BMW Repair Costs...

[pac1085]

Anyone have any experience with getting repairs done on their BMW? I've been looking into some, a '95 325i or something...my one freind keeps telling me the repair charges will be insane. Anyone had any repairs/maitenece done on their BMW and how much more than a regular American Ford or Chevy would it cost...

 

[Imported]

My uncle bought a 2000 BMW 323i. Anyways, about 2 hours into owning the car, a lady backed into the drivers side blinkerlight. When the bill came, it was only $35, which the lady paid. Not sure if that's cheap or not, since I don't know much about repair costs, but just thought I'd say that..

 

[ultravox]

Speaking from the Canadian side of things the bill will definitly be more than an american car but not excessively so..all cars are getting to cost alot to repair.....one thing though, if the BM's are any way like my Audi, you won't be repairing too much aside from stuff that wears out. My car still has it's original shocks after 10 yrs and 246k kilometers....The shocks cost $120 apiece whereas shocks for my Caravan are $90 apiece...something tells me the mini-van shocks won,t last 10 yrs.....you get what you pay for.

 

[Ranger X]

I got my BMW fixed at the dealer and it costed me over 1k.

 

[babyBluiZ]

I think the repair costs used to be a lot higher than they are today. I've had mine for almost 14 years, and I used to cringe when I had to get it repaired.. but the last thing I had to replace was the water pump (first time needing replacement), and it only cost me $125, which if I remember correctly, that isn't too much more than I payed when I replaced the water pump on my escort (when it was just 4 years old).

Repairs to the body are wayyyy up there tho.. I got in an accident last year, a big truck hit my drivers door and front panal of the car... Insurance wanted to total the car, repairs were estimated at $4000, but I found a place to fix it for 3,999, so they wouldn't total it now mind you, that was just for the driver door, and a little dent in the front panal!!!!! but, if I had to weigh the money against being safe, had I been in the escort, I can guarentee you I wouldn't be here to type this to you today!!!

So, if you are looking into a BMW, the repair costs may seem higher, when you have to fork out the money, but when you consider that you hardly ever have to replace anything (I have 250,000 miles on that baby right now, and it's still purring)... and the fact that if you ever do get in an accident, you will be very safe in it. (I think the safest car is a Volvo, but I know BMW's are up there with them).

good luck in your search

 

[Gaul]

ICSVortex,

Funny that you say you're looking at a '95 325i as that is the exact car that I have. If you are paying a dealer to service your car, you WILL pay out the ass for the repairs. So the only logical choice is to find a reputable independent BMW mechanic in your area. Find the mechanic first before you purchase the car. Because you will start up a good relation with him by bringing the cars you are considering to him to be checked out.

I recently got in a wreck and decided to take the car to my mechanic to fix up some stuff before the body shop went to work. Unfortunately, I did not know that at the time the hood was jammed shut. The mechanic spent about 2 hrs trying to get the hood open w/o damaging it. He did not charge me at all for that time. The bill came out to $600 for valve cover replacement/ac compressor replacement/tires rotated and balanced/oil changed/e-brake readjusted/brake lightbulb replaced. I don't find that too be unreasonable at all. The ac compressor was a large part of that @ $170. So yeah part prices kind of hurt at times.

The advice given to me on purchasing used BMWs was to go with the NEWEST car possible. Obviously you are looking at high mileage cars then. BMWs handle highway mileage very well. They are definitely sweet cars. I really wanted a 328i, but I couldn't find a decent one in my price range. If you have the money go for a '96 328i. Definitely go with manual tranny. An AT is a disservice to you and the car.

I'm sure I've left some stuff out. But feel free to ask any questions through this thread, pm, or email.

oh and check out the e36 board on bimmer.org

 

[Gaul]

oh and yes body repair on bimmers costs a LOT. My "minor" fender bender with a pillar in the parking lot my insurance company $3000 to repair. Supposedely bumpers don't do to well when pulled on. I was going around 5mph in reverse btw.

 

[pac1085]

Hey Gual, thanks for the info, if i have any questions, I'll be sure to ask you I probly wont even be able to afford a bimmer for about 2 years...lol so by then a 1998 shouldnt be too bad of a price...

 

[woodie1]

You will find that a BMW, M-B, Lexus, Infiniti are all going to cost more most of the time. The BMW is such a sweet car it is worth it though.

There is a BMW Car Club @ www.bmwcca.org.

They have classifieds as well as tech articles.

 

[FlashG]

I've owned a couple of older BMW's and they were not cheap to drive or insure. My 320i was much more reliable than my 1983 Grey market 323 Hearkey (SP?) special. That 250Hp+ beasty cost me about $9K in parts during 4 years of ownership. Truth be told, it had way to much Hp for the street and was to cammy to drive in rush our traffic. But once rush hour was over it was great (at 150+).

 

[nickdakick]

Why repair 'em they're crap anyway. That's the bottom line of conversations I had with some BMW workers over the years. If they didn't get them cheap as new cars and could sell them after a year with profit no one of them would care to drive a bimmer.
edit: dunno about the US assembled cars though

 

[StageLeft]

My friend, when we were 16, had his father buy the family a slightly used (cost $15k US then) BMW. Guess what happened two weeks later? Friend parked on hill forgot to put it in gear or handbrake. We came out of the store and the BMW was now best friends with a tree 20 meters down the road. Totaled

 

[FlashG]

I didn't know they had a link

Mine was silver


This was the most expen$ive POS that I ever owned. It did cure my hot rod feaver.

 

[Orbius]

Personally i'd test drive the new Lexus IS300 before I even considered getting a 3 series BMW. The bimmer is rather cramped, think Honda Civic size interior. The fit and finish simply isnt up to Japanese standards. It's an excellent drivers machine, but i've heard the new IS300 has a revvier more enjoyable motor than the BMW.

 

[StageLeft]

Yes but for now at least the IS300 comes in only automatic with a 0-60 of 7.6 and since he is looking for a '95 I don't think he wants a new vehicle

 

[pac1085]

<< Yes but for now at least the IS300 comes in only automatic with a 0-60 of 7.6 and since he is looking for a '95 I don't think he wants a new vehicle >>


I want a new vehicle but cant afford one