Any BMW owners here?

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joshmv

joshmv

Reformed Berry Slinger
Oct 21, 2007
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Kansas
Right now I drive a piece of crap and when I move into my new place in about a month I'll finally have a garage to keep a nice car.

I've always REALLY wanted an M3, but I'm worried about getting it serviced. I live about 45 minutes away from the nearest BMW dealer, and about 2 hours from the nearest big BMW dealer. This means even if I bought something new, or a certified used car with a warranty, it wouldn't do me much good if it broke down.

Sooo, I'm thinking about just buying an 05 or 06 from a private seller, save a ton, and then letting my local mechanic take care of it, even though I heard it can be extremely expensive servicing them without a warranty. On the upside, I don't drive a whole lot, so it's not like I'd need things fixed much unless I got a lemon.

I'd consider a 3 series coupe if that would make the upkeep a lot easier. The money isn't really the issue, but I don't want to just be pissing it away either, and obviously just taking cars into the shop is a hassle sometimes. What do you guys think? I'm hoping you tell me they are a breeze to own :)
 


I got myself a '01 E46 320 (2.2l) Convertible last November.

Had the first issue this monday. The engine ignition had a part that was known for its problems and cylinder 6 and 4 did stop working. I had to get a new ignition for all cylinders since all of them were from the same series. Cost me $800 in parts + work. Altho you gotta consider that I did service the car in Liechtenstein, which is expensive as hell.

Before even getting a car you need to consider how much you want to spend on that toy. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. And I'm pretty sure the quality that bimmers offer is not comparable to the quality of a mitsu or toyota. But quality... costs.

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I've had a couple. Don't buy a used one unless you get it below 50K miles and the extended warranty. It's okay to do some of the maintenance locally (oil changes, etc), but you are definitely going to want to have it worked on at the dealership and have a warranty.

My first one didn't have a warranty and I learned quick.
 
ricdes said:
I got myself a '01 E46 320 (2.2l) Convertible last November.

Had the first issue this monday. The engine ignition had a part that was known for its problems and cylinder 6 and 4 did stop working. I had to get a new ignition for all cylinders since all of them were from the same series. Cost me $800 in parts + work. Altho you gotta consider that I did service the car in Liechtenstein, which is expensive as hell.

Before even getting a car you need to consider how much you want to spend on that toy. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. And I'm pretty sure the quality that bimmers offer is not comparable to the quality of a mitsu or toyota. But quality... costs.

n662427214_1119288_3660.jpg
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Do you mean the coil packs? I didn't realise this was still a problem because I had it on my '92 E36 325i that I had 13+ years ago. If you replace them with genuine, then yeah it's expensive.

And uh, no offense, but I'd be upgrading the house before you upgraded the car...
 
Definately dont buy new. Buy used under 50k on odo as said above. You will literally save thousands.
E36 M3 Sedan 5sp silver over dove here!
 
Since about three years I have an Audi A4 . Before that I did consider buying a BMW, but after a lot of reading I decided to go for an Audi. I did have some problems with the A4 and therefore decided to not buy an over hyped german car anymore, especially since finally the japanese started to apply a nice design to their cars.

One thing's for sure: The next car will be a japanese one. Probably a Lexus IS250, though I do like the Nissan Murano and the Mazda CX7, but I don't need such a big one.

Anyway, a car's the most expensive toy one can get (taxes, service, gas, depreciation etc)
 
1) Buy an older one and bank on other people's fail (depreciation, lifestyle changes, etc.).
2) Join a reputable BMW forum with with an active maintenance and repair section.
3) **Important** to sign up as a chick. Use a chick name that would fit the BMW mold like 'Brooke', 'Claire' or 'Hannah' or something. This is the absolute surest way to get any question answered promptly. Also by sporting an e-vag, you can ask stupid car questions by default. Do the simple repairs yourself and the money saved will make the inescapable dealer items less severe in the long run.
4) Craigslist is your friend for parts, tires and wheels,etc.
 
Jizzlobber said:
1) Buy an older one and bank on other people's fail (depreciation, lifestyle changes, etc.).
2) Join a reputable BMW forum with with an active maintenance and repair section.
3) **Important** to sign up as a chick. Use a chick name that would fit the BMW mold like 'Brooke', 'Claire' or 'Hannah' or something. This is the absolute surest way to get any question answered promptly. Also by sporting an e-vag, you can ask stupid car questions by default. Do the simple repairs yourself and the money saved will make the inescapable dealer items less severe in the long run.
4) Craigslist is your friend for parts, tires and wheels,etc.
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Now THAT'S strategy :)
 
TheEliteLamer said:
Do you mean the coil packs? I didn't realise this was still a problem because I had it on my '92 E36 325i that I had 13+ years ago. If you replace them with genuine, then yeah it's expensive.

And uh, no offense, but I'd be upgrading the house before you upgraded the car...
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not my house ;)

yep, the ignition coil packs. Since its a '01 it had some non-Bosch ones in it which are known to cause problems.
 
I'm an E46 M3 / SMG owner and I love the car - however you're def. geographically challenged. See if there's a local mechanic that does Audi's, Porsches or other German cars, extra gold star if you can find one that has a BMW GT1 Diagnostic machine. Become their best customer/friend. Bring them beer. Talk with them about aftermarket warranties, and find a warranty you can use almost anywhere. (I signed up for one that cost me a $100 deductible to fix a $6,000 transmission. I forget which warranty I have, PM me if you want me to dig for it.) Also check if theres a Carmax nearby, those idiots offer a warranty on all their cars, including M's. It might take them awhile to fix your shit, but at least you won't be having to take out a mortgage on your home.

My car has about 84,000 miles and other than the tranny, I haven't had too many problems. (Bought it at 53,000 miles.) I never take it to the dealership. On the plus, if you do go to the dealership, and you're driving an M, you'll always get a Tech that knows their sh%t, but they have to adhere to BMW repair standards, which usually become overkill in most low issue problems. (For instance, according to BMW the M's Service checks should require damn near pulling the engine apart.) A dealership service on the M will run you over a grand, at a independant service shop, about 1-200 bucks. (Biggest cost coming from the 15 quarts of oil they take - but you'll only need one oil change per year.) The other recommended maintenance you can pretty much handle yourself, or anyone that can open a car hood can do it for you.

It's no lie that if you have something big with the car, it will cost ya -but take one corner at 80mph and you'll be sold. The cars are simply amazing. For crissake, they get 330Hp out of a Inline 6 cylinder engine.

Most non-M BMW owners I know regret not putting out the extra dough for the M class. If you can afford it, do your research, and go M. PM me if you wanna chit-chat more BMW.


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Yea like everyone else said don't buy one new. The depreciation is insane and you can bank on a old rich person selling one with low miles for a fraction of the cost of a new one. You can pick up a 04-05 6 series with under 50k miles for in 30s which looks the same as a 09 that is over 80k.
 
If you are confident in your manhood and don't really care about anyone's else manhood if you resell, get a Hyundai Genesis...brand new luxury at under $30k that rivals top $60k competitors
 
2007 335i convertible. I love it. No real issues with it so far, but I've only put about 7k miles on it since I don't have to commute to work. Handles great.


 
I got a 2008 750i that was left on the lot in December, so I got it cheap since they were clearing everything out for the 2009's.

It has the bigger tires which give it a sportier look. Unfortunately, I don't drive it much since I work from home, but when I do its really amazing. Its a big car, but its fast and it handles very nicely.

Originally I was going to get a Benz, but BMW's leases were significantly cheaper for a similarly priced car.

Also, in case you're interested, I just got a direct mail piece from Maserati. They are having a sale on their 2008's. I think they retailed for $130k and they were selling for 80 or 90k. Still expensive, but its a good deal.
 
I have owned 3 BMWs... my latest is an 06 325i. I love it. Just be prepared to spend money on repairs. After the warranty expires you will need to shell out cash. It's just how it is.
 
phrench said:
Since about three years I have an Audi A4 . Before that I did consider buying a BMW, but after a lot of reading I decided to go for an Audi. I did have some problems with the A4 and therefore decided to not buy an over hyped german car anymore, especially since finally the japanese started to apply a nice design to their cars.

One thing's for sure: The next car will be a japanese one. Probably a Lexus IS250, though I do like the Nissan Murano and the Mazda CX7, but I don't need such a big one.

Anyway, a car's the most expensive toy one can get (taxes, service, gas, depreciation etc)
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What problem did you have?

I had a 2007 A4 2.0T and it had major brake problems, and some engine valve issues. We tried to sue as a lemon, but they rejected it even though there is no way a new car should have been acting like that.

I traded it in (only thing I could do so I wouldn't die on the freeway) and lost a ton of money.
 
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