tbilisi79

Also a lot has to do with the culture most people live in.

Bmw is a status car for most people , so financing a 4 year old BMW with a 50k a year job sounds like a good idea for a lot of people. Anything, to look accomplished and relevant . You can blame a lot of things for this mentality, but if people had better education and parenting they would know how to manage their money and future better.

If only people invested in their future more , retirement funds, stock, real estate , funds for education for their kids, they would be better off.
I'll admit I did nothing smart in my 20s and that includes emptying out my savings account to buy a 94 s500 back in the day. I wish my dad gave me a good beating at that time, but he was too busy working.
S500 was replaced by a ls400 and I quickly learned the value of money.

I had a few cars since then, I bought my first house and set up funds for retirement , only then at the age of 32 I financed my first good car , an 06 Gs430, 460 followed 3 years later.
Point being is. A lot of people don't know how to allocate their funds wisely.

I wish people knew how to spend their money better.

samj601

I was talking to my buddy who works at an independent BMW shop. Of all the cars that come through, he sees the 7 series the most. Imagine that.

BigWhup

Having just traded my BMW 750Li, for my present LS460 FSport, I can say this
1) Nothing drives like a BMW, but the Fsport is nice.
2) Run flat tires suck and that is all you get with BMW's.
3) BMW's electronics create an unstoppable drain on the battery, so go on and buy a battery tender.
4) Never own a BMW that is out of warranty. I never will again.' or a Lexus for that matter.
5) BMW's no cost 4 year maintenance is better than Lexus's offer.

Even having said all that my car was "in the shop" twice in 5 years. Once for recall, and once for a vacuum hose leak. Otherwise it was a good car and my wife loved it. She hasn't come to love the Lexus just yet.

roadfrog

WOW! That's great....and highly unusual.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

All of my research and digging leads me to the conclusion that German cars in general are a horrible nightmare and a continuous financial drain, yet go talk to the owners of these same cars and they will tell you they are the best cars ever made and will never own anything else.

Unsober1

Alright so I went through the BMW forums to see actually what it's like on the other side. And boy we guys didn't stretch the truth at all. I saw a common pattern on the forum board. Every 3 post was a good topic on something aftermarket you could buy to improve the look or performance of the car. And unfortunately the other two were discussion on how to fix their dam cars.

roadfrog

LOL. Yup....I was a member of that forum (Bimmerfest) for nearly 3 years and spent as much time there then as I do here at CL now. Only difference.......most posts here are about how to mod this/that, or bragging about new wheels or tires. But there......oyvay. Heck, even the Bimmerfest posts that had discussions about some modification or improvement, had it's own problems! It was so sad.... nay... pathetic.

When I went back to Bimmerfest to check on the boys (and one girl - hey there "Driftgirl" ! lol) a few months after I bought my LS, they were congratulating me on my move. I go back now and again to check in. There was some real good peeps there. Many like me, moved on.

I don't miss it one little bit.

roadfrog

Also...keep in mind that when I speak of "problems" being discussed with the 7 series, we're not talking about annoyances or minor issues like control arm bushings or water pumps or wind noise...We're talking EPIC proportioned problems, like oil burning at rates equivelant to Saddam Hussein's, "Scorched Earth Policy", oil-rig burning. Coolant pipes that leaked and required engine tear-downs to access them, transmission failures, air pump problems that contributed to carbon build-up and subsequent engine tear-down, I-Drive issues, nav issues, and so on. I still get P.M.'s from members there asking for help. And to be clear..these were not one-offs. You were GUARANTEED each and every one of these isssues sooner, rather than later.

I had the misfortune of having ALL of those problems - all before 80k miles.

My therapist assures me I'll get better. At least with my LS I am off to a good start.

Wandl

Before the LS I considered a CPO 7 series (for a whopping $50k)...though it came with a CPO warranty I thought about what would happen once CPO warranty ran out, and its likely horrible resale value when I traded it in (since it for sure won't run forever...)

Well said sir.