Are BMW's built as well now?
Discussion
I am on my second E92 3 series and the quality inside and out is awful. I have had multiple problems with the sound in the car just not working, the fit and finish inside is crap, the dash is falling apart after 50k miles and the paint and panel gaps on the outside is terrible. My E-46 was far better built and was hammered much harder and was in better nick than my current car after twice as many miles and twice as hard driving. Are the current cars any better (mine is a 56) or shall I take my money elsewhere?
I have got an E91 and I'm more than happy with it, totally rattle free, and everything still looks like it did when it was new, also mine is a 56 plate
Generally they seem to be better put together than the E46 IMO, our previous M3 was starting to show rattles and creaks, which was getting tiresome
Generally they seem to be better put together than the E46 IMO, our previous M3 was starting to show rattles and creaks, which was getting tiresome
My feeling on this is the link between build quality and how many cars they were selling, remember 2006/2007 they were having bumper years with regards to sales so it would not surprise me if the build quality did slip a bit. The build quality on our 2006 Mini was the pits, and we said we would not go near a mini or BMW but we now have a 2009 E91. This was built to our exact spec, as it is the facelift E91 and with nearly 10K miles on in 6 months it is standing up very well, nothing has fallen off and nothing squeaks.
mike325112 said:
Not comparing apples with apples but the build quality on our E46 is far superior to my E87 1 series - I'd expect a bit as the 1 series is the baby of the model line up but not that much...
My experience exactly. Plus if something wasn't right it was 'fixed' several times where replacement was the best option. When I took it back because paint was flaking off they gave me an estimate for repair, which was my cue to get rid.Edited by mike325112 on Friday 9th October 11:35
Z4 has been very good for 5 years, though some interior materials could have been better.
I think a lot of it is how the stealer responds when there is a problem.
We've had two E46's in the family that were in to 90K miles when they were sold, and generally the quality was much better than the E90 that my wife had. On the E90, all the air vent sliders snapped, it needed two new door handles and a few exhaust brackets. The E46s by comparison needed nothing but service items. My wife isn't very hard on her cars either.
The E90 also used a tremendous amount of oil compared to the E46.
The E90 also used a tremendous amount of oil compared to the E46.
Edited by benny.c on Friday 9th October 16:23
The worst thing I've noticed is the paint. It's been said before. The orange peel effect on all new BMs, and the paint seems so thin - it's easy to put tiny scratches in. I can imagine in 10 years there will be a lot of very tired looking cars just because of that.
Edited by Vlad. on Friday 9th October 17:25
Killwilly said:
In the good old days all BMW cars were built in Germany, today they are built all over the globe. I am aware that materials shouldn't vary, but the way they are screwed together could be an issue.
Any thoughts?
There is some build quality variation from plant to plant, Any thoughts?
especially if a plant is new.
I seem to remember that all Z3s and Z4s are constructed
in South Carolina only and the quality of those models, for
the first few years at least, was not up to the usual BMW standards.
I wouldn't buy a car that was less than a year or two from the start
of the model and I wouldn't buy a car from a plant that had
only been going less than a year or two.
In this way, a lot of teething problems can be avoided.
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