BMW 1 series N13 vs B38 engine

ldmendes7 · Jun 6, 2023

I'm looking to get a 116i pre facelift as the post facelift 118's (the equivalent power) is out of my budget.

I'm wondering how the reliability of that N13 engine is, I've heard the timing chains are recommended to re replaced around 100k miles, what do you think of this, and how much would that cost?

How does reliability between the N13 engine compare to the B38 (the facelifts engine) is the B38 worth the extra grand that these facelift models are selling for? I've heard that while the 3 cylinder B38 engines can output the same power as the older N13 4 cylinder, they aren't as fun to drive, regarding the throttle responsiveness.

My current engine is a 1.0T ecoboost in a fiesta, how do both these engines compare to the ecoboost in terms of reliability if you have any idea?

Thanks for any replies

dxnnyk · Jun 6, 2023

Welcome to the forum!

Thoughts on my departing N13 Engine makes for an interesting read. B38 in my 118i was a great engine - I was very pleased with it. Much better than how the N13 looks to be.

ldmendes7 · Jun 6, 2023

Thank you, that raised some good points

martin10chk · Jun 6, 2023

I will jump in on this (as the OP of the N13 Thread). As will be clear from that I am not a hater of the N13 by any means. But my son has the B38 in his mini and I have driven that and read around the topic. Hold out for the B38. The N13 is not a 'bad' engine, though much maligned, but the B38 is better in every way.

ldmendes7 · Jun 6, 2023

Okay, interesting. Would you then justify the extra £1000 for the B38 models?

un1eash · Jun 6, 2023

Get a B38, the N13 is the prince engine which was developed with Peugeot/Citroen

symonh2000 · Jun 7, 2023

I know of three people who have had BMW Mini's with the N13 engine.

Two of them have had nothing but problems, the other one who does low miles hasn't really had too much trouble.

It doesn't exactly have the best reputation so I would tend to go with the B38 even if it does cost more.

DanM1980 · Jun 7, 2023

As said above the newer facelift models (with the b38 ) are a bit nicer overall (there are quite a few subtle tweaks) so well worth the extra imo.

BMW 1 series N13 vs B38 engine

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