My wife is in LOVE with BMWs...advice requested

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Originally Posted By: edwardh1
Originally Posted By: mrdctaylor
Originally Posted By: Egg_Head
Not sure how much work you do on your current fleet but get used to no oil dipstick, run flat tires and a trip to the dealership to change the battery with the vehicles you are considering. CPO is the way to go. If you can change your oil and do brakes jobs you'll be all the more to the good. Keep the Highlander and get her a Z4 rag top to drive on the weekends. Good luck!


A trip to the dealer to change the battery? Really? Why is that?


I thinks some BMW models want to have the charging system adjusted to "match the new battery " characteristics, if you can believe that. dealer charge is like $100? called registration?
someone else correct this as needed please.
what the heck you do when you buy a new battery on friday night on a 3 day holiday weeked on a trip far from a dealer


Yes, battery must be coded. Not that big a deal. I have the Carly app on my phone that can do it.

Not registering a battery can lead to premature battery failure, failure to charge properly or even heard of exploding battery.

BMW does a sort of light hybrid style charging system. Battery only charges during deceleration unless the battery is below 60% capacity. Makes a significant increase in FE. Makes it important for the vehicle to know exactly how much capacity the battery currently has.
 
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Originally Posted By: mrdctaylor
Originally Posted By: edwardh1

what the heck you do when you buy a new battery on friday night on a 3 day holiday weeked on a trip far from a dealer


Exactly! It is less the expense, and more about the needing one. My batteries ALWAYS seem to go out at the worst times. Being able to run down to O'Reilly or Walmart at night has been a lifesaver.

Runflats are another inconvenience. You can only use them for about 50 miles once punctured, and replacements may take some time to get a hold of. There is no spare tire in the trunk. Not exactly convenient when you are in the middle of some road trip.

Of course you can replace them with regular tires and buy a spare to keep in the trunk, but it adds to the price of the car.
 
OP: As you see in this topic, there are several BMW users had problems with their cars in the past.

Like the other German cars, BMW looks/feels/drives great when it is brand new, but it gets old really quick and poorly depreciates after 4-5 years. I am sure that aftermarket German parts are not that expensive, but it is not as reliable as any other Japanese cars.

If she only wants to get a BMW, you should get extended warranty, or you can lease one and keep it if you like. This seems like the best option out there.

If she can live with other premium brands, and if you want to own one, then I'd look for premium Japanese cars, like Lexus.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: mrdctaylor
Originally Posted By: edwardh1

what the heck you do when you buy a new battery on friday night on a 3 day holiday weeked on a trip far from a dealer


Exactly! It is less the expense, and more about the needing one. My batteries ALWAYS seem to go out at the worst times. Being able to run down to O'Reilly or Walmart at night has been a lifesaver.

Runflats are another inconvenience. You can only use them for about 50 miles once punctured, and replacements may take some time to get a hold of. There is no spare tire in the trunk. Not exactly convenient when you are in the middle of some road trip.


Most new models can be ordered with or without. I tossed mine at only 5k. I just carry the factory inflation kit now, just like many other cars on the road.
 
The more basic BMW's are great. It's the high end electronics that cause trouble. We have two BMW's in the family - a 2008 323i and a 2016 428i Gran Coupe. The 323 took its first off-warranty repair a couple of years ago - the FEAD belt and tensioner were replaced. Other than that, it's been flawless over the decade we've owned it (since new). The 2016 is still new, so it's flawless too. Over the years I've owned two M5's and an M3. One M5 had problems but the other two "M" vehicles were just fine.

So, my advice to the OP is to get a 3 or 4 series vehicle, not a 5 or higher, and stay in the low end of the product range - a 320i instead of a 328 or 335. The power is great, but they option the higher end cars up with complex electronics that can become unreliable. Our 323i is reliable, and we bought it specifically because it was the bottom of the product line knowing that there was pretty much nothing to go wrong.
 
From what I am reading here it might be cheaper to keep the Toyota and just replace the wife. Don't do it! Do a three-year lease and hope she gets over it.
 
Originally Posted By: ArrestMeRedZ
From what I am reading here it might be cheaper to keep the Toyota and just replace the wife. Don't do it! Do a three-year lease and hope she gets over it.


Lol. Nah, she's a keeper. A keeper that *really* likes cars.
 
Nice cars. Built like tanks. Beautiful and great drivers... although the difference is not as big as in years past. And, like a beautiful woman, they are high maintenance and expensive to keep.

BMW oil changes are included for a few years on new cars at no charge... but the interval is way too long IMHO (~15,000 miles). The dealer serviced, four year old 5'er I bought had a major sludge problem.

My wife also loves (loved) BMW's. She had one for about 10 years, but it left her walking one day (fuel pump failed) and that was all it took. We still have the car, but she refuses to drive it. She drives a Chevy now and is just as happy.

BMW engines are ticking time bombs (esp. the V8's).

Used BMW's look cheap... because they cost big bucks to repair, and they all break.

Spend a little time on the BMW forums... before you buy.

Good Luck!
 
Originally Posted By: twoheeldrive
but the interval is way too long IMHO (~15,000 miles).
Since about 2013 model year, they dropped it to 10K miles, IIRC.
 
Originally Posted By: mrdctaylor
Hey guys,

My wife is in love with BMWs and has been for a long time. She currently drives a 2012 Toyota Highlander, which is a perfectly good car. But both kids are in college now and she's thinking she wants a car instead of an SUV. We stopped by the local dealer and they have several Certified Pre-Owned 5 series that all look great. They are all 2015-16 models. They also had a 2015 428i Sedan which was pretty sharp.

Honestly, I've never owned a "high end" vehicle before. I've driven my 2002 Tacoma in my signature since new. We've had the 2003 Hyundai (now my sons car) since 2005. Essentially, we KEEP vehicles forever. And that's part of my concern with BMWs. I'm a cheap [censored] and like things that last. ;-)

Are they reliable? If I take care of it will it return the favor? I really maintain my cars well, but since I've never owned a BMW I'm cautious. Are there any "gotchas" on the models we are looking at? Is there anything you think your average Toyota owner needs to know about owning a BMW?

Thanks in advance!


I LOVED my old bimmer, beautiful inside and out, nothing but a dream to drive, and got same mpg at 60 as I did at 120. I always dreamed of getting an e39 M5 [and parking it next to my Jeep].
Mine had everything on the cooling system changed short of the water pump. Everything plastic needed to be handled like a baby otherwise with the slightest tug or snag it would snap. Saw my relative stuck in a parking lot with his bmw, stranded. Guess one of the coolant hoses broke, that thing couldn't have had 50k miles on it.
Honestly, I'd own a Bavarisch Mistwagen only as a toy. The reliability issues I hear about with the new models is horrifying. It sounds like a car that was made to be leased to 40k miles and given back.
I went to a Lexus lot and have not had any issues, and the "issues" the car had were fixed under recalls before I ever had knowledge. After all a Lexus is still a boring, reliable Toyota.
Originally Posted By: mrdctaylor
Essentially, we KEEP vehicles forever. A I'm a cheap [censored] and like things that last. ;-)

I am the same way. MY IS250 when bought with 10.2k on the clock was almost 17k less than original price, and I plan to drive it beyond 300k.
 
BMW = Break My Wallet!
lol.gif


But really, I wouldn't own a Porsche/VW/Audi/BMW/Mercedes out of warranty. The repair bills will kill you. They are engineered well, but repairing them is expensive, and high-end engineering breaks more often. I've personally owned 4 Porsches, 3 VW's, 3 BMW's and my brother had 2 Mercedes. Why did I keep buying them? Other than the Porsches, they were given to me and I'm a big DIY'er.
 
Originally Posted By: mrdctaylor
Yeah. I'd thought about that. But we were also looking at Certified Pre-Owned for the same reason. Much cheaper and still some warranty left.


I've owned 11 BMWs since 1983 and we usually go the CPO route. In January 2016 I bought a 2014 2er with 15k miles on it. The bumper to bumper warranty doesn't run out until this July and the CPO doesn't expire until July 2020- all for less than the price of a new top spec Accord or Camry.
Not a tough call.
 
Innova and many other entry level tools now offer battery registration and park brake retraction for under $250, some even have throttle alignment, parking brake retraction, DPF and other useful tools for under $500.
Registering the battery is very important in today's vehicles, this explains why.

http://bimmertips.com/bmw-battery-registering-and-programming-explained/

With these vehicles (and all German/Euro) a lack of understanding of their basic systems and how they work and following the procedures leads to many problems that are not the fault of the vehicle or the manufacturer.
I have a VW that most everyone on this board calls a problem yet once I got it sorted out properly from a bad previous mechanic working on it it has been 100% trouble free, never a CEL and runs perfect, its a dam good car by anyone's standard. Repairing it is not much harder than a lawn tractor, honestly.

Many millions of Germans own these car with little if any more issues than those that own Japanese cars, all it takes is one hack under the hood to trigger a chain of events eg breaking terminal locking clips.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav


With these vehicles (and all German/Euro) a lack of understanding of their basic systems and how they work and following the procedures leads to many problems that are not the fault of the vehicle or the manufacturer.
I have a VW that most everyone on this board calls a problem yet once I got it sorted out properly from a bad previous mechanic working on it it has been 100% trouble free, never a CEL and runs perfect, its a dam good car by anyone's standard. Repairing it is not much harder than a lawn tractor, honestly.

Many millions of Germans own these car with little if any more issues than those that own Japanese cars, all it takes is one hack under the hood to trigger a chain of events eg breaking terminal locking clips.


Exactly; people ask me why my BMWs rarely have problems and I tell them that I maintain them by the book and only use qualified technicians. It's amazing how many German vehicle owners take their cars to Billy Bob's Laundromat, Tanning Salon, and Hi-Tech Auto Repair...
 
You could do like Doug Demuro and buy a luxury car from CarMax and buy their warranty. He did that with an Aston Martin and it took no time for the warranty repairs to exceed what he paid for the warranty. He didn't spend a dime but the car was constantly in the shop for repairs.
 
Originally Posted By: mrdctaylor
My wife is in love with BMWs and has been for a long time. She currently drives a 2012 Toyota Highlander, which is a perfectly good car.


You could trade it in for a comparable 2012 BMW X3 or an X5. And not owe anything in return.
smile.gif
 
BMW never claim to be the most reliable car and they actually admit that.

Their motto is "Ultimate Driving Machine".
It is nice to drive and assuming it does not spend that much time in the shop.
They are design for Mild Climate so check with people locally on how the BMW do in your area.

Also, make sure you have the money to fix it because if it is broken, it is not cheap.
 
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