Should I buy a BMW?

[weltweit]

If you want a BMW I would say have the courage of your convictions.

My much trusted mechanic though who worked on all makes, does not rate BMWs. I won't quote his exact words, but suffice to say he didn't rate their build quality.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I bought it

Its totally impractical for what I do but I love the leather wood interior. And despite being 12 years old it drives really nicely as well.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

No. It would make you an alan patridge and you deserve better than that. Get a reconditioned subura impreza fr the lol

I've done 5500 miles since February. It would bankrupt me.

Plus my mate had one of the really fast ones and it was always having expensive repaired bills.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Tidy motor

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Oh noes, it has an EU plate, that'll need replacing soon

 

[chriswill]

If anyone else wants one, mines for sale!

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Oh noes, it has an EU plate, that'll need replacing soon

I'll wear them in remembrance

 

[DownwardDog]

I recently hired a 320d for our trip to Europe. It would cruise at 100mph+ and do 48mpg while carrying two people + infant and all their luggage. It really was a fantastic, if not desperately exciting, device. The only criticism I would make is that the 'Drei' is very low (presumably to reduce frontal area and get that 48mpg figure) so if you've got dodgy knees or back look elsewhere.

 

[hash tag]

Sorry, too late. I too would have added my voice to the dissenters.
Even worse, the first hit on a search Study: BMW drivers are the worst - Bankrate.com
HEED WARNING, try and be more careful this time
Do you have mechanical experience? If not go to a specialist German garage for servicing Etc. not BMW's as cost will be astronomical.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Sorry, too late. I too would have added my voice to the dissenters.
Even worse, the first hit on a search Study: BMW drivers are the worst - Bankrate.com
HEED WARNING, try and be more careful this time
Do you have mechanical experience? If not go to a specialist German garage for servicing Etc. not BMW's as cost will be astronomical.

Family friend own the garage. He claims it's a lifetime labour warranty this time round. I trust his crew to do the work.

 

[twentythreedom]

A "labour warranty"

*checks prices of OEM BMW parts*

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Yeah I know, but fitting the dam things is often the expensive part. The clutch going in my Mondeo was expensive for me but it was a full days work to change. I shudder to think of that cost.

Driving cars over 8 years old cost whichever way and I need a car that is has space and is comfortable for long journeys and economical on fuel.

Is it bad to use non OEM parts? :/

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Of course now I need to change the stereo. Ball ache. I bought a double din unit and oval speakers for the Mondeo neither of which fit so will need to sell them.

Chap who fitted it said not worry about the amp, just spend more on the head unit and speakers and with small sub I've got will be perfectly fine. Any Mondeo owners want to buy some nice kit?

I have to go to the salvage yard next week in mid Wales and extract them and replace them with the original parts. Time to save some YouTube videos of removing a door trim. I'll leave the wiring and microphone in place which is why I had it properly fitted.

Radio 4 once you've heard the news is shit on a Sunday morning and I have no CDs and a limited tolerance for Radio 1 and 2.

 

[Chz]

Nothing wrong with BMWs or any other German cars but service costs will be considerably more than a Japanese model say.

What's your priority in life?
Having a nice motor that's expensive to run or a decent one that's cheaper to maintain?

As any BMW or Mercedes owners can testify, the servicing can be pricey .

It's pricier than an American or French make.
However, back in the day I had a BMW (635CSi) and my mum had a Toyota sedan. Parts costs were a wash. Toyota dealers were, if anything, even more criminal than the BMW dealers; however we both had a good independent mechanic. I did pay around $10CAD/hr more to have a Bavarian specialist, but he was the best in the city. Reliability was similar overall, though my mother did note that the German cars are always having little things go wrong whereas the Japanese ones would go long periods with no issues and then blow something really expensive. Usually in multiple.

Edit: And I should point out that the 6er was several years older than that Toyota, although the mileages were similar. It can be luck of the draw, though. You can buy Which's most reliable recommendation and still end up with a complete lemon. My mother went on from the Toyota to an E34 540i (generally considered quite reliable, so long as the engine's already been replaced). Ended up replacing nearly every part in it over 10 years. Not put off by that, she still replaced it with an E39 530i and that's had one repair in 13 years.

 

[plurker]

[QUOTE="Chz, post: 14600188, member: 21469"I had a BMW (635CSi) [/QUOTE]

delicious-lookers

 

[19sixtysix]

Apparatus it has a chain rather then a belt when we searching for cam belt interval changes...

Engine Rebuild for BMW N47 & M57 Timing Chain Failure

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

twentythreedom, the shooting brake is on the driveway. All set for that drag race? Say first to 150mph?

 

[twentythreedom]

twentythreedom, the shooting brake is on the driveway. All set for that drag race? Say first to 150mph?

First to look like a proper S-line badass

<wins>

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

First to look like a proper S-line badass

<wins>

 

[twentythreedom]

Sweeeeet

 

[twentythreedom]

My LED headlights are way cooler than yours though

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I'm liking it so far. I'm missing the space in the Mondeo, not just length, but things like side pockets and glove boxes and just places to put stuff. It does drive nicely for a car it's age, pulls when I need it to overtake on the roads of the Peak District and North Wales. and just gave me 60mpg on a relaxed evening motorway run.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

The bloody car alarm keeps going off. Anyone know a way to disable it without taking it to the garage. It's not like anyone would pay it any attention if if the car was being stolen (which given it's age seems very unlikely)

 

[UnderOpenSky]

On the plus side I can do over 55mpg on the motorway and a recent trip to Wales I returned with it still above 50.

 

[Spymaster]

If anyone else wants one, mines for sale!

Just to let you know that that link gives access to your entire Photostream and there are pics on there which seem private. You may want to delete it.

 

[Pickman's model]

chriswill nice dog pictures

 

[DownwardDog]

The bloody car alarm keeps going off. Anyone know a way to disable it without taking it to the garage. It's not like anyone would pay it any attention if if the car was being stolen (which given it's age seems very unlikely)

Is it the OEM alarm? If so, that system is just two sensors connected to the vehicle's onboard computer. One of them (motion detector or tilt sensor) is probably faulty. Get some diagnostics via the ODB port in the passenger footwell.

If it's not the OEM alarm but 3rd party bollocks spliced into the loom by a shell suited moron then you are fucked. Sell the car.

 

[weltweit]

The bloody car alarm keeps going off. Anyone know a way to disable it without taking it to the garage. It's not like anyone would pay it any attention if if the car was being stolen (which given it's age seems very unlikely)

I had nightmares with an alarm system which also immobilised the car. Did eventually get it semi disabled but only after the help of an auto electrician.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I assume it's OEM. It needs to go back to my mechanic to fix the temp sensor and reset the service warning so I'll ask if it can be disabled permanently. I just hope it doesn't leave me strandard somewhere with a flat battery first as it will be at least a few weeks before I can manage this.