My wife and I had attended a fund raising gala at my daughters school.
Through out the school year last year and thus far this year, I have periodically seen another (the only other) LS in the parking lot, but have never ran into the owner.
Well, Sat. night while I was parking the car in the furthest row back and away from the building and next to a median/curb, the other LS approached and parked 4 spaces away in the same row.
I thought, perfect time to introduce myself and possibly have a bit of friendly Q&A.
Our wives quickly walked ahead of us (laughing, rolling eyes and sighing) while this gentleman and I got into a great conversation regarding the LS.
His model was an '10 with 115k, swb, blk/blk, pristine inside and out, mod-free.
He has owned the car for 4 years and bought it with about 38k miles on it.
He was also a previous 5-series owner.
He stated that the only problem he has encountered was the ML amp and it was taken care of via warranty.
The things he loves best about the car; the fact that its quiet, smooth and he considers the car his "listening room".
He stated that his reason for selling the 5 series was that at about 70k miles, he started having trans issues, and that the BMW TECH told him to "get rid of it".
The tech told him that on BMW's, or any German make for that matter, when issues start arising with the engine and/or trans, they are so sensitive and intricate, it becomes nearly a dummy mission to remedy the issue(s).
But he said he LOVED driving the car when he was able to and it wasn't in the shop. But he was tired of the repair bills and the worry and discomfort of "whats next to go wrong".
He stated that the LS didn't initially draw him in, as he felt it was boring, but the ideal of having luxury AND reliability drew him in. He said he drove it and wasn't necessarily sold, because he was used to how a BMW felt, but by the end of the test drive, he knew it was a good, logical decision and the smoothness/quietness was incredible.
He said: "I know I may look old, but I feel like the car make's me look older than I am! But seriously though, You cant beat the level of quiet, how smooth it is, the reliability is unmatched, my kids have probably had my rear shade up and down at least 5k times and the darn thing still works! Press the power button and I mean..."shrugs" its a great car! I only desire to, at some point, get into a new one."
I teased him a bit about forgetting a new LS and asked if he'd taken a look at the new 7 series. He laughed and said "Great car with great capabilities...but a lot of useless stuff you know. That's what I've grown to like about the LS. The technology, most if not all of it, is purposeful and it LASTS!!! I just cant say that enough! I kept thinking something was going to break or malfunction...NOTHING! The thing is a tank!"
He goes on to tell me something I thought was very interesting...

"I used to work for the GM Technology Group, many years ago when one of the first LS vehicles became available to the U.S. market.
What was really cool about GM, was that they had an area in one of their engineering buildings, where they had this wide, really, really long table that seemed like it went on forever...had to be meters and meters long.
Anyway, on this table, at different times of the year, they would have cars completely disassembled, and every single part that made the car whole, would be on that table.
I specifically remember when they had an LS on the table, and how what seemed like every single person in the facility, including all tiers of engineering, standing around this massive table with clip boards, and the sound of 100's of voices just talking about what Lexus had done.
It was, in the auto world, unbelievable. They scared EVERYONE. I mean us, Germans...everyone.
It was incredible to see.
And now owning one, I am truly a believer in the Lexus product.
I still love the way the German makes look, and yeah the tech is great..its cool. And it'd be great if Lexus could have a bit of an edgier appearance... But I swear, until a German make can hold a candle to Lexus reliability, I'll never switch.
For me, Lexus and the LS is just that good."

 

Interesting to hear that your new friend had an amp failure on a '10. Supposedly the amp was changed for '10 to reduce the incidence of failure.

 

He said he was told the same, and that it was a bit of a surprise the people at Lexus.
He wasn't versed at all in regards to the amp failure issues with the LS, but he said if all he had to worry about was an amp failing, color him ecstatic!

 

Well, I'm pretty sure everyone here at CL know, (and are probably tired of hearing about), my horrendous experience with my previous 7 series, and my wife's current X5. As your new friend stated, yeah....the BMW DRIVING experience is different from that of our Lexus', but come at an atrocious cost. Not much point in having your car sitting in the shop and unable to actually enjoy the driving experience.

I remember going into the shop to address a blue smoke/oil burning problem which I thought, was going to be a simple issue (PCV valve maybe). The shop foreman told me to get rid of the car ASAP, and that the 7 series was literally, "a throw-away car". He added that I would rue the day I bought it. He went on to list the other issues in addition to the valve guides I was just told would cost 8-12k dollars to fix. Things such as the transmission seals, oil gaskets, the coolant pipe (which I also had to replace), which cost another 6-8k and the air pump which would not work, due to clogged engine ports (carbon), that would set an SES code which resulted in failed emissions tests. That was another 8k dollars to fix but would re-appear over time. I could go on, but there's a reason why the Bimmerfest forum is loaded with unhappy owners. I spent A LOT of time on that forum of misery. Misery LOVES company.....and there was a lot of love! lol.

 

Interesting read thanks for posting. The BMWs are nice driving cars bad owners cars. My experience with the 5 series was enough to know this is not normal car ownership even by American standards.

One thing I did notice about your candid interaction is that you found out that the owner pretty much had nothing wrong with his car including the control arms. I believe there are more people like this guy then what others seem to think because those 2% that have specific issues come here to complain and make it out that everyone is going to have the same issue eventually. It's simply not true.

 

Thanks Devh.

Frankly, that's largely in part the reason why I posted.
I feel that, even though the car may have a few shortcomings, (what car doesn't), that when you have people such as this gentleman, and Doublebase and a myriad of others who simply don't post in forums, but drive theirs cars just the same, have had limited to no issue with their cars.
Its okay to celebrate, on occasion, the fact that your car is and had been operating without issue!
I directly asked him about his control arms, and shared with him the story regarding mine, and he said it was funny that I ask, because upon his recent oil change and inspection, the tech told him his car was in great condition.
Without him even knowing about the control arm topic, he had asked them to look at his axles, tie rods and bearings, because on a recent road trip for work, he found himself driving through a long stretch of a construction zone, and though he didn't feel anything regarding the way the car drove, he wanted to assure nothing was loose or damaged.
The tech said not to worry, all suspension parts including U/LCA looked just fine. He said for a moment he thought it strange that he'd mention CA's because he never even considered the CA's to be any issue, and here I was asking him about his.
It also reinforced with me the fact that on a wider scale, generally speaking, the cars are absolutely solid, literally and figuratively.
Lastly, I've mentioned it before but will say it again, I find it very, very unfortunate that car manufacturers have to be aware of this issues that plague their customer base, but do little to nothing to address the issues and on top of all of that, charge so much for it initially and charge ungodly amounts for problems, that, in many cases, WILL occur.
That's simply non-ethical.

 

Sad situation and I can only imagine how much it would take for you to feel the same amount of displeasure towards your LS as you did towards your 7.
I assume you are trying to rid your home of BWM products (searching for a new car for your wife)...

 

Indeed. I wonder how BMW would feel about the thought of my getting rid of her X5 and getting into either a Hyundai Elantra or Mazda 3. LOL. No...I'm not kidding.....those are the two cars we've narrowed it down to.

 

I'd say wow, but that would kind of infer that your options were bad ones, and they aren't.
I guess its more to the displeasure and disappointment of the BMW ownership experience.
That's really too bad.
I personally love the way the 3 looks and Hyundai has been on the up and up regarding interior/exterior appearance. Not to mention (I know you'll love when I say this) the warranty Hyundai offers!

 

BMW laid an egg with the E65 and F01 generations of the 7-series... that's all there is to it. The cars have by far the worst reliability records in the segment, much worse than even the other Germans. As used cars they are some of the most unreliable on the market, full stop.

 

CRowe14

Thanks for posting. I sent this thread to my son in Charlotessvile, VA. He has been in love with BMW's for years, why I do not know. Hopefully this will give him some food for thought.

Thanks

Dennis

 

Hey Dennis, thanks for the words as well chiming in!
I hope your son can gain a bit of insight regarding his vehicle of (preferred) choice.
I guess this would be categorized as enthusiast talk, but when you do take a look at the forum, there's a lot of remedy-seeking threads, which is fine, but its great to hear about positive ownership experiences.
I once (when I was much younger) was infatuated with the looks of BMW and for the longest wanted to own one.
Honestly, if they weren't, as dal20402 put it, one of the most unreliable auto makers out there, I'd love to research and own one.
But quite frankly, the thought of it not only needing a vast amount of repairs, but the cost associated with the repairs, then in conjunction maintenance, its scares me and just does not make logical sense.
Oddly enough though, as I grew older, I became a fan of MB and am now a fan of the Audi A7 and do like the design of the A8.
But again, brand new is out of the question, and used...well...you know the rest...

 

CRowe14

He does not own one at this time. However I believe he has had 3 of the 3 series convertibles. He bought all of them used and they cost him dearly. Lost money on all 3 I believe. He was looking at any early 7 series but I was able to talk him out of buying it.

Dennis

 

The 7 series can be had for next to nothing. You can pick up a loaded 2007 long wheel base with 50k miles for less than 12k dollars here in Vancouver. Probably cheaper in the U.S.......... when dealers pick them up on trades here, they cringe and call wholesalers for the auction block. Same with my wife's X5. What a debacle.

 

The LS460 is a reliable beast (as I've said before).

As for the BMW, I think they drive nice...very nice. I took a 535 out a few years ago and instantly fell in love with it. I was very close to buying one when I talked to a factory BMW rep and he told me it would be the biggest mistake I ever made. He said it would be in the shop every other month. He went on to tell me that BMW just couldn't make the high powered fuel pumps correctly...they went so far to buy the factory that they were made, and they still couldn't fix their problem. This is an extremely expensive repair and you will 100% have to do it. Then there are the electrical nightmares he talked about, and how even he couldn't figure them out.

Meanwhile I drive my LS460 600 miles a week and it's been as reliable as my old Honda Accord.

I have two friends that own 3 series - supposedly their best car - and both have been nightmares for them. One friend has to dump 2 quarts of synthetic oil in his every 1k miles, imagine that?? The other has replaced (in the past two years)...all axles, intake gaskets, valve cover gaskets (twice), struts, coils, radiator...and that's a car with only 120k on it...and his commute is basically ten miles a day. Oh and the other guy has the carbon buildup problem going on, which is a very involved repair.

My LS460 has 110k miles on it and it has had ZERO repairs. I do think I'll need control arms soon, but I'll do them myself for under $500. And my tire pressure monitors are going to need replacement soon (8 years old). Not bad.