Why does BMW have a reputation of being unreliable?

My 89 Acura Integra begs to differ.

The 82 corolla i'm driving has been through at least 6 different p plate drivers, is at 345k kms and has been abused/poorly maintained it's entire life and it still runs like a top.

I just spent the last week learning how to drive stick on a 34 year old E30. The odometer broke at 157,000 miles. It probably has closer to 200,000. Once I get more comfortable with it, it's going to be my daily. Because I'm a retard, I accidentally started in 3rd several times because I couldn't find 1st because the shifter bushings are fucked. It didn't like it, but it did it.

It's probably the most fun I've had in a car. It's slow as shit though because muh eta.

The body is still in great shape and there isn't really any rust to speak of, even under the carpet.

It's got a comedy-tier exhaust leak and a mysterious intermittent vacuum leak. I have a silicon hose kit coming in the mail to fix the vacuum leak, and a new pipe and muffler is like $200. The car weighs 2600 pounds.

Most of the BMW unreliability reputation comes from people who don't take care of their shit and
>lol VANOS

I could go on for a while.

Also
>1984
>semi trailing arm rear suspension
>power sunroof
>mass produced PFI that actually works
>mechanical cable-actuated throttle body with functioning cruise control
>electronic range and mileage calculator

Even if BMW isn't your thing, it's pretty neat that shit like that was going into a production car during the Reagan administration.

What's your opinion on these cars? I was looking to get one as a cheap rwd beater.

once bought an 860. not sure why

I didn't realize they had chickens in Australia

I saw a last gen 760li with 600 000 kms last week
t. mechanic in rich bit of moscow

>860

>no chickens in australia
Are you retarded?

Because people buy them with money they don't have and NEVER take care of them.
Plus there are a lot of parts that are expensive and can't afford to do the maintenance

Lil shits come through valet everyday

F01?

...

I thought it was the land of Dingo's and Kangaroo's?

Leased or owned until the warranty period ends and then sold without basic tuneups or any suspension parts being replaced.
More expensive parts is also very depressing.

>car is poorly maintained piece of shit
>user surprised when it costs money to fix

WHY ARE THEIR SO MANY FUCKING CHICKENS ON Veeky Forums NOW. /K/ IS FULL OF THEM AND SO IS /X/!!! WHATS HAPPENING TO US!!!

my dad has bought, and killed, 4 7-series in about 6 years.

>1st: 4.0 v8, engine block cracked
>2nd: 4.4 v8, engine block cracked
>3rd: 2.8 l6, gearbox imploded, by now he had learned to let the engine fully warm up before flooring it at least
>4th: 4.4 v8, gearbox imploded

he's on his 5th now and has stopped going past 3.5k RPM and it's lasted longer than the previous 4 combined, so that's nice

as long as you drive sensibly they're reliable, but if you want to have fun you might as well go fuck yourself.

Wtf. H o w

>timing belt
>new radiator, cooling system
>ICV replace
>coolant temp sensors
>fuel filter
>TPS
>AFM sensor
>fuel injectors
>Rear subframe mounts rip out of the body
>Rear trailing arm bushing mounts rip out
>Rear Shock mounts rip through the body
>Front strut towers mushroom and crack open
>Motor mount tabs on the subframe rip
>valve cover bolts stripped
>timing cover gasket bolts stripped
>rattling near the dip stick tube $400 part, valve coming apart sending metal rod through the intake destroying engine
>leak prone: valve cover gasket, where the oil filter connects, the fucking coolant mating line behind the engine
>Piece of shit plastic part
>trunk leaks
>battery tray rust
>rear defroster stop work
>control arm/trailing arm bushings
>SI batteries
>broken odometer gears
>rocker panel rust
>exhaust hangers rotting out
>exhaust clamps rusting off
>vacuum leaks
>broken interior door handles
>failing or broken door locks
>power steering leak
>window switches dying
>a/c not working
>sheet metal on the car being too thin in stressed areas
>front shock towers have sheet metal half the thickness on most cars
>RTAB pockets and front strut tops mushrooming RTAB pockets rip out at 50k miles
>its a progressive failure
>Same with the front strut tops You start to notice the studs aren't all pointed directly up
>Rear subframe mount failure
>oil pump nut
>diff bolt
>diff gear bolts
>The "subframe tearing"
>body of the car failing where the bolts that attach the suspension carrier
>parts of the subframe fail: the sway bar mounting tabs, and where the trailing arm attaches. There is no easy repair
>failure at the weld of the threaded rods that the RTAB carrier bolts to
>rear shock mount is a common failure item the best fix for this seems to be welding a duplicate of the shock tower over the damaged one
>A lot of things needed replacing which I didn't have the money for at the time.

now is our time

my 10 year old e60 is pretty fine
then again it only has 22k miles

Back in the M engine days, the NA straight 6, BMW was pretty much indestructible. Then came the N series engines which were both shit and experimental on behalf of BMW ( using stuff as swirl flaps and nikasil )

Then BMW gave up the "ultimate driving machine" motto in favor of the "efficient dynamics" motto just because it appeals to more fags and non-car people.

Then BMW went full prostitute, making cars just to sell, giving up their heritage.

The F10 5 series was the pinnacle of BMW's downfall, with a considerably lower quality than the E60, with considerably worse engines than those of the E60 and with notoriously bad gearboxes.

Then BMW gave up on their heritage alltogether when they introduced the fwd 2 series active whatever, introduced diesel M models, moved the 1 series to fwd and removed manual gearboxes for all the M models.

BMW has a reputation of being unreliable because they intentionally make bad cars so that they can sell more parts and charge more on parts and special tools.

They just prostituted their badge and heritage for money.

stop posting this it's kinda irrelevant. that original thread is for e30s and half that shit isn't even E30, it's more e36/e46

>e30s
see

...

>beater
>rwd
Fucking why?

...

Why do people talk about vanos? It's literally just a maintenance item. Doing the seals takes legit like 15 minutes from start to finish.
You sound like a fucking retard when you mention it.

Is this god tier bait?

it's the reptilians man
they're trying to normalize reptiles, and they're starting with birds to ease us into it
disclosure is upon us

...

if you are a poorfag who cant turn a wrench stay away from bmw.
but I personally love them. great S engines and M engines. e36 has the single best steering rack i've ever felt in any car.
their styling from the 1950's to the early 2000's was on point.
and they always had a major major presence in racing, and still do to some extent.

when they were good looking cars that were driver oriented and cheaper than the competition they were a great company (enthusiast wise)
but like someone else said they threw that away about 15 years ago outside of a few models. they look characterless now and marketed to yuppies.
I feel like alfa is the modern equivalent of what bmw used to be.

I've literally never heard of that happening and I work on these things every day. They are reverse threaded, they don't work themselves out if torqued. The design isn't cheap at all. It barely has any moving parts. Any of those things happening is rebuild error.

...

does it take longer than a week to feel confy driving stick?

This is recent on my BMW e90

>multiple misfires on cylinders 4, 5 and 6
>all on the same bank, bank 2
>engine runs fine, smooth no rough idles
>no change in mpg, (have over 3 yrs of mpg data)
>swap all coils 6 to 1, 5 to 2 and 4 to 3.
>problem persists, same codes for 4,5 and 6
>pull plugs, all fine, swap to other cylinders
>problem returns to the same cylinders on bank 2
>check for leaks with carb cleaner, no leaks
>drive car until empty and refuel with 93 on a different station
>problem goes away only to return 2 weeks later
>listen to injectors, maybe they are not working on bank 2, they all sound good
>check injector solenoid resistance, all the same
>wtf
>start considering timing issues with either solenoids or vvti actuating motor
>pull exhaust and intake solenoids, clean them and swap
>fucking codes come back again
>check O2 sensors while driving to see voltage output (have the blue driver app and code reader)
>all the same, O2 sensors almost matched perfectly
>while reading on misfire codes, some fag on a forum mentioned the battery could be going on its way out
>buy battery tester, $60 based eBay
>check battery, fails CCA test
>well fuck me
>recharge battery and drive car for a week straight, long and short distances
>test battery again, Pass

And that ordeal took me almost a month and a half

>modern alfa is what BMW used to be
modern Alfa is either seriously overpriced or overweight or both.

This. M20 is a workhorse if you stay on top of the water pump.

My E60 has 105,000 miles and still goes great. Drives nice and tight, too. I drove an E30 with 400,000 miles on the body and chassis, it felt great. Probably one of the best things about BMW is how well the chassis hold up to miles if driven gently.

>own an e60 for 4 months
>already $2500 in repairs
>only 110k miles

Repairs:
>leaking transmission fluid
>controls arms needed replacing
>spark plugs needed replacing
>crankcase vent valve and breather hoses cracked
>vaccuum leak
>thermostat needed replacing
>bank 2 lean (P0174)

There's an independent BMW mechanic in my city that I've been taking it to but I don't think I'll be going back any time soon. I had an SES light which he said was the crankcase so I had that repaired and 10 minutes after picking the car up the light comes back on. I bring it back and now it's the thermostat. I picked it up today so we'll have to see what it is next time. I also brought the car in because it shook violently at 70+mph. I had the control arms replaced but it still shakes over 70mph and he told me that if I want to get rid of the shaking completely it will cost more than the car is worth. Also, I had him install an aux port when I first went by and he did a shit job. He put the port in the fucking cubby hole of all places and it only gets as loud as about 50% radio volume. He also pressed on the back of the screen and now I have a bunch of dead pixels. Said it was bound to happen and not his fault.

I'm just tired of this shit at this point. I'm already wondering what the next repair will be...

>I feel like alfa is the modern equivalent of what bmw used to be
BMWs used to be badge engineered Chryslers?

Did he buy 200k mile cars??

I have a 540i with an M60B40 and I have beaten the living shit out of it for a year and it doesn't even have a leak. 120k miles on engine and 6speed transmission.

The gearbox issue can be solved by being a man and getting a manual transmission.

As for engine reliability, I highly doubt the m60 block cracked, but the much more unreliable m62 I do believe.
>plastic timing chain guides
>dual vanos

Sounds like your dad has no idea how to perform basic maintenance or pre purchase inspections.

Needs new wheels and then you've got a car that will last a long time with good maintinance.
>Treat car like shit
>Expect it to not be shit
You see what's wrong here?

Fpbp

Cracking a M60 block takes a special kind of person. The oil pumps work their way loose and the nicasil coating can cause issues if you run shit fuel. But those things will hold 600hp stock forever on a good tune.

youtube.com/watch?v=emd96IvBS0s

youtube.com/watch?v=AOCQ81k4hdM

Non-vanos M50 > M20 in every possible way, especially when you want more horsepower and go about upping the atmospheric pressure.

The M70 is also beefy as fuck in stock form...

because idiots buy 10-20 year examples and neglect to do any sort of basic preventative maintenance on them.

What fuel doesn't damage nikasil? I want an old 911, but the article says nikasil was used in the 911. I'm scared now :(

its a non issue now adays unless you live in a 3rd world country

How about in the 80's when the cars were new?

>With a bit of love and some maintenance a BMW never dies
In other words, All of the money in your bank account and all of the free time you have.
>yet I've never seen a pre '90s Japanese car that works.
I guess you're just stupid and blind?
>I own a Alfa Romeo
I mean a BMW is GOAT if this is your norm

Our indigenous egg production facilities were lost in the Great Emu War. We are still making reparations to this day.

What is Veeky Forums opinion on
BMW series 3 318i
and
BMW series 3 316i

It seems like they give a lot for small cash, but is there any big catch?

Chickens are like dinosaurs though.
Have you ever seen a chicken up close? It might as well be a delicious velociraptor

>Ignition coils and spark plugs
>$972
Holy shit did they give you your trousers back after that visit?

telling by your pic, your car seems to be riced out a bit
the shaking is probably the driveshaft (if can be felt from the rear), bad wheel/bad allignment or the engine damper

>Do show me a Japanese car as old as the BMW 2002 that is on the street.
Datsun 510. Datsun 240z.

They are 4 Bangers. If you buy a BMW you at least want a 6 Cylinder

>Names car model
>Doesn't name series

oh and since your car is riced by the PO it means he probably did not take care of the car.
I own a 2004 E60 525d with 325.000 miles, for the last 15k miles all I've done is:
rear suspension bushings+allignment ($95)
valve cover gasket +thermostat+air filter ($130)
alternator belt+AC belt+new pulleys+crankshaft damper replacement($200)
topped up transmission fluid ($10)
oil and oil filters
now runs fine, will need to do a transmission fluid change at some point which will cost me $300

Like this one for examle
njuskalo.hr/auti/bmw-serija-3-316i-registriran-25.4.17-oglas-22236540
and this one
njuskalo.hr/auti/bmw-serija-3-compact-316i-odlicno-stanje-cijena-nije-fiksna-hitnoooo-oglas-22447854

the 316i compact seems to be in decent shape.
it will be an underpowered but good handling and cheap to upkeep shitbox

is this a shit?

kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/calgary/1987-bmw-325i-e30/1255673688?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

$7000 CAD is approx $5000 USD

Oba su ti serija e36 (1992-1999)

The coils aren't cheap mate, here in Bonglad I paid £77 for a single E46 coil, I could easily see all 6 plus plugs and labour being over $900

>riced out a bit
wat

The only thing aftermarket on the car are the bi-xenon headlights and those led strips which I have zero idea how to turn on. Everything on the car is stock. I did however put on some 30% window tint because the windows before were so see through it almost looked like there was no glass. I bought the car for $5900 on craigslist from some old lady and she has every maintenance record from 2006 stored in the glove box and only took it to the dealership. The car is in excellent shape and everything works except for the sunroof, which doesn't bother me. From 0-70mph it runs absolutely fine and smooth although it kind of shifts just a tad bit unusual and when coming to a complete stop it jumps at like 5mph. Other than that it's all good. Mine is a 2004 525i.

Also, do you do your own repairs? Everything you listed is like 1/3 of what the indy mechanic quotes me

I had 6 spark plugs changed yesterday and they were $12 each. Labour was $92. Outrageous

the headlights do look kinda off.
The jump at stops is a common issue among bmw automatics of that era - worn transmission mounts(bushings) which are quite expensive to replace, i just try to ignore the jumps.
Prices are so low because i'm in Europe, german luxury cars are dirt cheap to fix

thats a duck