Is n54 really THAT much less reliable?

[djacinto]

Hey y'all

I had a question for all you n54 owners.

As I am looking for my hopefully next Beamer, a question lingers about the true reliability differences between the n54 and n52.

Now I'm not talking difficulty to maintain, but overall reliability.

As an n26 owner who drives basically 90% city, it's tough knowing my timing chains are ticking time bomb waiting to happen. I take good care of my car and lots of preventative maintenance since I plan on keeping her for the long haul

But with the n52 and n54, with no tuning going to be taking place, am I just being paranoid going for the n52?

Like if I find an n54 with a good service history and it's within my preferences, do I have any reason to go with a similar n52, with similar history?

I know part price discrepancy will be high too, but I'm not too worried about that. I'm more worried about missing out on good deals just cause I'm focusing on the 28i's

Thanks y'all

[________]

This would be a valid question if you replace N54 with N55. The way it stands there's no question… so much to go wrong with an N54…

[djacinto]

Originally Posted by Onesie

This would be a valid question if you replace N54 with N55. The way it stands there's no question… so much to go wrong with an N54…

Ah ok well good to hear.

I think my main plan was to stick to n52's but just want to see if I was being overly cautious, haven't owned or known anyone personally who has an n54

I hear stories but that's cause many of us tune, I haven't heard much of normal bone stock longevity

[markslc1]

N52s are great but not perfect either.

https://www.1addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1422717

N51s also have extra parts that make replacing the radiator and fuel pump much more expensive. So I'm a big fan of the 2008 model year which was n52 only and not subject to this larger vanos issue.

[Dieselboy]

Reliably usually correlates with complexity, and the N54 is quite a bit more complex than the N52. That being said, the N54 is not inherently unreliable; however, there are more parts operating at higher stress and higher temperatures.

If you're concerned about reliability, and most of your driving is in the city, it sounds like the N52 is your best bet (in comparison to a similarly maintained N54).

[BikeNHV]

It may help to separate reliability and cost to repair.

It's a true statement that a stock, well-maintained N54 is not going to leave you stranded on the side of the road often (if ever). It's also a true statement that the N52 isn't perfect either.

In my opinion the difference is some of the N54 issues can be costly to deal with, when they do occur.

For me, it comes down to how the car will be used/what you expect from it. Both options have their place.

[zx10guy]

It's anecdotal but I have a buddy who's a BMW tech with over 20 years of experience probably more. When I told him I got a 135i, he gave me the side eye. Said I should have gotten a 128i with the N52. When he found out I got a later model year 135i with the N55, he said he feels a little better about my buying decision. Take that as you will. You'll hear all sorts of anecdotal testimonies about how reliable or how unreliable a particular car/engine is. I'm relaying what a good friend told me that has seen way more N52, N54, and N55s than most of us on here. This doesn't mean a particular N54 can't be reliable if well maintained.