[bmw020512]

Hello,

First post.

I am thinking about purchasing a 2016 550i. Car has about 45,000 miles and carfax shows oil changes about every 9,000 miles.

I’ve owned a 2012 535i. The in-line 6 cylinder had zero issues. Also own 2011 328 and and 2006 330. Zero engine issues.

What are your experiences, good or bad, with the V8 in the 2016 550i?

Thanks!

[JRSUH85]

I have had a 2016 550i xDrive for about a year now bought it with 30.5k miles and now it sits at 34.5k miles so I don't drive it all that much. But I have had no issues. It's a rocket and I love driving it but not practical for a daily. No oil burning issues what so ever running BMS stage 1 tune and liqui moly oil.

[DaWhole9]

No personal experience, but I did alot of research on which engine was the most trouble free and it was hands down the N55 inline 6. Now that doesnt mean that the 550 is bad, its just the 535 is more reliable and cheaper to maintain. You decide if that's important. 300+ hp is plenty for me in a street car. That V8 rumble though is sweet.

[550iFreak]

I had a 2011 550i with the 6 speed manual. Bought it with 70 ish K miles and sold it with 133k miles 5 years after.

Loved the car, did a lot of upgrades and put a lot of love and maintenance on her. Miss her dearly.

But.....I didn't miss the upkeep cost of the car and the pending repairs that was required to keep her going reliably strong while still paying the car loan off. The N63 is problematic and does have a bad rep sheet throughout a numerous amount of people owning a BMW with that engine. I had to do valve seals at 100k miles since it was burning oil at every 900-1k miles, the aux water pump, the belts, water pump, upgraded thermostat, and numerous of others to deal with. I also had a pending repair for the rear coolant flange that requires transmission removal and while ill be in there, might as well do valve intake cleaning/blasting and replace the clutch system.

The parts aren't cheap and if you're not mechanically inclined with proper docs and manuals to refer to repairing the car, it will kill you on labor costs if you were to take the car to the indy or stealer ship.

SO....

The 2016 550i......must have the N63TU variant so it was revised from my older predecessor N63T which should've made some improvements and even bumped the power output slightly.

45k miles is not high but I wouldn't say it is low for a N63 either. Most are seen to fail by the 100k mile mark, some earlier even with the revised N63TU. The 9k mile oil changes would raise a red flag if it was me.

I changed my oil at every 5500-6000 miles using OEM BMW filter and castrol Edge Euro 5w-40 and at that mile mark the oil was pretty dirty. I can only imagine at 9k......

Due to your history of having rock solid 6 cylinder engine powered BMWs, you would be unpleasantly surprised at how many issues you would tackle keeping that beast of a biturbo V8 on the road.

The rewards of running such a car without the M5 price tag may just be enough with the issues it will bring....

Or it may not haha....All I can tell you is that it isn't for the faint of heart.

Before you check this car out, or any other 550i cars, just do your homework on what potential issues you can run into (it is a lot even with the N63TU) and if you are able to handle them. Check ALL records and any repairs done ( updated injectors, fuel system, electrical, turbos, cooling lines, etc etc ), proper Maintenance items, and of course a physical inspection.

Real important one is to let the car idle for a period of time when warmed up for about 5-10 mins, then give it a good rev to make sure no smoke comes out. If it does.....RUN. valve seals, turbo failure, piston ring failure or all the above.

But let us know if you want to take on the car

Ohhhh.... if you wonder why the hell I sold my 550i.....

I was 29 years old and I needed to grow up so I sold the car, paid off all my debts, saved up enough money and bought my first house and married my wife who I was with for 9 years.

Now I am 30 and after getting the house repairs settled ( very very soon ) and giving my wife the honeymoon she deserves I am going back to either get a car similar or go Porsche or Audi R8. Only time can tell