Car Model Guide/ BMW/ 1 Series/ E88/ Compare

E88, compare every engine

All 8 variants in this chassis on one screen. Identical body, identical electronics, identical suspension. Everything below is a consequence of which engine is in the bay.

Full comparison

VariantYearsPowerTorqueFuelTransmissionsEconomyRiskIssuesWorst single repairBandGood buyVerdict
118i N432008–2011143 PS190 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)6.5–8R319€2,500€3,400–€7,700€4,200Buy with conditions
118d N472008–2013143 PS300 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)4.5–5.5R420€2,500€4,000–€9,250€4,950Caution
120i N432008–2011170 PS210 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)6.5–8.5R319€2,500€3,800–€8,500€4,650Buy with conditions
120d N472008–2013177 PS350 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)4.7–6R420€2,500€4,500–€10,550€5,550Caution
123d N47S2008–2013204 PS400 Nmdiesel6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)5–6.5R420€2,500€5,650–€13,500€6,950Caution
125i N522008–2013218 PS270 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)8–10R220€2,500€5,900–€14,150€7,400Buy
135i N542008–2010306 PS400 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 6-sp automatic (ZF)9.5–12R422€3,500€8,250–€18,900€10,350Caution
135i N552010–2013306 PS400 Nmpetrol6-sp manual, 7-sp DCT9–11.5R318€2,000€10,600–€25,700€13,300Buy with conditions

Issue overlap by engine. The row that decides it

IssueCostN43N47N47SN52N54N55
Turbocharger wastegate rattle and turbo failure€1,200–€3,500····●·
Fuel injector failure€1,800–€3,000····●·
"Lifetime" fluid neglect€400–€2,500●●●●●·
Rear timing chain failurewalk away€1,500–€2,500·●····
Rear timing chain stretch and failure (123d)walk away€1,500–€2,500··●···
DPF clogging and forced regeneration€250–€1,800·●●···
Timing chain tensioner rattle€300–€1,400●·····
Variable-vane turbo actuator sticking€400–€1,200·●●···
High-pressure fuel pump failure€700–€1,100····●·
EGR cooler leak€400–€1,000·●●···
Swirl flap wear and ingestion€400–€900·●●···
Cold-start lifter tick and VANOS rattle€150–€900···●··
Electric water pump and thermostat failure€500–€800···●●●
Carbon buildup on intake valves€400–€700●···●●
Valve cover and PCV failure€400–€700·····●
NOx sensor failure€300–€600●·····
Mechatronic sleeve and pan gasket leak€250–€600●●●●●·
Oil filter housing gasket leak€300–€600···●●●
VANOS solenoid and Valvetronic motor faults€200–€600·····●
Piezo injector failure (lean-burn petrol)€350–€500●·····
Valve cover gasket leak€250–€500···●··
Eccentric shaft sensor leak€250–€450···●··
Charge pipe cracking€150–€400····●·

Only engine-differentiating issues are listed. 13 further issues apply to every engine in this chassis. Cooling, electrics, suspension and the gearbox, and are on the chassis page.

Cross-chassis comparison

To compare against a different chassis: an E92 335i against an E90 330d, say, use the general comparison tool, which takes up to four variants from anywhere in the database and encodes them in the URL so the comparison can be shared.