[LexusGuyForNow97]

Hi,

I currently am driving a 2016 Lexus IS300awd. My car is now reaching 235k km on it, and generally it has been an effortless ownership experience. My car eats tires and brakes (staggered and I drive hard) but otherwise it has been largely general maintenance. I don't neglect or miss checkpoints, I just do things at the time. That being said, I've only ever owned Toyota or Honda's and apart from oil and brakes for general maintenance, that's been it.

So I have been considering a 2016-18 340i 6MT awd pretty much as soon as I got my IS. What held me back was that the car was 10k more, and I am super skeptical about reliability. I hear how good the B58 is, so I do want to try it. I love how the car drove on my test drive and I can't shake that feeling. Especially because the Lexus is my first automatic car and quite honestly, I don't like auto - never have. I just really wanted an IS and I was willing to part with the MT to get it.

Just to provide figures, read below:


Annual mileage: 45-50k km/year. Can vary but the last 4 years have been 45k km.

My cost per year in maintenance is roughly $2k a year if I put the pen to paper.

Average MPG: 21MPG, 91 only, approximately 50L per fill around $100CAD.

Pros: really easy to work on the Lexus. I can do a lot of work and don't need to calibrate stuff via the dealer or computer program. It's a 20 year old platform which makes it so subservient to own. That being said, it's also one of its cons.

While the Lexus hasn't been perfect compared to other vehicles I have owned, it has been a fantastic car. Fantastic enough that I am scared to jump ship and then feel like I made a mistake. At the end of the day, money is important to me and I am not at a point in life where dropping money in repairs is worthwhile. I would rather save for other things I have in the near future (wedding, house, etc). I don't mind paying for a good driving experience, so costs of good rubber, brakes, etc are okay with me. Just not the kind of person to want to blow money on repairs constantly.

I have test driven the new integra since I had a 6MT Acura TSX prior, and the integra is a good 10k car. Not a good car above that so I wouldn't consider it as I found it lack lustre. The only Honda/Acura product I would consider in today's world are the Type R/S but with my personality and how I go about my life, a luxury sports sedan is more fitting.

Anyway, just looking for cost of ownership from fellow owners. Also want to know the problem areas with these cars. If anyone owned a Lexus IS, how did the 2GR compare to the B58 in terms of cost to operate and reliability?

My assumption is tires, brakes, and fuel economy is going to be similar.

[eff32fl]

I can't comment on long term operating/maintenance costs since I've only owned my 440i for 2.5 years but if you're considering a 340i maybe a 440i Gran Coupe might be another option. It is sportier looking since it's based on a coupe.

[LA430]

I have a 430i with the B48 (extremely similar engine), but has the M sport optioned brembo brakes.

The brembo calipers are super easy to work on.
I’ve have issues with coolant leaks on mine, but outside of that no real issues.

For coding or computer needed services there plenty of aftermarket support. I personally use BimmerLink for diagnostics and bimmergeeks protool for any coding needs.

BMW does a decent job with their “Value services” and would reccomend taking a look at those. For instance when I hit 60k miles I purchased 3 years and unlimited miles of oil changes for around $200. I’ve definitely gotten my money out of that because I drive so much.

One thing I’ve noticed is the insurance on my BMW is way higher than other cars I’ve had/have. It’s easily twice as much as my wife’s 2016 Honda civic and nearly twice as much as my 2014 Passat with full coverage on all.

[thatgarrett]

If you can do your own work, it’s not terribly different from your Lexus- price out tires, brake pads, oil and filter and compare it to what you’re paying on your IS300- my guess is not super different. Using OE parts instead of BMW saves a lot without sacrificing quality, as with any brand car.

But one thing you’ve probably noticed is how much info and support is out there for this platform- software, forums, videos, websites with the entire factory service manual, etc.

The F30 3 series in general is one of the more trouble free BMW models you could get- as much as people like the older ones, you’d have all kinds of issues like window regulators, fuel pumps, and ECU’s going out. This generation is a notable step up that feels closer to an Asian car in the way it’s assembled IMO, not a bad thing. Also, the B58 is very reliable as long as you keep up on maintenance. If you are going to mod it a lot you might run into some more things to address, but overall you should be fine if you get a good example that has been cared for.

For less than $200 you can get full diagnostics and coding apps and an OBD adapter, and also an external hard drive and cable to run the dealership level diagnostic and programming software yourself (either storing the files on the external drive or running a virtual machine with the software on it). That’s the benefit of driving a modern car that is popular with the DIY crowd- you have access to far more tools and resources to work on it yourself.

Now, if you outsource your work, that’s a different story and depends on what indies you have around you, as you’ll need a German shop and not a general Japanese shop like you could get by with for your Lexus.

[Livetodrive]

With 62k miles on it, my 2016 340i X Drive with the 8-speed ZF auto transmission has been super reliable. The only repair was the recent replacement of the hydro bearings. I have followed the maintenance schedule.

[Billfitz]

Ten years in my only expenses have been regular maintenance, which I do myself.

[undertaker]

2015 F30, 94k. Had some oil leaks, covered under warranty. Other than that, been solid. Oil change every 5k. Have owned since 18k, and use a trustworthy independent shop.

[cfm56d7b]

2017 440i GC with 52K mikes. Regular maintenance including transmission fluid changed at 50K miles. B58 engine is a gem.

[Nickski06]

2016 340xi, 97k miles, been tuned for about 4 years, last two years on MHD stage 2 and now stage 2+ after upgrading the fuel pump.

$0.00 in repair costs. Brakes just once front and rear and a couple sets of tires. The only real money put into it has been performance upgrades and some of the preventative maintenance. I still need to get to the tranny, transfer case and coolant, I haven’t touched those yet. I’ve done plugs twice, differentials and oil changes every 5-7k miles. I’ve done all the work myself, so this car has never been to a shop or dealership.

[AspektUSA]

2017 340i (B58)

Only maintenance like spark plugs, fluids, oils, filters.

Only repair has been replacement of the shocks/struts at 40,000mi.

Since they're EDC, it was around $1800 for all 4 corners in parts and DIY labor.

[chowser51]

i don't remember any issues with my '06 and '09 e90s.
my '18 f33 and '19 f39 both have the b48. the f33 had the coolant expansion hose. cost me $30 to replace it and a lot of time. that happened before the recall. it made it to 77k before i sold it. i never had the water issue or tabs breaking on the roof.
my f39 i have put 62k miles on it. telematics battery was replaced under recall. everything else has been self maintenance. about to do the plugs soon at next oil change. hopefully it's as easy to do as my f33.

[montr]

I have s 4 series 430i 2018. Here are my issues:

At 49,432 miles, I had one parking distance sensor failure, a coolant hose leak and a line at the turbocharger. These were covered by the warranty.

At 60,390 miles, the oil filter housing failed (coolant circuit), the engine lost all the coolant in few minutes. I had to stop the engine and wait for 2 hours to be towed. The repair was done by the BMW dealer for > $3k.

Both problems are because BMW used plastic hose and plastic for the oil filter housing. This is a common problem with the B48. There are now non-OEM replacements parts that are all aluminum for the B48 and B58.

See https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...5&postcount=15

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by LexusGuyForNow97

Hi,

I currently am driving a 2016 Lexus IS300awd. My car is now reaching 235k km on it, and generally it has been an effortless ownership experience. My car eats tires and brakes (staggered and I drive hard) but otherwise it has been largely general maintenance. I don't neglect or miss checkpoints, I just do things at the time. That being said, I've only ever owned Toyota or Honda's and apart from oil and brakes for general maintenance, that's been it.

So I have been considering a 2016-18 340i 6MT awd pretty much as soon as I got my IS. What held me back was that the car was 10k more, and I am super skeptical about reliability. I hear how good the B58 is, so I do want to try it. I love how the car drove on my test drive and I can't shake that feeling. Especially because the Lexus is my first automatic car and quite honestly, I don't like auto - never have. I just really wanted an IS and I was willing to part with the MT to get it.

Just to provide figures, read below:


Annual mileage: 45-50k km/year. Can vary but the last 4 years have been 45k km.

My cost per year in maintenance is roughly $2k a year if I put the pen to paper.

Average MPG: 21MPG, 91 only, approximately 50L per fill around $100CAD.

Pros: really easy to work on the Lexus. I can do a lot of work and don't need to calibrate stuff via the dealer or computer program. It's a 20 year old platform which makes it so subservient to own. That being said, it's also one of its cons.

While the Lexus hasn't been perfect compared to other vehicles I have owned, it has been a fantastic car. [...]

F3x appear to develop heater core issues as they age.

Early B-series engines could be oil burners and are not easy to work on. These engines are power dense putting out well over 100 HP/Liter. Due to this power density BMW has employed dual cooling circuits. This means a lot of coolant pipes and connections. As a result it's no surprise that chasing coolant loss is a thing with this engine family. The other issue is that the oil filter housing is made of plastic and mounted at the rear of the engine. The gaskets will harden and/or the housing will crack. The location of this part makes it a four-figur repair.

You can obtain dealer level software at little to no cost.

Every automaker has their own way of doing things, and everything is more complex compared to what was out 20 yrs ago.