Not true. I've read about many a BMW owner complaining about the same issues we've heard about the G35......namely dusting, pad replacement and the infamous feathering tire.
Once again it's about the people not doing their homework and expecting great performance at Honda Civic prices.
i can't speak for BMW at this point, but on my A4 the pads were replaced under warranty when they were worn to a certain point. so really i wouldn't care how fast they wore out, or if they were dusty, as long as they are free. i like getting free parts and labor from the dealer. it really helps at resale if you have detailed documentation from the dealership - however, on my G i cannot really imagine spending over $1500 on my recent brake job, so I had to take it to my local shop.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguy
Post Whoring-The art of posting useless info (read: anything the750 posts) in threads just to increase a persons post count.
i understand if it's a weekend car or a lease (which 85% of all bimmers are)then having to change the oil once a year isn't too bad. i understand they use very good syn oil on all their cars. but as a general commuter that racks good hard miles....ehhh...i dunno. unless you know you're trading up in 3 years i guess it's no biggie.
when i was shopping for a 335i the maintinence was not such a selling point as i was going to have the oil change at least every 5K...because 15K oil changes on a TT engine i know i'm going to push every now and then is a no-no for me.
i still don't understand why an oil dip stick is not fashioned on their engines. i'd like to see the oil and the condition of it rather than have an on dash computer tell me.
i guess my point is the 'free' maintinence is not as great as people set it out to be. i would like to see what nissan's maintinence schedule is like compared to bmw's and compare side to side. i bet you get 2 sides of the spectrum...one is too excessive the other is too lacking...both set up to maximize profit.
there's much more to a warranty than an oil change. sorry but i highly doubt that you turned down a 335 for the simple fact that you'd have to pay for 2 out of 3 oil changes.
even if bmw does only cover one change per 15k miles (i really think this is incorrect) you just pay out of pocket for the other 2 or however many you'd like to have.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguy
Post Whoring-The art of posting useless info (read: anything the750 posts) in threads just to increase a persons post count.
there's much more to a warranty than an oil change. sorry but i highly doubt that you turned down a 335 for the simple fact that you'd have to pay for 2 out of 3 oil changes.
even if bmw does only cover one change per 15k miles (i really think this is incorrect) you just pay out of pocket for the other 2 or however many you'd like to have.
no definately not! that would be crazy to turn down a 335i just beacuse of "oil changes"...if i was too pissy about it i could do it myself. there were other things as i mentioned in past posts (reported fuel pump issues, overheating, too much body roll on corners, etc.). and after all the faults i was still on the fence between the 37 and 335. it just came down to the car charactersitics and how it drove that i made my choice.
as far as the 15K interval i have seen it on bimmer forums a lot. i've been to m3post, bimmerfest, e90post and they all state similar numbers. again i'd like to see the nissan and bmw schedule side by side and compare as i am only going off of what posters on those forums say...
i liked it (traded in) but like all german cars, you probably want to get rid of it when the warranty runs out. well that's what i did anyhow. no problems though. not exceptionally fast/fun, just a super nice car for the money. audi service is top notch too.
if she can wait a little bit, the new A4 is coming out later this year. if not, the current body style looks really nice too, that is what I had.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguy
Post Whoring-The art of posting useless info (read: anything the750 posts) in threads just to increase a persons post count.
Let me clear things up a bit. Bimmers use a specially formulated synthetic motor oil rated good up to 15k miles. It's true that from '08, there are no dip sticks on all Bimmer motors. There is a computer sensor that senses the condition of the motor oil, based on particle density, miles driven, work load, etc. This sensor also informs the driver that the oil should be changed. If you don't stress the motor it may be at 15k miles, but if stressed the sensor could tell you to change it much earlier. Bimmer has been using this system for the past 4 years, if not more, and it seems to be working fine. This is besides their mechanical problems.
I told my SA to have my oil changed and he did it for me free of charge at 1800 miles. At first, I had a hard time not having a dip stick available, but I'm used to it now and realize that I hardly checked that thing anyway. One less thing to worry about I say. If something goes awry from the oil, well then Bimmer has 100% liability since they don't allow me to check my oil. So no harm no foul.
__________________ Always outnumbered, never outgunned.
no definately not! that would be crazy to turn down a 335i just beacuse of "oil changes"...if i was too pissy about it i could do it myself. there were other things as i mentioned in past posts (reported fuel pump issues, overheating, too much body roll on corners, etc.). and after all the faults i was still on the fence between the 37 and 335. it just came down to the car charactersitics and how it drove that i made my choice.
as far as the 15K interval i have seen it on bimmer forums a lot. i've been to m3post, bimmerfest, e90post and they all state similar numbers. again i'd like to see the nissan and bmw schedule side by side and compare as i am only going off of what posters on those forums say...
haha i was beginning to think you're a bit cheap!
anyhow, the 15k interval may be correct, i have absolutely no BMW experience so I would not know. with anything like that though, i would go with your gut. i really hope those bmw guys are not waiting 15k to change their oil!!
like i said, on my a4 it was one change per 10k miles. well first they told me that i'd have to pay $10 extra for synthetic, to which i laughed and said they would be paying for my engine if i get oil sludge (had been a problem on older 1.8t's)... so they upgraded it free. then 5k miles later is when they told me about the 10k miles thing... but this time i knew the service guy by name and he was cool so didn't make me pay. they really go out of their way to make you happy.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguy
Post Whoring-The art of posting useless info (read: anything the750 posts) in threads just to increase a persons post count.
................i guess my point is the 'free' maintinence is not as great as people set it out to be. i would like to see what nissan's maintinence schedule is like compared to bmw's and compare side to side. i bet you get 2 sides of the spectrum...one is too excessive the other is too lacking...both set up to maximize profit.
Servicing is independent of the dealer, it is the manufacturer that dictates the maintenance schedule. Servicing is done by the dealer or others and they are the ones who make the money off of that.
__________________
Now I'm just laid bad - G35Princess
R.I.P. MBC
i can't speak for BMW at this point, but on my A4 the pads were replaced under warranty when they were worn to a certain point. so really i wouldn't care how fast they wore out, or if they were dusty, as long as they are free. i like getting free parts and labor from the dealer. it really helps at resale if you have detailed documentation from the dealership - however, on my G i cannot really imagine spending over $1500 on my recent brake job, so I had to take it to my local shop.
In the end you always pay for things done under warranty. Either the car is designed and built such that maintenance is reduced or you pay more on the MSRP in order to make it up.
My comment was in referrence to issues that BMW owners are running into. I'm not sure if the class action suit (tire wear) ever made it to court, but there are unhappy guys.
__________________
Now I'm just laid bad - G35Princess
R.I.P. MBC
Let me clear things up a bit. Bimmers use a specially formulated synthetic motor oil rated good up to 15k miles. It's true that from '08, there are no dip sticks on all Bimmer motors. There is a computer sensor that senses the condition of the motor oil, based on particle density, miles driven, work load, etc. This sensor also informs the driver that the oil should be changed. If you don't stress the motor it may be at 15k miles, but if stressed the sensor could tell you to change it much earlier. Bimmer has been using this system for the past 4 years, if not more, and it seems to be working fine. This is besides their mechanical problems.
I told my SA to have my oil changed and he did it for me free of charge at 1800 miles. At first, I had a hard time not having a dip stick available, but I'm used to it now and realize that I hardly checked that thing anyway. One less thing to worry about I say. If something goes awry from the oil, well then Bimmer has 100% liability since they don't allow me to check my oil. So no harm no foul.
Zooms I can see the period being OK. but the question more for me is how long will an oil filter hold out. I mean the oil is probably not going to die it's more a matter of how long a filter can properly do it's job. I'm interested in how BMW worked that out.
__________________
Now I'm just laid bad - G35Princess
R.I.P. MBC
In the end you always pay for things done under warranty. Either the car is designed and built such that maintenance is reduced or you pay more on the MSRP in order to make it up.
oh absolutely. regardless of how much or little a warranty covers, they aren't truly 'free'. that is what i was getting at. if you're saying car X costs more than car Y, but X has a better warranty, well that has to be taken into consideration, as the warranty is built into the cost/MSRP of the car.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguy
Post Whoring-The art of posting useless info (read: anything the750 posts) in threads just to increase a persons post count.
They use some sort of special filter as well. There was a lot of skeptcism at first, but by now most people are convinced that Bimmer knows their stuff. They originally derived this concept from F1/racing motors. They derived that a racing motor with no oil change endures an equivalent to 20k+ miles. Or something to that effect from what I remember reading.
Again, not much credit is given Bimmer engineers, but this is the bleeding edge of technology. I've had several Bimmers that have gone 10k without an oil change without one single problem. I even had the oil sent to a lab to check for myself once and they returned it with a stamp of approval. Obviously, BMW wouldn't be doing it if it was going to lead to failure.
Regarding warranties, all manufacturers (the auto industry included) have to factor in the cost of "future" warranties the year the "good" is sold. So, of course, this "cost" is factored into every MSRP. What's really interesting, IMHO, is that Audi/MB got rid of their "free" maintenance yet their prices have not gone down respectively. Now that's a rip off. Pure profit to the companies. You don't see people up in arms over it though, which is puzzling.
__________________ Always outnumbered, never outgunned.
Regarding warranties, all manufacturers (the auto industry included) have to factor in the cost of "future" warranties the year the "good" is sold. So, of course, this "cost" is factored into every MSRP. What's really interesting, IMHO, is that Audi/MB got rid of their "free" maintenance yet their prices have not gone down respectively. Now that's a rip off. Pure profit to the companies. You don't see people up in arms over it though, which is puzzling.
well a lot of former or current audi owners (of fully warranted cars) are not happy about it. i want to get the details on what the warranty does cover now. i heard they just watered the old one down, but it's still better than the japs. when they changed the warranty, which i believe was in 05/06, a lot of ppl on the forums were pretty pissed.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguy
Post Whoring-The art of posting useless info (read: anything the750 posts) in threads just to increase a persons post count.
They use some sort of special filter as well. There was a lot of skeptcism at first, but by now most people are convinced that Bimmer knows their stuff. They originally derived this concept from F1/racing motors. They derived that a racing motor with no oil change endures an equivalent to 20k+ miles. Or something to that effect from what I remember reading.
.
