[hakari]

Hi. I am new here. Let me tell you my story and my problems.

Right now I am owner of a Golf 6 1.6MPI engine. Looking to change my car this spring/summer. I am looking for a G30, I would like a 530i, think 520i is too little for this car, but I might be wrong.

Now, my parents are helping me with half of the money to buy a SH one, have around 35k euro budget. My father discussed with our mechanic and he told him that the 2.0 liters with 2 turbos from 2017 to 2020 are not reliable and you will have a lot of problems with them when you hit 100k km. Now this might be true, if the previous owner was not taking proper care of the car, but I can't afford a g30 with less than.... i don't know... say 30k km? So that scared my father and told me that we have to buy one that is at least 2021. Now here it comes the problem. I can't really find one to fit the budget, most of them are over 40k, which is a bit too much(to be honest even 35k looks like a lot). Can't even find a G20 2021+ 330i in these money. Now, is is true, are they really that problematic, will the "engine let me down" as my mechanic says at 100k, it was hard for me to imagine this? Because I am thinking to look for 2019+, but have to like convince my dad about its reliability.

Now, I want a petrol based engine, not diesel, maybe hybrid but I don't really know much about the hybrid system from bmw, might be the one from toyota? Heard something like that. Now the 3.0 engine has a huge fee in my country, but I am kind of done to paying them, but really can't find one with that engine, quite rare.

So what do you say guys, should I leave my mechanic in his beliefs and look for a 2019+ G30? Tell me more about their reliability and what to watch out for. Thanks <3 Happy new year btw!

[Bob in IL]

Just FYI the 2.0t engine has a single twin scroll turbo. The name Twin Power turbo can be confusing. Good luck on your search.

[AP]

I’ve not owned either car but I think if you look through these threads, you won’t find any horror stories . The cars appear (at least to me reading through here) to be pretty good overall

I think the key when buying second hand is to make sure that the car has been well looked after. Lower miles is obviously better but how it’s been looked after even more so

Note the 530 is not a 3 litre engine despite its name , it’s a more powerful 2 litre engine

Make sure you have a good warranty because if you do have to fix anything, these cars could be quite expensive. If you are stretching your budget to get one , make sure you have funds for any unexpected repairs outside of any warranty you may have.

The one item to look for that seem quite common on the g30 are coolant leaks so be sure to check that.

You might also want to budget for some of the subscriptions that exist for it. I’m thinking map updates, RTTI (real-time traffic updates )

These are annual fees that are applicable )if you want) after the first 3 years of the car where they are free.

Good luck finding your car

Other who specially have either a 530i or 520i will chip in with their experience

[jimscamp]

I had a 2018 520i Touring as a work car a few years back.

I'd just chip in to say I don't think that it was under-powered, it seemed right in line with "normal" cars and had enough power when you needed it. Fuel economy was great and it was very quiet and refined.

This is coming from someone who likes a bit of power and all my personal cars have been 300hp+, with my current daily driver family car being a G31 540i Xdrive.

I didn't feel like the 520i was gasping for air - sure, it didn't kick you into your seat when you floor it from 60-100mph... but 0-60 speeds and cruising, it was more than adequate and quicker than any VW's/Fords/KIA's that you're sharing the road with...

[BMW012]

if you search here there is a thread with all the issues people had including the model and year.

[the_wok]

I have a 2018 M550i that just hit 102k miles. I haven’t had any major failures, just standard maintenance. The only thing that’s given me trouble is the drivers side going out.