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I've owned an 850 for three or so years now, and recieved it as my first car. I love the car but in age and milage (130,000) its getting up there, so I started looking for a replacment. I wanted to try a S70 Turbo, but on the car lot was a '96 BMW 328is (the coupe). So, I thought for fun I would take it out for a test drive, all I can say is, wow! The balance, power, fluidity of the steering, brakes and drivetrain was awesome! Now I recognize this is not a BMW board, however, though, I have learned a great deal about my car from this board, and realize that there are a lot of members with great expertise and knowledge about automobiles. So here is my question, I was wondering if anybody new anything about these cars, reliability, maintence issues, repair costs, etc.? I'd really appreciate all the little tips you guys give, the only problem with a BMW is I would not have this board to go back to.
Thank You
-Jake
PS I would still be keeping the 850, it is an awesome car, and I have had zero problems(Plus, it has no resale value) with it in the time that I have owned it. However I would like something more new to take back and forth to college.
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posted by
someone claiming to be sniper
on
Tue Aug 20 06:45 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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I do not know where you live but if it snows, you will hate life. My 850 turbo would smoke a 328 and I think it is the most comfortable car on the road. My Audi A4 would out handle the BMW hands down.
The M-class are the only BMW close to worth the money. Before you make a mistake,,drive an audi.
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posted by
someone claiming to be homer
on
Tue Aug 20 03:37 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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I drove BMWs for 15 years-and its true--they are the ultimate driving machine. They are not the most practical. If you can aford the excesive cost of maint and repair, know also that they often develope problems nobody but the dealer can fix-and the dealer cant fix it either.
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My wife an I bought a BMW because she always wanted one. At 25,000 miles it needed ball joints and 50,000 it needed ball joints and guess what now at 75,000 they are wanting us to replace the ball joints. The car is making the mechanics a very good living. Service is the best I have seen in recommending every little thing get repaired or checked. Our last service cost us about $1300 and I told them I am not replacing the ball joints yet.
In comparison to my 850 which has about 220,000 miles on it. I have replaced the timimg belt twice, brakes and regular oil changes air cleaners a few belts and I think that is about it. And we still take it on holidays over the BMW as it has more room.
I expect to put another 35,000 miles on it this year. I think when I hit the 350,000 mile mark I will look at another volvo. I only wish they had the diesel in Canada.
We will not be looking at another BMW. Definitely fun to drive but not worth the price when you look at maintenance.
brad
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As a former BMW owner (3 of them, 2 733's and a 1987 735I) I would say that God created them to insure that mechanics make a good living. Things like, cannot replace u joints. Have to repalce the entire drive shaft. And on, and on. I have owned Mercedes, BMW and Volvo's. The most dependable by far has been the 3 Volvos that I have owned. A 1989 760 T, and 2 1997 850 Turbos (now) although not inexpensive to maintain, it has been a more rewarding experience with the Volvos. . My $0.01.... (Not even $0.02)...
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posted by
someone claiming to be Punxsutawney Phil
on
Tue Aug 20 02:08 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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Try http://www.roadfly.com and go to the E36 message board.
On average, they're at least as reliable as Volvos, plus BMW owners tend to be significantly more anal about maintainance than Volvo owners. BMW also uses timng CHAINS, not belts.
90% of the time a BMW would be more fun to drive than a Volvo.
-Punxsutawney Phil
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Hey thanks for all you opinions, about the Audi's I called and talked with my mechanic, hes a Volvo technician from Sweden and he works on all kinds of imports told me that the Audi is the most expensive car to work on period. Has this been your experience? There is a Black '97 A4 (2.8?) with the all wheel drive thing and has about 35K on it, the car is in excellent shape and I could see its advantage in the snow compared to the BMW, but my mechanic is scaring me away from it. I just can't get over the driving experience, I keep going back to test drive it and finally my dealer let me take it home for a couple of days and told me I could do the same thing with the Audi, this is getting very interesting.
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Sounds like the dealer's pretty sure he's going to reel you in. If the dealership is where the car was originally sold, ask to see the service history. Take some notes and notice the frequency and cost of replacement parts.
I don't know where to weigh-in on the winter driving argument. When I lived in Grand Rapids Michigan I had a new '93 Ford Thunderbird, (A RWD car and POS btw,) that I had absolutely no trouble with in DEEP snow. I'd run back and forth to Pittsburgh to visit my now wife during the middle of winter. Do you know what a Cleveland lake-effect snow is like? RWD gave no problems. Ice was another story. In my opinion, nothing works on ice.
I drove a BMW once and agree completely with your assesment. I had a BMW R100RT motorcycle and the same could be said for it. Design, execution, engineering and operator feedback head and shoulders above anything else. The bike was easy and cheap to maintain. Their cars? Sorry, no experience there.
I really like my '95 855t but sometimes wonder how much better I'd like it if it were a RWD v8. Hmmm.
--
Erwin in Memphis, '95 855t
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posted by
someone claiming to be Punxsutawney Phil
on
Tue Aug 20 09:21 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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but my general impression is that Audis are no better (or worse) than Volvos when it comes to reliability, and there is at least of 2 of everything to break.
If you visit the BMW board note the amount of time they spend discussing car polish, flaming each other and flaming each other about car polish, and the amount of time they spend discussing insoluble problems.
I don't consider a Volvo completely "done for" at 130,000 miles (at least I hope) but then again I'm not a student, although I AM paying for a college at the moment.
The 10% of the time I spoke of is times like in the middle of an ice storm when a BMW which is so nice on dry roads would be terrifying. Or the cement mixer without brakes starts rolling downhill.
If you live in the snow or ice belt, do buy a set of winter tires whatever you buy.
-Punxsutawney Phil
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I have owned several BMW's (1977 320i, 1987 325i, 1991 M3). I really love the older models but was very dissapointed in the E36 models. I drive a 1998 V70 T5 with a 5 speed now (140,000).
No major repairs. I do change the oil, filters, plugs, cap, etc... often. I drive about 700 miles a week.
It was funny to read the comment about the BMW owners being anal about wax, polish, etc... I'm still that way with my Volvo!
Also, just picked up a 1999 V70 T5 and am very happy with it.
The one thing that was tough getting used to with the Volvo was the FWD. I think my T5 would be more fun to drive if it were RWD, but hey I live in Massachusetts!
Good Luck!
Noah
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I just did a carfax and this bimmer is a no buy! It has a report of a pretty nasty accident. I couldn't figure out why the paint looked so new on a five year old car, thats because it was painted about five months ago. The accident must have been pretty bad because my dealer (who my family has bought cars from there for like 20+ years) said that accidents usually don't make there way to Carfax reports. But it couldn't of been to bad, the car drives like new, now I have no idea what to do.
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