Which e89 to buy?

[quikster]

Hey I've been reading a bunch of the posts and information here and on a few others sites and think I've narrowed down what I want but wanted to double check that my decision makes sense and I'm not overlooking anything with the experts and owners. I'm not looking to race or track the car ever just looking for something fun to drive as a 2nd car primarily in the mountains of western north carolina with occasional real trips to get to the airport about an hour away.

So my thinking is that for ease of maintenance and reliability I want to look at a lower milage well maintained 2009-2011 30i naturally aspirated, preferably manual transmission, in order to keep things as simple and easy as possible. I'm not in a rush so I can take my time and keep an eye for the right one just need to narrow down what I'm looking for to build a few automated searches.

Am I making too much of a big deal about the twin turbos on the other models and they're not as much extra complexity as I think or am I on the right path?

[B21]

Originally Posted by quikster

Hey I've been reading a bunch of the posts and information here and on a few others sites and think I've narrowed down what I want but wanted to double check that my decision makes sense and I'm not overlooking anything with the experts and owners. I'm not looking to race or track the car ever just looking for something fun to drive as a 2nd car primarily in the mountains of western north carolina with occasional real trips to get to the airport about an hour away.

So my thinking is that for ease of maintenance and reliability I want to look at a lower milage well maintained 2009-2011 30i naturally aspirated, preferably manual transmission, in order to keep things as simple and easy as possible. I'm not in a rush so I can take my time and keep an eye for the right one just need to narrow down what I'm looking for to build a few automated searches.

Am I making too much of a big deal about the twin turbos on the other models and they're not as much extra complexity as I think or am I on the right path?

Right on brother..as I believe you say in the colonies..

Avoid the N54 if you want a stress free life..a 4 cylinder N20 28i would be a fine choice if you don’t suffer from cylinder envy..out points the 30i in every way bar cylinders..pre 2015 have a Russian roulette issue with cam chains though..that’s their only foible..

[quikster]

from my research I think the 09-11 30i is the only e89 in the US with no turbos on it. the 28i was introduced here in 2012+ but then it is a 4 cylinder + turbos

[B21]

Originally Posted by quikster

from my research I think the 09-11 30i is the only e89 in the US with no turbos on it. the 28i was introduced here in 2012+ but then it is a 4 cylinder + turbos

The N20 with a twin scroll turbo is a very different animal to the N54 fitted with two small turbos..

All the design issues that haunt the N54 were removed in the N20…

It’s only known issue is a small incidence of cam chain related matters in pre 2015 versions..

The main downside of the N52 in the 30i is just age..they are older cars..

Having said that a friend of mine has a 23i with the same N52 design and he’s just passed 140k miles on a 2009 version…it still seems very healthy…wear and tear have resulted in fresh dampers, springs, discs etc

[quikster]

Originally Posted by B21

The N20 with a twin scroll turbo is a very different animal to the N54 fitted with two small turbos..

All the design issues that haunt the N54 were removed in the N20…

It’s only known issue is a small incidence of cam chain related matters in pre 2015 versions..

The main downside of the N52 in the 30i is just age..they are older cars..

Having said that a friend of mine has a 23i with the same N52 design and he’s just passed 140k miles on a 2009 version…it still seems very healthy…wear and tear have resulted in fresh dampers, springs, discs etc

Understood, especially rubbers will likely start to wear out at the age even if not driven much. I've found quite a few 09-11 N52s with 30k-60k miles