I am likely going to sell my benz e550 coupe (which I don't really want to part with) for something more practical while still capable of fun and I think this is probably one of the nicest looking coupe suv's within this price range (<20k). This will be my first venture into bmw ownership i've always had Mercedes or Lexus. Just wanted to know if there's anything I should be looking for in these cars or any common issues. I'm probably biased as I've been taught from mercedes enthusiasts for the longest that BMW's make engines that blow up, constant electrical issues and all the other tales. I know there's some truth and some fiction to it, just wondering if buying one of these at 80k miles is a good idea? Is there a year to avoid?
Always get a pre purchase inspection as far as reliability out of the brands we work on MBZ has been the most reliable
Stay away from the v8's, it seems that BMW has trouble building reliable versions
2007 FJ Cruiser (best vehicle to date)
2012 X6 35i Sport
2013 ML350 BT
2019 4Runner
I was going to get one of the v6’s mainly because the v8s are a bit out my price range. Would love the extra power though. The first one I test drove had some very heavy steering is this common?
Possible welcome to the BMW brand...1st thing to remember is...BMW is one of a few car marques that have resisted moving to a V6 engine...they have always been inline 6 cylinder engines...(smoother and naturally balanced)
A V6 engine has intrinsic vibration issues that have to be corrected (usually with a balance shaft). The inline (straight) 6 engine has primary and secondary balance (naturally) without modification or engineering to reduce vibration:
- The engine is in primary couple balance because the front and rear trio of cylinders are mirror images, and the pistons move in pairs (but of course, 360° out of phase and on different strokes of the 4-stroke cycle). That is, piston #1 mirrors #6, #2 mirrors #5, and #3 mirrors #4, largely eliminating the polar rocking motion that would otherwise result.
- Secondary imbalance is largely avoided because the crankshaft has six crank throws arranged in three planes offset at 120°. The result is that the bulk of the secondary forces that are caused by the pistons' deviation from purely sinusoidal motion sum to zero. Specifically, the second-order (twice crank speed) and fourth-order inertial free forces (see engine balance article) sum to zero, but the sixth-order and up are non-zero. This is typically a tiny contribution in most applications, but may be significant with very large displacements, despite the usual and advantageous use of long connecting rods reducing the secondary (second-order and up) oscillation in the piston motion in those applications.
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