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After 3 BMW's within 3 Years, I am Done.

39K views 612 replies 65 participants last post by  M40i4me 
#1 ·
No, this thread is not to incite a riot, it is merely to relate one former customer's unfortunate experience now that I can talk freely about it.

Two of the three were brand spanking new 3 series.

First was an '09 750... Not even a week of ownership, in for the "customer care" recall, but not really a recall, fine.

Within a month after that, valve tap and severe oil consumption, but shockingly, still within tolerance. Brought it back to the dealer, made a deal on a brand new 320.

Within less than a year of ownership, multiple issues, finally, after far more than 30 days in the shop, I was going to "lemon" it. It required a new engine. BMW steps in, and does a great trade assist for a brand new, extremely well equipped LCI '16 328i.

Within three months, a very obvious rattle surfaces. Back to dealer... This time, they fix it promptly, as it was relatively easy to determine the source.

A few months after that, loud buzzing behind that dash at highway speeds, AND when stopped in park, tranny started to feel inconsistent, a somewhat of a low level rumble/grind that was changing in pitch.

At that point, I had simply had enough of the drama. Enough of scheduling service visits, enough loaners, and traded out of it.

I've ready plenty were folks are like, "Well, they DO rattle, just the way they are, etc., etc.". Well, if it WAS ONLY that, fine. ...but it's my repeated time and effort also.

I just can't believe two brand new BMW's, one with a MSRP of 50K, and I still didn't end up with a relatively care-free car. I just think BMW is skimping too much on the 3 series. Maybe I just had bad luck, but after two, I don't think I'll be going back for a while.

I truly hope no one has to go through what I did.

Cheers...
 
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#145 ·
I've heard this on multiple Beemer Forums, I was looking into a "Newer" model , e60 M5, e9X M3, and F10 M5. After reading the owners issues.
.. it put my next purchase on hold ..... my previous experiences with e30, e28, and e24 currently have lead me to believe the new cars require far more money to get 300,000 miles out of them, my 1985 535i had 435,000 miles when I sold it , everything worked. My current e24 is bullet proof. Maybe I should stick with BMW'S from 1989 and older.

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#149 ·
I think stuff in general today is made to be disposal. Road & Track featured a 1990's Lexus LS400 with dealer verified 1 MILLION MILES!!!

The 80's bimmers were built with a sliderule not a ipad. They built it overkill, you can Turbo charge an M30 with only a headbolt upgrade and push 7-8psi and put mile after mile @450 hp
In comparison, just think about owning a Tesla Model S past 8 years, at which time the unlimited-mile battery warranty runs out. The current price of replacement is $14k(maybe it will drop to $8k to $10k by then), meaning that car has no resale value after 8 years(until someone replaces the battery).
 
#185 · (Edited)
Yep, current offer ($8000 cash bonus from mnaufacturer) is 41K (before negotiation) for an absolutely fully loaded (tech package, panoramic roof, Poltrona Frau leather seats, killer Harman Kardon premium stereo, etc...) top of the line Platinum trim Hemi V8....nappa leather covered dash and upper door panels, open pore wood, etc...crazy price for so much car....a similarly equipped 535i/550i would run into the 80s MSRP
 
#192 · (Edited)
OP, I hear you about wanting to love and being deceived. Don't get me wrong, BMW is still my favorite mainstream brand.

But after a wonderful E46 experience, I couldn't believe the nightmare I had to deal with my E90. Repetittive nonsense stuff as having the engine head opened and steptronic replaced *twice*. Did I mention that my sunroof cartridge was replaced and the car was creaking like no tomorrow? So $8237CA (about $6000) of it between 50000 and 87000 miles. Don't care about the price but the "events" drove me nut.

I am a bit surprised about the F30 as I was under impression that it had no that many maintenance issues. Hit or miss, again.

At that point, I had simply had enough of the drama.
My life is so much simpler with my glorified Accord (aka Acura TLX V6). I did the experience somehow expecting that I could be in a rush within 12-18 month to return to the zermans. Nope. Happy camper so far, despite Acura as a being a rather weak brand. Case by case.

And you would have to pay me a lot to get in that coarse 4-cyl.

Might have a look again next year in a 2019 B58 G20, but *only a lease*.
 
#194 ·
OP, I hear you about wanting to love and being deceived. Don't get me wrong, BMW is still my favorite mainstream brand.

But after a wonderful E46 experience, I couldn't believe the nightmare I had to deal with my E90. Repetittive nonsense stuff as having the engine head opened and steptronic replaced *twice*. Did I mention that my sunroof cartridge was replaced and the car was creaking like no tomorrow? So $8237CA (about $6000) of it between 50000 and 87000 miles. Don't care about the price but the "events" drove me nut.

I am a bit surprised about the F30 as I was under impression that it had no that many maintenance issues. Hit or miss, again.

My life is so much simpler with my glorified Accord (aka Acura TLX V6). I did the experience somehow expecting that I could be in a rush within 12-18 month to return to the zermans. Nope. Happy camper so far, despite Acura as a being a rather weak brand. Case by case.

And you would have to pay me a lot to get in that coarse 4-cyl.

Might have a look again next year in a 2019 B58 G20, but *only a lease*.
While of course your personal issues rightly affect your perception, larger sample sizes show both the E90 and especially the F30 to have average reliability. Anecdotally from my 10 years on this board, the F30 seems quite a bit more reliable than the E90.
 
#196 ·
Two other factors to consider are truly long-term ownership, and replacement cost at year 'n'. If the replacement cost for a new car continues to outpace general inflation, as it has over the past two decades, owning a car outright might be less costly. Who knows? Only time will tell. Since I plan to hold my F-31 diesel for > 15-yrs, I bought it. My assumption is that if I take excellent care of it, it will be a fine car for many years. So far, so good.
 
#198 · (Edited)
I bought mine but I had a coupon from the last issue of AARP Monthly.
 
#201 ·
I still have my 2007 328xi that has only 42,000 miles over 11 years. Now that it's out of warranty & service contract it sits in the garage. It's more sentimental in that I picked it up the day I was discharged from the hospital with a life saving liver transplant in 12/2006.


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#205 ·
750i: a piece of s*it

320i: even more of a piece of s*it. the most unreliable engines ever.

you are basing your experience with BMW off the two literally worst engines in the whole line up. I have a naturally aspirated 528i with ZERO issues at 120k KM. never left me stranded, never been to the dealer. Im even still on the original coil packs and injectors!

the rattling and severe oil consumption indicates at a motor that was poorly maintained by the original owner. infrequent oil changes, an engine not broken in properly when new (as a result burns lots of oil)

again.. you are basing your experience off two sh*tty examples.

try a naturally aspirated 328i from before 2011 and you will see what i mean.
 
#218 ·
I drive about 10-12k miles per year, so a car with 100k miles on it for me, if bought new, is a 9-10 year old car. I don't keep cars longer than that because I get the itch for something different around the 3-5 year mark. I like this car alot and could probably comfortably do 5-7 years in it. At some point, I am just over it. So really, 100k, 200k, its all abstract to me. Besides some sort of utility vehicle like a truck, a work truck of some kind used for heavy duty jobs, hauling, etc. not driven as a daily driver, I could see keeping that for a really long time. But I have no interest in having a 15 year old F30 BMW. I mean, come on. The rate at which technology is advancing with these cars, the thing would be totally antiquated
 
#222 ·
How somebody can say bmw's arent reliable... i have 2 bmws 1 is my pride & joy e36 328 coupe cosmos black the other is a 1999 e46 318 4pot which ive had for 5 years & ive serviced it once at 196k as of today its on 274583... it just keeps going i bought it on 145k & apart from a few tyres, bulbs & wipers its been bullet proof... bmw out of warranty lol whats that? I will post next year when mines hit 500k ;)

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#225 ·
I will say this:

If I ever go back to BMW it will be a 5 series either one or two years old with around 15K on the clock. IMO, that is the best mix of still getting that new car vibe and depreciation.

There are scores of well equipped '14-'15 5er's out there for low to mid 30's.

I also wish BMW would offer something like the MOPAR lifetime service contract. I essentially, with some minor exceptions, have "bumper to bumper" coverage for unlimited years and miles; 2.8K for that, but well worth it (IMO). Obviously BMW could never make it work at that price point :rofl:, but at least have that option, even if the premium is obscene.
 
#226 ·
I will say this:

If I ever go back to BMW it will be a 5 series either one or two years old with around 15K on the clock. IMO, that is the best mix of still getting that new car vibe and depreciation.

There are scores of well equipped '14-'15 5er's out there for low to mid 30's.

I also wish BMW would offer something like the MOPAR lifetime service contract. I essentially, with some minor exceptions, have "bumper to bumper" coverage for unlimited years and miles; 2.8K for that, but well worth it (IMO). Obviously BMW could never make it work at that price point :rofl:, but at least have that option, even if the premium is obscene.
that is a great warranty at a very reasonable price, bmw extended warranty prices are obscene
 
#227 ·
The worst part is I got each one brand new. THAT is what really kills me about all this. When I got the 328, I was THRILLED beyond belief and the issues with my 320 kicked to the back of my mind.

...then a few months later: BRRRRR BRRRRR BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, and I'm like, "OH YOU'VE GOT TO BE F'IN KIDDING ME!"
 
#241 ·
I have my E39 for 12 years now. Since then I've been smitten having moved from Mercedes, and I've purchased another 5 Bm's since, always pre-owned in the sweet-spot period, because my main purpose was to get to know and experience Bmw's. E30, E36, E46, Z3 and E36 euro M3 which I have and don't have any interest in letting go. Also have the E46.
There's no contest to the overall ability and feel good factor the E39 has. I don't think I'll let it go either, as I'm now contemplating my next addition to the fleet which will be a f3x of some sort for sure,.....
 
#249 ·
its anyone's guess how the F30 will hold up over time. If properly maintained and cared for, I don't see any reason why you couldn't get 200k miles out of one. It wouldn't be cheap but it would probably be fine.
 
#261 ·
My old LCI E39 did not have one single rattle(besides passenger seat belt buckle hitting B-pillar) for 12 years and 100k.

The current F30 had numerous rattles that took 6-7 visits to eradicate. The F30 also has more hard plastics than the old E39, e.g. F30 door pocket bottoms are not lined with felt-like material like E39.

BTW the C class has rubbermaid mats at door pockets(a bit cheesy but it works), does the LCI F30 have those?
 
#264 ·
my f30 has no rattles but my dodge ram did. Took it in and they gave it back an hour later saying some velcro had come loose, drove off it rattled in the same place. turned around and went back got the service manager to ride with me and he said oh, guess that wasnt it. Tried to tell me to listen to it. I said it didnt come off the assembly line with an intentional rattle did it? he said no and i said well something is broken and thats what my warranty is for. Took it to the shop and fixed the problem and the rattle, dont give up, rattles are not acceptable in rams and damn not acceptable in new 50 k cars...
 
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