Quote:
Originally Posted by STACKZ89
I have no problems with the service writer or sales man I even sent a few people over there to buy cars it just seems every other month there's something wrong with this car! I take extremely well car of all my vehicles and these issues are not due to owner related problems but factory mistakes! I'm just tired of wasting time going there every other month, not having MY car for 1-2 weeks just unnecessary problems! I went to bmw because of the maintance programs and how I thought the cars were manufactured! I can honestly say I have had an e550 as well and to be HONEST the bmw has more performance and responsiveness and is by far a more drivers type of car but the Benz has a much tighter interior better fit and finish and in my opinion built a little better! So to answer the question I wanted a change after having a few benz's, It's a dd and at that a good one but for the money I'm disappointed!
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It's hard to form an opinion after owning one BMW for less than a year. I've owned BMWs for 13 years. I've dealt with multiple dealers and service centers. Your mileage will vary - like any make or any dealer.
My first BMW was a 2001 325i. I bought it, fairly loaded, brand new. In the first year of ownership, the car actually had a good number of problems. A DSC sensor went bad first. Then a few bulbs (turn signals) prematurely burnt out. Then I had a broken clip on the sunroof. I don't recall ALL of the issues, but I will say they were pretty frequent in the first year.
Fast forward - I ended up owning that car for 125k miles and over 6 years. It never left me stranded. It performed wonderfully until the day I sold it. Yes, there were minor issues here and there - a window regulator or two, a blower resistor motor, etc - but that's about it. What started off looking like a very "needy" vehicle turned into a 6 year 125k mile car for me.
Then I bought my 2007 335i - again brand new and fully loaded. Look no further than the 335i posters on the forum here (especially the pre LCI e90/e92 N54 cars). These cars were actually known for having a good deal of issues - turbo wastegate rattles, high pressure fuel pump issues, injector failures, etc. Do you know... I owned that car for 89k miles and again roughly 6 years... I had NONE of those problems. Actually, the biggest problem I can recall was the hood open/close sensor malfunctioning.
My 335i was a solid car... despite its broader reputation. It had far less issues than even my 2001 e46. I figured 6 years was long enough, and I didn't want to push my luck, so I traded it recently for the 550xi. Knock on wood, the 550xi has been great so far.
My point being - you can't judge an entire brand based upon ONE car, ONE model, and less than ONE year of ownership. After you've owned a few different BMWs and maintained them for any extended period of time (especially post warranty), THEN you may have a valid and well-rounded opinion on the brand. Any one car can be a lemon or have an unusual number of issues. Any one MODEL, like the pre-LCI e90/e92 335's, can also be unusually problematic. But one car or one model doesn't define an entire brand.
I've owned other cars alongside the BMWs - both German and Japanese luxury cars. They all had something to offer that compelled me to buy them. But at the end of the day, I'm still coming back to BMW. Make of that what you will.
I think everyone can sympathize with you if you're spending time out of your car waiting for it to be repaired. There are guys on this forum who have had SERIOUSLY worse problems than anything you've had - like entire engine rebuilds that have taken considerably longer than a few weeks. It happens. It may be a fluke and those issues pass (like my 325i), or it may be a pattern with your specific car - time will tell.
Lastly, you should also consider what you're buying. The BMW is a driver's car, as you said. Yes, it aims to be reliable, but it also aims to be cutting-edge and high performance. If you've ever worked in an industry where you build a product, you know that those are tough goals to reconcile - creating something that's both highly reliable AND cutting edge technology. By its very nature, new technology is not yet "mature" or well-baked. The 335 N54 engine, as an example, was a MASTERPIECE of mechanics... and it won several awards when it debuted as a result. But it was cutting edge, and with that came a learning curve for BMW. They refined it with the N55. It became more reliable. So just keep that in mind when you have an issue here and there. You can't have the very best and newest technology without expecting some reliability issues here and there. If reliability is your #1 goal from a car, then you need to look at something like a Toyota, Honda, or Ford (yes, they're up there in reliability now too).