mmarshall

Off-lease cars, though, can often be a less-risky buy than regular, Non-Certified used cars that have been privately-owned. Lease-contracts usually have not only strict mileage-limits but also wear-and-tear clauses covering (or limiting) things like glass cracks, paint/trim or upholstery damage, bald or excessively-worn tires, and other damage. One is not necessarily expected to keep a leased car in showroom-mint condition (that, of course, would be difficult or unfeasible), but agreed-to-limits in the contract have to be observed. Bring a leased car back at the end of its term with excessive miles or deterioration, and there are often fines or financial penalties to pay.

Och

iTrader: (3)

I think BMW has improved a lot. They had a bad run during the last decade, but their current models are pretty good. Our 2010 335 had almost no issues, however our 2005 745 was a complete and utter disaster and I lost a lot of money when I got rid of it.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

it's still a rental car and we know how those get treated even when brought back unscathed.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

I bought mine CPO certified and comes with additonal 3 yrs warranty till 100K miles, as well as 1.5 yrs free maintainance, but I won't keep it beyond the point though. Did couple non warranty stuff and the price is pretty scary ( One front tire cost me 534.00, one alignment cost 320.00)

LexFather

I think this is the basic rule. Buy it new or buy it with the warranty. Again they sell well new and CPO so it doesn't seem to be an issue with consumers. Its not like they are unreliable and not selling.

In before the guy that says "my BMW has 874,200 miles on it and all i changed were sparkplugs but my 3rd cousin's aunty's grandmothers 4th daughter that was raised by wolves Lexus IS was a nightmare with maintenance"

<VENOM>

Leasing is at fault, individuals leasing cars they can't afford, BMW are obviously high maintenance, so they will obviously leak fluid when pushed way past the expected maintenance, when I was a BMW tech most people leasing BMW pushed the oil changes past 10-15k interval into the 25k range some even 35k, most had no idea the car needed the head gaskets replaced and the 2nd owners did none of the required maintenance, no maintenance is performed on BMW except basic stuff for 50k, the major stuff that should be done at 30k is pushed off until the car is out of warranty past 50k, but now BMW has actually improved stuff.

The BMW dealer I worked in shared a shop with Lexus, people pushed the 5k Lexus oil change to 10k and now my friends who still work their tell me about current cars coming in for oil changes at 20k with the new 10k standard, hate to say it but BMW and Lexus owners beat the crap out of the cars, very few off lease cars are kept and resold by the dealer, they wholesale them out for whatever they can get.

Leased cars have an expected life of 3 years and about 36k, the car itself will maybe make it to 120k before it craps out or is worthless, all cause people don't change the oil and believe I can drive like I stole it from the minute I start it up.

spwolf

you really think that BMW reliability sucks because people refuse to service their BMW's and BMW's alone? :-).

thats funny.

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

Please enlighten me as to how not changing the oil has the effect of making head gaskets leak? I have never seen this phenomena, especially in a lower mileage car, regardless how long the oil was not changed for... when oil breaks down, it fails to lubricate things like cylinder walls and main/rod bearings, in fact there is very little head gasket to oil interface - essentially only in the oil drains from the head. This means, for the most part, those cars you saw that needed head gaskets weren't because of extended oil changes, instead they were because of other potential issues, most likely design or defect issues. The only maintenance item that really has a lot to do with head gaskets is the coolant, which, should be good for well longer than 50k in a modern car...

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

thanks for confirming my suspicions! i'll spend the extra coin for a new car and do regular oil changes.

Bean

iTrader: (1)

You're kidding right? BMW resale values are among the worst. If you can work on your own vehicles, it's not such a big deal. I've worked on my BMW less than my S2000. Replaced the clutch at 6months with the S2000. I've done nothing to the BMW except upgrade my piggyback.

Once the 09 goes in for the newer fuel pump, assuming it doesn't already have it, your friend only need worry about wastegate rattle. And that's more of an annoyance than an actual problem (which this article failed to take into account as BMW is excellent at handling problems with vehicles that don't necessarily translate into something 'broken').

Bean

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like someone was taking you for a ride. Perhaps you need to do your due diligence before claiming this as normal.

My Michelin Pilot SuperSports are pretty much the BEST tires you can get for a street vehicle and they cost NOWHERE NEAR that amount of money.

And an alignment? It's not any different from other vehicles.

spwolf

are new fuel pumps finally fixed or will he still have to replace it after certain miles?

as to resale value, this article is from the UK.... I dont think BMW ever won satsifaction survey, so I am not so sure how good they are with handling small repairs...

LexFather

But Infiniti leases even more aggressively than BMW and the cars are reliable. So all people that lease can't afford those cars either? Thats rather ironic since most low monthly payment leases require Tier 1 credit and a sizeable downpayment. We learned 90% of BMWs/Infinitis in NYC for example are leased. 85% of 7 series models are leased. I doubt its b/c they cannot afford it, its a 7 series.

Many people lease for business/tax write-offs. For BMWs its damn near a "no-brainer" as people simply buy it, get told when to get an oil change, brakes, then return it before the warranty. I do agree it seems to attract tons more non-enthusiasts than anything, they make it "simple and easy" to buy and own and its a "throw away" car as stated before in this thread.

Not sure how people avoided maintenance when it was free/included in the price, wouldn't that void the warranty?.

mmarshall

In general, you are correct, but neglecting oil-changes for too long can cause oil-viscosity breakdown, poor lubrication, and more engine heat (friction, of course, causes heat), which increases the chances of overheating and damage to both cylinder-heads and gaskets. In extreme cases, as we saw the effects on the old Toyota 3.0L V6s, sludge/gel issues can take out the engine itself....gaskets and all.

<VENOM>

in general yes, i can't speak for years of poor build quality or electronic issues but I have several friends and neighbors who all own problematic BMW and have never really had any issues with them, you can't treat a car like a red head step child everyday and think its gonna be showroom new after years of neglect and hard driving

1st of all head gasket is related to mileage, and when I worked on BMW I saw enough BMW especially older models that needed a head gasket replaced at 60k and the car had 80-100k on it, all Im saying is a lot of problems I saw on BMWs was caused by the owner

As for the 50k comment it is well know that BMW extended the maintenance to 50k without implementing any improved oils or longer lasting synthetic fluids, so the 1st few years BMW offered 50k maintenance owners where driving way past the useable life of the fluid.

I would never advise anyone to buy a used BMW, if you do buy used search long and hard, pre-owned means looks and sounds like new, I have seen cars that never had the oil changed, ran through a car wash once a week and they looked new, granted I replaced the engines on several of those, back home in NY/NJ the dealers only sell pre-owned with no more then 20k on the odometer.