[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by fe7565

There is a huge difference between rebuilding a Rochester Quadrajet for a 1983 Camaro in 1988 versus troubleshooting and programming ECUs for today's BMWs (or any modern cars). Most of us cannot acquire all that knowledge from books or friends and the internet has become the go-to...for me at least. I am not a globalist, but I like the idea of learning from and trying to pass on what I learned to others in a larger forum such as this. A way of "crowdsourcing" . IMHO cannot have this much diverse audience and these many DIY problems/solutions in any localized meetups. Meetups are fun/beneficial in their own way.

Being an old codger, I acquired all my initial wrenching skills(?) from books, Chiltons, Haynes, and Bentley for the most part, which was in the 1970 and 1980s. The internet is a great resource with much content, but a lot is published by non-professional sources (me included) and some is not good. Me personally, I can't tolerate internet repair videos on youtoobe. Most are filled with dribble and people wanting to be content stars. When I publish a DIY, I write detailed instructions and try to include the tricks needed to remove parts. A lot of the professional publications tell you to remove parts in their procedures, but they don't tell you how to remove parts. I try to add the how.

But one also needs talent to be a home mechanic and the aptitude for it. My opinion is if one doesn't have a basic understanding of how machines are put together and how fasteners work, it is a big disadvantage.

[mjr24]

I’ve had Benzes and Porsches and Lexus…..I think it actually does help a little to have an active forum. The MBworld site doesn’t have nearly the amount of traffic it used to so it was a problem getting replies to stuff when I had a AMG GT and a bit more frustrating to figure out issues or questions with the car. ClubLexus was really good when I was on there but that was 20 years ago.

[NSXR]

It would depend on the specific car.

The F87 has very few issues, and very little maintenance, but there are BMW's that I wouldn't consider owning without a message board like Bimmerpost or at least a decent Facebook page.

[MaxVO2]

Originally Posted by mjr24

I’ve had Benzes and Porsches and Lexus…..I think it actually does help a little to have an active forum. The MBworld site doesn’t have nearly the amount of traffic it used to so it was a problem getting replies to stuff when I had a AMG GT and a bit more frustrating to figure out issues or questions with the car. ClubLexus was really good when I was on there but that was 20 years ago.

****I still have a Benz and am on MBworld and it doesn't get even *remotely* the amount of traffic as we do here.

There are a few people there very knowledgeable about their cars but most people don't seem to do any work on their cars or have any idea how anything works beyond driving it. Just an observation.

[TodmordenLad]

I wouldn't gave done any mods without this forum and would have saved myself a pretty penny!
I haven't been in a bmw, however, since I sold my 440i at the beginning of 2020. The design of their non-M cars these days leaves a lot to be desired but there's no doubt in my mind that bmw makes the best drivetrains, having owned cars from all the premium manufacturers going back many decades.

[BMWCCA1]

I've owned BMWs since over a decade before there was an Internet, much less this forum.
For me the question is would such a forum exist or would BMW be what it is today without loyal owners like me who have owned their cars and bikes since before there was a BMW of North America?

[DocL]

Forums don't make a difference for the cars I decide to own. In the 80's you had to figure it out on your own, or through books and magazines.

[FSHNGRY]

I joined years ago because of @tighte with his supercharged E92 build that was absolutely nuts. Interesting question you ask - because this forum is quite literally 1 of 2 forums I read. I'm torn... I'd hate to have to show how low I'm hanging all over again (kidding)

I love this forum. The night time when I read with a glass of wine is what I look forward to. Love you all

[fe7565]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

I've owned BMWs since over a decade before there was an Internet, much less this forum.
For me the question is would such a forum exist or would BMW be what it is today without loyal owners like me who have owned their cars and bikes since before there was a BMW of North America?

My fiend in his teens in Budapest back in the 80s had a WWII BMW bike he was restoring. It looked like a brute classic...I wish I would know what model it was... I was too young at the time to comprehend the value of such bike.

[JohnBMW]

Yes. I’ve got to an age where I stick to what I know and I know what I like!

I’ve enjoyed all my BMW’s and although I’ve thought about other brands and I know there are some great cars out there I keep going for another BMW when the time comes to change the car.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by afadeev

Coding and tool support for BMW ecosystem is unusually broad and enticing, compared to other OEMs.

Coding is a much bigger requirement for BMWs than other makes. In 4 years of driving and tracking my BRZ I only ever used the OBD for oil temperature monitoring on track. With my E93 I need some reading/coding for every little thing.

To the point of the post, having such a massive community certainly helped with making the decision to get an aging German "luxury" car. However, I will say that for the E9x at least, the forums are not as active as they appear at first glance. Many new posts don't get responses, and older content is often outdated, for a different version (try finding N55 specific troubleshooting) or outright wrong. I guess that's the nature of 15-20 year old models. Even with all this, the BMW community is still a much better place for DIY and driving enthusiast than Mercedes, Lexus or Audi (or even Porsche, who are split between "take it to the dealer" and track rats boring out engines in their driveway).

[Chihuahua]

I got into BMW in the mid-90s, and I got on the Roadfly forums at the time. The internet as we all know it was just coming into proliferation - to put it into context I remember being able to go to Ebay, type in 'BMW', and getting less than 10 pages of hits...

So, yes I would still be a BMW enthusiast with or without this forum. I am glad it exists though.

[fs1977]

I'm here because I like the car, not the other way around. It's nice to have an active community to get some tips and tricks, but for me that's not something I would base my car choice on.

[BMWbiker]

Originally Posted by fe7565

My fiend in his teens in Budapest back in the 80s had a WWII BMW bike he was restoring. It looked like a brute classic...I wish I would know what model it was... I was too young at the time to comprehend the value of such bike.

Was it a sidecar rig formerly used in the army? Then it was probably an R75 Military.

[tturedraider]

I think I probably can’t answer this question, because Bimmerfest is what initially pushed me to take the plunge and buy my first Bimmer, a 2000 E46 328i. I found the forums as a result of the Susan G Komen For The Cure BMW Ultimate Drive that used to tour dealers all around the country. I don’t remember how I discovered it, but for at least five years I did it in Dallas/Fort Worth. There are about six BMW dealers in the metroplex and I used to follow the event around to each dealership. Then when the 2006 E90 came out BMW had a special event at the Texas Motor Speedway and I drove a 330i with the new N52 motor. We got to drive on a stretch of I-35 with very little traffic and my dad had gone with me to the event and he drove over 100 mph, which I had never seen him do. And, of course, the motor and the drive was like slicing butter with a hot knife. That got me looking for a BMW forum. Back then Bimmerfest was the go to forum and Bimmerpost was where all the modders posted. In conjunction with finding Bimmerfest I found E46Fanatics and after six months I decided to take the plunge with my E46 328i. Then I did something I’d never done before and after only six months with the 328i I had become completely enamored with the ZHP and I sold my 328i and flew to Tucson, AZ to pick up an off lease 2004 Imola Red over Natural Brown leather ZHP!! I got a good deal on it because it was slightly higher mileage, about 53k miles, but it was a thoroughly reconditioned and freshly maintained CPO and the lessee was a dealership CA who had a long highway commute to the dealership. Without a doubt the forums have influenced my purchase decisions. I probably would have stayed with BMW without the forums, but without the forums I wouldn’t be as knowledgeable about BMWs and, therefore, I wouldn’t have made a couple of purchase decisions that were influenced by the things I learned on the forums.

[fe7565]

Originally Posted by BMWbiker

Was it a sidecar rig formerly used in the army? Then it was probably an R75 Military.

I don’t remember with certainty, but I think it was one that you can attach a side car to. But he didn’t have a side car, only the bike. But it was definitely in military colors, and it was really impressive to see such a machinery compared to the eastern block socialist junk engines.

[fe7565]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

I think I probably can’t answer this question, because Bimmerfest is what initially pushed me to take the plunge and buy my first Bimmer, a 2000 E46 328i. I found the forums as a result of the Susan G Komen For The Cure BMW Ultimate Drive that used to tour dealers all around the country. I don’t remember how I discovered it, but for at least five years I did it in Dallas/Fort Worth. There are about six BMW dealers in the metroplex and I used to follow the event around to each dealership. Then when the 2006 E90 came out BMW had a special event at the Texas Motor Speedway and I drove a 330i with the new N52 motor. We got to drive on a stretch of I-35 with very little traffic and my dad had gone with me to the event and he drove over 100 mph, which I had never seen him do. And, of course, the motor and the drive was like slicing butter with a hot knife. That got me looking for a BMW forum. Back then Bimmerfest was the go to forum and Bimmerpost was where all the modders posted. In conjunction with finding Bimmerfest I found E46Fanatics and after six months I decided to take the plunge with my E46 328i. Then I did something I’d never done before and after only six months with the 328i I had become completely enamored with the ZHP and I sold my 328i and flew to Tucson, AZ to pick up an off lease 2004 Imola Red over Natural Brown leather ZHP!! I got a good deal on it because it was slightly higher mileage, about 53k miles, but it was a thoroughly reconditioned and freshly maintained CPO and the lessee was a dealership CA who had a long highway commute to the [...]

I can absolutely feel your “need for speed” that you experienced with your father on that open highway. I was stationed in Germany in 1998 and although I had a Firebird, I was able to let it go at maximum speed it could handle. It was a really Intense experience that that I’m glad I survived…now in retrospect. Of course, I could only do max speed at relatively straight, but short stretches of the road with almost no other cars around. And I would never go that fast here in the US where the highways are not built for that speed, and one bump can make you go airborne and flip the car.

It was then when I understood what aerodynamics means, because when I went above approximately 120 mph (if I remember correctly). the car became glued to the highway. It felt like flying an airplane, (which, I never did) as the dynamic suction etc forces kept the car straight (as if) like you said “ slicing through butter”.

[M3Sleeper]

We have a great community I don't care what anyone says BMW drivers are a fun group to be around and for the most part quite refined and successful.

Everyone who loves modding will fit right in as well because our cars have the best parts and tons of options.

I'm deep in the BMW fam now with 3 of my own and 6 across my immediate family

[bmfanatic]

I do car wholesale for a living, grew up in a Bmw/German car family. I drive all sorts of « luxury » cars, always come back to Bmw. Can’t speak of the x1 or 4 door 2 series but when you tried pretty much all the brands you can tell Bavaria makes something special.

[fe7565]

Originally Posted by bmfanatic

I do car wholesale for a living, grew up in a Bmw/German car family. I drive all sorts of « luxury » cars, always come back to Bmw. Can’t speak of the x1 or 4 door 2 series but when you tried pretty much all the brands you can tell Bavaria makes something special.

Is it the drivability, looks, or feature adding. or else that brings you back?

[bmfanatic]

Originally Posted by fe7565

Is it the drivability, looks, or feature adding. or else that brings you back?

It’s the whole package, mainly powertrain (nothing is that smooth) steering feel and the ride quality/handling. I drive anywhere from 70 to 80000km/year so overall comfort and functionality is prime. Audi feels generic, except for RS, same with Mercedes you have to sit in a Gle53 to feel a little of what an x5 40i gives you. When you start driving a BMW you understand. It’s not a matter of standing for me, I like cars but when you sell so many you start to care less about them. I also have a very unpopular opinion that (most) porches are overrated and overpriced.