[TheWoo]

Hey guys, pretty new to the BMW World, planning on getting a 4 series for my wife. I live in LA area, and I found two suitable options for me on Craigslist for basically the same price. Wondering what's your take on the options?


2015 428i Gran Coupe, 23k Miles, M sport package

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/la...109296450.html

2014 435i Coupe, 41k Miles, M sport Package

https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/...109381045.html

I am leaning toward to Gran Coupe due to the low mileage and overall practicality, but is the extra kick in the 435i worth it? And should I be worried about *41k* miles?

Thanks a lot!

Steven

[sspade]

I would personally choose option 1 (428i).

That would be a perfect ride for the wife and at that mileage, will last a long while. The only known issue with the N20 motor was solved by 2015 with revised components.

If the car were for you, a strong argument could be made for the more powerful 6 cylinder. But in all honesty, the 4 cylinder is plenty powerful enough for a daily driver. Even more so for the average female driver.

The fuel economy will also be significantly in favor of the 428i.

The more I think of it, I see little reason to get the 435i in your situation especially since they both have M Sport as well.

[davidr3]

Unless your wife cares about the extra kick, get the 428i. No point in a bigger engine if it won't be used. + to the normal person the 428i is enough power.

[TheWoo]

Originally Posted by sspade

I would personally choose option 1 (428i).

That would be a perfect ride for the wife and at that mileage, will last a long while. The only known issue with the N20 motor was solved by 2015 with revised components.

If the car were for you, a strong argument could be made for the more powerful 6 cylinder. But in all honesty, the 4 cylinder is plenty powerful enough for a daily driver. Even more so for the average female driver.

The fuel economy will also be significantly in favor of the 428i.

The more I think of it, I see little reason to get the 435i in your situation especially since they both have M Sport as well.

Thanks so much! Yea now thinking of it fuel economy is also a big plus.

[TheWoo]

Originally Posted by davidr3

Unless your wife cares about the extra kick, get the 428i. No point in a bigger engine if it won't be used. + to the normal person the 428i is enough power.

Yeah the power in the 428i should definitely be enough for her. Thanks so much for the advice!

[Fareed2997]

428i for sure. gray with the red

[whatevs]

I was in a similar situation where I found a 328 with 13K miles and a 340 with 30K miles. 328 has good amount of power and I got it as it was going to be my wife's daily driver. Love the car but do regret everyday (or the weekends I drive it) not having the extra 2 cylinders. If I were to redo - i would get the 340. Just my 2 cents!

[F36GC_NYC]

is it just me or is that a GREAT price?

[TheWoo]

Originally Posted by whatevs

I was in a similar situation where I found a 328 with 13K miles and a 340 with 30K miles. 328 has good amount of power and I got it as it was going to be my wife's daily driver. Love the car but do regret everyday (or the weekends I drive it) not having the extra 2 cylinders. If I were to redo - i would get the 340. Just my 2 cents!

Thanks so much for the response! Yea the extra power would be nice but since she would be driving it most of the time I think I am going to go with the 428i.

[TheWoo]

Originally Posted by F36GC_NYC

is it just me or is that a GREAT price?

Do seem like great prices for me considering the mileage especially for the 428i, although I am not too much into the BMW market. There are lots of other gran coupes of around 60k miles selling for only around 16k so I guess the prices fit the market here? The car certainly fits the price for me, looks and performs amazing.

[chowser51]

Definitely option 1. In the event she wants more power just get a cheap tune like bm3 or mhd.

[GreyF30]

Originally Posted by sspade

I would personally choose option 1 (428i).

That would be a perfect ride for the wife and at that mileage, will last a long while. The only known issue with the N20 motor was solved by 2015 with revised components.

If the car were for you, a strong argument could be made for the more powerful 6 cylinder. But in all honesty, the 4 cylinder is plenty powerful enough for a daily driver. Even more so for the average female driver.

The fuel economy will also be significantly in favor of the 428i.

The more I think of it, I see little reason to get the 435i in your situation especially since they both have M Sport as well.

TheWoo, I hope you read this before moving forward with the 428i.

Just a slight correction to the above post:
Please check the production date of the 428i. I personally drive a 2015 328i, but the vehicle was produced at the end of 2014. My N20 is a part of the batch with timing chain at risk (so the warranty is extended to 7yr/70k miles).

I read somewhere in this forum that if the production date is after 03/2015, it should have the new component. However, it seems that this is not a clear cutoff.

Again, just a precaution since I realize this after I bought mine!

[RM7]

An annoying thing about the 4-series coupe is that it's not a hatchback, it's a straight trunk. Once you own the Gran Coupe, you realize how stupid this is on every car that comes with a regular trunk. The utility is huge and worth it IMO.

It really depends on what you foresee yourself doing with the car...but it's also hard to foresee everything, which is generally where the GC becomes useful.

[davidr3]

Originally Posted by whatevs

I was in a similar situation where I found a 328 with 13K miles and a 340 with 30K miles. 328 has good amount of power and I got it as it was going to be my wife's daily driver. Love the car but do regret everyday (or the weekends I drive it) not having the extra 2 cylinders. If I were to redo - i would get the 340. Just my 2 cents!

Now you know for the future

[TheWoo]

Originally Posted by GreyF30

TheWoo, I hope you read this before moving forward with the 428i.

Just a slight correction to the above post:
Please check the production date of the 428i. I personally drive a 2015 328i, but the vehicle was produced at the end of 2014. My N20 is a part of the batch with timing chain at risk (so the warranty is extended to 7yr/70k miles).

I read somewhere in this forum that if the production date is after 03/2015, it should have the new component. However, it seems that this is not a clear cutoff.

Again, just a precaution since I realize this after I bought mine!

Hey GreyF30, thank you so much for the heads up. I went ahead and looked up the VIN number and unfortunately it was produced on January 24, 2015. I went and did some research online, and someone suggests that the part number has been changed for the "updated" timing chain.

Quote: "Up to 01/2015 – 11317584084
After 01/2015 – 11318648732"

I went on RealOEM and entered the VIN, it seems like the Gran Coupe has the new timing chain. Should settle me a little. Are there anything else I should watch out for?

[TheWoo]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

An annoying thing about the 4-series coupe is that it's not a hatchback, it's a straight trunk. Once you own the Gran Coupe, you realize how stupid this is on every car that comes with a regular trunk. The utility is huge and worth it IMO.

It really depends on what you foresee yourself doing with the car...but it's also hard to foresee everything, which is generally where the GC becomes useful.

Definitely! The reason I am leaning toward the Gran Coupe is also because of the massive storage space! I had a chance to buy a convertible 4 series couple weeks ago, I am glad I didn't go for that!

[GreyF30]

Originally Posted by TheWoo

Hey GreyF30, thank you so much for the heads up. I went ahead and looked up the VIN number and unfortunately it was produced on January 24, 2015. (The vin number is wba4a5c50fg051109) Again I am pretty new to BMW and the issues, so what specifically is the issue that I should watch out for?

Sure thing! Just trying to help from my (limited, but relevant) experience.

Just for context -- the earlier N20 is known for having an issue with the timing chain, and BMW extended the warranty to 7y/70k miles. It is well documented in this forum (try to start researching here for further detail). When it fails, it can do severe damage to the engine due to the messed up timing. Most people heard unusual "whining" sound prior to the failure.

On the flipside, it is also not as bad/prevalent as it seems because only the vocal minority that already took the hit that reported to this forum. However, my impression is the chain assembly failure is not a matter of "if", but "when".

If caught early (before damaging the engine) the cost of the replacement is ~$2-3k from what I heard (if outside warranty).

You will also see a lot of theories on how to "prevent" it, but none seems proven at this point.

Currently there is a class-action lawsuit going on. You can follow here:
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1614899

This is a useful website for BMW owner reimbursement:
http://www.bmw-rp.com/production/bmw...bmw_portal.nsf

You can plug in your VIN and see if your N20 is a part of the extended warranty program. If it does, it is more likely to be produced during the "at risk" production period. I checked my SO's 528i (which was produced in mid/late 2015) and it showed none. Mine shows extended warranty.

The 01/2015 production date of yours seems cutting it close too. I did check yours on the website (bmw-rp) and it has the timing chain option, so it means BMW thinks yours is affected. Again, I don't think it is a clear cutoff on a certain date that they will update the part. There must be some gray area/overlaps.


Any forum member want to chime in on this?

[RM7]

Originally Posted by GreyF30

Sure thing! Just trying to help from my (limited, but relevant) experience.

Just for context -- the earlier N20 is known for having an issue with the timing chain, and BMW extended the warranty to 7y/70k miles. It is well documented in this forum (try to start researching here for further detail). When it fails, it can do severe damage to the engine due to the messed up timing. Most people heard unusual "whining" sound prior to the failure.

On the flipside, it is also not as bad/prevalent as it seems because only the vocal minority that already took the hit that reported to this forum. However, my impression is the chain assembly failure is not a matter of "if", but "when".

If caught early (before damaging the engine) the cost of the replacement is ~$2-3k from what I heard (if outside warranty).

You will also see a lot of theories on how to "prevent" it, but none seems proven at this point.

Currently there is a class-action lawsuit going on. You can follow here:
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1614899

This is a useful website for BMW owner reimbursement:
http://www.bmw-rp.com/production/bmw...bmw_portal.nsf

You can plug in your VIN and see if your N20 is a part of the extended warranty program. If it does, it is more likely to be produced during the "at risk" production period. I checked my SO's 528i (which was produced in mid/late 2015) and it showed none. Mine shows extended warranty.

The 01/2015 production date of yours seems cutting it close too. I did check yours on the website (bmw-rp) and it has the timing chain option, so it means BMW thinks yours is affected. Again, I don't think it is a clear cutoff on a certain date that they will update the part. There must be some gray area/overlaps.


Any forum member want to chime in on this?

Among other cars, I'm looking at picking up another used 4-GC, most likel 4cyl for gas, but a few things I've picked up from the blown engine thread:

There is a new class action lawsuit and there appear to be some favorable results coming soon. It can't be disclosed and BMW isn't going to act on it until it's ordered, but it is a glimmer of hope. Apart from that, there are specific instructions on how to check the actual timing belt through the oil cap. There is also a document list you can search for on the internet that shows you the affected engines and years. I would insist with the service bulletin documentation that the timing belt and parts be changed, for any car purchased, assuming it has not already been. That same document also tells you which years are not affected by elimination. More info on this in the thread, but it takes a while to read through.

[jcortez75]

I am now running about one year on my 2015 428i xdrive GC and It has been solid. As other people have mentioned, and I can attest as an owner, all issues with the n26 engine have been fixed with this year with no recalls. There are no compromises going with the gran coupe if you have a family. Also with if you get one with xdrive, you are set driving in snow.

In the future, if I feel I need more power, there is always the bootmod option without the added weight of having the big engine.

Good luck

[sspade]

@GreyF30

You are correct. Should definitely check build date to be extra certain you have new components before purchase. 03/2015 or newer is guaranteed to have new components. There is speculation this started in late 2014 or very early 2015 but no way to tell for sure.

[TheWoo]

Originally Posted by GreyF30

Sure thing! Just trying to help from my (limited, but relevant) experience.

Just for context -- the earlier N20 is known for having an issue with the timing chain, and BMW extended the warranty to 7y/70k miles. It is well documented in this forum (try to start researching here for further detail). When it fails, it can do severe damage to the engine due to the messed up timing. Most people heard unusual "whining" sound prior to the failure.

On the flipside, it is also not as bad/prevalent as it seems because only the vocal minority that already took the hit that reported to this forum. However, my impression is the chain assembly failure is not a matter of "if", but "when".

If caught early (before damaging the engine) the cost of the replacement is ~$2-3k from what I heard (if outside warranty).

You will also see a lot of theories on how to "prevent" it, but none seems proven at this point.

Currently there is a class-action lawsuit going on. You can follow here:
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1614899

This is a useful website for BMW owner reimbursement:
http://www.bmw-rp.com/production/bmw...bmw_portal.nsf

You can plug in your VIN and see if your N20 is a part of the extended warranty program. If it does, it is more likely to be produced during the "at risk" production period. I checked my SO's 528i (which was produced in mid/late 2015) and it showed none. Mine shows extended warranty.

The 01/2015 production date of yours seems cutting it close too. I did check yours on the website (bmw-rp) and it has the timing chain option, so it means BMW thinks yours is affected. Again, I don't think it is a clear cutoff on a certain date that they will update the part. There must be some gray area/overlaps.


Any forum member want to chime in on this?

Hey Thanks so much for the info! Does seem like "my" production date is right on the edge, however do you know when will the timing chain usually fail? At what mileage appx? I am interested in this car for its unusually low mileage(23k) so I was thinking I wouldn't have to deal with any big payments to the dealerships other than maintenance. Thanks again

[TheWoo]

Originally Posted by jcortez75

I am now running about one year on my 2015 428i xdrive GC and It has been solid. As other people have mentioned, and I can attest as an owner, all issues with the n20 engine have been fixed with this year with no recalls. Also, having a family with 4 doors including xdrive, there are no compromises with the gran coupe version.

In the future, if I feel I need more power, there is always the bootmod option without the added weight of having the big engine.

Good luck

Thanks for your input! Settles my worries a lot! Just went and checked out the car today and it looks absolutely gorgeous, and very fun to drive as well.