BMW horror story
 

To all who take the Honda reliability for granted and looking wishfully at luxury cars like BMW, here is a good reminder why it's not worth it.

Bought 05/10/14 07' 328i on a flatbed need help - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

The first mistake is buying it from a VW dealer. :P The second mistake is not going through the car and checking out the current condition of the vehicle whether the person does it themselves or through a trusted mechanic/shop. What's good, what needs to be taken car of ahead of time, or whats flat out needs to get tended to NOW. This should be done when purchasing ANY used vehicle be it Honda/Acura, BMW/MINI, Kia, Hyundai, Ford, Mitsubishi, or whatever.

This is a bit of a rant BUT what really annoys about most people and their BMWs (and MINIs) is that they believe they are simple luxury vehicles that can drive forever and a half on just engine oil changes like a Honda or Acura. BMWs are indeed performance vehicles (and fairly picky/frail ones at that depending on model) they do have a MUCH MORE intensive maintenance schedule than a Honda. For example... How many MANUFACTURES (Not the dealer) recommend a 1,200 mile break in service? BMW does at least. Spark plugs and drive belts need to be replaced every 60k miles, transmission fluid is 30k for both A/T and M/T models... the same goes for differential fluid, power steering fluid, and the fuel filter.

I could continue rambling on about this but the point is BMW, MINI, or any other European vehicle from is going to need a bit more attention to detail when it comes to maintenance than our wonderfully Japanese engineered machines which were designed with longevity and efficiency in mind. If they can comprehend THIS and do the proper routine maintenance instead of getting the car for the darn badge on its hood and run the car into the ground (yes, I know the guy bought this E9X used from VW and had it 4 days) then there wouldn't be so many of these unreliable horror storys.

I would gladly pick up an E36, E46, or E92 3 series coupe or an E39 or E60 5 series in a heartbeat if I could find one that was decently priced, isn't darn automatic, ragged to hell and back, or wasn't the stereotypical BMW "owner" Alpine White/Titanium Silver/Jet Black with tan interior and only the Sport package as the ONLY option. >.>

I agree with what you wrote. Its just amazing how much fuss and difficulty was involved. the guy never mention you he even checked the oil level at the beginning of his ownership.

New bimmers don't have oil dipsticks, so you have to rely entirely on the computer and hope it's telling you the truth. You can only know you have a problem when the light comes on.

euro cars are a hit or miss. but considering the vehicle dynamics, it's worth risking it if you have money, patience, and time.

I have a 2000 BMW 740i that I am GLADLY parting with as soon as my LX CVT comes in. I bought it in 2012 and have had zero problems with it but I've driven it less than 3000 miles. From reading at Bimmerforums and a friend of mine that have had several BMWs, I DO NOT want to have any maintenance related issues with it. I want to have good memories of this car, which I do.

The plan is to let it sit now (with zero issues) until I get my hands on a Fit. Sweating bullets and praying for no thousands of dollars worth of maintenance. I've always wanted one and was happy with it for it's short stay.

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Sounds like you have no faith in it? Are there any signs of something big about to fail or are you just overprotecting yourself?
It looks good.
Must be safe and fun to drive.

That's an older Bimmer, those are fairly reliable. How many miles does it have total? If it only has 3000 miles then it'll go to 50k without problems, maybe even further.

after owning four used german cars(VW - M.B)i can say the older ones were user friendly...and pretty much all maintenance hogs. the newer ones are diificult even for the factory techs to work on...i have a 2005 VW jetta GLS sitting in the drive way i purchased from my son. timing belt flipped after VW dealer inspected and said it was good to go until replacement mileage.....i'm a retired auto/truck mechanic ASE certifled on gas & diesel and this jetta is the most difficult car i have ever worked on. i have worked on all my five children's cars thru the years from 81 honda civics to mitsubishis with a few VWs thrown in there and this new german stuff is engineered to be consumed and thrown away. the local VW dealer didn't even want to fix my son's jetta and hit him with an exorbitant repair bill of $4300-4800! , after this dealer had told him the belt was good to go 3500 miles earlier. the service manager sat there in his top shelf suit & stated they just didn't have time to fix anything. the whole service department was 100% commited to servicing "leased" cars.
that my friend is the way of the future! as wages stagnate & cost continue to climb the average consumer will be leasing instead of owning a car.
buyer beware of program cars.....many a good consumer has been burnt by them.....anyone wanna buy a pretty boat anchor??
this ol'man has to go......just my 2 cents.....which ain't worth a flip...!:)
G.D.

European cars are a different ball game, and for me, they are purchased for different reasons than my Honda. I guess I look at it as higher risk, higher reward in the form of driving experience. For many though, the juice isn't worth the squeeze and cars are just a Point A to Point B. Those people should buy Japanese. This is just my opinion of course.

very well expressed!-----as related to todays german cars....

used to be a time when the germans & many other european auto companies built a simple, robust user friendly auto. the do do byrd is gone too.
seems use of overly complicated high tech Gizmos, used to edge out the competition and low quality are the norm for a few good years of Fahrvergnugen! :)
GD

I never did let you guys know what happened. While driving my BMW 2hrs out to pick up the Honda Fit that I know own, it broke down 1.5hrs out. I had to have it towed to the dealership and pick up my Fit.

The BMW water pump went (Common problem) and the belts all broke. Total cost of repair - $1700. It's currently sitting at a BMW dealership 2hrs away for me to pick it up. I'll get it soon and hope it doesn't break down on the way back.

It is the ONLY car I've ever owned that broke down in this manner. What a piece of shi*! It showed no signs of any problems at all. I just wanted to get away from it with happy memories. NOT!

It has about 155k miles on it. I just have only driven it around 3k since owning it for a few years. I never have any plans on purchasing anything European. Toyotas, Subarus, Hondas, Lexus, Acuras.....are for me.