BMW most expensive brand to maintain?

[Oli77]

I am not sure I agree with the number listed here.

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/the-most-and-least-expensive-cars-to-maintain-by-maddy-martin

Data in there is recent, perhaps was already discussed.

[danewilson77]

I would think Jaguar would be up there.

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[BMWCurves]

I would think Jaguar would be up there.

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And Land Rover.

And anything British.

[danewilson77]

And Land Rover.

And anything British.
And..... Lol

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[az3579]

I am in complete agreement with how expensive BMW's are to properly maintain. I don't know if I agree with it being so far above the others though.

[704sw]

And Land Rover.

And anything British.

(Despite my best efforts to discourage it) my brother had a Land Rover LR3 when it was still a current model. Jesus Christ that thing made all 3 BMWs in our family seem like we were maintaining Hondas.


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[dpark]

I have only owned Hondas/Acuras or BMWs and there is no comparison for maintenance costs.

Oil changes are 1/3 the cost, standard 30K mileage maintenance is about 1/2 the cost. Tire replacements are 1/2 the cost. I used to pay $75/tire for Yokohama AVS-Intermediates that were friggin awesome on my Integra, I have paid $200+/tire for Michelin Pilot sports.

But I love my e46...

[san]

It will be interesting to find out how they got the data. I just saw the tables so if it's in the article then I missed it. If the people who gave them the BMW costs are people like us then I'm not surprised, because we go above an beyond to replace stuff that "might" break. Basically if the data is all from non-enthusiasts then I guess it's fair but if it's isn't then I don't think it's a fair comparison...


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[az3579]

It will be interesting to find out how they got the data. I just saw the tables so if it's in the article then I missed it. If the people who gave them the BMW costs are people like us then I'm not surprised, because we go above an beyond to replace stuff that "might" break. Basically if the data is all from non-enthusiasts then I guess it's fair but if it's isn't then I don't think it's a fair comparison...


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I'd imagine places don't typically get data from enthusiasts for reasons like this. The super high costs for BMW is probably also attributed to how much money dealerships and shops in general charge for labor alongside the already excessive part pricing. In the text it also said it factored in transmission rebuilds and stuff like that. When you take these things into account, it drives prices through the roof. Your average Joe isn't going to go look for a junkyard transmission and install it himself; he's going to have a shop diagnose and repair/replace the transmission, which can easily triple the price of the job.

[BMWM3186]

Remind me in 9 years and 9 months and I'll come back to this thread and say if it's accurate or not. I can tell you from looking at the previous owners maintenance ledger that he didn't spend anywhere near $17k at the dealer from the past 12 years

[az3579]

Remind me in 9 years and 9 months and I'll come back to this thread and say if it's accurate or not. I can tell you from looking at the previous owners maintenance ledger that he didn't spend anywhere near $17k at the dealer from the past 12 years


Conversely, I know a couple of people who spend a good 2 grand on their cars every year to year-and-a-half. One is an E83 X3 and the other is an E90.

[johnrando]

Think about things like this: how many cars you can turn the rotors and just do brake pads? In BMWs, you buy whole new rotors. As well, little things like oil changes are indeed cheaper on Hondas and domestic cars than on BMW's & Euros. It all adds up. But, with a DIY E46 that certainly changes the equation doesn't it.

And take Aston Martins for example, when they were owned by Ford, Ford added a lot of process Improvement to their build practice. So now, even though they are hand-built, they are much more efficiently and more accurately built to spec and therefore more reliable.

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[704sw]

Conversely, I know a couple of people who spend a good 2 grand on their cars every year to year-and-a-half. One is an E83 X3 and the other is an E90.

E83 owner checking in: this car would've ruined me without the extended warranty I bought from the dealer. Sunroof drains, the shit-tastic GM transmission, transfer case, and sunroof cassette failure are all known failure points on top of the regular N52 issues. It drives so well when it's right, but I will never buy another AWD vehicle because of that car.

[Vas]

Most people do not DYI. I bought an e46 just for the fact that I would be able to do repairs myself and parts are easily purchased.

I can see that it would be expensive to maintain with dealer visits especially with the new cars.

[dpark]

Remind me in 9 years and 9 months and I'll come back to this thread and say if it's accurate or not. I can tell you from looking at the previous owners maintenance ledger that he didn't spend anywhere near $17k at the dealer from the past 12 years

I am a relative newbie here, and I'm at work, not at some so I don't have access to all my maintenance records, but just on tires alone, I have to be at close to $4k since I have my e46 (not spending top $$$ on tires anymore). Oil changes 2x/year at $200/year (rounding up from $89 just to be easier), that gets to $2k (subtracting for free oil changes during first 4 years and the oil changed during inspections) that alone gets you a third of the way there. When you add in brake jobs, FCABs, several Inspection 2s and then new fuel pump, alternator, cooling system refresh, spark plugs at 100K etc. not hard to see getting to $15K easy.

Rough math, and I could be wrong on some costs (just working off of memory)

Assuming 12k miles per year and nothing need repair other than major wear and tear items:

New set of tires every 2 years: $1000 (so in 12 years = $6000)
2 oil changes per year $200 (so in 12 years = $2400)
Inspection every 5 years @60k miles $600 (so in 12 years 2 of them for $1200)
Brakes every 30k miles rear, 45k miles front at $450 each (for 12 years $1800 for fronts, $1350 rears, $3150 total)

$12,750 for service and wear and tear items (everyone will need tires and brakes).

Throw in a few problems, $17k isn't a huge stretch (FCABs, alternator, fuel pump, FSR, VCG, cooling system, batteries, wiper blades, windshield washer pumps)

[hickatew]

Just subscribing to see what other people say about frequency of maintenance on brakes, tires, cooling, etc. :)

[BMWM3186]

Conversely, I know a couple of people who spend a good 2 grand on their cars every year to year-and-a-half. One is an E83 X3 and the other is an E90.
I can see that one the newer ones with growing complexity, I considered a 335 but wanted to avoid it for the reason that the e46 is probably cheaper to keep on the road.

As far as normal wear and tear maitenance I don't see how it would be significantly more than another similar type vehicle. Minus the fact that these cars probably have more bushings to wear out than something like an accord. Also the cooling system in the BMWs don't seem to last as long but unlike Hondas they don't have the $1k timing belt replacement every 100k miles so that doesn't set the cost for the bmw back much. I can't speak for brake rotor/pad life either as I haven't had the car that long, but the brakes on these cars are larger than a lot of small SUVs so wouldn't that equate to less wear overtime as they are under less stress? Not sure. I'm sure my e46 will cost more to maintain than something like an accord but 4 times as much seems like a stretch. Then you add in the factor of stuff breaking and the equation becomes more complicated. If you want to go by this
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2017/02/22/porsche-lexus-toyota-tops-dependability-study/98239954/ that puts bmw only 11% below Toyota in the rankings for issues and places them above Honda. Frankly I don't think any of these surveys are accurate, lots of them tell completely different stories.

[mercury26]

I did not see Porsche on the list, maintaining my 1982 911SC was WAY too expensive. Let alone trying to find CIS injection parts that they do not make any longer (and the rebuilt are crap). A big reason I sold it two years back.

[cakM3]

I call BS on this list.....there, I said it...


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[Garagebound]

Where's the list that ranks by driving enjoyment?

[Oli77]

That's a different list but good point!

[tomnobes]

I also think the numbers could be partially skewed in the sense that people (usually) drive BMWs harder than most other cars simply cause they are that enjoyable. Idk about you but when I'm behind the wheel of a BMW I feel more of an urge to drive fast and hard into corners. Because of this, I would assume a lot more BMW drivers are changing out shocks, struts, bushings...etc simply because we want them to drive they way the originally did. Along with this I do agree with previous comments in that if you take your car to the dealership the price can be 3x that of DIY. And some models such as the e65, turbo e90s... are going to have much higher costs than an e36 and e46.

[Sailor]

A major portion of repair costs is usually labor. If you can DIY it makes a tremendous difference (but of course this applies to any brand.) For me, much of the pleasure of having the car is working on it, maintaining it, and sometimes improving it. Plus, when working on it you sometimes spot potential problem issues. Unlike many here, I can't afford a new (or even low-mileage) car. Usually, when shopping I'm looking at circa 100k mile cars that have been well maintained. Because I plan to keep them a while, I put only the best parts on them and count on the quality of the car to give me back many miles of satisfactory service. It doesn't bother me when I have to replace wearing parts - I can handle the cost unless it all comes at one time. When I read of someone having a 2 or 3 thousand dollar repair bill, it sounds almost foreign to me. Rebuilding the front end on my E36 cost under 500 bucks. Doing the water pump (the best one Turner sells), tensioner, belts, and hoses was about 300. Labor was free and I knew a lot more about my car afterward. Factory parts are expensive, but you are paying for that beautiful showroom and other overhead.