Have owned 3 BMWs

From what I've seen, the vast majority of the time the difference in anecdotal evidence comes down to owners that do routine and preventative maintenance vs owners that don't. My family does that shit and has always had great luck with cars, even Veeky Forums's """"unreliable"""" brands. Uncle has a early 2000s 3 series with over 300k miles last time I saw it a few months ago. Only time the check engine light has ever come on is because of the egr valve, otherwise dead reliable. Parents have a 2009 altima (almost 200k, like 193k I think) and a 2008 frontier (just turned 100k not too long ago) and neither of them have had any problems either, despite Veeky Forums's hard-on against all things nissan. I'd trust either one of them if I had to drive across the country and back nonstop.

A well-cared for car with 130k miles will last a hell of a lot longer than a beat to hell shitbox that has 30k miles and only 1 or 2 oil changes on it. I'm sure someone will have more anecdotal evidence to contradict this, but in my experience if you take care of your shit, it will take care of you

>my mom has an 05 Stratus with 550k
What the fuck. Dodge might want to buy that car back so they can figure out how things went so right when they should have gone so wrong.

>Replace every single possible failure point before they fail, costing thousands each year in the name of preventative maintenance
>"huur nothing fails on my bmw"
Lmao love this meme

Isn't timing belt normal maintenance though?

I dont consider it, honestly. I've seen vehicles go 300k and not need a replacement. Bizarre and probably an accident waiting to happen, but yeah.

I mean, if I didn't consider that then literally nothing has gone wrong with that damned vehicle from when she got it at 100k.

Huh. Over here in Europe, timing belts are done at worst every 100k km, sometimes earlier like with old BMWs and some Volkswagens.

Timing belts, alternators, water pumps, they're all normal maintenance items over here.

> 05 stratus with 550k miles
Holy shit dude.

All maintenance is preventative you dumb dumb.
Even oil changes.
I've taken my BMW 30k hard miles and the only preventative maintenance I've done is fluids.
It needed an alternator when I got it, I've done suspension all around and brakes, which should be expected, I've done CSB twice, and the blower motor.
That's it. Cooling system is original, belts are original, clutch is original.
When I got the car the drive shaft had wobble at 60mph, I waited until it gave out and replaced it, and immediately it had wobble again, I waited a few months then replaced it and got the drive shaft balanced and there is no more wobble.
For a car with 200k on it it's plenty reliable. You can hear the to bearing, but even so I'd trust the car to take me across country tomorrow.
The M52 and M44 are tanks of engines.

>The M52 and M44 are tanks of engines
>M44
>4 cylinder
>BMW
>Tank
You mean tankette? Like Italian tankette? Like shit?

timing belts are definitely normal maintenance

Odd question, is a serpentine belt replacement considered routine? I haven't replaced mine for 130k miles (the life of the car) and I'm pretty damn sure it's what's rattling under my hood.

All the belts are considered routine maintenance. Chains too if you drive VAG

>05 Stratus with 550k

Your mom should've bought a lottery ticket the day she bought that.

op literally, figuratively, and punitively btfo

I've also owned 260k,320k, 380k mile BMWs andmy friend owns a 565k mile 2001 E46.
All of them have been reliable cars.
Not OP btw

owned an E36 that ran forever, bought at 140K took it up to about 180K and broher has it at 240 now.

Dad had an 06 e90 320d back when it was new with the expanded timing chain issue, there was a recall but he noticed to late and the fuckers refused to fix it.
car was bricked at 10k miles.

So yeah, I can't say they are built like shit because they just aren't, but sometimes there is a massive design flaw and they just cover it up and let the customer pay for it.

>Timing belts, alternators, water pumps,
Alternators? I have never encountered N alternator failing on its own. Why in the hell would you change something that isn't going to break and is not really a part that wears out?

It does wear out though. You can refurbish them yourself though for like ten bucks in ten minutes. Forgot the name of the parts that wear out, some weird shits inside them that do magic and shit.

If you say so, but I have had alternators with 350k miles. The only time I have ever had to replace an alternative was when a voltage regulator failed and caused the alternator to burn itself out.

I've had one alternator on my old Pontiac Firebird give out due to failed bearings.

Also my old man managed to blow up an alternator on my old GTC LeBaron Turbo, which was mostly his fault as I told him to not touch the car, yet he wouldn't listen and decided that a creaking alternator and belt are fixed by tightening it. The belt snapped and ripped the alternator in pieces.

It's not uncommon for things like Caravans to get insanely high mileage. I've seen so many of those vans with 300k+.

Highest mileage I've seen was an 06 Charger with 650k. Dude said he had the engine rebuilt at 400k.

something something JD Powers reliability study

>Muh anecdotal experience
Hoo boy Honda BTFO! The thing you don't realize is if the same shit went out on your BMW you'd have to bring it to the dealership/professional and have them charge you 3x as much due to German Engineering.

>>within the first week passenger window goes out
>>two different sensors go out, each cost $70
>>would have been an additional $300 for """labor""" if I hadn't installed them myself
So it had the preowned certified warranty?

Sold my 03 Civic 2dr to my cousin for $2k because I'm too lazy to replace the head gaskets, not bad at 380k miles.

>>within the first week passenger window goes out
>>two different sensors go out, each cost $70
>>would have been an additional $300 for """labor""" if I hadn't installed them myself
sounds like 3 incidents that would call for a lemon law to kick in

I worked at a Lexus dealership before, the BMWs that get traded in mostly have electrical problems.
>windows roll down but not up
>says doors are open but they're closed
>says light bulbs aren't working but they work
I also never understood why their interiors smell like crayons over the years.

I don't know either but that's one thing I love about old BMWs and Volvos for that matter. I think it's the plastics or something