N63 engine. Any “no regrets” experiences?

[Orazio]

I’m currently steering an E39 540i which has been a definite “no regrets” experience for the past 9 years. No major problems and simple maintenance for a novice home mechanic like me!
I’m wondering if anyone has any similar good news stories about F10 550i ownership?
The N63 has such a terrible reputation, but I just can’t get over how cheap 2010-11 550i’s are these days, and I’m thinking of diving into a circa 100,000km example that looks to have good history and well looked after.
I’m hoping that there are loads of happy 550i owners out there, who just don’t post about it as often as those with expensive issues!



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[f10_M550i]

I’m currently steering an E39 540i which has been a definite “no regrets” experience for the past 9 years. No major problems and simple maintenance for a novice home mechanic like me!
I’m wondering if anyone has any similar good news stories about F10 550i ownership?
The N63 has such a terrible reputation, but I just can’t get over how cheap 2010-11 550i’s are these days, and I’m thinking of diving into a circa 100,000km example that looks to have good history and well looked after.
I’m hoping that there are loads of happy 550i owners out there, who just don’t post about it as often as those with expensive issues!



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I have a 2014 with the N63TU engine and don't have any issues yet (albeit only 46k miles), but knowing what I do about the N63 engine (2011-2013) I would not buy one unless it's had the engine replaced. there was a class action lawsuit on the N63 at least here in N.A. not sure about Australia.
If you do decide to buy anyway, I would have a thorough engine inspection done and check for oil leaks specifically; and maybe get the dealer to run the oil consumption test they ran on engines that were covered and replaced in the settlement; check the oil level weekly, stay on top of any issues.

[Orazio]

As far as I’m aware there have been no class actions or major recalls on the N63 in oz.
Also the F10 550i is really thin on the ground here. There are literally 3 examples currently for sale in the country. And no LCI’s.
Waiting for a good one may take a while if most of the pre-TU engines are trouble!

[Stück]

Coming from someone that makes his living working on these cars I think anyone would have to be either blissfully ignorant or absolutely insane to willfully purchase a pre-lci F10 550i at this point in their aging. The average example that comes through the shop for the first time with ~100k miles on it or more sees a 10k USD or worse initial estimate for the plethora of festering deferred maintenance and such in dire need or rectification.

The bulk of the cost of upkeep is in the engine bay, but we see plenty of accompanying neglect in the suspension that is obvious just looking at the tire wear present when doing the check in walk around on the vehicle. These are not cheap cars to keep up with and the nearly universal issues I'm seeing is people don't realize new parts and maintenance costs didn't depreciate to next to nothing like the cars value did.

[f10_M550i]

As far as I’m aware there have been no class actions or major recalls on the N63 in oz.
Also the F10 550i is really thin on the ground here. There are literally 3 examples currently for sale in the country. And no LCI’s.
Waiting for a good one may take a while if most of the pre-TU engines are trouble!

for reference. https://www.classaction.org/news/bmw...ss-action-says

[Orazio]

Coming from someone that makes his living working on these cars I think anyone would have to be either blissfully ignorant or absolutely insane to willfully purchase a pre-lci F10 550i at this point in their aging. The average example that comes through the shop for the first time with ~100k miles on it or more sees a 10k USD or worse initial estimate for the plethora of festering deferred maintenance and such in dire need or rectification.

The bulk of the cost of upkeep is in the engine bay, but we see plenty of accompanying neglect in the suspension that is obvious just looking at the tire wear present when doing the check in walk around on the vehicle. These are not cheap cars to keep up with and the nearly universal issues I'm seeing is people don't realize new parts and maintenance costs didn't depreciate to next to nothing like the cars value did.

Appreciate the insights. That seems to be the prevailing sentiment... only a crazy person would buy a high mileage N63!
Re: BMW parts/maintenance costs, I have had a positive experience with the E39, which is still going strong and up to 2100000km now. It has been more reliable than Japanese cars I’ve owned. Pretty much nothing has gone wrong in 9 years aside from the expected water pump, valve cover gasket replacements and a couple of other minor things. And I haven’t been shocked by parts costs, obviously DIY keeps the overall costs down.
Such a shame on the N63 being a dud engine, as I really like V8’s. Perhaps a 535 or 528 will have to suffice! Take the lower risk option.
Slightly off topic, but any thoughts on turbo vs n/a I6 engines in terms of reliability and DIY-ability?



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[CleanBMW]

Maintenance is very high on N63 and very costly, definitely factor that in if deciding on purchasing one.

[Qsilver7]

...Such a shame on the N63 being a dud engine, as I really like V8’s.

Is there a reason you're not holding out for an example that has the n63TU engine? Are you focused on particular model years only at this time? Or are you lumping all iterations of the n63 into one? The major issues are mostly associated with the 1st iteration of the n63 engine...the latter iteration (n63tu/n63Tu2/n63tu3) haven't been saddled with the same issues. Just mentioning it in case you're lumping them all into one category.

The info below indicates the changes made to the N63TU which is probably some of the reasons that you don't hear it having many of the same issues the 1st iteration N63 engine had:

[Orazio]

Yes I’ve heard the TU version addressed many of the N63 reliability issues.
Are there any common “engine out” reliability issues remaining on the TU? I don’t have the equipment/time/budget for engine out jobs, but If most of the common TU issues are of a general part swapping nature, I’d be more than happy to take a more calculated gamble on that engine.
The other problem here is scarcity. There is literally not a single TU engined 550i currently for sale online in Australia! I don’t think many were sold new, and as such the 550i was discontinued here around 2015-16 I believe.