[BMWbiker]

Originally Posted by zeniicap

Hey guys, so obviously by the title i want to buy a secondhand m340i, but my wife HATES bmw because of how ‘unreliable they are’ and how mechanic shops would be ripping me off when there’s problems s. She also doesn’t understand that half of my buddies are mechanics and we’d be doing most of the work on it ourselves. I want to buy this car because of how big the community is and how easy it is to mod them, and it’s a beautiful car. Any tips on what i should say to her to let me buy the damn car? and any tips i should know when looking for a used one would be helpful aswell. Thanks

Here are a few thoughts.

Would this be your primary family car, or your personal fun car? I can understand that your wife would be concerned about being able to get to work on time, pick up the children reliably, etc. So, if it were to be the primary car, you would want to address her concerns effectively. On the other hand, if it will be mainly your fun car, then that is less of a factor. Then again, she might be frustrated if she had to drive you places if your car isn’t working (see below).

Speaking of your wife, what does she drive, if the BMW won’t be the primary vehicle? It is adequate for her needs, and family needs? Is it in good condition?

How are your family finances? Cars are depreciating assets and money pits—a bad combination. BMWs are expensive to buy and expensive to own. As with all cars, the older they get, they more maintenance they need, and the less reliable they become.

If, as someone else mentioned happened to him, the engine were to seize, how badly would that affect your budget? Would it be an inconvenience, or devastating? It can happen with any car, but at least with something like a Toyota or Chevy it’s less expensive to repair or replace.

How are the BMW mechanics in your area? Both independent and dealer?

Many shade tree mechanics think they do good work. A subset of them are correct. How well do you know how to repair BMWs? How well do your friends know?

BMWs have become more and more specialized. My X3 M40i was recently hit by another car. I took it to the best collision repair/restoration shop in the area, a place where my friend takes his Porsche. The shop owner had to hand it off, because his shop is not BMW certified for the aluminum repair work that the car will need (if it isn’t totaled). Now it’s at a BMW shop. You may literally be unable to get parts for the car to work on yourself, if BMW won’t sell them to you.

BMW has done a good job of making an increasingly-reliable product. That said, it is also an increasingly-complicated product. I think back to my youth, and how simple cars were back then: no computers, almost no sensors, far less plumbing. Mind you, cars of yore were also far less reliable, even with the simplicity. But they were easier to maintain, and to fix when something did go wrong.

As someone else mentioned, Consumer Reports makes clear that modern BMWs are reliable. However, you intend to mod the car. That immediately will make the car less reliable. So, again, how much of an inconvenience, or worse, would it be for a modded car to break down, especially since the mods could void any remaining warranty?

How much car can you afford? Can you afford a pristine used car, or do you plan to buy a project car, or something in between? I have owned two BMW cars: a CPO and a new one. The CPO one was very reliable, until a pothole took it out at well over 100,000 miles. The new one is in the shop due to no fault of its own. I can afford them, and I can afford to replace them.

The answers to these questions will help guide you, as you prepare to discuss this with your wife.