I like BMW, they hate me

Long story short, my wife's 2011 135i wouldn't start the other day. It would crank over, stumble, and die. Since we're moving and I didn't have time to deal with it I had it towed to the dealership. I figured it was the infamous high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) failure. The 2011 and up cars aren't really part of the replacement program, but I thought I could push and try to get it covered.

Well, after 2hrs of diagnostics, it comes back as a valvetronic actuator and shaft - $3100!!! Mind you this car has 45K miles and was dealer maintained until I bought it last year from my friend's dad. I looked at the repair job and it is more than I want to handle right now (moving, new jobs, etc.). Overall, it just looks like another poor design on BMW's part.

This brings me to my next problem; I'll probably keep buying these stupid cars. I've owned 7 BMW's and they all were crap - stupid cooling systems, suspension bushings made out of gummy bears,  disintegrating interiors, oil leaks on par with the Exxon Valdez spill, and the occasional roadside picnic waiting for a tow truck (5 out 7 of those BMW's saw a tow truck - 0 out of 10 of my Japanese cars have).

Yet I still love them! There aren't many cars left that are RWD and manual. I love how they look, sound, and drive but I wish they were made by someone else. What's wrong with me?

BMW will only love you if you lease a new car every 3 years.

I suffer the same illness, though mine have been a bit better behaved. Part of this may be due to owning a 2002, which I think acts as some sort of totem for the others.

Good question, BMW makes about half of the RWD manual cars. There are Japanese, American, and now even Korean options out there that will break in simpler and more affordable ways.

You don't want to hear about my BMWs. My DD is a 17 year old 7 series that is dead nuts reliable. I've driven it all over the east coast with no problems for the last 3 years and would take off across country tomorrow in it no problem even with 180k on it. My wife's DD is a 330ci convertible that with 100k miles on it, is also reliable, though I've only had it a year and a half. But it's not a turbo car so it should have fewer problems.

My last BMW was a 7 series that I had for 5 years until an accident rendered it inop. It needed very little in that time.

I don't think I'd own one newer than an E38/E39/E46, though. Not sure if my luck would hold on a newer one...

The more modern BMW's are cars that you really shouldn't own outside of warranty.  You know you're in trouble when the tech writer for Roundel (BMW Club magazine) Mike Miller bluntly says that owning one out of warranty is foolish...

I bought my wife a used 335i because she only drives 6 miles roundtrip a day to work. Otherwise I think I would have made her go Japanese with an Infiniti or Lexus. So far, nothing has exploded. I also am a fool and like BMWs and have been bitten by them many times.

GameboyRMH said:

Good question, BMW makes about half of the RWD manual cars. There are Japanese, American, and now even Korean options out there that will break in simpler and more affordable ways.

Well, I guess I should narrow it down a bit more. RWD, manual, and I can actually see out of. Most of the alternatives are claustrophobic. However, I have seriously thought about the newer Mustangs as a solid option. Especially when I started comparing them to E92 M3's (which have their own set of expensive problems). 

Harvey said:

I bought my wife a used 335i because she only drives 6 miles roundtrip a day to work. Otherwise I think I would have made her go Japanese with an Infiniti or Lexus. So far, nothing has exploded. I also am a fool and like BMWs and have been bitten by them many times.

After having driven a few rental Infiniti Q50's with the twin turbo 3.0 i would say they are pretty comparable to a 335i, although i dont know if they are available with a manual.

Chris_V said:

You don't want to hear about my BMWs. My DD is a 17 year old 7 series that is dead nuts reliable. I've driven it all over the east coast with no problems for the last 3 years and would take off across country tomorrow in it no problem even with 180k on it. My wife's DD is a 330ci convertible that with 100k miles on it, is also reliable, though I've only had it a year and a half. But it's not a turbo car so it should have fewer problems.

My last BMW was a 7 series that I had for 5 years until an accident rendered it inop. It needed very little in that time.

I don't think I'd own one newer than an E38/E39/E46, though. Not sure if my luck would hold on a newer one...

Oh I hear you, I've had a reliable BMW too! I actually have an E30 that went 350K miles before I pulled the engine for a 24V. That's actually the car we're using while this thing is in the shop. They don't make them like they used to.....

docwyte said:

The more modern BMW's are cars that you really shouldn't own outside of warranty.  You know you're in trouble when the tech writer for Roundel (BMW Club magazine) Mike Miller bluntly says that owning one out of warranty is foolish...

i was given the same advice, almost verbatim, by two BMW employees and one independent shop owner, while researching the 2016 7-series for a friend.

I will say that my 2007 525xi (E60) has only let me down 3 times in almost 3 years of ownership.

1. Electric water pump failed at 138k, required a tow.
2. Heater control valve failed around 170k, so i was a little chilly for a couple days until replacement part arrived.  No tow truck required.
3. Alternator bearing started making noise that I swear sounded like a rod bearing.  Local supplier had reman on shelf.  No tow truck required.

i'm considering an E92 for my next ride.

My E92 M3 developed over $3k in stupid repair problems just a couple months out of the OEM warranty.  Leaky oil pan gasket and leaky power steering pump. 

I also have 5 other BMWs in my driveway.  When something goes wrong, it seems like it's always $2-3K unless I repair it myself.

If I buy one new, I get the 5 year Assurant Solutions warranty that USAA sells for about $3500 to cover me for a total of 9 years.  The warranties BMW sells are re-branded Assurant Solutions coverage but BMW marks up the prices a fair bit.

I tell people buying used E9Xs to budget $2-3K a year for maintenance and repairs.

I know my problem and it's simply that I'm addicted to the BMW driving dynamic. I have test driven many others and I can't find anything with the same gestalt.  So, if I want to play, I have to pay.

Buy a MINI, then you will appreciate the BMW's reliability. 

Aspen said:

Buy a MINI, then you will appreciate the BMW's reliability. 

MINIs are BMWs :)

...and my 2011 MINI was quite reliable. But the '14 MINI that replaced it had recall after recall and  lot of little fiddly problems. From what I can tell, the 2010-2013 base MINIs with manual transmissions were mechanically quite solid cars, and even had few electrical or interior issues. I'd definitely have another one of that era. 

My mom's 116i has been pretty reliable so far, just a few electrical gremlins, one caused by a leaky roof that flooded one of the computers, surprisingly this is a well-known problem on this modern car.

She was determined to buy a statusmobile and I steered her away from a rogues' gallery of infamous turds onto this car.

A friend of mine is a BMW master tech for the last decade-plus, and she once told me that she would never, for any reason, own a BMW newer than (model year) 2002. It's a shame, since they check most of the boxes (especially the 2-series) for my next car. But I'll go elsewhere because I hate expensive repairs.

My E61 (530xi) is surprisingly reliable in the sense that I'm surprised it hasn't ruined me financially. But I've also learned to buy my own parts and fix it myself. A local E36 M3 BMW dealer quoted me $1200 to replaced the inner and outer tie rods for both corners. $110 later and a day outside and I was set. They also quoted me another $600 to replace the oil filter gasket; spent $24 for a new gasket and a new oil cooler gasket and I'll take care of that sometime soon.

The first week I owned it, the starter went out. A few months ago while it was freezing, the IBS decided to not let the wagon start; disconnected the IBS and voila, back to working.

Although if there was another RWD biased wagon that looked good both inside and out, I likely would've skipped the BMW, but Holden never shipped a Commodore wagon over to the US.

FuzzWuzzy said:

My E61 (530xi) is surprisingly reliable in the sense that I'm surprised it hasn't ruined me financially. But I've also learned to buy my own parts and fix it myself. A local E36 M3 BMW dealer quoted me $1200 to replaced the inner and outer tie rods for both corners. $110 later and a day outside and I was set. They also quoted me another $600 to replace the oil filter gasket; spent $24 for a new gasket and a new oil cooler gasket and I'll take care of that sometime soon.

 

The first week I owned it, the starter went out. A few months ago while it was freezing, the IBS decided to not let the wagon start; disconnected the IBS and voila, back to working.

 

Although if there was another RWD biased wagon that looked good both inside and out, I likely would've skipped the BMW, but Holden never shipped a Commodore wagon over to the US.

I really wish they brought the RWD E61 to the USA, its the perfect size wagon, IMO.  However, I've had three AWD BMWs, and this current one is my last.  Its pretty obvious that the AWD system was an afterthought, everything is just crammed in there.  In my E91, the transfer case blocks the transmission fill plug, on the E83 (which was only ever made in AWD), you have to drop either the exhaust or front driveshaft to fill the trans.  There's a lot more room to work on the 2WD models.  

rothwem said:

I really wish they brought the RWD E61 to the USA, its the perfect size wagon, IMO.  However, I've had three AWD BMWs, and this current one is my last.  Its pretty obvious that the AWD system was an afterthought, everything is just crammed in there.  In my E91, the transfer case blocks the transmission fill plug, on the E83 (which was only ever made in AWD), you have to drop either the exhaust or front driveshaft to fill the trans.  There's a lot more room to work on the 2WD models.  

I was half tempted to buy an E91 just to get one with RWD, but I test drove an AWD one and the size of it inside just seemed too small for me.

As far as I know and have read, converting the AWD to RWD isn't too much trouble to get it working, but a full RWD conversion requires a whole new front subframe, suspension, etc etc...At that point, might as well do an engine swap while literally everything is out.

I love my E36 M3  and it's been in the family since new.   Sure there have been maintenance items that need to be addressed,   (like any 20 year old 180K mile car would)  but it's been very reliable and always fun to drive.

That said, despite my undying love for the E36 M3, I think the only newer BMW I'd take a chance on would be the 128i.   Too much complexity with the newer cars, too much stuff to go wrong.  Too many horror stories---- and advice to stay away from BMW experts.

The  newer cars drive nicely, but I'd steer clear of one out of warranty.   My 20 year old car on the other hand.......I'd drive it cross country tomorrow.   

I went through months of agonizing over whether to move on from my 200k mile E39 525i into something newer or just keep it in spite of rust issues from prior crash repairs. The decision to move on was made in part by conversations with my long-time BMW specialist indy who advocated normally-aspirated and fewest options possible for maximum long-term reliability. My non-iDrive, manual transmission, full service history 128i is the result. Not that I'm not nervous, but at least I can handle most of the repairs on this myself.

I have the same problem as the OP. I love these cars, but I just don't get the love in return. 

I had an E36 M3, and it wasn't exactly trouble free. I can't imagine how bad the new ones must be. 

I've switched to Mazda. Yeah, it's not RWD (excpet the ND), but they drive great and I get near the experience with fewer headaches. 

I try not to think about 128s and base MINIs, they are too tempting. 

Joe Gearin said:

I love my E36 M3  and it's been in the family since new.   Sure there have been maintenance items that need to be addressed,   (like any 20 year old 180K mile car would)  but it's been very reliable and always fun to drive.

That said, despite my undying love for the E36 M3, I think the only newer BMW I'd take a chance on would be the 128i.   Too much complexity with the newer cars, too much stuff to go wrong.  Too many horror stories---- and advice to stay away from BMW experts.

The  newer cars drive nicely, but I'd steer clear of one out of warranty.   My 20 year old car on the other hand.......I'd drive it cross country tomorrow.   

I wish I had known about the power potential of the N52 before I bought the N55/DCT car. I didn't realize what they could do with a few simple tweaks until after the fact. 

Had I known intake/exhaust/intake manifold and tune gets you close to 250whp............I probably would have gone that way instead. Much cheaper to boot.

I've owned one and it was a POS. 

I was tempted by a newer one the other day. Finding out it has a water cooled alternator reminded me why I swore off owning another. It was a near thing.