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September 25, 2006

MWB Doesn't Pick BMWs

A long-neglected category here at MWB, but I've got to put this one out there before another poor soul shells out one more hard-earned cent on a BMW. What's the problem you say?

1: I've had at least 20 minor to major defects in 2 1/2 years of owning the car which I purchased with 9 miles on it. It couldn't have been any newer a car unless I put it together myself in Germany.
2: The "free maintenance" plan is bullshit
-- it's a pain in the ass to get in
-- the BMW paid maintenance is every 15,000 miles. By the time that 15,000 miles is up, the car is falling completely apart. My maintenance is due in 500 miles, my battery light is going on and off, the trunk latch is behaving strangely, the glove compartment lock is broken again, the front end is wiggly, and they won't let me bring it in that 500 miles earlier; I can get the defects handled, but then I gotta go through the pain in the ass process AGAIN to get the oil changed in 500 miles. It's hardly worth the "free" oil change.
3: The brakes are designed to disintigrate every 10,000 miles. I'm about to be on my 3rd set of front brakes. BMW claims this is "by design" and facilitates that famous BMW handling. iGanja has one fo the best handling cars I've ridden in (an Infinity FX),and his brakes don't disintigrate every 10k miles.
4: Side effect of the disintigrating brakes...black brake dust coats the wheels so fast it's hardly worth washing the wheels. Washed them yesterday...they're black already today, I drove 7 miles today.
5: The leather on the seats is as fragile as paper. I carted a 160 pound mastiff around in my Mercedes SL 500; not a scratch on those seats. My 10 pound chihuahua has scratched the hell out of my beemer seats.

I won't even bother to go on. Just trust me...neither Consumer Reports nor MWB recommends BMW automobiles anymore. The handling is nice, it's true, but it's hardly worth allt he crapola you have to put up with just to take a corner 1/50th of a mile faster than a soft Mercedes can take it.

Posted by Michela at September 25, 2006 08:00 AM

Comments

I dunno Michea, I do love my 530I. Nothing but "props" for this car, even with the free maintenance and all that. Sheesh, my Tahoe had the battery totally die on me in front of my house in the first 2 years, and I haven't had a problem with my BMW. I gotta say that the BMW is fine by me. Besides, I do look really cute in it too....

Posted by: Marla at September 24, 2006 08:56 PM

I wondered this on Sunday, as my trunk latch again would not function without holding the key 4 cm from the lock. Maybe I've got a bad apple. Maybe it was put together on Friday afternoon, when the krauts are usually already home...
"Zay haff me verking on zis Friday afftahnoon, agaaaain! I vill show zoes cvazy 'mereecans who buy our cahs! I vill manufactah shit! Zay get shit from me today!"

Posted by: Michela at September 25, 2006 05:07 PM

but then again, like I said, consumer reports doesn't even recommend them anymore--wrote a special little box on "Why we don't recommend the BMW 5-series any longer" or something like that. They wrote there are too many defects, controls are too hard to work (I guess some 5-series have this whacko dial thingie that controls everything), etc etc. So anyway, my experience has NOT been good. God the list of things that have gone wrong WAY outnumbers a single battery problem. Trunk latches...two of them...glove compartment lock, two of them too...3 front brakes, 2 rear brakes, all by 39,000 miles. Serpentine belt. Convertible top motor--TWO OF THEM TOO! Gear box on the automatic shifter needs to be adjusted; unless I jam it into park, I can't get the key out of the ignition.

Need I go on?!

Posted by: Michela at September 25, 2006 05:12 PM

Oh man, don't even get me started on Consumer Reports! Those pig fuckers listed Ford Explorers as the best SUV's in 1998. So being the good little consumer, I buy the car and it turns out to be a total piece of shit. Ford Explorer, shit, more like Ford Exploder! The fuckin' thing stalled on me several times - at intersections I was ready to drive through - and they could never find anything wrong with the damn car at the dealer. I finally get rid of it, because according to my insurance agent, I would be responsible if I get into an accident and Ford hadn't issued a recall on the vehicle. I promptly got rid of it for a 4Runner (which I did love, but got to be too small for me so I replaced it with FB ), only to find out several months later that the assholes at Ford ended up recalling those damn Exploders.

Posted by: Marla at September 26, 2006 08:20 PM

I think your first theory is more accurate: the Germans were pissed they had to work on a Friday.

Posted by: Marla at September 26, 2006 08:21 PM

luv my Infiniti...

Posted by: oh, i ganja at September 27, 2006 11:32 AM

Hmmm. Scorecard for my 4Runner at 83K miles:

1.5 sets of tires,
1 set of front brake pads,
1 air filter,
6 oil changes. That's it.

I haven't done any of the recommended servicing, and it drives like the day I bought it.

I guess now I can safely tell you that I liked your SL way better than your Bimmer ;)

Posted by: sco at October 16, 2006 02:36 AM

Don't even tell me about Toyotas. That's all my Dad can talk about when I mention my car's in the shop (again); "Well I dont' know why you couldn't have gotten a nice Corolla!"

Well for starters pops, that's an oxymoron (4Runner excepted; that's a damn nice cah). However, given the 4 MORE problems I've uncovered SINCE THIS POST, he just might've been right.

Posted by: michela at October 17, 2006 04:31 PM

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