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How many are over the "Beeemer" thing?

10K views 66 replies 38 participants last post by  55 
#1 · (Edited)
I'm wondering if the culture of BMW owners, uh I mean drivers, has changed. I changed to "drivers" because so many are leased......

I've never bought a car because of image or status, but rather for its quality, durability, comfort, drive-ability, economics...... Several times I refused to buy a car because even though it fit my requirements, I had problems with its image or status, mostly related to past experiences. For example, upon getting my 95 530i stick shift, I immediately noticed that other drivers would speed up to prevent me from merging onto the freeway or to change lanes. I would be shown drivers'middle fingers when passing or honked at when stopped to parallel park.

Though I'm an American, I've always had more of a European sense about cars. This explains almost comically, why I've owned two Peugeots and an Alfa, to mention a few. With respect my current car, a 2007 328i wagon, I need a smaller wagon for my business that is suitable for 250-450 one way trips on the highways of California several times a year. I don't care for the handling characteristics of SUV's, particularly in high winds, so a wagon it must be. The choices of quality smaller wagons are few.....Subaru, Audi and BMW are about it so far as CPO choices (though the Mazda 6 would be perfect, except they were too rare in 2010). We've had good luck with my wife's Saabs, but in 2010 it was not the "ideal" time to buy and I don't like Volvo. VW makes a couple good ones, but since there is a BMW dealer 5 minutes from my home, it became my target car.

Target car indeed.... There have been many times when I wish I'd used it for target practice. Other than it's excellent performance my BMW is a stinker. It's numerous problems should be an embarrassment to the brand....here are the major ones:
31,000 miles the automatic door locking system failed...the night I purchased it...on my anniversary....failed when the valet brought the car after dropping $400 on a lovely dinner
31,000 miles....somehow, some way, BMW's expert CPO crew MISSED the grinding left rear wheel bearing..warranty.
31,050 miles on..I noticed that while wearing polarized sunglasses one cannot read the radio display...Somehow nobody at BMW knows about this though it's all over the web...more fun...my Blackberry Storm2 that supposedly worked with the on board hands free system didn't work properly...(It works fine with my Samsung Galaxy).....
50,000 miles or so...the tube for the windshield washer leaks....two weeks earlier and it would have been covered by the first part of my CPO warranty, but now it's almost $400...ha ha...hey, none of my cars ever had that fail, not even either of my Peugeots...
54,000 miles...electric water pump failed...covered by warranty with $50 deductible....
58,000...the left outside mirror adjustment range no longer allows proper adjustment...another $50 warranty repair...it's been going on for a while...

Anyway, most of these problems are not expected regardless of how much research one does....do I have a lemon? Maybe, but honestly, compared to most of the cars that I've driven over my lifetime for about 700,000 miles, this dog is by far the most disappointing.... I am at times embarrassed to tell people what I drive lest they stereotype me as one of them Beemer drivers....

Sorry folks, it's just a car and not a very good one at that. Fortunately it's got good resale value and as soon as the warranty is up it's going to the pound. Watch your knees on those cup holders, will you?

Okay, I know, my leased Mazda CX-7 spoiled me... 36,000 miles, after initial software issues, never in for repair, never needed brakes and only needed one tire when turned in at lease end...comparable gas mileage to 3 series too....
:thumbdwn:
 
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#16 ·
What's a Beeemer?:dunno:
"Beeemer" is what people who don't own 'em think it's cool to call them. Kind of like people who have never been within 10 feet of a Porsche who constantly refer to them as a "Porsh".:)

It is annoying as hell, but a futile battle to attempt to correct.

To OP: My dad had multiple experiences in a '95 540i (bought new) such as you describe. He has numerous times queried me about getting the same type of reactions from other drivers and honestly, maybe it's just a difference of location, but where I live, the 3 series cabrio isn't particularly annoying to other drivers. Every once in a while I'll get somebody who baits me a little but when I don't bite it's a non-event. Sorry to hear your E91 has been such trouble. At almost 25K my '09 328i has had a few minor (and I mean really minor in the scheme of things) issues related to the retractable top. Other than that the engine, drivetrain, and standard electrics such as windows and door locks have been rock solid. It eats batteries like their going out of style, but part of that is my fault, so I'm not going to completely blame BMW, just needed to learn what to do and not do.
 
#6 ·
Nice rant, sorry to hear. My 2007 E91 was trouble free.

Advice: Sell the beamer (sp?) and buy something more reliable, innovative and stylish. Perhaps something like a Honda Fit, or perhaps larger like a Ford Escape?
 
#8 ·
I thought Beemers were the motorcycle line and Bimmer were the automobiles?
 
#9 ·
Your gonna get a good lashing for your story, but I will agree. Might be filled with technonlogy, but its poorly executed and built cheap for weight savings. Kinda like the Apple of automobiles..... Its ours and you cant modify it ( I will use the radio being the gateway for vehicle functions as an example). Windshield weatherstrip that dry rots after 2 years, rear window regulators that break waaaaay easy, lifter tick bla bla bla. These are basic automotive parts that should not be an issue early on with an "advanced engineered car". Defend it all you want, it is what it is.

I have one because I enjoy the driving experience it offers. I work in Germany a couple months every year and get to drive the autobahn daily. Got me hooked on day one. Now I cant drive that fast here of course, but still enjoy the handling euro cars offer. The price of that experience is $1000 headlights, $400 window regulators, battery registration....
OP, your right, but still love my 330i.

PS. People had issues with a BMW in southern Cali? I fly into Burbank and sitting at the dropoff looking at cars seemed like 80% were BMW is some shape or form. That is a lot of middle fingers flying around!!!! :)


Sorry to piggyback your observatons, wanted you to have a supporter.
 
#10 ·
PS. People had issues with a BMW in southern Cali? I fly into Burbank and sitting at the dropoff looking at cars seemed like 80% were BMW is some shape or form. That is a lot of middle fingers flying around!!!! :)
Yep, but not just BMWs (Mercs get it too). It's not too bad here on the westside (only Audi and Priuses act that way), but in the surrounding areas it can get pretty tiresome... and the weekends when it's sunny and those a$$es want to go to the beach.
 
#11 ·
Bimmer.
Sorry for your problems. You've had more than your share and I know it's frustrating. I've driven BMW's for quite a while and have had next to no problems. Ceretainly no more than the Toyota's I drove prior to BMW. Maybe it's time for you to move on. Good luck with whatever you do...
 
#12 ·
I feel your pain, I have always owned Toyotas, then 5 years ago bought a Triumph TR6, because my cousin let me drive his, and it was fun, so I got one, also because I could work on the car myself, repainted it, rewired it, rebuilt the engine too. its also a convertible and not too many on the road so I always get noticed. I always like BMW;s mainly the older ones. then my brother in law showed up with a volvo hard top convertible and since I like convertibles I started looking for a hard top convertible and ended up zeroing in on the 335I Hard top convertible, I was always under the impression that BMW made really great, dependable cars. So I found a 2007, checked it out and purchased it thru car max last November. No issues yet, but I got to tell you If I would have signed up for this forum before I bought the car and read all the issues and expensive repairs that some have gone thru, I probably would not have purchased the BMW. So far I have felt lucky that I have had no issues but then I only drive the car on the weekend and only have had it for 3 months. The triumph is now a start up cruse around the block, early morning drives, summer kind of car plus my insurance wont let me drive it but 3500 miles a year and I cannot use it as a daily driver either, so thats why I got the BMW plus I wont have to ever replace a soft top on it. Well thats my story, at least I can sell the BMW and get most of my money out of it, the triumph is another story, I dont want to add up the receipts that I have spent on the triumph got to be in the 50K range over 5 years

Hondo
 
#13 ·
also as a side note. maybe its just BMW owners or me but I always fix anything that goes wrong with a car, but I bet most people that had all those problems would only fix what they had to to keep the car on the road, and the minor things, like the door locks not working, or the mirrors they would not bother with it, I got a brother in law and all his car look like crap, dents, cracked windshields, windows dont work, seats dont move, AC broke, doors dont open from the inside Etc and he could care less. but then he who has the ****test car has the right of way

Hondo
 
#14 ·
I think most people you find here fix things when they break.

Also, all car message boards are going to have people complaining about problems (no offense OP). People that don't have problems usually don't talk about it.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Bimmer App
 
#21 ·
I have had both and have not had reliability issues with either (other than my well documented RFTs, OEM shock, NYC roads nightmare).

Actually now that I think of it my 92 Lexus SC300 had a timing belt failure at 30,000 miles (repaired under warranty). The 335i is in the shop now getting the brake pads repaired under the (extended) maintenance. The 750 is still pretty new but has also been trouble free.

CA
 
#20 ·
... I immediately noticed that other drivers would speed up to prevent me from merging onto the freeway or to change lanes. I would be shown drivers'middle fingers when passing or honked at when stopped to parallel park.
Just the other day I was trying to change lanes and almost got run off the road by a beat up old van that sped up and wouldn't let me change lanes, and I could see the driver cursing at me for even daring to make an attempt to get in his lane. Then today, I got cut off by a Toyota SUV that had been sitting behind me for a while when he finally decided to not only flash his brights at me, but proceeded to go around me and cut me off without signaling. Mind you, I was abiding by all traffic laws, so I'm not sure what the deal was. Bad luck, or just the nature of the beast when driving a BMW amongst non-BMW friendly drivers? I don't know... but I feel your pain.

Sorry about all of your maintenance issues, I wish you better luck in the future.
 
#22 ·
Just the other day I was trying to change lanes and almost got run off the road....
Crazy, getting cut-off happened to me twice this week. I never noticed such blatant discourtesy (not to mention inches from high speed wreckage) in previous years of driving my current car or any car. The highest-level defensive driving techniques are back in order...
 
#23 ·
you bought it with 31000 on it if the car wasn't taken care of I'm not surprised things went sour quick.from what i understand BMW's are not bought for reliability or cheap upkeep maintenance .sorry to hear your issues hopefully you have better luck next time

Sent from my XT557 using Bimmer App
 
#24 ·
With respect my current car, a 2007 328i wagon, I need a smaller wagon for my business that is suitable for 250-450 one way trips on the highways of California several times a year.
In addition to the Mazda, the Hyundai Elantra Touting is smaller, but it doesn't look like it's being sold for 2013.

Sorry about the E91. Mine has had less than stellar reliability, but it didn't have an Evil Previous Owner, so I just have myself (and BMW) to blame. If you buy another used Eurocar, a pre-purchase inspection by an independent shop that knows the marque might be advisable.

I won't buy the new E31 because BMW is importing them with automatic transmissions only, so the reliability is a moot point.

My E91 has been about as much fun to drive as a station wagon can be, that's why I bought it.
 
#26 ·
I've never bought a car because of image or status, but rather for its quality, durability, comfort, drive-ability, economics...... <SNIP>why I've owned two Peugeots and an Alfa, <SNIP> Mazda CX-7
Sorry, not buying (or leasing this thread).
You have owned BMW, Peugeot, Alfa, and Mazda. With the possible exception of the CX-7, none of these cars are really about economics (peugeot may have been cheap to buy, but terrible car to maintain). Also, BMW is known for many things..including the need to be repaired expensively.

As for "Beemer"....my baby "Beeemer" is awesome. Love her. My next one will be leased (nothing wrong with that).
 
#28 · (Edited)
To chime in: You know, I don't think it's quite the fact that "BMW drivers are notorious assholes", it's that PEOPLE are notorious assholes. I can't say I get flipped off on the highway, or anywhere, I tend to do the flipping off myself. I can't stand people that don't use their turn signals, or do that half ass "one signal blip" ****. Yes, thank you for using one, that I barely saw. I'll make sure to fake incredible neck pain when you hit me. Or how people tend to NOT let me merge onto the highway, and instead keep driving 45-50 on the right hand side of the road. Seriously? Get off the highway and take a bus or taxi. Ridiculous.

I think what it boils down to is, one person got cut off by a BMW driver (get over it, it's not the brand, it's the driver), and told their friends about it, and that in turn, forms a cult following of friends who look at other BMW drivers as the "people that are likely to cut you off".

It's a little ridiculous, but it's the reality we live in.



As far as repairs, no issues with my car, and I'm about to hit 142,xxx miles. It might be the fact that the car was ALWAYS taken on long highway drives, but the love I have for the car will keep it going for a long time. I liked the analogy of how someone with a different brand of car would only repair something if it REALLY needed fixing, versus the guy who loves his car and repairs EVERYTHING, even if ti isn't all that important. That's what separates someone who has a true passion, from someone who just gets by. I realize it's a little oddball to compare cars to life, but when you take care of something as inanimate as a car, it just shows you have a passion for something that most others can't relate to. It's really good stuff...
 
#29 ·
or do that half ass "one signal blip" ****. Yes, thank you for using one, that I barely saw. I'll make sure to fake incredible neck pain when you hit me. ..
You seem angry, and not willing to look at the other persons point of view. Some people hit their turn signal and think they hit it hard enough (not all are blessed with our quick tap option). Mistakes happen. I am OK with the person who hit it and only got one blip, vs the person who didn't use it at all.

Faking incredible pain? That seems like a dick move. if you are hurt, fine, but faking it? Not only is that fraud, it's one of the things that shows the systemic problems with our society.

Don't be so angry. Not worth it, probably shorten your life span.

Also, careful of the finger flip. People have gotten killed for doing that stuff
 
#30 ·
...I immediately noticed that other drivers would speed up to prevent me from merging onto the freeway or to change lanes. I would be shown drivers'middle fingers when passing or honked at when stopped to parallel park.

..I noticed that while wearing polarized sunglasses one cannot read the radio display...

Sorry folks, it's just a car and not a very good one at that...
:
You are getting a middle finger perhaps not because of the car but because how you drive the car. Don't drive it like a half blind 90 year old. Who wants to get behind a slow car merging into fast traffic on the highway? Tired of having horns honked at you? a: merge into traffic at the speed of traffic and not slower while meekly accelerating with your brake lights and b: don't be the slowest car in the left lane. Stick to a slow nondescript four banger, brown in color, and people will understand you and your driving habits.

Saying that SUVs get blown around in the wind is greatly disrespectful of BMW X3 and X5 models, these navigate the road and weather better than any Japanese or American car, even in the highest winds.

As far as your polarized sunglasses problem - Get Used To It. Every high quality display is polarized. The polarization you complain about exists with smartphones, iPads, LCD monitors and TVs. Modern flat panel displays in aircraft cockpits are polarized and that is why aviation sunglasses are not. Some cars, like Land Rovers for instance, have polarized windshields. In part the polarization is used to manage reflections and glare and to help create a crisper display.

Practically every car owner has some connection with the brand of their car. The Ford vs Chevy is case and point. BMW owners are no less attached. After all it is just a car, like every other mass produced auto. Somewhere deep inside though you know a car is not just a car; otherwise you'd still be driving your AMC Gremlin.
 
#31 ·
52,000 miles and still love how the car drives. Over it? Pffft...I love this car more than any other car I have ever owned before (we had a leased G35 coupe which was very enjoyable as well, but it was my wife's.)

Anyway, sorry for your troubles and all, but as long as BMW makes cars that make me smile when I drive them, I'll continue checking them out. :dunno: Though I'd love to upgrade to a P-car eventually. :angel:
 
#32 ·
RE: COMMENTS BY "ONAGER" .....LET'S JUST SAY THAT YOU'RE ENTITLED TO YOUR OWN OPINION, BUT NOT YOUR OWN FACTS....
You are getting a middle finger perhaps not because of the car but because how you drive the car. Don't drive it like a half blind 90 year old. Who wants to get behind a slow car merging into fast traffic on the highway? Tired of having horns honked at you? a: merge into traffic at the speed of traffic and not slower while meekly accelerating with your brake lights and b: don't be the slowest car in the left lane. Stick to a slow nondescript four banger, brown in color, and people will understand you and your driving habits. SO YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW I DRIVE....WHILE YOU'RE AT IT GO AHEAD AND TELL THE BOARD WHAT HAND I WRITE WITH AND WHAT CITY MY FATHER WAS BORN IN.

Saying that SUVs get blown around in the wind is greatly disrespectful of BMW X3 and X5 models, these navigate the road and weather better than any Japanese or American car, even in the highest winds. WOW AGAIN...DID SOMEONE CHANGE THE LAWS OF PHYSICS? THE GREATER THE SURFACE AREA OF A SAIL, THE MORE ENERGY IS TRANSFERRED. YOUR COMMENT IS LUDICROUS.

As far as your polarized sunglasses problem - Get Used To It. Every high quality display is polarized. The polarization you complain about exists with smartphones, iPads, LCD monitors and TVs. Modern flat panel displays in aircraft cockpits are polarized and that is why aviation sunglasses are not. Some cars, like Land Rovers for instance, have polarized windshields. In part the polarization is used to manage reflections and glare and to help create a crisper display. THE FAA WARNS AGAINST USE OF POLARIZED LENSES FOR THE REASONS YOU SITE HOWEVER, WHAT ABOUT THE DOT AND NTSB.....? REGARDLESS, DISPLAYS IN MOTOR VEHICLES THAT ARE UNREADABLE WITH POLARIZED LENSES ARE UNSAFE AND THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE.

Practically every car owner has some connection with the brand of their car. The Ford vs Chevy is case and point. BMW owners are no less attached. After all it is just a car, like every other mass produced auto. Somewhere deep inside though you know a car is not just a car; otherwise you'd still be driving your AMC Gremlin. IF IT WERE "JUST A CAR" THE "CONNECTION" WOULD NOT BE RELEVANT.
 
#33 ·
REGARDLESS, DISPLAYS IN MOTOR VEHICLES THAT ARE UNREADABLE WITH POLARIZED LENSES ARE UNSAFE AND THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE.
The only polarized displays in the car that are unreadable are the radio display and display showing temperature selected. Neither are necessary for safe operation of the car and you probably shouldn't be staring at them anyway while the car is in motion.

A little tip: Ranting for the sake of ranting usually doesn't get much appreciation around here. Good luck with your ride.
 
#34 ·
08 e92 bought cpo at 29k. Now have 76k. Just usual upkeep and maintenance. Not cheap but I'm smiling every time I get into it. Ordered another e92.

Anyone interested pm me. Titan silver with red corral 6mt prem nav sport iPod adapter prem sound comfort access.
Cheers
 
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