A more reliable BMW alternative?
Discussion
I used to have a BMW 3 series, petrol, 3.0L engine. It was the most unreliable car I ever owned. I put thousands into fixing issues like: cracked engine cover, fuel injectors, steering box (twice!!), some sensors, something related to the exhaust and at 90k miles when I traded it in it required all suspensions changed and a new steering rack. I did not abuse the car, always drove it very carefully, always used OEM parts except for the second steering box since the bmw part seemed like total crap.
Anyway, I deluded myself with excuses like the car was an exception, because it had a "sporty" engine it required more maintenance etc.
When my second son was born we needed a big car so I went for the 520i G31 2020 with only 25k miles on it.
This week the back just sagged like there is no suspension and found out it might cost around 3k to fix with oem parts. The air compressor is gone an the air bags that assist with the leveling of the back of the car might need changing too.
A 4 year old car... I only drive around town, roads are relatively smooth, I did not load the car with anything heavy. WTF!!
My wife loves BMWs but I am thinking to fix it and then sell it and buy some cheaper but more reliable car like a japanese or a skoda or something like that.
However, I was thinking, are all modern cars this s
t? Or just bimmers? In the past I had two japanese cars and they were solid but much less complicated as they were older cars.
What car can I consider that would be suitable for a family that is more reliable or if it is not reliable at least cheaper to fix.
I knew BMWs would be expensive to repair but I hoped they would not broke down all the time. It is causing us a lot of inconvenience not having the car and waiting to be fixed. I had to go with non oem parts as that price is ridiculous.
Thank you
Anyway, I deluded myself with excuses like the car was an exception, because it had a "sporty" engine it required more maintenance etc.
When my second son was born we needed a big car so I went for the 520i G31 2020 with only 25k miles on it.
This week the back just sagged like there is no suspension and found out it might cost around 3k to fix with oem parts. The air compressor is gone an the air bags that assist with the leveling of the back of the car might need changing too.
A 4 year old car... I only drive around town, roads are relatively smooth, I did not load the car with anything heavy. WTF!!
My wife loves BMWs but I am thinking to fix it and then sell it and buy some cheaper but more reliable car like a japanese or a skoda or something like that.
However, I was thinking, are all modern cars this s
t? Or just bimmers? In the past I had two japanese cars and they were solid but much less complicated as they were older cars.What car can I consider that would be suitable for a family that is more reliable or if it is not reliable at least cheaper to fix.
I knew BMWs would be expensive to repair but I hoped they would not broke down all the time. It is causing us a lot of inconvenience not having the car and waiting to be fixed. I had to go with non oem parts as that price is ridiculous.
Thank you
Honda jazz
They'll outlive the cockroach after a nuclear war...
But in all seriousness, German cars are not that reliable anymore. They trade on their perceived 'quality', but the reality is it's only skin deep and the bean counters have done their best to ruin their reputation. Reliability surveys have been saying this for a while now. But they survive on company car schemes and 3 year lease, and literally don't care after that point. As long as people yearn to tick the bimmer box on the car scheme, it will continue
Japanese and Korean cars are imho much better screwed together. I'd personally suggest a £50k Kia would have more kit, better build quality and more reliable than a comparable £50k BMW, Merc or VAG group motor
They'll outlive the cockroach after a nuclear war...
But in all seriousness, German cars are not that reliable anymore. They trade on their perceived 'quality', but the reality is it's only skin deep and the bean counters have done their best to ruin their reputation. Reliability surveys have been saying this for a while now. But they survive on company car schemes and 3 year lease, and literally don't care after that point. As long as people yearn to tick the bimmer box on the car scheme, it will continue
Japanese and Korean cars are imho much better screwed together. I'd personally suggest a £50k Kia would have more kit, better build quality and more reliable than a comparable £50k BMW, Merc or VAG group motor
Gastons_Revenge said:
Or Mazda. Been seriously impressed by the build quality and refinement of the more recent Mazdas I've seen in the metal.
A Geely built Volvo Vs a Lexus? No comparison, sorry.Mazda, apparantely they have come on in leaps and bounds. But...I would think that it is more superficial, soft touch dashboard etc as opposed to real engineering quality which Lexus cars have. MX5 ND cars rusting at a few years old as documented on the owners clubs makes me wonder.
Edited by MattsCar on Thursday 21st November 21:41
I read quite a lot of stories about how bad BMWs are but ive had 5 BMWs and a ev Mini and have driven them to over 300000miles. Ive had all servicing done at Maindealers and apart from a few steering racks which was covered under extended BMW warranty its just been consumables. My current one is a 86000mile 430d and I would be 100%confident that I could drive that to anywhere in Europe and it would get me there with no problems. and back home.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024100247...
Would be my choice for a family car at this age/price.
Would be my choice for a family car at this age/price.
TBF, I don't think it's just BMW. I've been put off with stories about this funky new suspension system across all marques. It's clever and handy until it breaks and presents you with a £10k bill to take things back to OEM.
It's not even that new an issue. Look at the Merc CL500 from the early 2000s. Then you have the R8s with its magride suspension. In both cases, if you consider these cars, check how much it'd cost to replace with that "old school" coiled metal stuff.
I feel like all cars have an issue that's not cheap at this point.
DB9s - cylinder liners failing, precat engine sucking
Gallardo - cat engine sucking
911s - bore scoring (older), dodgy turbos (newer)
R8s - cracking frame, failing suspension
F430 - precat engine sucking
F360 - disposable drop links, cracking manifolds
Ferrari California - gearbox speed sensors, rusting brake bolts.
to name a few off the top of my head!
The only strategy is pick your car, suck up the problem (with cash) and keep it until we're banned from owning cars.
It's not even that new an issue. Look at the Merc CL500 from the early 2000s. Then you have the R8s with its magride suspension. In both cases, if you consider these cars, check how much it'd cost to replace with that "old school" coiled metal stuff.
I feel like all cars have an issue that's not cheap at this point.
DB9s - cylinder liners failing, precat engine sucking
Gallardo - cat engine sucking
911s - bore scoring (older), dodgy turbos (newer)
R8s - cracking frame, failing suspension
F430 - precat engine sucking
F360 - disposable drop links, cracking manifolds
Ferrari California - gearbox speed sensors, rusting brake bolts.
to name a few off the top of my head!
The only strategy is pick your car, suck up the problem (with cash) and keep it until we're banned from owning cars.
R8 of mine has coil overs, "old school metal" that most race cars still use. A very cheap conversion and rides and handles like a dream.
As for reliability - don't laugh. Skoda.
I have a Yeti. Bought 2 years old with 15k miles on it. Its just hit 70k miles and the only work its had done other than annual oil changes and a brake fluid change, is the water pump which is a known weak point. Other than that. Nothing, nada, over 55k miles - walked through every single MOT without a single advisory. I had the cambelt done early when the water pump was done as its all the same job pretty much.
What an amazing car. I can't ever remember doing the pads, certainly not the discs. I do almost all my own servicing.
Oh, its on its second set of tyres, with the 1st set of dealer supplied "ditch finders" replaced a good 2mm early as I just felt like it - oh year - that was my 1st advisory - tyres approaching replacement time.
She's dragged my MWB Transit out of a muddy field twice too, on road tyres.
As for reliability - don't laugh. Skoda.
I have a Yeti. Bought 2 years old with 15k miles on it. Its just hit 70k miles and the only work its had done other than annual oil changes and a brake fluid change, is the water pump which is a known weak point. Other than that. Nothing, nada, over 55k miles - walked through every single MOT without a single advisory. I had the cambelt done early when the water pump was done as its all the same job pretty much.
What an amazing car. I can't ever remember doing the pads, certainly not the discs. I do almost all my own servicing.
Oh, its on its second set of tyres, with the 1st set of dealer supplied "ditch finders" replaced a good 2mm early as I just felt like it - oh year - that was my 1st advisory - tyres approaching replacement time.
She's dragged my MWB Transit out of a muddy field twice too, on road tyres.
Just give in and get a family SUV. Toyota RAV 4, Suzuki Across, Lexus NX.
They make so much sense for family motoring with young kids. Can go back to a regular car once they are older and don’t have so much gubbins.
Or change your procurement strategy and get a brand new BMW on a lease, under manufactures warranty. Hand it back within the first 3 years. Should be fine.
They make so much sense for family motoring with young kids. Can go back to a regular car once they are older and don’t have so much gubbins.
Or change your procurement strategy and get a brand new BMW on a lease, under manufactures warranty. Hand it back within the first 3 years. Should be fine.
Edited by wyson on Friday 22 November 06:20
I think you’ve just been unlucky with your BMW’s. I’ve had 9 over a 31 year period and with a few exceptions (most notably a new E60 525i) they have been reliable.
I would speak to a BMW a specialist regarding fixing yours and continue with your BMW.
With a family (my 3 are grown up) I couldn’t think of anything worse than a non prestige brand SUV after owning a BMW. I’ve suffered them as hire cars and the experience wasn’t fun.
I would speak to a BMW a specialist regarding fixing yours and continue with your BMW.
With a family (my 3 are grown up) I couldn’t think of anything worse than a non prestige brand SUV after owning a BMW. I’ve suffered them as hire cars and the experience wasn’t fun.
Griffith4ever said:
As for reliability - don't laugh. Skoda.
+1Apart from the unexpected water pump replacement, my Octavia
has been very good. Certainly more reliable than both the BMW
I had (E39 530, E91 325).
At least when it does break, it's cheaper to fix than the BMW.
Lots of engine parts are stamped VW.
My fuel costs are running at 14p / mile and my maintenance costs
are 7p / mile, so while the maintenance costs less than the fuel,
I am happy.
I haven't had it over the Alps yet, but it certainly managed 110 mph
near Cologne without breaking sweat.
Rob 131 Sport said:
I think you’ve just been unlucky with your BMW’s. I’ve had 9 over a 31 year period and with a few exceptions (most notably a new E60 525i) they have been reliable.
Agreed I've had 12 over 22 years and apart from routine maintenance and age related wear and tear none of them have ever let me down save a software issue on a 7 series but BMW assist arrived quickly dropped an X5 off and took car returning it a few days later so that was no hardship.I've had 3 BMWs of various generations, and not had any major mechanical issues.
What would put me off ever owning another BMW is the awful dealers and service.
Got charged £500 for a fast lane service only to be told by the service manager that it would take 4 hours for an oil/oil filter/air filter change.
Then had a failed seat switch pack. Knew what it was. Told it would take a wait of 14 weeks to get an appointment to get it changed and have a courtesy car, and that they'd need it for 48 hours to diagnose. Took my local auto sparky 10 minutes to diagnose, replaced the part myself next day. What's the point of a BMW warranty when they can't work on your car for 3 months?
What would put me off ever owning another BMW is the awful dealers and service.
Got charged £500 for a fast lane service only to be told by the service manager that it would take 4 hours for an oil/oil filter/air filter change.
Then had a failed seat switch pack. Knew what it was. Told it would take a wait of 14 weeks to get an appointment to get it changed and have a courtesy car, and that they'd need it for 48 hours to diagnose. Took my local auto sparky 10 minutes to diagnose, replaced the part myself next day. What's the point of a BMW warranty when they can't work on your car for 3 months?
I have 2021 Superb which was 50k new, has DCC, MATRIX LED and seat cooling. It's a good car but not premium at all, there's definitely some shortcuts compared to the Passat and Audi however prices seems to be at least 10% lower than a like for like passat. I am selling mine for around 18k so depreciating is a issue however in 100k miles 0 issues. I really fancy a L322 or something high with off road capabilities so that's where I'm heading, would buy again but not new and not a diesel. Prices for new cars are crazy high and there seems to be a slump in prices for used cars would definitely try and buy now, same Superb belive is closer to 60k now and that is outrageous imo
MattsCar said:
The obvious answer is Lexus. Although expect more refinement and less "Sportiness".
+1 for LexusI sold my Cayenne and bought a Lexus NX for the Mrs. so refined. Infotainment is a PITA. No where near as quick as the Cayenne, but for the Mrs and main car duties its perfect.
My daughter bought a Lexus CT this year, and its a lovely wafter too.
I've got a BMW and guess which car needs constant fettling?
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