Engine Reliability

C

craigdm

Member
 Lytham St Annes, Lancashire
Looking to dive back into Z4 ownership after a 5 year break and I've seen a tidy 28i locally that might fit the bill.
Only issue is that it had a new engine fitted a couple of years ago after the original went FUBAR. Talking to the guy it sounds like a Conrod or something similar had disintegrated and filled the sump with metallic bits.

I thought these engines were pretty bulletproof, or have I just not done enough reading through the forum?

Would this put you off buying, or is it a positive that a new engine has been fitted (by BMW)?
 
craigdm said:
Would this put you off buying, or is it a positive that a new engine has been fitted (by BMW)?
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whilst I think the 6 cylinder engines have been around longer, the 4 cylinder members seem plenty happy (but there are isolated reports of failures on all engine types). If its been done by BMW and there's some sort of warranty I'd be happy myself. It would depend on the overall condition of the car too though.
 
Was the conrod disintegrating the symptom or the cause though?
If someone had messed about with boosting it for example................
Either way, new engine should be ok. Not exactly renowned for breaking.
 
As they say you don’t get something for nothing, the normally aspirated six cylinder models are robust, as soon as you add forced induction you increase the stresses and complexity, therefore long term reliability will suffer
 
If I was set on finding a 28i and the car had the spec I wanted plus evidence of a new engine fitted by BMW I wouldn't be put off. An engine that has done less miles would seem like a bonus to me.

28is seem to be few and far between, and while I know 18i and 20i models can be mapped to 28i power, people who chose the 28i new were possibly likely to have ticked more boxes on the options list!
 
Mr Tidy said:
If I was set on finding a 28i and the car had the spec I wanted plus evidence of a new engine fitted by BMW I wouldn't be put off. An engine that has done less miles would seem like a bonus to me.

28is seem to be few and far between, and while I know 18i and 20i models can be mapped to 28i power, people who chose the 28i new were possibly likely to have ticked more boxes on the options list!
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Or maybe they had less money left over for options after being fleeced for over £5k to get the bmw remap! :P
Rob
 
Smartbear said:
Or maybe they had less money left over for options after being fleeced for over £5k to get the bmw remap!
Rob
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Maybe, but somehow I doubt most new buyers realised all they were getting was a different map and bigger front brakes!
 
If it had a new engine 2 years ago it would have been one of the last built which addressed the various mostly minor issues in earlier versions of the N20 dynasty..provided it has fresh oil every 5k-8k miles should see better than 250k miles before causing you an issue if left stock..

If it has stop start just make sure you disable it whenever you start up..it does the engine no good..
 
Mr Tidy said:
Smartbear said:
Or maybe they had less money left over for options after being fleeced for over £5k to get the bmw remap!
Rob
Click to expand...

Maybe, but somehow I doubt most new buyers realised all they were getting was a different map and bigger front brakes!
Click to expand...

I think the glossy brochure cleverly sidestepped trivial detail like that :P
Rob
 
Smartbear said:
Mr Tidy wrote: ↑Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:39 pm
Smartbear wrote: ↑Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:25 pm
Or maybe they had less money left over for options after being fleeced for over £5k to get the bmw remap!
Rob
Maybe, but somehow I doubt most new buyers realised all they were getting was a different map and bigger front brakes!
I think the glossy brochure cleverly sidestepped trivial detail like that
Rob
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The wonders of marketing! :lol:
 
If I recall someone here posting about an engine failure and BMW replaced it under warranty. I assume they didn't know about the remap.

Edit: different vehicle. That was an 18i:
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=106479
 
Smartbear said:
Mr Tidy said:
Smartbear said:
Or maybe they had less money left over for options after being fleeced for over £5k to get the bmw remap!
Rob
Click to expand...

Maybe, but somehow I doubt most new buyers realised all they were getting was a different map and bigger front brakes!
Click to expand...

I think the glossy brochure cleverly sidestepped trivial detail like that :P
Rob
Click to expand...
Strangely they all seem to do that. :roll:
 
I've got some more details now and would welcome some advice on service intervals.
Car was registered May 2014
1st Service is June 2016 @ 17K
2nd Service is May 2017 @ 22K
3rd Service is May 2019 @ 39K

I thought the service intervals were 10K or 2 years, which ever comes first? Or is it all condition based for the E89?
 
craigdm said:
I've got some more details now and would welcome some advice on service intervals.
Car was registered May 2014
1st Service is June 2016 @ 17K
2nd Service is May 2017 @ 22K
3rd Service is May 2019 @ 39K

I thought the service intervals were 10K or 2 years, which ever comes first? Or is it all condition based for the E89?
Click to expand...

Service intervals were reduced a few years after the cars were introduced.
Rob
 
So what are the service intervals recommended now?? It's never straight forward with BMW is it :roll:

Do those services look right? 1st service @2 years and 17K miles sounds dodgy. Then again the Jag XE is 2 years or 20K miles.
 
I believe the service intervals are condition based and the computer tells you when the car is due for a service. So it's not unusual to see the service history pattern as you mentioned for this car.

Once you buy the car though, you may want to at least do an oil and filter change every 5000 to 10000 miles or every year whichever comes first to ensure the engines stays in good health regardless of what the car's computers tells you.
 
It's a pity all these cars get abused by first owners, not their fault, with these 15k to 20k first services. My car was 21k before the first service stamp appeared in the book.
 
Without looking at the detailed service record it’s not very clear…BMW chose at various points to use a 15k or 25k mileage arbitrary service interval

Within that not all items would necessarily be ‘serviced’

The service book would show pictorially what items has been ‘serviced’ at each service point.

When and at what mileage was the new engine fitted?
 
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