N52 125i

[at21]

Hi guys I'm moving on from my E90 320i as the n46 motor has a lot of inherent problems, and not to mention sluggish.
I'm really keen on getting the e82 125i as I understand it's a fun car and the more realiable out of the bunch.
Could any members who has owned a 125i give me some feedback of common problems and what to look when buying a used 125i.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance!

[craufurd]

It is a fun car to drive. It has a flat torque curve, with decent pull to mid range, although I feel it lacks top end. It's cheaper to maintain than a 135i, less to insure and BMW's last N/A straight 6 coupe. I would recommend going with M-Sport if you can. In addition to the better aesthetics you get improved suspension setup including sway bar on the rear. If you're thinking of mods there's some easy gains as the n52 is a detuned 3 litre (an ECU flash can give you +20% power gain), however it will never be a rocketship - the mods scene is 20x bigger in the n54/135i world . I track mine and I really love it - whilst it's not the fastest it is a blast to drive and plenty of opportunity to drop time through tuning the chassis and suspension to get quicker through the corners.

[Pete.J]

Originally Posted by at21

Hi guys I'm moving on from my E90 320i as the n46 motor has a lot of inherent problems, and not to mention sluggish.
I'm really keen on getting the e82 125i as I understand it's a fun car and the more realiable out of the bunch.
Could any members who has owned a 125i give me some feedback of common problems and what to look when buying a used 125i.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance!

Buy something with a N54, you'll never regret it. A stock 135i would run circles around a 125i with $5,000 spent on the 125i's engine.

I owned a N52 in the past and I hated the flat spot around 3,000rpm, the torque curve dips around 3,000rpm, while the DISA valves open up to provide you with an improved top-end.

Unless you're a naturally aspirated die-hard fan, I reckon go the N54. It comes with its own issues, but all fixes are well documented online and you'll get a lot of support from guys on here. You'll love every second of owning a N54, the N54 makes more torque than the N52 at every point in the rpm range. Even at very low rpms when the N54 is turbo-lagging i.e. 1,200rpm, it still pulls harder than the N52 loll This was my experience owning both.

As for the 320i, I agree with you! It's garbage, possibly BMW's worst engine ever made It's both unreliable and gutless too, which makes it really pointless to own one. At least the N54 is a freakin' monster while being unreliable.

Good luck mate!