[Closed] BMW cars - overrated POS

Meant to get a new one every few years.

garage we went to was full of broken ones -

Which version? E36, 46, 90?

Their flywheel clutches are a real PITA as well, all in all though they are not bad cars but I would never ever keep one past 4 years old max.

All brand reputations, good and bad, are utter nonsense IMO and IME.

HoratioHufnagel - Member

All brand reputations, good and bad, are utter nonsense IMO and IME.

especially when looking at increased mileage

don simon - no I didn't. Didn't even know said garage existed until I had to sniff it out to get problem sorted.

rog - E46 I think (2001)

Had our 85,000 mile...

I think pretty much all car parts are designed with a 100,000 mile target in mind. If it goes over that, then it's a bonus. Yours is pretty close.

That said, if it's been properly serviced(?), I wouldn't be too happy either.

My lovely Mondeo is still for sale 😉

Dear STW

I bought an 11 year old, 2 generations out of date car and some stuff has gone wrong

waaaaah waaaaaah

charlie mort

Dear STW

I bought an 11 year old, 2 generations out of date car and some stuff has gone wrong

waaaaah waaaaaah

charlie mort

my old 523 auto got to 130,000 and then died (not really major, but uneconomic)
It had been great up until about 110,000 and then started dropping what were clearly hints in retrospect

Get rid

On the other hand, my E39 touring is ticking over beautifully after 7 years of ownership and 160,000 on the clock...

Had a few minor gripes, but I can excuse that for a car of the vintage. And it's cost me peanuts in comparative depreciation of a newer car.

It's an 8 year old car with 85000 miles on it.
If it drove like new and didn't go wrong why would anyone pay x20 what you did to get a new one? You get what you pay for.

you bought an auto 325i??? why???

Mate at work reckons the best car is a certain low power diesel version of the Skoda Octavia. Not quick but goes on forever.

We run a 170k Mondeo that owes us nowt. Even if something big went (DMF / Turbo / Injectors) I'd still fix it, because what would I buy with the pittance its worth...? Body still rust free, interior comes up spotless. And pretty much any garage can fix a Mundano.

better than a merc

Mercs are certainly worse!

I run old cars and having been stung with faulty autos in the past, I'd never touch one second hand. ZF gearboxes seem to be particularly dreadful! Mind you CVT's are even worse!

I bought a 320d 3 years ago when it was 3 years old, not had an issue yet

I love my 320D. 65k in 2 years and not a single problem.

I've ran 530D Sport Tourings, 535D Sport Tourings, M3, all without a hitch all without a single murmur.. Both 5's I put colossal mileage on (175, 230k respectively) not a jot went wrong.

I love em'

This thread needs SURFMATT

120d here, had for 5 and half years 75k miles. Traction control unit went kupput just out of warranty £2k bill but BMW stumped up the lot! Apart from that the front spring broke the other day £160, put that down to speed bumps and potholes though.

BMW UK are brilliant for just out of warranty repairs.

Traction control unit went kupput just out of warranty £2k bill but BMW stumped up the lot!

the bastards 😥 it's much more fun with the traction control off/not working!

warton - Member
This thread needs SURFMATT

I miss Surfmatt

I had a 2004 320D Touring. I put 100k miles on it in 5 years. Only problems were an alternator and a faulty alarm sensor on the bonnet, both repaired under warranty. I liked the "service pack" too, free servicing up to 60k miles except for tyres.

Wish I'd kept it

Sorry, but get a grip.!

You bought a car more than a decade old, that has a 99% chance of being clocked, has had some well documented faults appear and now you are whining!

If you want a reliable car for skoda money, buy a skoda. If you want a premium brand, save up for the purchase or the bills.

My 2006 E90 330i auto is running faultlessly so far... :-).

😯 OOoooooohhhhhh ...

Remind self to stick to Toyota or Skoda auto gear for the moment ...

Mates advised me to stick to traditional auto transmission rather than those with Tiptronic or some super doper new age auto gear ...

I miss Surfmatt

Well **** off over to Pistonheads then, & you two can have an AWESOME love-in...

Just search vladimir 335d AWESOME (I started that BTW) company director and he will appear

I don't think that you can complain too much because as others have said before it is an old car.

Cars cost money too run. There is the invisible cost of depreciation and the visible costs of insurance, tax, repairs and servicing. As your car gets older the invisible element decreases and the visible element increases regardless of marque.

I drive a 51 plate 530i and my family and I love it. Repair bills have been expensive in the last 2 years c. £2k, but it generally wears and drives well.

The car is only worth about £3.5k now and is depreciating at say 10% per year and I am budgeting £500 a year for repairs, so that is £850 a year in costs and it is still a pretty good car. The £850 is still a lot less than the depreciation on a 1 or 2 year old uninspiring new car.

I've always wanted to like BMW's but every time I've driven one I've been soooooooo unimpressed.

So yeah I think I agree with you OP, over rated IMO.

My sister & brother in law have just bought a 320i touring. Can't remember the reg, but think it's a 58 or 09. Anyhoo. It's had constant engine management lights on & has been back to the garage about 6 times in 3 months. They've changed the crankshaft sensor, cam sensor & the cat, but it's still not right....
Looking online, it seems to be a common problem with that petrol engine.

Think I'll stick to my Ibiza. 9 years old in July, 186k miles on it & running lovely (touch wood) - 64.5mpg out of the last tank (fill to fill).

My dad has one of the big engined Z4's. It certainly seems well made and goes like stink. What's not to like?

my dad bought a 1984 3 series in the 90s, (for £2k) ran it for a decade, did very little apart from routine servicing, advertised it for £400 and took over 30 phone calls. 1st viewer bought it.
not the most exciting car in the world like, but £160 quid a year depreciation?

Quite spooky though, that I bought my BMW at 85k too; mine's now on 130k four years later. A new Merc driving friend drove it recently, and commented that it drives like a new car - not one 14 yrs old 🙂

But, not sure how you can blame BMW for an old car you bought, maybe you just need to be more careful/lucky with your next purchase.

I had various cars and all have had their fair share of problems (Fords, SEATs, VWs, and now BMWs). The problem with BMW is when they go wrong the main dealers and parts are expensive however for me the looks, driving experience (sounds like I've swallowed the marketing manual) and build quality far outweigh the negatives. Mine is almost 6 years old with 60000 miles, still goes like stink (well as fast a 2 litre diesel can) and the interior feels as tight as the day it was made.

If you want realibility buy a toyota, you just have to accept that its likely to be as dull as dishwater to look at and drive.... (not meaning to offend Toyota owners but with the exception of the older Celicas, MR2s etc the familiy cars are well in my opinion dull)

Gary_C - Member
I miss Surfmatt
Well **** off over to Pistonheads then, & you two can have an AWESOME love-in...

POSTED 4 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

Bloody hell calm down Gary. Anyone would think I had just insulted your mother.

I never had any problems with him. He always came across fine as far as I was concerned. I guess his arrogance upset a few of you. Wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same.

And pretty much any garage can fix a Mundano.

Don't bet on it - mine had to go to Found On Road Dead with injector issues as its ECU refused to talk to anyone else. The two indies I took it to prior are widely regarded as the best garages in the area, and I'd had great results from them before.

BMWs do provide excellent comedy value when it snows though.

My dad has one of the big engined Z4's. It certainly seems well made and goes like stink. What's not to like?

The mid-life crisis signified by the purchase of it? 😉

I am all for reliability so looks not that important because I am not there to impress others. Guess I would probably impress others with Land Cruiser ...

Now I am also into auto gear too just to try it out after consulting my old boy racer mate.

🙂

BMWs do provide excellent comedy value when it snows though.

Indeed 🙂

[img] [/img]

now, I can see the comedy value in that pic but surely it makes sense to have chains on the front. I presume the driver needs to stop too?

Shedloads of newish 3 series being nicked at the moment due to a ecu/clone key loophole. so if you own a <5yr high end model ensure its fitted with a steering lock.

OP you own a clocked model. 85k in 11yrs?

Faultless 320M here.
Just not happy with drive when in the wet or on poor roads.

at first i thought it was a 4 yr old one you were moaning about. Which might have been fair enough. But 11 years old!? What do you expect?

I'll stick with my Alfa's my current 8 year old 156 is approaching 240K and has never missed a beat or gone wrong - my fathers 5 series thats another story...

When I was about 17 my dad bought one of the first BMSw ever imported into the UK, a 2002. It went like stink, nobody knew what it was and it was shockingly badly designed; within two years rust appeared in the front wings and the heating and ventilations system was atrocious. Fun though.

BMW is like British Airways - charge too much for your product and you will fool some of the people into believing it is somehow better than your competitors' products.

Tuts at the OP for being had, cars are generally only sold when they have a problem so be careful.

I know they are better engineered than most cars but depending on how they are used there will still be problems. 4-5 years with unlimited mileage anywhere at any speed and then swap. Not good for those of us that can't afford it. I have a 04 525d that has cost me more than I imagined but in the last 25k no more thn buying a new small car which wouldn't have a nice big 6 under the bonnet.

Parts are cheap at motor factors and the dealers have reduced labour prices for the older cars. The dealers are also very nice places to be and generally make you feel superior to other road users.

My old MG ZR which my brother is running has done the same mileage in the same time (since buying the bmw) and has cost roughly 1/8th of the bmw to keep on the road. but those MGs are terrible, I saw on an internet search they go wrong every 3 days...blah...blah.....blah.

More luck than judgement not getting expensive repairs every so often on cars these days.

I refer you to STW rule 6.7a

Always consult the mob before buying a car?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/should-i-buy-this-oldish-jag

BMW, Porsche, Kia, Land Rover, Isuzu, Ford, Hyundai .... we've had all of those in last 10-15yrs... they ALL have problems, that's life.

1. Hyundai: cheap as chips = problems

2. Porsche: supposedly extremely well made (I'd agree) = expensive problems

3. Everything else on my list: mid-priced = mid-priced problems.

C'est la Vie!

generally make you feel superior to other road users.

LOL

starsh78 - Member
I'll stick with my Alfa's my current 8 year old 156 is approaching 240K and has never missed a beat or gone wrong - my fathers 5 series thats another story...
POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST

It's an Alfa. The odometer will be broken, it's probably only done 10k

2002 (52) 330 here. Had it since 2005 at 29k, now on 97k. Its been really smooth and never ever gone wrong until I took it for its last Service, when BMW showed me it need 3k of work on it!

Took it to an Indy, The bill went down to £1500. But the mechanic came to see me and said " Unlucky mate, in all my 20 years as a BMW mechanic I've never seen so many wear and tear parts need replacing at the same time". He went on to say "But unless there's a major component failure, you'll get a minumum of another 5 years out of the replacements and the cars in good mechanical nick, so you have a good car there"

I did have a look at this gearbox issue a while back and took some of the internet advice I found which was to get the gearbox oil change between 60/80k miles, as the "lifetime" (as mentioned above) gearbox quote for BMW's is really 100k miles. Its common sense really, all the dirt, swarf and quality of the oil will affect the parts. Keep it the oil at its best and that will help.

Not sure which gearbox is in the 330, but I've a feeling its not the same one as the 323, and is an uprated model to cope with the extra power / steptronic change.

OP you own a clocked model. 85k in 11yrs?

My Octavia estate is a 1999 model and has 85k on it.

I've always wanted to like BMW's but every time I've driven one I've been soooooooo unimpressed.

So either

1: You can't drive
2: You're lying
3: You *wish* you could have a BMW and feel emasculated by those who do, so you spend time making things up on forums because it bolsters your fragile self-esteem.

I've had a number of BMWs over the years, some have been amazing, some more run of the mill. One thing they all did was drive well, even the midrange diesels.

youve owned the octavia from new?

To say a lot of modern BMW 's drive well is a joke , they got slated for years for extremely hard jiggly rides due to run flats and firm suspension . I've had a few and they are ok cars, generally no better or worse than a lot of other cars. The perceived snobbery when behind the wheel is just that , perceived . A low powered basic BMW is nothing at all to write home about , a V10 M5 is ......

So either

1: You can't drive
2: You're lying
3: You *wish* you could have a BMW and feel emasculated by those who do, so you spend time making things up on forums because it bolsters your fragile self-esteem.

LOL - got a brochure in your pocket?

Even with the firm suspension and run flat tyres from a driver's perspective the handling is awesome although it may be a bit unpleasant for passengers at times...

As for the picture with snow chains on the front; in the snow I run snow socks front and rear, no point being able to get the car moving if you can't steer it or stop it.

current company car is my first BMW and it won't be my last - 40K miles in 2 yrs from new and not a single fault, which is a first for any car for me. 318d tourer, so nowt fancy, but it just does it's job efficiently and calmly

So either

1: You can't drive
2: You're lying
3: You *wish* you could have a BMW and feel emasculated by those who do, so you spend time making things up on forums because it bolsters your fragile self-esteem.

I've had a number of BMWs over the years, some have been amazing, some more run of the mill. One thing they all did was drive well, even the midrange diesels.

Errrr, yeah ok.

1) I'm a petrol head. I used to race rally cross and have been on so many track days I've lost count.

2) I don't need to lie.

3) The ones I have driven have been on test drives when looking to buy a new car, I could buy a BMW today if I wanted too.

So either

1: You can't drive
2: You're lying
3: You *wish* you could have a BMW and feel emasculated by those who do, so you spend time making things up on forums because it bolsters your fragile self-esteem.

I've had a number of BMWs over the years, some have been amazing, some more run of the mill. One thing they all did was drive well, even the midrange diesels.

Of course as well as making rational decisions about suitability, mpg, reliability, longevity etc. there is also the question of image and what a car says about the person who owns it.

Can't work out how much of this comment was genuine and how much was irony but it neatly illustrates all the reasons why BMWs have never been on my shopping list.

Even with the firm suspension and run flat tyres from a driver's perspective the handling is awesome although it may be a bit unpleasant for passengers at times...

my mates had a string of BMWS, including an Orange 2002 tii.

I have always been very unimpressed by their handling - some of the 525s were just nasty.

His wife has the old, narrower shape, 325 cabriolet and that is the only one I have been impressed with.

Another mate has a new 5 series.

There is a road in surrey called the red road (B311) - nothing to special but some great cambered turns on it - like a nice piece of singletrack.

He doesn't like that road as he feels out of control!!!

Personally I can see that they are not a drivers car based on the number of times I have been behind one as we come up to a fantastic series of smooth bends on some derestricted country road which are great to drive round at 55-60, but they continue on at 40 and brake for the corners.

In fact they road I am thinking of has just had to be resurfaced at all the points which would be equivalent to braking bumps on singletrack.

I bought a 1986 318i in year2000 for a few hundred quid. I had it for three or four years before selling it on. Nothing ever went wrong with it although it was a bit gutless, 118000 on the clock. It started to go rusty.

Kev

@Skywalker Of course you are a petrolhead, of course you have been to countless trackdays and of course you could afford a BMW any time you wanted to[s]o[/s]. I for one totally believe you.

@Turnerguy You've posted that far-fetched drivel before, sounds like [s]you[/s] "your mate" can't drive.

It's interesting to note that BMWs are generally perceived by the world at large to be excellent driving machines, yet there are STW experts who don't agree. Please regale us with stories about the time you hunted down some BMW idiot (who of course couldn't drive for toffee) in your Seat Ibiza or whatever.

I guess the thing to remember here is a car that cost 30k 10 years ago will cost the same to maintain as a car that costs the equivilent of 30k today..
Cars a decade old with 85k (or more) on them, are going to get the odd component failure, this is due to chronological aging of components (rubber seals degrade etc) as much as wear due to use.

If you don't understand this, or don't like it, buy a new Skoda Fabia.

Oh, and as for the original title about BMWs being an overrated POS - my 1-Series Diesel is coming up to 60k and 2.5 years old... it has been absolutly faultless... It is great to drive and gives me 50mpg out of a tank - whats not to love!
Would I buy one thats a decasde old and expect the same - of course not!!

What you meant to say was [b]MY knackered second-hand BMW is an overrated POS![/b]

Turner guy, just because people don't drive the cars well, does not mean they are bad to drive, just that the driver is bad.
5 series is a little heavy to be a 'drivers' car, but it craps all over the competition.
I will say that my old 325 convertable (w plate) was a decent car made bad by taking the roof off. To my flex and shake on the bumps compared to my friends hard top version. Still better than my current A4 though!

My 5 Series (F10) handled like a car half it's size and weight. Great car.

I've always wanted to like BMW's but every time I've driven one I've been soooooooo unimpressed.
So either

1: You can't drive
2: You're lying
3: You *wish* you could have a BMW and feel emasculated by those who do, so you spend time making things up on forums because it bolsters your fragile self-esteem.

I've had a number of BMWs over the years, some have been amazing, some more run of the mill. One thing they all did was drive well, even the midrange diesels.

I regularly take at 50-60

Wow.

You're awesome.

Got a 320d Touring recently. Handles better than the ST220 I had before.
Obviously not had it long enough to know how reliable it is however I intend to go lots of places in it.. its full of mud at the mo, might have to clean that out at some point.

Anyway, I like..!

Ive got to agree with some of the comments up there.

I held the lap record at my local karting track for quite a while, and I passed my test with only 2 minors, so I know Im a decent driver.

I only drive an old Honda Civic, yet I seem to regularly get stuck behind families in BMW's on the popular tourist roads in the lakes. I cant understand why these people dont want to drive like a **** like I do, especially when they're on holiday with their families. I would have thought the fact that they're such good "drivers cars" would encourage the owners to drive like a ****.

going into bends at 30-40 that I regularly take at 50-60. If they're such amazing 'drivers' cars, why don't people drive them?

We followed (in the van) a Nissan GTR that was braking for every slight bump/crest/bend/kink from Peebles to Glasgow. I assume that makes them shit cars too?

Had a 320d estate recently. Lovely engine, crap car with poor build quality and dodgy electrics from new. Dealers with an attitude. So I got rid of it.

Scooby estate now. Drives as well. Don't miss the Beemer...

I held the lap record at my local karting track for quite a while, and I passed my test with only 2 minors, so I know Im a decent driver.

😆

😯

Are BMWs the motoring equivalent of Orange bikes? Pretty much everyone who has one loves it, those who don't (but secretly wish they do) make up stories about how rubbish they are?