Boss just purchased a BMW 335 and asked if I could look into troubles he may be experiencing ahead. Did a quick search on "high mileage BMW 335i's" and read through that thread...OH MY LORD. And I knew there would be problems but man...I mean...why would anyone do that to themselves??

This is what it reads like for the BMW 335 when you reach 100,000 miles....

Vanos replacement twice
Replacement of all turbos
replacment of all injectors and coils
walnut blasting x2
three left wheel bearings
water pump and thermostat
mechanical fuel pumps
replacement of valve cover gaskets and oil cooler gasket (3rd time)
Control arms three times, the last one snapped in half don't know why
rear differential replacement

There also were several specific BMW acronym system failures that I couldn't identify (I have heard of their Vanos system but not all these others).

I mean these people are doing a lot of these repairs out of warranty, we are talking about totals of well over $10,000 dollars...and that's not including major component failure like an engine and transmission. Are these people nuts? The walnut shell cleaning alone is easily a $1,200 dollar service when you include intake gaskets and labor. And I love the way these cars drive, I really do, but if anyone ever hears me say I'm going to buy a BMW...slap me. Don't care if it's a $3,000 dollar project, fun on the weekends car. Right in the face.

I was complaining about putting a heater blower motor in my car last year???

 

Well, Toyota products may, in general, be more reliable than BMWs but there are some horror stories on this site too - look at all the posts about extended warranties, control arms, brake actuators, ML amps, wheel bearings, water pumps, steering racks, melting interiors, wind noise, etc, etc. I drove BMWs for over 30 years and didn't have excessive problems. The latest cars may have become less reliable but I can't comment on that (my last one was a 2001 530i).

 

If your last BMW was a car built 16 years ago? Yeah it's tough to relate. And I don't mean to pick on the brand, but man it just blows my mind. As far as the LS460 goes, we are talking about the most reliable luxury sedan on the market. Water pumps, control arms and wheel bearings are nothing compared to what those BMW owners are going through. And the faults you mention about the LS are in often cases isolated...these owners aren't experiencing all of it, some none of it. The BMW 335?? They hit on everything, there's no isolation, they're hitting every branch on the way down.

I didn't do a search on BMW 335i problems, I did a search on high mileage BMW 335's. I wanted to see the distance these people are traveling in them...I was lookin for high mileage stories...success stories. My boss asked me to look into problems, I never even got that far, didn't have to. They were all listed on their high mileage posts. Look up the high mileage thread on here, you will find none of that. You won't find posts saying...I'm at 155,000 miles...and then add a 12 page laundry list of repairs made. And these repairs are in the thousands.

 

That 335i sounds abnormally abused. I'm on my 4th BMW and I would NEVER buy a used BMW unless it was a project car like an E30, or a E46 M3 and I had money to BURN. This is why I'm in the market for a LS daily and regulating my other cars for the track, backroads, and weekend.

 

I can tell you without a doubt, that every friend and neighbor I knew with a BMW, no longer owns a BMW. They were replacing everything. My neighbor across the street had a BMW loaner car every other week. I'm sure they are fine cars, but from my perspective, I don't see how.

 

I'll tell what, they do drive really nice, but I'm just amazed at the repairs people are making on these things. It's insane.

 

I just laugh when I see the 'for sale' ads for BMWs, and some other German cars. You'll see a car with 50k miles for sale, and a laundry list of items that have been replaced or fixed.

 

Which is why I sell mine as soon as it's out of warranty. Free maintenance for all my BMWs have been a plus though. I haven't paid for maintenance in 6 years including oil changes.

 

Actually, this is a good point........ BMW reliability appears to have taken a nose dive (according to Consumer Reports) around the time the introduced their "free maintenance" policy. I wonder if BMW is cutting corners on maintenance (15,000 mile oil changes)?

 

I believe their oil change interval was dropped to 15,000 (it was Actually longer). I've talked to a factory rep, he told me their engines drink oil...that they tell the techs to overfill them by a quart because they're just going to run dry anyway. He said he's never seen so many engines being rebuilt in his life. They did introduce turbos to their lineup so perhaps that doesn't help, but yeah if you miss an oil change and think...hey it's only one oil change...you're really going 30,000 miles (and the thing was probably low at 5,000 miles). So I think the free maintenance does explain some of it, but they have other issues as well. The same rep told me they build their cars to last 100k miles, they don't care about them after that knowing their buyers only keep them a few years anyway. I thought that was an alarming thing to hear.

 

Hence my "pump and dump" philosophy with BMW and pretty much all other Germain cars that I've had.

 

​​​​​​​Yup smart move, enjoy it while you can and then get out.

 

I've posted this elsewhere on the forum. I have a neighbor that has a 2011 I think 750. They also have a Range Rover they just replaced with a new V8 RR. I noticed he's had several loaners lately and I asked him about it the other day, apparently the thing just absolutely went to ****, 2-3 huge problems all at once back to back and they had just bought the Range Rover so they couldn't replace it, trapped. He dropped over $9,000 on it in the course of 2 weeks. Thats at the dealer, but he called around to the local BMW shops and he wouldn't have saved more than 5-600. Thats one thing that will never happen to you owning a Lexus. Sure, they aren't perfect, but they're not that imperfect LOL

He says he loves the car...lol

 

A purchased 7 series is like like having a hot, psycho girlfriend. Sure, the sex is phenomenal, but she will drive you CRAZY!

 

Yup pretty much, and a purchased 7 series AND a Range Rover?! He's a glutton for punishment!