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Top 10 things you need to know before buying a new or used BMW

526K views 225 replies 180 participants last post by  Zoeston 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Here are the top 10 things that anyone considering a new or used BMW should know. I'm going to make this a sticky - feel free to add on to it!

  1. Most newer BMWs require synthetic oil and premium fuel. Do not give your car less than it requires.
  2. Contrary to popular belief, parts and labor on BMWs is not more than the competition; however, BMWs are not as reliable as Japanese cars and they do require more maintenance.
  3. If your car is out of warranty, find yourself a competent independent mechanic. Their labor rates tend to be about half that of dealers. http://www.bimrs.org/ lists such shops.
  4. Buy a Bentley repair manual for you car. Even if you don't work on your car yourself, it's good to be an informed consumer (example: if your check engine light illuminates, Autozone will plug into your car for free and give you the car's trouble code. You can cross-reference it in the Bentley manual to see what's wrong).
  5. Historically, manual transmissions are more reliable that automatic or steptronic transmissions.
  6. BMWs have great brakes - this is due in part to the rather soft pads and rotors they use. Don't expect them to last more than 30-50k miles. The rotors generally wear at the same rate as the pads so 'machining' the rotors OR replacing pads without rotors is not recommended. There is a 'brake pad low' warning light that is triggered by a wear sensor that will illuminate on your dash when you are due for new brakes. It looks like this:
    . When you replace your brakes, you also need to replace the wear sensors ($10-20 each). There's one on the front left wheel and one on the rear right wheel. Parts for all 4 rotors, pads, and sensors are generally $200-500 and labor is about the same.
  7. The 'sport package' available on most BMWs is usually considered a necessary option by enthusiasts. It usually includes better (bolstered) seats, stiffer suspension (better handling), as well as larger wheels and tires. One caveat: It also comes with summer only tires that are NOT suitable for ANY slushy/snowy/icy conditions. If you live in an area that gets snow, it's highly recommended that you buy a second set of wheels with dedicated snow tires.
  8. It's fairly common for OEM tires to only last 10-20k miles. Price out replacements on www.TireRack.com to prevent being shocked: It can cost $600-1500 for replacement rubber. Also remember that tires are the #1 performance mod available to you! There's a significant difference between cheap all-season tires and good summer-only tires. Ask any questions in the Tires, Wheels, and Brakes forum.
  9. BMW engines are tuned very well from the factory. It's very difficult to get more than a few horsepower out of intakes, exhausts, chips, headers, etc. (the newer the car, the more true this is)....unless, of course, you're talking about the N54 twin-turbo (335i, 535i, etc), in which case, completely disregard what I just said!
  10. The BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA) is a great organization- membership ($48/yr) entitles you to a free subscription to the monthly magazine Roundel, discounts on parts at most BMW dealers, high performance driving schools/car control clinics/autocrosses, local gatherings/rallys/dinners, as well as a $500-1500 discount on your next new or CPO BMW (you must be a member for at least a year prior to purchase - and this transaction is completely independent of the dealer - you receive a rebate check after purchasing the car for at your dealer-negotiated price). Join here and if you found this post useful, use me as your referrer (Kris Linquist #170334)
 
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#161 ·
The number one "need to know before buying"

The NUMBER ONE "need to know before buying a new or used BMW is to avoid the N63 engine no matter what and read this forum to learn about it. BMW N63 Customer Care Package with a "not recall" on an engine they knew was wrong on all BMW models from 2008-2014 with this engine. Mine has failed four times with an engine malfunction/reduced power light. The car vibrates almost out of control and won't accelerate. The entire engine has been rebuilt multiple times, regional BMW mechanics have looked at it twice. They tell me it is fixed this time!!! The last time it failed I was pulling out into oncoming traffic. I will never risk it failing again. I will never drive my dream car again. It will sit at the dealership until I figure out what direction I will go now that BMW North America is only offering $3500 Owner Loyalty towards a new BMW after 6 MONTHS of dealing with this and loaner vehicles. I really expect more from a company with the history, integrity and branding of BMW. My lawyers are working up a counter.
 
#165 ·
The NUMBER ONE "need to know before buying a new or used BMW is to avoid the N63 engine no matter what and read this forum to learn about it. BMW N63 Customer Care Package with a "not recall" on an engine they knew was wrong on all BMW models from 2008-2014 with this engine. Mine has failed four times with an engine malfunction/reduced power light. The car vibrates almost out of control and won't accelerate. The entire engine has been rebuilt multiple times, regional BMW mechanics have looked at it twice. They tell me it is fixed this time!!! The last time it failed I was pulling out into oncoming traffic. I will never risk it failing again. I will never drive my dream car again. It will sit at the dealership until I figure out what direction I will go now that BMW North America is only offering $3500 Owner Loyalty towards a new BMW after 6 MONTHS of dealing with this and loaner vehicles. I really expect more from a company with the history, integrity and branding of BMW. My lawyers are working up a counter.
More than the product concern is how BMW is handling the situation. I'm surprised they're letting it get to the level of lawyers frankly. Describe N63 engines. Is it some type of option?
 
#168 ·
Mercedes now uses Mobil 1 0W-40 European synthetic. It has some supposed "European" quality that Mercedes (and Porsche, as I understand it) now use in the factory. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel I just bought it by the case of six to top things off. It was hard to find so I bought it at the dealership where I'm sure I paid a few dollars more than I'd ordinarily need to.
 
#170 ·
Great Topic and thanks for the newbie infos in the name of the newbies...However, at one point I tend to disagree,

The Beamers are actually just as reliable as Japanese cars according to independent statistics, in fact, they have overtaken the Mercs.

Only issues maybe older ones (plus 15 years) but this is mainly due to the fact that a lot of youngsters buy accident wrecks and modify them for fun. They don't do that with Mercs (booooring) and Japanese often don't live after the 1st accident. But one can of course decide for himself if he buy an elder model from a fast and furious college kid...
 
#175 ·
outcome of buying a 2006 E90

Just want to give others an idea of what it will be like on buying a 6 years BMW. I bought mine 4 years ago, it was an 2006 E90 with 48,000 miles. Spent $16000 for it then added $8100 repairs during the first 4 years. Here is the list of repair that i had done. all repair was done by a local BMW certified repair shop.

- head light housing - $900
- water pump - $900
- alternator - $700
- oil leak (gasket issue) - $600
- spark plug - $500
- thermal stats - $700
- window regular 2x - $700
- battery - $300
- radiator fan - $400
- brake - $900
- tires - $1500

it is a great car but the cost of ownership is a little overwhelming. anyway, in case anyone is curious, my car currently has 101000 miles on it.
 
#176 ·
[*]If your car is out of warranty, find yourself a competent independent mechanic. Their labor rates tend to be about half that of dealers. http://www.bimrs.org/ lists such shops.
This is a universal truth no matter what car you drive. Having a man in the know, who you trust, only a phone call away is a god send. I've started to build a good relationship with a local garage and it's making car ownership less and less stressful.
 
#191 ·
Exactly right. Ive owned Americans, Honda, Toyota, BMW, Mercs.... Totally case by case basis. I've owned over 20 cars. So very minor problems, so a pain to own. But todays cars are all nearly equal. Even Dodge who has the worst reliability in the 80's, now produce solid vehicles.
 
#179 ·
The worst company

The most important about BMW is not have any business with BMW. I cannot even get answer from BMW Roswell, BMW Atlanta, BMW Gwinnet on simple question: Do you have BMW 340i base, m-sport, and M3 for test drive? I tried to do that a week ago, without success up to now. To be honest I succeeded with BMW Roswell after complaining about it, and say that I will not go to visit them if they do not answer to me. Of course, they do not have M3.
BMW Atlanta did not answer to me. Asked 2 times.
BMW Gwinnet does not want to speak by email only phone, I do not want phone.

So, do not have business with BMW is the best decision in your life. Believe me.
 
#184 · (Edited)
Just got a 2016 x6 50I. Upgraded sound system. Black wheels, it looks like the Bat Mobile! This thing is amazing, the ride and handling is unbelievable. But I get home to find out the satellite radio is only a Sirius radio and not Sirius/XM. Meaning I only get partial line up that Sirius /XM has to offer. Anybody experience the same? This beauty cost more than my first house, is it normal or now BMW policy to have only Sirius radio installed instead of Sirius XM?
 
#190 · (Edited)
BMWs are not as reliable as Japanese cars??? This is not the 80's. Quoted from JD Power "
Japanese brands built themselves a bulletproof reputation back in the 1980s and 1990s by building cars that were much more reliable than their competition at the time. Fast forward to 2015 and the Korean car companies—Hyundai and Kia—have most definitely found their footing, European brands finally woke up and realized they have to do better, and American manufacturers received a significant wakeup call a few years ago when the economic crisis hit, and have finally sobered up because of it. So where does this leave the Japanese manufacturers?

To lump all Japanese cars into the stereotype that they have the best quality would be incorrect. In the 2015 IQS, the highest-ranked Japanese auto brand, Infiniti, ranks fifth overall. Additionally, only four in 10 Japanese nameplates rank above the industry average for quality after 90 days of ownership. In the same study, eight in 27 segment award recipients hail from Japanese nameplates. Certainly not bad in any way, but not exactly the full takeover one may expect compared to common perception. Make no mistake, Japanese manufacturers are producing competitive products, but the fact of the matter is that so are all manufacturers these days, regardless of their origin. As for the common belief that Japanese cars have the best quality, it’s time to cue the Frozen soundtrack and let it go.

But are German cars actually unreliable? The 2015 VDS shows that after three years of ownership, four in 5 German makes score better than industry average when it comes to long-term quality. Owners of Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW vehicles all report fewer problems than average. This is not merely a one-year fluke. Since the year 2000, Porsche has scored better than industry average in the VDS 14 times, even going so far as to rank highest among all nameplates in the 2010 study. BMW has scored better than industry average 12 times in the VDS since 2000, and Mercedes-Benz has outperformed the industry average nine times since 2000.

The myth suggests that these German brands produce unreliable vehicles, but actual long-term dependability results do not lie. Lately, German makes have been producing reliable vehicles, and the belief that they are unreliable should remain as nothing more than a myth.
 
#192 ·
Comparing BMWs to Japanese cars is apples and oranges. The Japanese do have some good models among them here and there but for the most part they are inexpensive transportation appliances which mainly appeal to the non-car crowd and do not approach the degree of sophistication and advanced engineering which embodies all BMWs.
 
#194 ·
lol, well part of your statement is correct. The difference is that japanese cars are far more reliable, feature packed, less expensive to own and maintain and are engineered to last twice as long. Now bmw does make good looking cars that if you pay a fortune for, are fun to drive....:rofl:

I own a beemer but this will be the last one
 
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