I had an E46 '02 330i (5- speed w/ Sport suspension)- as reliable as they get in the 80K miles I put on it. Regret selling it to this day. Right after I purchased mine, my buddy liked mine so much that he purchased one for himself ('99 323i 5-speed). Fast forward 14 years - he's still driving it - 286K relatively trouble free miles. It's starting to rust and things are starting to break on it, but he wants to get to 300K miles.

 

How the major brands ranked:
Lexus: 106
Porsche: 108
Toyota: 108
Chevrolet: 115
Buick: 118
Mini: 119
BMW: 122
Audi: 124
Hyundai: 124
Kia: 126
Infiniti: 128
Volkswagen: 131
Mercedes-Benz: 134
Subaru: 136
Nissan: 137
Chrysler: 146
Ford: 146
Honda: 146
Lincoln: 147
Mitsubishi: 158
Mazda: 159
GMC: 161
Cadillac: 166
Jeep: 167
Jaguar: 168
Acura: 171
Ram: 171
Dodge: 178
Volvo: 204
Land Rover: 221
Fiat: 249

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...rs/2846324002/

 

Have been owned 7 BMWs since 2006, all with turbo engines including the first year model 335i and diesels. Never had any single problem with any of them, not even notorious fuel pump issue. While had a number of problems with RX300 since three weeks after purchase - brakes, power steering, transmission had to be rebuilt after 70K miles. Go figure. To me BMWs were the most reliable cars ever.

 

 

I'm not too sure about dominance. They certain did the best overall, on average, however when you look at the individual segments Lexus was the best in 2(?).

 

I've only owned 1, but still have it, 335i delivered Dec. 2006. This car was on the CR "avoid" and "unreliable" lists. Funny, except for the ABS/DSC hydro pump failing, no issues. And the ABS is a problem with 328's and BMW bikes (not specific to 335's), and in specific cases, ditto with Japanese cars. The only difference? On a BMW you can have it rebuilt for $249 better than new, with a Japanese car, you can pay the dealer $4000+ to fix it...(LS460 and 6th gen Maxima are two examples)

I remember a guy on YouTube buying a flood damaged 335i. When he tore the engine out he could not believe how overbuilt it was. The timing chain looked to me to be 3X the width of my wife's GM!

 

My cousin took a E36 M3 to 240k. His E39 M5 is almost 280k. All I can say is to be risk averse, is human. To constantly want to somehow convince everyone that Toyota and Lexus are so reliable, that this is the only factor to consider, and that there shouldn't be any other makes in anyone's driveway, I don't think that's too meaningful or amazing or anything.

 

Get serious. Does that mean that Porsche, Lexus, and Toyota paid even more?

 

No surprises here as as far Lexus / Toyota are concerned. Not sure how much to make of these kind of studies, however i am surprised that Honda is rated lower than the industry average.

 

I'm just glad that these non-scientific, and seemingly random methodologies aren't applied to drug clinical trials, can we even imagine?

 

Honda still screws a car together, at the factory, like a Swiss Watch. But, today, they are just not spending the kind of money on a reliable drivetrain and durable components like they did for decades. The decline in reliability has been noticeable,

 

Neither Consumer Reports or J.D. Power accept any ad money...especially when it come to vehicle-rankings.

 

the block isnt the concern, its all the little things around the block that likes to break. You know youre in for a fun time when the 335 forum has a list of 24 common issues.

 

LOL I own this car and it was purchased new. The only thing on this list I experienced is # 17. It is a $4,200 dealer repair, and a $249 or $450 if you don't own the tools DIY.

To say that this list is common is ridiculous. Interesting how it only lasted until 2012. Do you notice how the OP in the thread had 172 posts, that's what we refer to as a newbie? I'm on that forum and have over 14,000.

I don't understand for the life of me, why it's so important for Lexus owners to make sure BMW is put down. I think the only possible analogy I can make is android v. iOS/Apple.

 

I wasn't putting down BMW. In fact, I just came very, very close to picking up a 540i (holy lease deals, batman!). But that thread, which is what I commented on, was pretty insane.