Defend BMWs

johnthemull · 29-03-2012 11:52PM #1

Hello.
As some one who loves cars and will treat them with respect and with the where withal to buy a bmw..... are they reliable? there is so much recall ****up **** centrd around german car makers

Leonard Hofstadter · 29-03-2012 11:55PM

Buy the right car, and you'll be fine. Buy the wrong car, and it will break your heart. Buy from an enthusiast and chances are all the known weak areas in the car will have been taken care of already.

And remember, six cylinders are better than four, especially with the petrols:)!

Nissan doctor · 29-03-2012 11:55PM

johnthemull wrote: »

Hello.
As some one who loves cars and will treat them with respect and with the where withal to buy a bmw..... are they reliable? there is so much recall ****up **** centrd around german car makers

People will say yes, people will say no and it will be another argument.

My view....they are not as reliable or as well made as they should be for the price and image they have.

bazz26 · 30-03-2012 12:00AM

Its not just BMW though, nothing is as reliable as they used to be. There are more electronic components in cars these days than mechanical components. My car doesn't have a dip stick, it has a sensor that displays the oil level on the dashboard. Pointless invention and how trusting can a piece of electronics be?

Nothing is designed to last now, a LCD or LED TV will not be around as long as some of the old CRT TVs that were made.

wersal gummage · 30-03-2012 12:08AM

I'm not going to defend BMWs - I had my own problems (which Nissan Doctor above sorted out) with them but they handle well. Remember as well that a lot of folk who will slag them are driving something like a scaldy, dull, saloon, diesel octavia.

Dannyboi3k · 30-03-2012 12:12AM

Get an Audi

TestTransmission · 30-03-2012 12:14AM

Dannyboi3k wrote: »

Get an Audi

Why?

bazz26 · 30-03-2012 12:16AM

Audis have their fair share of problems too.

Eric Cartman · 30-03-2012 12:20AM

Bmw are one of the few companies still dedicated to producing rear wheel drive cars . Every model they had for sale in 1999 still looks modern and is well designed , their design has fluctuated since then but overall the cars are well designed, fairly reliable and BMW bring pioneering new features to the table (the 7 series had inbuilt satnav in the mid/late 90s )

Most other car companies borrow bmw design queues and features years later . Whatever your opinion on bmw as a company is , theres no denying that theyve impacted the motor industry in a mostly positive way

Fiona · 30-03-2012 06:55AM

Nissan doctor wrote: »

My view....they are not as reliable or as well made as they should be for the price and image they have.

:eek::eek: Blasphemy :eek::eek:

I not sure how to defend bmw's really. Yes they break, they cost a bit to get fixed. But they make you soooooo happy.

So the question is, can you really put a price on your happiness, in my opinion no!

Just buy it and enjoy it, just like this little chappy here

mercenary2 · 30-03-2012 07:12AM

when i sit in a bmw it reminds me of the pound shop

cheap plastic everywhere

even the more expensive models have it

and yes they are nice to drive but if they go wrong you best have a good bank account ....

Fiona · 30-03-2012 07:23AM

mercenary2 wrote: »

when i sit in a bmw it reminds me of the pound shop

cheap plastic everywhere

even the more expensive models have it

I doubt I will ever buy an bmw over 05'

The nicest interior I think is the E46 coupe with Alcantara and the black headlining and carpet with carbon trim.

listermint · 30-03-2012 08:16AM

mercenary2 wrote: »

when i sit in a bmw it reminds me of the pound shop

cheap plastic everywhere

even the more expensive models have it

and yes they are nice to drive but if they go wrong you best have a good bank account ....

All cars have plastic, Whats your point?

BTW plastic aint cheap depending on the coating it gets.

DubDetailer · 30-03-2012 08:20AM

mercenary2 wrote: »

when i sit in a bmw it reminds me of the pound shop

cheap plastic everywhere

even the more expensive models have it

and yes they are nice to drive but if they go wrong you best have a good bank account ....

Sure you dont mean Merc's??

BMW's are more refined then most "luxury" cars out there, sure look at the older models they have aged way better then any other

30-03-2012 08:21AM

johnthemull wrote: »

............ with the where withal to buy a bmw..... ............

lol, such a Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemer head comment :pac:

Myrddin · 30-03-2012 08:24AM

Having worked for BMW for seven years, four of those years in a workshop, I'd wholeheartedly agree with Nissan Doctor.

listermint · 30-03-2012 08:28AM

i dont think anyone disagrees, but you wouldnt catch me dead in an Almera.

Fiona · 30-03-2012 08:34AM

listermint wrote: »

i dont think anyone disagrees, but you wouldnt catch me dead in an Almera.

+1

I am a car snob, I hold my hands up.

BUT

If it was financially impossible to run a 'luxury' car no matter how much I cut back then I have to be realistic and realise that it will be an Almera or nothing and well, anything is better than nothing right

listermint · 30-03-2012 08:36AM

mrs crilly wrote: »

+1

I am a car snob, I hold my hands up.

BUT

If it was financially impossible to run a 'luxury' car no matter how much I cut back then I have to be realistic and realise that it will be an Almera or nothing and well, anything is better than nothing right

Balls to that

Im not car snob but i detest Almeras in their entirety. Id drive the micra over it

Myrddin · 30-03-2012 08:38AM

listermint wrote: »

i dont think anyone disagrees, but you wouldnt catch me dead in an Almera.

You could buy an Almera for the price of some BMW repair bills I've handed out

I'd find a lot of stock BMW's just as dull and mundane as an Almera too...handling aside.

Fiona · 30-03-2012 08:39AM

listermint wrote: »

Balls to that

Im not car snob but i detest Almeras in their entirety. Id drive the micra over it

Well I would probably get a nice little Seat Ibiza or Leon or something like that so I could jazz it up!!!

Anyway back on topic

Just buy the BMW and be done with it

no1beemerfan · 30-03-2012 08:41AM

bazz26 wrote: »

Its not just BMW though, nothing is as reliable as they used to be. There are more electronic components in cars these days than mechanical components. My car doesn't have a dip stick, it has a sensor that displays the oil level on the dashboard. Pointless invention and how trusting can a piece of electronics be?

That is my biggest grip about current BMWs.....my father's E90 has no dip-stick. Didn't realise this until after buying it. It would actually put me off buying such a car as I keep my cars a long time and I would never trust electric as they get older.

But as has been said cars now-a-days have way too much electronics for my liking. I was onto Conlons about doing the rear pads on dad's car to see if you need a special wind back tool for the calipers and he told me the current 5 series (F10) NEEDS to be hooked up to a computer to wind back the calipers!

no1beemerfan · 30-03-2012 08:45AM

Nissan doctor wrote: »

People will say yes, people will say no and it will be another argument.

My view....they are not as reliable or as well made as they should be for the price and image they have.

My father had an e46 that he put 110,000 miles on it in two years and it was 100% reliable and his current e90 he has 90,000 put on it since he got it nearly two years ago.....one problem that is only after happening in that we have discovered the fan isn't cutting in so currently trying to sort that.

listermint · 30-03-2012 08:47AM

EnterNow wrote: »

You could buy an Almera for the price of some BMW repair bills I've handed out

I'd find a lot of stock BMW's just as dull and mundane as an Almera too...handling aside.

Not to, me mines enthusiastically cared for by a loving owner

theres not many people id let touch my car.

Matt Simis · 30-03-2012 08:48AM

If you want pure reliability over all, statistics show Honda and a couple of other Asian makes are better. However if you want everything else that a car offers, BMW are top tier.

Ferris · 30-03-2012 08:50AM

Surely the biggest problem with modern BMW's is that of Run Flat Tyres and the resultant poor rides and cracked alloys. Nothing more than a revenue generating excercise imo.

Im BMW's defense, they simply do drive better than other everyday mkes of car. They do at least make cars for enthusiasts. Also the impact they have made on making the IC engine more economical is unreal, just look at the economy figures for the new 328 petrol.

(I dont have one btw)

DubDetailer · 30-03-2012 08:51AM

Repair bills are usually overrated too due to the crazy dealer labour costs :rolleyes:

Myrddin · 30-03-2012 08:55AM

DubDetailer wrote: »

Repair bills are usually overrated too due to the crazy dealer labour costs :rolleyes:

I was a BMW mechanic before that, they are a nice car, some are stunning, but reliability wise in my experience their reputation does not meet the reality

Fiona · 30-03-2012 08:55AM

EnterNow wrote: »

You could buy an Almera for the price of some BMW repair bills I've handed out

I have just done a quick calc in my head there from memory and maintence work on my both my cars in the last year works out at about €2,900.

That could be more as I am sure I am missing something!

:eek:

bazz26 · 30-03-2012 09:05AM

I think there is a bit of pub talk here. My E90 is 4 years old, in the 16 months I've owned it the only problem I've had with it so far was a blocked windscreen washer reserve which was fixed under warranty. I get it serviced by an indy and things like an oil change, brake pads, etc cost in or around the same as other cars I've owned. RFT tyres are crazy money alright but I replaced them with standard tyres whic also improves the ride. They do have their problems but so do most if not all other car manufacturers these days.

In my experience most BMW parts are no more expensive than the likes of VW or Honda. Also I've spent more money on fixing little things with my previous Volvo S40, now they are expensive to put right if something major goes wrong with them.

Myrddin · 30-03-2012 09:19AM

bazz26 wrote: »

I think there is a bit of pub talk here. My E90 is 4 years old, in the 16 months I've owned it the only problem I've had with it so far was a blocked windscreen washer reserve which was fixed under warranty. I get it serviced by an indy and things like an oil change, brake pads, etc cost in or around the same as other cars I've owned. RFT tyres are crazy money alright but I replaced them with standard tyres whic also improves the ride. They do have their problems but so do most if not all other car manufacturers these days.

In my experience most BMW parts are no more expensive than the likes of VW or Honda. Also I've spent more money on fixing little things with my previous Volvo S40, now they are expensive to put right if something major goes wrong with them.

Absolutely, I don't think anyone here is saying they're problem prone or in any way unreliable. I've seen some amazing cars in my time there, I drove an M1 [the old mid engined one], 760 IL's, countless M models like the M6, & even a Z8 once. When you get past standard 4 pot models, they become something more than your average car.

But they do, can & will have problems like every other car out there.

Defend BMWs

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