[bmwqt]

I currently own a 2012 Mustang GT convertible. I've been looking into trading to something less sporty and more comfortable, but that can have a nice handling at the same time.

The 238i/M235i feels like it can fit exactly what I'm looking in a car at the moment. Doing some research, I found two models that caught my interest:

2014 228i, 13k miles: Fully loaded with M packages. A/T and it's priced at $33k CAD ($25k USD).
2016 M235i, 13k miles: Does not have sunroof and a few other things (it comes with adaptive suspension but I'm not sure if it's standard for this model). M/T, was previously leased to a BMW employee and it's priced at $41k CAD ($31k USD).

Went to drive both. The 228i seems to have more than enough power for daily use, so I thought about going with the cheaper option.

However, I spent several days reading about BMW, and how unreliable the latest models are. I haven't read anything specific to 2-series models yet. Mostly 3/5/X. Has 2-series been proving to be more reliable than other models?

I feel very concerned about buying a car and having to spend a lot of time on the shop fixing it. That is one of the reasons why I thought about getting the 3rd party warranty for the 228i (no CPO since it's a Ford dealership), which would extend my warranty to 4.5 years. Damn, even the fact that the car has a sunroof and A/T makes me scared of buying it, I would rather have M/T and no sunroof just so there's less things to break.

I usually drive very little (~8k miles/year) and was planning to keep the car for about 6/7 years. If the car could at least be reliable during that time, I would already be happy enough.

[aozer]

Pre 2015 production n20 and n26 engines have been known to have timing chain issues that have led to blown motors. I would probably go with a car that has been produced after 2015 with the redesigned timing chain. That being said, there is no telling if the issue is really all that widespread so it could be something that only effects a small percentage of owners.

[BEM-S4]

You can have a BMW dealer inspect the 228 and CPO it if you want anytime before the original lapses. I believe it's around $1500. Would do it close to end of original so you could decide if you like and want to keep car before spending the money. That said you're eating into the delta to the 235 which already has CPO. I'd go for that one if you can get it bought for $30k or less.

[DF]

Consumer reports recommends the 2er. Take that for what it's worth. The zf tranny and sunroof won't break. If you want a manual get one but don't avoid it because you think it will break. Given how little you drive you probably won't have a ton of repairs. It costs more to keep running but you have to decide if the every day enjoyment is worth the price of admission.

[Xiaoxi]

18month M235i has been rock solid.

I had a bad experience with the N26 in the 328i, and often see drivetrain malfunction threads from N2x owners relating to the fuel pump.

[Thebush121]

1 year with my m235i on the autobahn and absolutely zero issues. Went on almost a 3000 mile road trip, several laps around the Nordschleife, several other long drives and not a single issue.

[BMWZ4]

Perfect, not a single issue

[BEM-S4]

I put 34k on my 2014 235. No issues whatsoever. One of the clips broke on my exhaust that was fixed in 10 mins. Only other time I visited dealer, aside from scheduled, was to get air in tires / TPMS reset when it first got cold in the fall.

[nike001]

Had to replace steering rack (electric, ~$4k job, covered under warranty of course) around 12k miles but other than that I had no issues when I got rid of it 3 weeks ago with 15k miles.

[DF]

I had two,things. But one was my friends fault. Some plastic cover thing broke off the seat rail. I'll be damned if I can figure out where it came from. My headliner detached in the back. I'm probably the only person this is happned too. It's on back order from Germany

[RoundelM3]

2016 228i convertible - zero issues. 2013 335i sedan - 2minor issues, fixed by dealership at no charge. After a total of 7 BMWs between my wife and I since 2001, never once been stranded, issues quickly fixed by dealership at no charge or inexpensively repaired by a qualified Indy shop when out of warranty. From my experience, BMW reliability is superior to other makes we've previously owned.

[Viffermike]

See this thread (started by yours truly). The latest Consumer Reports Car Reliability Survey came out yesterday, and BMW ranks ninth -- considerably above average -- and the 2 Series is rated as the most reliable BMW by a fair amount. In fact, the 2 Series has now been rated the most reliable car in its class for three years running.

Keep in mind two things:
1). The 2 Series has been around since late 2013. There is now plenty of data on the line, particularly pre-2017 Nxx-engine models.
2). By its nature, forums such as this skew the perceived reliability of a car downward because, by their nature, people complain far, far more than praise.

A related aside to 2). above: The most reliable car in the 2016 survey is the Toyota Prius/Lexus CT 200h. I owned a CT200h F Sport before getting my 2 Series. I was a member of a couple of forums for the car. There was plenty of conjecture about things going wrong in others' CTs; that's partially what forums are for, you know? But the bottom line is that the CT is the most reliable car money can buy. Period. This is not opinion. This is fact based on empirical statistics.

So basically, if you're worried about reliability, you should be worried more by any other competing car rather than the 2 Series.

[kdog26372]

2 issues with the car so far. Exhaust flap rattle which I fixed myself for free, but would require 30 hour trip to dealer for proper fix. Also cooling fan failed and this almost left me stranded as car would overheat. Also, except for the first 6 months of ownership the send to car features from the iphone app simply don't work.

So, while I love the car, it has not been without issues in the 2 years of ownership.

[jpnh]

IIRC the 228 or 230 shares the same basic engine with the Mini Cooper S/JCW

There have been some significant problems with the Mini Coopers with main bearings iirc for model year 2014-15.

Not sure if any of that translated into the BMW variants.

the 3.0/6 cylinder sounds to be pretty bombproof

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by jpnh

IIRC the 228 or 230 shares the same basic engine with the Mini Cooper S/JCW

There have been some significant problems with the Mini Coopers with main bearings iirc for model year 2014-15.

Not sure if any of that translated into the BMW variants.

the 3.0/6 cylinder sounds to be pretty bombproof

The 3.0L is also widely regarded as a great, reliable power plant and has won many awards for engine of the year and all that sort of thing.

[Bahuba]

2.5 years of owner ship. Zero issues.

[jpnh]

Originally Posted by Bahuba

2.5 years of owner ship. Zero issues.

4 or 6 cyl?

NM...I see it in your sig...its a 235

[Beartato]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

2). By its nature, forums such as this skew the perceived reliability of a car downward because, by their nature, people complain far, far more than praise.

Which is funny, as compared to other car forums I've been on, complaints here seem to be minimal.

Just rolled over 10K miles with 8 months of ownership.

I had a check engine light come on within the first 200 miles, ended up being the tank vent valve which the dealer replaced and since then no issues.

Based on what I've read here and professional rankings I'd say this car is pretty excellent. Usually I'm the type to always have another car in mind in case something happens to my current one to replace it with, or in general I tend to dump cars once they're out of warranty, but this M235i checks all the boxes (performance, mileage, reliability). I'd buy another M235i in a heartbeat.

I'm sure the 228i is fun too, but I've never driven one so I can't comment.

[Sportstick]

Just past two years of happy ownership.......

I had a rattle. Fixed.

[XutvJet]

This is my first BMW. I bought my M235 new back in Feb of this year. The car has 8,000 miles. No issues at all in 10 months of ownership.

I too was/is like you with concerns about BMW short and long term reliability. I researched the heck out of it because I tend to keep my cars for 4 to 6 years thus I would potentially be outside of the warranty period. Based on my research, the ONLY BMWs I'd consider owning long term would be N55-equipped 2 and 3 series BMWs. The less tech, the better. Luckily, many of the major electrical and drivetrain parts between the 2 and 3 series are the same and have been out for a while. BMW learned their lesson with the somewhat complex N54 twin turbo motor. They addressed many of it's problems with the single turbo N55. Parts in general are far less expensive and easier to access.

The ZF automatic in these cars is reliable and is used in many other auto makes beyond BMW. The moonroof should be fine as well. I've owned numerous cars with moonroofs over the years and never has a single issue. I don't see how a BMW would be any different. It's such a common system. With that said, I did order mine with the moonroof deleted only because I wanted less weight at the top of the car and more chassis rigidity.

[MBimmer]

I purchased my M235i in April and have approximately 7500 miles on it. Only issue was my speaker system would randomly only play on the left side of the car. It didn't matter the input (bluetooth, radio, satellite radio, aux). They changed out the instrument cluster under warranty due to whatever code they found. No other issues.

[BarryJI]

Nearly two years and it's been flawless, regardless of the challenges posed by tuning it and driving it pretty spiritedly whenever possible.