

[balancerider 770]

Hi @Willem - F31 is a good choice, plenty of engine options to choose from. I am 1.88m tall and fit fine. 
the N20 engine in the prefacelift 320i/328i is probably the least reliable in this series, still better than the older BMW 4cyl though. If you can find a facelift 320i with the B48 that would be a good option. As @Sammo says the torque in the diesel makes it feel like a much bigger engine. Post late 2013 N55 335i with electronic (rather than mechanical) waste gate is a great engine and not highly stressed in this application.

X drive is quite surefooted and has benefit of slightly higher ride height for your gravel road surfing expedition (only diesels and the odd imported 320i have it though). 

 

[rogan 7]

Sounds like the 6cyl diesel would be the one to get. We have a 530d F10 and it’s been great; i’d take it over any of the F10 petrols.

Go test drive an F31 330/335d .

[BMTHUG 1064]

18 hours ago, rogan said:

Sounds like the 6cyl diesel would be the one to get. We have a 530d F10 and it’s been great; i’d take it over any of the F10 petrols.

Go test drive an F31 330/335d .

agree with Rogan. They are absolutely lovely to drive

[elias 257]

How are the n57 engines though reliability wise, have heard many stories of main bearing failure, timing chain failure etc etc 

[balancerider 770]

*many* might be pushing it @elias. There’s hundreds of thousands of the N57 out there between 3-4-5-6-7 series and X3-4-5-6. The timing chain is a bit of a weakness on the n47 but less so on n57, just a pain if it does need doing as it’s on the back of the engine against the bulkhead. Bearing failure if it happens is usually fatal to the engine due to the aluminium block and the hardness of the bearings ruins the crankshaft. IMO the N57 is one of the most reliable BMW engines though. 

Edited November 20 by balancerider

[elias 257]

22 minutes ago, balancerider said:

*many* might be pushing it @elias. There’s hundreds of thousands of the N57 out there between 3-4-5-6-7 series and X3-4-5-6. The timing chain is a bit of a weakness on the n47 but less so on n57, just a pain if it does need doing as it’s on the back of the engine against the bulkhead. Bearing failure if it happens is usually fatal to the engine due to the aluminium block and the hardness of the bearings ruins the crankshaft. IMO the N57 is one of the most reliable BMW engines though. 

Yes, I used to own a n47, 123d, and that needed timing chains done before it got to 200k kms. And I know about bearing failure all too well… spun a rod bearing in my 135i. Replaced the entire engine. Wouldn’t wish that upon anyone. Good to hear that the n57 seem to be better reliability wise, however I would still be slightly wary as I have seen multiple for sale with around 200k kms that have had Engines replaced due to various catastrophic failures. But a lot of that comes down to maintenance as well.

[Willem 4]

Thanks for the suggestions.

The 530 D or 330d/335D Tourings (on the budget I have in mind) are not so easy to find.

I can find two 335D's (see below) and only 530 D's (autotrader) from around 2017 which cost around 35000.

 

One 335 on trade me 200000 km from 2011 (to old for my liking, to many km's, no LCI and the way I see it a bit overpriced)

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/335d/listing/4906769675

And a 2016 X Drive Msport , for 27.490 a bit over the budget I was planning to spend.

https://autotrader.co.nz/used-cars-for-sale/bmw/335d/921763

What is wise?

Wait a bit longer to see if a few do come along, or should I risk ordering one with one of those companies that import them (any experiences?)

[elias 257]

34 minutes ago, Willem said:

Thanks for the suggestions.

The 530 D or 330d/335D Tourings (on the budget I have in mind) are not so easy to find.

I can find two 335D's (see below) and only 530 D's (autotrader) from around 2017 which cost around 35000.

 

One 335 on trade me 200000 km from 2011 (to old for my liking, to many km's, no LCI and the way I see it a bit overpriced)

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/335d/listing/4906769675

And a 2016 X Drive Msport , for 27.490 a bit over the budget I was planning to spend.

https://autotrader.co.nz/used-cars-for-sale/bmw/335d/921763

What is wise?

Wait a bit longer to see if a few do come along, or should I risk ordering one with one of those companies that import them (any experiences?)

There is a 330d for sale on Facebook marketplace. F31, m sport x drive. 
 

fairly good value for money, and in the current market prices are quite negotiable.

https://www.facebook.com/share/15h63mSKPv/?mibextid=79PoIi

[Willem 4]

Hi Elias

Thanks for that tip. Never thought about checking marketplace for a car.

It is within my price bracket (before negotiations) It has an M-sport outfit and an X drive, all positive.

Not my favorite color (grey! from where I stand that brings down the price seriously) and it is a non LCI, I guess because it's from 2013. Does that actually make a difference with this engine?

Seems a car I might need to have a look at Thanks again.

 

[balancerider 770]

That 330d looks excellent @Willem - very well specced (360 camera etc) and it’s on Pzero runflat which suggests maintenance hasn’t been skimped on. Engine didn’t change between pre LCI and LCI on the 6 cylinder diesels, only the 4cyl diesel and the petrol models.

[rogan 7]

Its just dropped in price, but still $3k overpriced IMO

[balancerider 770]

This is clearly overpriced but looks decent otherwise. Bit older and may need rear air suspension replaced at this age.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/5038511096

I saw a lovely LCI F11 535d on the way to work this morning. 5er tourings (except for the current one) just look so good.