Lemon BMW's? Engine problems?

[Ultima]

Uh oh. Came across this and a whole bunch of sites related to M3 engine damage when doing a google search for BMW SMG (just to find out more about the transmission). Wasn't expecting to come across sites like this. Are M3's and other BMW's notoriously unreliable or something?, cause I haven't really heard much about that before (except maybe the old cars).

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I would take this with a grain of salt. I imagine if you look at any carmaker through a magnifying glass you will hear a lot of complaints. Hell, I regard Honda and Toyota as the nadir of reliability and my '98 Accord EX V-6 was a piece of junk. I would not personally buy a BMW with the expectation that it would be perfectly reliable by Japanese standards, but as a general proposition they are fine.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: Ultima
Uh oh. Came across this and a whole bunch of sites related to M3 engine damage when doing a google search for BMW SMG (just to find out more about the transmission). Wasn't expecting to come across sites like this. Are M3's and other BMW's notoriously unreliable or something?, cause I haven't really heard much about that before (except maybe the old cars).

Really depends on who you ask. My parents owned three BMWs, two of which were flawless and one of which was a complete lemon. If nothing else, BMWs will nickle and dime you to death: $500 oil change here, $1000 tune-up there (post-warranty). If something major does go wrong, expect to pay $3000+. If I were you, I'd go read the posts over at BimmerBoards. It's a mixed bag really. The secret is often waiting to buy the last model year of a car series. For example, buy an E38 7-series in 2001 before the debut of E65. Lots of people are having problems with iDrive and the brand-new 7, but most of those problems should be worked out in a few years.

 

[Angrymarshmello]

Every car manufacturer is going to have their lemons. Ultra high luxury car manufacturers are not exempt from that either

 

[Descartes]

Ultra high luxury car manufacturers are not exempt from that either

BMW is now an "ultra high luxury car" manufacturer? Hmmmm....

 

[woodie1]

BMW has had its share of problems with new car introductions. The M3 engine did have some problems but I understand they worked them out. So too did the current M5 when it came out. Always by a German car with a warranty and service contract if possible.