Don't buy a BMW?

[TridenT]

Bought a 2013 BMW 135is. Convertible w/ DCT. It's been a great car to drive in a lot of ways.

However, I've replaced the rear tires and they're already at least halfway worn in 5 months and about 5k of driving. The front and rear will probably simultaneously die this summer. They aren't cheap. (Michelin PSS)

The water pump died at 42,000 miles. That wasn't cheap. $500+ in parts.

The charge pipe just exploded. Got the cheapest one I could from BMS and that was $160. Had to tow it 50+ miles at 11pm.

And there are other things... but I mean, this is just annoying for <6 months ownership.

OH and the tools! holy cow! You need all kinds of new tools because everything is torx and hex this and that! Who needs metric! And specialty tools for the spark plugs and the oil filter and yadda yadda. I've probably spent $300 on new tools.

And, of course, MPG is hovering around 13-16mpg most tanks. It's rated for 18/25.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

This is all known. BMWs have a reputation for being unreliable and expensive to maintain.

That level of tire wear and mileage indicates that you drive like a BMW owner.

 

[repoman0]

Gets 13-16 mpg in an 18-25 RWD car, wonders why rear tires last 10k miles.

That said, I agree with the sentiment (minus the bit about the tools :| ). I wouldn't buy another BMW for a daily, though I own two right now (both pushing 15 years old). I'll be keeping one of them indefinitely and driving the other until it falls apart, which is looking to be soon, and replacing it with something ... less prone to falling apart.

 

[jlee]

https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...ility-vs-stupid.2422040/page-15#post-38594623

 

[Insomniator]

Pretty sure that's all obvious to most people, especially if you care enough to visit this forum.

Yeah its a pain to fix, but its probably pretty damn awesome when its running right, right?

I'm considering a 135is as my next car, maybe a convertible - we'll see. I won't go into it expecting it to be cheap though!

 

[TridenT]

https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...ility-vs-stupid.2422040/page-15#post-38594623

Well, I wasn't wrong...

It was a lot upfront and over time.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...ility-vs-stupid.2422040/page-15#post-38594623

:lol:

 

[TridenT]

Pretty sure that's all obvious to most people, especially if you care enough to visit this forum.

Yeah its a pain to fix, but its probably pretty damn awesome when its running right, right?

I'm considering a 135is as my next car, maybe a convertible - we'll see. I won't go into it expecting it to be cheap though!

It has a really nice exhaust note. Convertible is quite heavy though and there are only 236 or so of them. Also, the backseats are wildly impractical for most American passengers. If you're >=5'10", it's gonna be cramped. For small persons, it's not bad.

If you do get a convertible buy the windscreen that you put in the back seats. It makes days where the temp is 50F or below actually bearable with the top down.

Either way, no matter what turbo'd BMW you go with: replace the charge pipe. It'll break. I'm not running any mods and it blew up last night.

 

[Crono]

Still waiting on pics, unless I missed it.

 

[Insomniator]

Back seats?! Man did you miss the point of the car entirely?

 

[TridenT]

Back seats?! Man did you miss the point of the car entirely?

I go out to lunch with coworkers frequently. It's a fun car fully loaded with the top down. Suspension takes a hit though. It's not meant to have an extra 300+ lbs in the back seats.

 

[manly]

Bought a MY2014 328i three months ago. Not the perfect car, but the best I've ever owned. Hoping to keep this thing running for years, but at the least it's CPO'd until November 2019. Estimated my 5 year TCO at $33k which is higher than I'd like it to be but more or less inline with car costs these days. A brand new Honda Accord would have cost a bit less over 5 years, but I've always wanted to own a Bimmer..

Getting 24.5 mpg due to a lack of highway miles, not so much due to aggressive driving. Somehow the original owner got 30 mpg.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Why didn't you get something with a warranty? Were CPO cars out of your budget?

When we bought my wife's CLS550 we made sure it was CPO and we even bought the extended warranty so it is covered for many more years.

 

[TridenT]

Why didn't you get something with a warranty? Were CPO cars out of your budget?

When we bought my wife's CLS550 we made sure it was CPO and we even bought the extended warranty so it is covered for many more years.

Not many IS models out there to begin with. On top of that, CPO was way more expensive than what I paid. Most cars were listed near $28-30k. I got mine for $22k which was like $4k below market.

 

[Insomniator]

I go out to lunch with coworkers frequently. It's a fun car fully loaded with the top down. Suspension takes a hit though. It's not meant to

Meh make them drive if they're uncomfortable. I've had people in the rear of my Mini S maybe... 5 times in 5 years (and they were my little cousins). The seats are there cause they gotta fill the space with something... a storage box would probably be more useful.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Meh make them drive if they're uncomfortable. I've had people in the rear of my Mini S maybe... 5 times in 5 years (and they were my little cousins). The seats are there cause they gotta fill the space with something... a storage box would probably be more useful.

I can barely get in and out of the back seat of my E550 coupe. They really are useless. Can't imagine the rear seats in a 135i are any more roomy.

If you move the front seat up about half way a small adult or teenager could fit back there but that's about it.

 

[XavierMace]

Bought a 2013 BMW 135is. Convertible w/ DCT. It's been a great car to drive in a lot of ways.

However, I've replaced the rear tires and they're already at least halfway worn in 5 months and about 5k of driving. The front and rear will probably simultaneously die this summer. They aren't cheap. (Michelin PSS)

The water pump died at 42,000 miles. That wasn't cheap. $500+ in parts.

The charge pipe just exploded. Got the cheapest one I could from BMS and that was $160. Had to tow it 50+ miles at 11pm.

And there are other things... but I mean, this is just annoying for <6 months ownership.

OH and the tools! holy cow! You need all kinds of new tools because everything is torx and hex this and that! Who needs metric! And specialty tools for the spark plugs and the oil filter and yadda yadda. I've probably spent $300 on new tools.

And, of course, MPG is hovering around 13-16mpg most tanks. It's rated for 18/25.

The fact that you drive like a raging douche could also be a factor although, yes, the water pumps are crap. Mine waited until 78k to go out which is considered "normal".

If you spent $300 on tools, you over spent, but that was to be expected given it's you.

But I know most of us had been looking forward to this thread but didn't expect it to take 6 months for it to happen.

 

[JulesMaximus]

By the way, most cars are metric. Last American car I owned was a '94 Mustang GT and only the engine had non-metric fasteners on it. Everything else was metric.

 

[TridenT]

By the way, most cars are metric. Last American car I owned was a '94 Mustang GT and only the engine had non-metric fasteners on it. Everything else was metric.

It was sarcasm. BMW doesn't use metric on as much as it uses torx and what not. It's super annoying. I have plenty of metric tools because it's what most cars I've worked on use.

 

[JCH13]

It was sarcasm. BMW doesn't use metric on as much as it uses torx and what not. It's super annoying. I have plenty of metric tools because it's what most cars I've worked on use.

Here's a shocker - it's still metric! Metric fasteners can be torx, allen, or hex cap drive (among others). Pedantic, I know. At the end of the day you could have gotten socket driven allen keys and torx bits for well under $300. God knows how you managed to spend that much...

This thread is super lulzy, and I love it.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Here's a shocker - it's still metric! Metric fasteners can be torx, allen, or hex cap drive (among others). Pedantic, I know. At the end of the day you could have gotten socket driven allen keys and torx bits for well under $300. God knows how you managed to spend that much...

This thread is super lulzy, and I love it.

LOL, no kidding.

 

[TridenT]

Here's a shocker - it's still metric! Metric fasteners can be torx, allen, or hex cap drive (among others). Pedantic, I know. At the end of the day you could have gotten socket driven allen keys and torx bits for well under $300. God knows how you managed to spend that much...

This thread is super lulzy, and I love it.

You think?

 

[JCH13]

You think?

To be fair, you are the first person I have ever heard refer to hex head screws by the name of a units system. That is super derpy.

 

[gorcorps]

https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...ility-vs-stupid.2422040/page-15#post-38594623

I like this one too:

https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...ility-vs-stupid.2422040/page-16#post-38597974

 

[TridenT]

To be fair, you are the first person I have ever heard refer to hex head screws by the name of a units system. That is super derpy.

That's the default. You go into a tool shop, you don't say I need some metric hex head wrenches. You say I need some metric wrenches. They don't frequently sell square or torx or whatever else kinds of wrenches. I had a hard enough time trying to find torx head wrenches.