Quadcammer

the amount of idiotic anecdotes in this thread is just silly.

rymerc

Since we're in here ****ting on BMWs...

My e36 has been perfect, 150k on it and in 4 years the only thing that has failed was a rubber intake boot that was getting cracked. That's it. Car has been to HPDEs, autox, and DD and hasn't missed a beat.

So far the e90 hasn't eaten the rod bearings, although it does have some "new-bmw" issues like horrid brake shield? scraping noise at high lateral G, a power-mirror connector I had to clean, and the windshield trim is rotting after only 60k/8 years.

Only failure my 100k 996 has had was a crank position sensor I caused to fail by pinching the wire after doing an AOS.

You can't get old-car simplicity and running costs with new car performance and comfort. Or can you?

Cuda911

Once I met a guy who knew a guy who shook hands with someone who's third cousin's uncle's best friend said he heard about a guy with a BMW that had no problems.

True story.

JayG

I think I may have met that guys brother, or was it his nephew, damn I don't remember. It might have been his neighbors best friends brother.

tooloud10

I'll take an unreliable Japanese engine over a regular German engine.

No problems in either of the VQ35s I've had.

When I traded my X5 with the N62, the dealer made me stand on the gas in the parking lot while they looked for smoke coming from the tailpipes.

I traded my '07 X5 4.8i Sport in on my pickup and I miss it terribly, even as unreliable as it was. Mine had the Active Steering and air suspension and all the electronic trickery allowed it to corner flatter than my 996. There was next to *no* body roll on that thing.

+1...I traded my '07 in at 94k miles and got $11,500 for it. The rear part of the 4-zone HVAC went out completely (not that the AC ever cooled it properly anyway), the giant moonroof worked intermittently, the air suspension was completely replaced, the blower motor blew twice, the resistor on the motor blew twice, the head gasket needed replacing, and the AC evaporator needed to be replaced. That last one requires the whole dash to come out and my independent mechanic respectfully declined to do the job.

Also EBC (Electronic Body Control?) errors, and the vehicle always thought the parking sensors and backup camera were broken even though they worked.

If I would have fixed everything that was wrong with the vehicle at 94k miles, it would have cost as much as I had paid for it--when everything worked. I once asked the BMW mechanic to diagnose all the crazy messages I got and he literally typed on the work order that "this is just the beginning of a long process". That's when I knew I needed to dump the thing.

Anecdotes or not, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that many BMWs turn into time bombs about the time you get 60k miles on them.

tooloud10

Also, FWIW, I found this thread because I was thinking about buying a used M3 convertible.

chamilun

lets see...valve stem seals, coolant transfer pipe, mechatronics sleeve and adapter. logic 7 amp.

few other things, but those are the biggies. now in a 535xi

joseph mitro

LOL you probably think the IMS bearing issues are just idiotic anecdotes, too.


on the flip side of the coin from my prior post, I'll also add that I raced a euro S50B32 engine in an E36 for several years. It was regularly taken to its 8000rpm redline, and never missed a beat. It was still running strong when I sold the car, and has continued to do so for the last few years.

stan23

I had an E60 M5 with 108K miles before I sold it. Not a single problem, but I did start it one day and got some catalytic converter errors, and decided it was time to part ways.

philooo

With the cost of tech labor going upward to $150 - $200 an hour, repairing anything is just too expensive these days.

Lease is the only way to go, unless you can name me a car reliable up to 100k miles / 10 years.

I really can't think of any car at all that would fit the bill, may be the lexus SUVs, but man they are boring to drive ... may be the reason for their longevity

TAGPorsche

Shame that Hondas and Toyota as of late are so boring!
This list needs to show specific outputs along with the reliability rating to see how good the engine's engineering really is. Of course there is bad engineering and bad manufacturing.

Quadcammer

that goes for many EVERYTHING, with the possible exception of corollas/civics/some lexus.

Cars are complicated items, and they endure a lot of bull****. Hence you get issues. The more complicated you go, the more issues you have...this is not dependent on brand.

gnat

Our 996 is doing pretty OK at 75k and almost 16 years

Seriously, it's low maintenance at 12 years is why I ordered a new P!g instead of a X5 (though our e90 has been reliable for it's almost 10 years).

Dpazos

I've had several BMWs.
A 98 740i that was plaqued with problems. Ended up selling it and shortly after the fan clutch seized and disintegrated the fan. In the process it put two fins through the hood and severed all the power steering and coolant hoses. (i felt terrible as it was a friend).

A beautiful Black CPO 525it that had an engine fire and burned to ground. Had just had it detailed so it went out on top.

I had an E46 330i convertible that had its share of oilers but was pretty reliable.

I still have a 2006 e90 330I with a 6sp and sports package. 140K and its been the most reliable and fun daily driver car I've ever had.

They know how to make a six in line. Their V8 have issues in my experience and observations.

tooloud10

No, I'm sorry, but that's not true at all. Getting 100k mostly uneventful miles is a joke to most modern vehicles. Hell, I've got a 10-year-old Land Rover with 125k on it that's never been in the shop for anything but maintenance.

We're not collectively imagining that BMWs--especially the V8 models--have a much less reliable record than almost anything on the road.