Debunking the myth, BMWs maintenance are expensive.

[SSSnail]

No one paid me to do this, just throwing it out there for you DIYers.

Often people will tell you that maintaining a BMW is expensive, which is in part true, but it's not as expensive as some people would lead you to believe.

If you do everything at the dealer, then regardless of your vehicle, it will be expensive. Now that is out of the way, and since this is ATOT garage, I trust that most of us know how to turn a wrench, right?

Recently, my car has a booboo, coolant leak. It turns out to be a lower radiator hose that needs to be replaced and along with it a sensor. But before I brought it to the dealer, I thought about overhauling my cooling system as well (I'm a big preventative guy). Which brings me to the point of this post, I priced out the entire cooling system components, minus the radiator and it comes out to a whopping $315 (you read that right). That includes upper and lower radiator hoses, sensor, thermostat and housing, water pump, expansion tank and accessories. So $315 and an afternoon would give me a brand new cooling system for a 4 yrs old 330Ci - the only thing that went wrong with it so far (pretty impressive considering how many people are harping on how atrocious BMWs are). But the dealer will fix all that crap plus a few other things concerning TSB and stuffs so they can have it for a day.

Just for shits and giggles, I asked an acquaintance that runs the shop at Pacific Audis how much that would cost me in part and he laughed. The horror stories he told me regarding maintenance on an Audi would turn me away forever. But let's get back to the main point of this story is that, maintaining a BMW is not expensive, if you're not a complete moron. Oh, and Audis suck.

 

[Vette73]

So in other words, unless you know how to repair your own car, don;t buy a BMW.

I have been saying that for as long as I was a auto tech and even to this day.

 

[SSSnail]

So in other words, unless you know how to repair your own car, don;t buy a BMW.

I have been saying that for as long as I was a auto tech and even to this day.

You must have missed the part where I say if you bring shits to the dealer it doesn't matter what you drive it will be expensive.

But, be that as it may, at least you can work on a BMW. Unlike some other cars that you'd pretty much have to dismantle the front end of the car just to do anything. Quit being dishonest to yourself.

 

[DVad3r]

I have a good mechanic who has fair rates. Is a BMW still expensive to maintain? Do regular mechanics even work on cars like BMW's? I've never seen a high end car at the place...

 

[fstime]

In my experience, BMW's tend to fall apart in the long run. I know "long run" means 3 years for you people that buy/sell your cars whenever you get a salary raise but to me, long run means 10+ years.

Look at used E36's. The E39 is no better when looking at the 90's examples.

 

[DVad3r]

I find it odd how all these super expensive cars like Mercedes and BMW never last as long as a simple Toyota. And I'm with the above poster, I go for the long run with all my cars, and that usually means when I see the road below me through my corroded floor, it's time to get a new car.

 

[fstime]

Also, I hope no one is going to bring anything newer then a '02 BMW into this thread.

Some people like to brag about how "reliable there car is when its 3 years old with 43K miles on it. You can't rate a cars reliability when its still practically a virgin.

Almost any car is going to be pretty sound up to a 100,000(in general). I rate reliability based on how the car runs AFTER 100,000 miles.

I don't think i've seen a E39 with over 100K not having some part of its poorly designed cooling/radiator system replaced.

 

[StageLeft]

That doesn't seem bad but some of the other parts will be higher. Bouzouki is right, a bmw just will not last like many other brands, not without parts (but then any car can last if you throw enough parts at it over time).

 

[SSSnail]

In my experience, BMW's tend to fall apart in the long run. I know "long run" means 3 years for you people that buy/sell your cars whenever you get a salary raise but to me, long run means 10+ years.

Look at used E36's. The E39 is no better when looking at the 90's examples.

In my previous posts in other threads, I've highlighted the fact that most BMW's change hands within the intervals you specify, so the original owners don't really care for the condition of the cars after they leave it. Then the second owner come in, and a lot of those second owner cars will be neglected in maintenance. Once the second owner almost run it to the ground because they couldn't keep up with maintenance, they dump it to another person.

That's why the resale values suck for these cars, not because they're not great, but because what's been done to them (or not). I can guarantee you that if you purchase any of the above cars and maintain them properly, you'll have a reliable car and a GREAT driving experience.

Also, since Toyotas and Hondas dominate the roads, accessories and aftermarket parts become cheaper for them, so the maintenance seem to be cheaper. When you buy parts for a BMW, you get genuine OEM parts. When you buy parts for a Toyota or Honda, they're made in China (unless you're gonna pay for OEM parts, which are not cheap). Perception is a bitch, isn't it?

 

[fstime]

I think it comes down to what you consider reliable.

Buying a 2 year old used model with low mileage and keeping it for a few years or buying a 13 year old high mileage model and hoping it doesn't give you problems.

I think the first option is a safe route to take no matter what car you buy assuming there is no major well known defect and the previous owner wasn't an idiot.

 

[SSSnail]

I think it comes down to what you consider reliable.

Buying a 2 year old used model with low mileage and keeping it for a few years or buying a 13 year old high mileage model and hoping it doesn't give you problems.

I think the first option is a safe route to take no matter what car you buy assuming there is no major well known defect and the previous owner wasn't an idiot.

Why would anyone buy any 13 yrs old car and think that it will be reliable? Without knowing anything about it?

 

[Koing]

2002 E46 M3, I'll keep it for 2-3yrs and change to another car. It has 52k miles on the clock. I'm cool with that. I would not want to have an 80k mile car...unless it was really cheap like my first car that cost £600!

It's all relative. A full set of tyres will be the best part of £850 from most online places but a few locals have quoted £650 apprently. A full set of pads and discs will be £800 but they should last 40-50k miles depending on how you drive.

I can live with this. If it was £2k a year I would be ditching it...too rich for my blood.

Koing

 

[StageLeft]

Resale on BMWs is very high AFAIK.

 

[DivideBYZero]

I bought my 2001 E46 M3 when it was four years old and have had it ever since. It costs less to run and maintain than my WRX did.

Some people posting disparaging BMW info in this thread have never owned one, so proceed with caution when using information from these sources.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Ummmm.....yea. My buddy is a mechanic over at Classic BMW here in Plano, TX. He says this classic quote to me all the time - there's a difference between being able to afford a BMW, and being able to afford TO OWN a BMW. He laughs at the dumbfucks who come in all the time complaining about how shitty BMW's are b/c they drive it like it's stolen and break like it's made of toothpicks and don't understand that they can't drive over potholes at 50mph like they did back in their Ford Taurus.

But even when talking about maintenance - if you own a BMW, more than likely it's not worth your time to spend to maintain it versus spending the money and having someone maintain it for you. It's the $30,000 millionaires that blow that out of the water though.

 

[drnickriviera]

Part of the problem is BMW is freaking cheap with the quality of the parts. How long has bmw had the cooling system problems?

A person in memphis posted about the cost he was having to pay for his 540
waterpump: $900
radiator: $1300 (replaced once before)
valley pan and valve cover: $2400
all for a car with 75k miles. Most were saying the prices are way high, but obviously shops charge these prices.

Other issues i'll have to face in the future with my 540
conversion to an electric fan. reports of clutches locking up until kaboom, fan blade dents the hood
timing chain guides. plastic guides wear out until it's chain against metal. not a fun repair.
replace all the rubber busings, drivetrain and suspension.

So it's not all roses. Some of the parts are very reasonable, others not.

 

[Raduque]

Which brings me to the point of this post, I priced out the entire cooling system components, minus the radiator and it comes out to a whopping $315 (you read that right). That includes upper and lower radiator hoses, sensor, thermostat and housing, water pump, expansion tank and accessories.

These same parts would probably be $50-80 for my truck. So yeah, BMWs are expensive to maintain.

 

[KK]

Just a question, how many miles did your bmw have on it? 4 years time-wise I wouldn't expect issues with the cooling system.

 

[Demo24]

This post doesn't really tell the whole story. Sure those parts aren't that bad for the 3-series, that's partly because they are a dime a dozen these days. Also because you didn't really upgrade what was wrong in the first place it's going to fail again provided you keep it(hopefully you got a metal propeller water pump).

Don't get me wrong I have nothing against BMW's and would like to own a 330 zhp, but I also don't want to pay for all those potential things that can go wrong: window regulators, almost guaranteed need to replace the coolant system, Vanos, and that whole rear subframe potential is a real seller.

Sorry, but there are plenty of other 35K cars(new) that won't need that kind of looking after.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

For my truck:
Thermostat: $20
Thermostat gasket: $2
Water pump: $52
Water pump gasket: $11
Lower hose: $9
Upper hose: $11
Heater hoses: $28 ($14/ea)
Fan electric fan controller: $25
Radiator cap: $4
Housing: $25

$176, $163 if the gaskets are included with the housing and pump. So yeah, I'd still call $315 on the expensive side

 

[PricklyPete]

Just a question, how many miles did your bmw have on it? 4 years time-wise I wouldn't expect issues with the cooling system.

I was thinking the same thing. My truck is 5 years old..I would have been seriously disappointed in it if I already had to replace the cooling system. Heck...I've put 60K miles on it and still have not had to the front or rear brakes. Just tires and fluid changes so far.

 

[alkemyst]

It's not only the parts, due to the engineering behind them (and like Porsches) as well sometimes a 2 hour job on a chevy is like 4-5 on the german car.

I know the 944 Turbo has an insane time for a clutch replacement.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

It's not only the parts, due to the engineering behind them (and like Porsches) as well sometimes a 2 hour job on a chevy is like 4-5 on the german car.

I know the 944 Turbo has an insane time for a clutch replacement.

Jalopnik on a Jaguar V12 E-type clutch replacement:

Long story short: I once helped a friend do a clutch on a '74 V-12 roadster. By the time we were half done, I wanted to drink a bottle of 90-weight and go die in a corner. The engine is the size of Wyoming (and weighs twice as much), and it has to come out to replace the clutch. The transmission is crammed into a hole approximately one millimeter larger than its exterior dimensions. There are twenty — yes, twenty — radiator hoses. Half the wiring harness is shoved into the engine's vee, which means that it bakes itself silly during operation and often disintegrates when you try to disconnect it. Yecch.

Fittingly, a V-12 E-Type is nowhere near as entertaining or attractive as a six-cylinder one, which means that when you are done with said clutch job, you spend the rest of the afternoon drinking beer and trying to figure out why you bothered with the damn gig in the first place. If there is a hell, it is populated with too-short jack stands, leaking engine hoists, and twelve-cylinder E-Types. God save the queen. God no save this.

 

[theeedude]

How are Audis? I am still kind of thinking of an A4 2.0T Manual for my 30th bday

 

[Vette73]

How are Audis? I am still kind of thinking of an A4 2.0T Manual for my 30th bday

Just as bad, if not worse then even BMW