Was soll ich mir für einen Erstwagen holen?

Older Audi A3 petrol engines without turbo are reliable and durable. The 1.4 TSI tends to cause problems with the pistons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ6uxhuZ1ak&t=76s

In the case of diesel, the question is whether the engine life is affected by the diesel update arranged by the Federal Power Agency.

BMW 316i are engine-sided simply large, many control chain problems

https://www.motor-talk.de/forum/wie-gross-ist-das-problem-mit-der-steuerkette-eigentlich-t5996309.html

The problem occurs very often with the N42 and N46 engines. I don’t know any statistics. My neighbor had a total motor damage with the 318i N42 engine at 40,000 lm. This has been a few years ago and BMW has made 500 euros of cash at repair costs of 6,500 euros. At my 316 ti Compact with N46 engine, the control chain and plastic guide collapsed at 77,000 km and I paid around 1,500 euros to BMW. I always drive the engine warm and rarely over 4,000 rpm. Of course there are also people who are supposed to be over 300,000 km without this damage. In my view, the above-mentioned motors in the area of camshaft control and mass balancing shafts are constructed overcomplicatedly. From a BMW engine, I expect the control chain to hold 500,000 km as was the case with my E36 320I and an earlier 523I. The bad thing is that the repair of the control chain is not a guarantee that this does not happen after a few thousand km. A lot will be written for this, but the fact is that this happens and often happens. The best oil and the best maintenance do not use anything.