littlecanoe Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Does anyone own or has anyone owned a BMW? I'm considering a 99 that's a one owner with the owner being known to me. Are they worth the hype? I know that they ride and handle like a dream based on other's that I've driven. Just looking for some real life experience from people who have been there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montea6b Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Never owned one, but I've heard that when you drive by a repair shop your credit card is scanned and charged remotely. Parts ain't cheap, but they are supposed to drive nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
724wd Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 yup, it's the upkeep that'll kill you. my dad had one years ago, and everything on that durn thing was twice the money of comparable rides. not as bad as a jag, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 My brother has one. It will do everything except wipe your butt!! I don't quite understand the concept of his Beemer's transmission. It is a stick shift but if you don't feel like shifting it will do it for you. It is not an automatic tranny in the conventional sense with a torque converter. His Beemer will engage the clutch, release the throttle and shift either manually, by depressing a button on the steering wheel or totally automatically through 6 gears. He bought it with a maintenance and warranty package so he doesn't pay if anything breaks for the first five years. He has the income and paid 6 figures for it. He did have to pay for front tires recently after failing to bring it to BMW in time after the front end got knocked out of alignment. The tires rated to do 165MPH cost apx 400 each. I only drove it once, pulled it on the freeway and my brother yelled out "slow down". With the computer adjusting the suspension it felt like it was hardly moving but when I looked at the speedo I was doing 95. When I pulled off the freeway and into a turn with a 40MPH sign he yelled again about the speed. I was doing almost 70 and it didn't feel like the car leaned any. The Beemer's computer senses the turn and beefs up the suspension automatically to deal with it. It is a real nice car but way beyond my budget. Without the warranty and maintenance package he got with it I couldn't even begin to guess what it would cost if any of the high tech systems needed fixing. I don't know what model it is but according to my brother there are only two in Arizona. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Hess Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Not to discourage you (much), but: A guy at work had one. I don't know BMW models, but this was a 4 door sedan with a V8. He bought it new. It was his dream car. It was in the shop all the time. I forget exactly what it cost him, but it was somewhere around 3-4K/yr in repairs. The check engine light (CEL) comes on all the time, and only the dealer can figure it out. Once, after a several thousand dollar CEL repair, it stayed off for about 2 weeks. The last one, as he explained it to me, the gas cap went bad and it was going to cost him $1500 to get whatever that did fixed. He traded it in on a new Toyota Avalon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumbum Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 a family friend had a new 750i or whatever the newest biggest 7-series was about 5 years ago. some idiot hit him, and he had to wait like 3 or 6 months for the repair parts to show up. finally, the constant small-part repairs wore him down and he traded it in. the top-end beemers and benzes are magnificent cars but have become so complicated with gewgaws and doodads that something is always breaking down, despite the overall high level of QC. if the defect rate is only 1 in a million, but you have 2 parts, guess what. 2 things are broken right off the bat, and that's if everything goes as planned. this all applies less to the 3- and 5-series cars without all the options. maintenance is expensive, but apparently the cars are worth it. I used to work with 2 guys with older 6-series cars, and repairs weren't cheap but they loved them. my advice is to factor in the cost of ownership and regular maintenance and decide if the driving experience - which really is legendary - is worth it to you. on a car like this, a lease on a model with all maintenance included is a good way of packaging the driving costs and limiting yourself to a defined term of committment, if you can keep the miles down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 My Mother in law had one that she kept for seemed like forever. I believe she racked up over 300K miles on it. She loved it and only sold it when we had our second child. She needed more space for the kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron J Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 My boss, the owner of the company, has one. It's a 4dr with an inline engine I think 8 cylinders. We took it to the Humvee plant in Indiana and he tells me, you drive. I said cool and was having a ball. About half way there, I'm pulling out of a toll booth and decide to let this thing breathe a little. So I'm bringing up each gear, but not beating it. It just keeps pulling like I'm in first. Somewhere around 4th gear the thing shuts down. It had a rev limiter at the redline. He goes "don't blow my f*%^#@g car up!" I says "hell it won't blow. It's pullin hard as hell. You need to have that limiter removed!" He didn't talk for a while, but he's okay. I don't know if there good to own, but they're a ball to drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlecanoe Posted June 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Thanks for the good info. The maintenance issue is what I'm concerned about. Not many people around that drive this type car in my area of the country. I'm handy with tools but the technical stuff is a loss. These cars seem to have sensors for absolutely everything. The story is that the car is a 99 528i. The guy who owns it is someone that I went to church with when I lived up north. Great guy and honest. Another friend was telling me about it. Got the Bimmer guys number and called and talked about it. Let's say that he makes the money to drive one or two of them and has a new on. He was planning on giving the car to a charity for the tax write-off. He's kept the car serviced at the dealer for it's life. The car was his daily driver for work for about 9 years. Down side is 190K miles. Up side is that it has been maintained and is in good shape. Bad news, anti lock sensors or module is acting up. Good news, he just wants what he put in to it last year which is between 2000$ and 2500$ and this includes new tires. I'm just trying to make up my mind if I can afford the maintenance for the low price. The fella did say that he felt that the car was good for another 70K plus. Can't really hang my hat on estimates. The other friend has a newer 525 and it's an awesome ride and drive! I don't really want to buy a money pit though................so it's either a good opportunity or a big risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailormilan2 Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 OH, you are talking about a BMW car here. For a moment I thought you were talking about a BMW motorcycle, and I was going to have you watch this clip. Funny clip, language is a little strong at times. http://www.brainsweb.co.uk/uploads/the-wrong-bike.wmv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlecanoe Posted June 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 No road bikes for me. One of the local morticians calls them "Funeral Ponies". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.