I have $20k, what’s the best year for the E89?

[Sachak]

Look the things you listed are common failures on these cars. In my opinion if you are going to get an N54 you have to buy it knowing that you are going to be spending money, doing allot of YouTube and forum searching and learning a lot! The key to N54 life is being good at or willing to do DIY. If you had to get a workshop to fix the thing every time something gave issues or failed it would probably break the bank.

Saying that though, I have found that working on the E89 is a pleasure compared to pretty much any other car I have owned, almost everything is easy to get to, changing the HPFP was such an easy job and I am no mechanic. Even changing the turbos wasn’t a train smash, it was a mission, but a fun experience and knowing that I used all OEM parts and torqued every nut, bolt and stud up correctly made me feel a hang of allot better. Changing the turbos out on my friends E92 335i was a nightmare in comparison.

The other really great thing about owning an N54 is how large the N54 community is which really gives you a huge variety of after market parts that allot of the time are actually better than some of the OEM stuff and allot better priced. I tend to stick with OEM as BMW here gives me really great discounts on parts which makes a monumental difference.

[B21]

Originally Posted by Sachak

Look the things you listed are common failures on these cars. In my opinion if you are going to get an N54 you have to buy it knowing that you are going to be spending money, doing allot of YouTube and forum searching and learning a lot! The key to N54 life is being good at or willing to do DIY. If you had to get a workshop to fix the thing every time something gave issues or failed it would probably break the bank.

Saying that though, I have found that working on the E89 is a pleasure compared to pretty much any other car I have owned, almost everything is easy to get to, changing the HPFP was such an easy job and I am no mechanic. Even changing the turbos wasn’t a train smash, it was a mission, but a fun experience and knowing that I used all OEM parts and torqued every nut, bolt and stud up correctly made me feel a hang of allot better. Changing the turbos out on my friends E92 335i was a nightmare in comparison.

The other really great thing about owning an N54 is how large the N54 community is which really gives you a huge variety of after market parts that allot of the time are actually better than some of the OEM stuff and allot better priced. I tend to stick with OEM as BMW here gives me really great discounts on parts which makes a monumental difference.

Well I agree on all those points..a lot of guys rush into buy 35i/35is ‘cause it’s the fastest’ thrn repent as they do not have your skills ‘ determination and assume it would be as reliable as a N20/N52 powered car..

One reason I did go from N20 to N54 as a ‘twiddler’ is the very broad third party support..

[Gamb1t]

If you want outright speed and fine with the maintenance of a complex first gen twin turbo-6, then 35i is the way to go.

If you mostly cruise around "devil may care" style and/or prefer no fuss low maintenance car, the early N52 3.0i is a gem.

28i is a middle ground. Not as fussy as the n54 yet with a tune will be faster than an N52. But sounds less exciting. You do get LCI updates.