hpowders

Fit and finish. Yes. I agree. Each of my 4 BMW's were bulletproof-absolutely no problems-not even a squeak or rattle and completely reliable.

BMW's are solidly built and all the controls simply feel just right-the turn signals, for example.

I do not like the direction BMW is taking their vehicles-they are getting too heavy and laden with technology very few people need or asked for.

Can't see a lot of letters in the BMWNA suggestion box asking for an automatic transmission lever that you push forward to go backward.

blake

I didn't see the show, but I am obviously a Porsche nut and have owned 2 BMWs and 1 Mini Cooper since 2002 (all as new cars) and sold each with about 80K on the odometer (wife and I put @35K per year on our primary drivers)....

Both BMWs were great (perfect actually) until 50K miles, then things started to break... 3 series convertible went through 2 fuel pumps betwene 50k and 75k, and our X3 suffered from mulitple water pump failures. The Mini was okay for about 40k miles, and then became the worst car that I have ever owned... It was in for engine maintenace (water pump, fuel pump, fuel pump, oil pump, alternator) every other month (all out of warranty) until we finally chose to get rid of it at 80k mileage. That car was so fun to drive (go-kart esque), that we really wanted to make it work and kept making excuses for the car...

All I know is that BMW was such a solid manufacturer until the middle of the decade, and then Audi seriously stepped up (along with MB) and quite frankly made a better line of cars. I have several friends who are BMW "M" nuts, and they seem concerned with the current offerings... Biggest gripe is all of the technology (steering assist, IDrive, etc.) that is affecting the "pure" driving experience. No doubt this will affect all manufacturers, but BMW seems to be veering too far from their roots IMHO.

I almost bought a a new M3 this past Janaury, but instead chose a CPOd 997 this past winter. I think Porsche made a huge mistake with the 996 (design, quality, performance) but made amends with the 997.1. It has been a great car. The new 997.2s are stellar, though I am a bit skiddish about the 991. The last thing I want is a 911 that feels like a Panamera! We shall see where Porsche goes from here...

-B

yemenmocha

my 06 BMW M3 has been pretty much bulletproof, performs nearly as good as my 997, and cost about half as much.

Fin Fever

I agree that the fit on the BMW is excellent. I disagree on the finish. My wife's M6 has a terrible orange peel texture to it. It looks terrible next to my mirror smooth Porsche. She makes fun of me though, cause she says she cant appreciate the quality of my car's finish in her rear view mirror.

hpowders

Even though I have been critical of BMW in my posts here, I will probably always have one. The balance and handling are superb. My fifth BMW will most likely be some variation of the next generation 3 Series with the turbo 4. Sounds like fun!

vexed

I saw most of the show last night. A pure marketing piece. I'd rather watch Ultimate Factories.