Do not buy a BMW > 3yrs old??

[Yaloryalor]

> 3 years is 4 years or 5 years?

 

Of cos the older the car, the cheaper it is and the cost of changing the parts are more frequent as wear and tear.

 

Few months ago, I also have the idea of buying 2~3 years old A4 or 320. Esp for A4, many say the maintenance cost is very high for old A4.. New one cant afford, so wat to do?

 

It also very much depend on the previous owner. Heng or sway also..

[Throttle2]

I was recently thinking to get a used ' 04-05 BMW 520i/ 523i or when my colleague advised me not to get a BMW that is more than 3 yrs old.

He said that BMWs will function prefectly for the first 3 yrs and then problems will start to come in after that.

 

Are there any truths in this?

 

your colleague sour grapes maybe?

most people who tell me that, always say their friend say or their uncle had problems etc.... none of them ever owned a BMW even.

 

I've owned old Contis and Japanese cars before.

What matters more is the mileage and the history of the car.

[Curahee]

My FD now gg 3rd yr liao, lets see whether true or not.

[Apollo]

no truth for most type of car as equipment r spec'd for reliability. most cars in SG adapted for urban driving which is less harmful envirnment compared to MY where they hv lotsa potholes, long dist, etc.

 

if the car has been well maintain prior. it will last u for another 3 more yr easily.

 

but of cos equipment failure are ultimately unavoidable esp with usage, driving style, lifespan and external faxtor. buying new cars merely reduces tat risk of getting a lemon.

[Puffer_fish]

this is my 4 bmw, there is no such thing, my previous cabrio hit 200k milage and all i change was a alternator , the cabrio is currently on the car mart on sale by the guy who bought from me

 

no point talking to people who have never own a bmw , just talk only. when a guy make a statement on any car be it bmw or honda, ask him show you his car key,if not just talk

Edited June 20, 2008 by Puffer_fish

[Throttle2]

Yeah, I had an 8 yr old BMW coupe until the last few months of COE before I sold it to dealer.

 

the only things i changed are Sachs performance sus. haha.

 

Now my 5er turning 3.5yrs still in 100% perfect running condition.

Mileage 58,000km, serviced and groomed at PML and BVO, JuzzforCars

 

it's not the age, it's the mileage and history (maintenance and type of usage)

[Throttle2]

your ex?

320ci silver/Grey with light tan seats?

[Puffer_fish]

cannot say the guy still trying to sell sorry

[Throttle2]

huh, why not?

number of owners

mileage etc...all cannot hide right?

[Hoppie24]

U want to know ah? Buy one to see whether it's myth or truth lor.

 

Since warranty by AD is over. Outside workshop labour & parts are not as ex as AD's. But I dunno whether outside workshop have the BMW's diagnostic kits to troubleshoot. It's all $$$ issue. If u can keep up & live with it, sure, anything will be fine.

 

What I dun like are the diagnostic system they developed in European cars. The extra wiring and computers added supposed to troubleshoot faster and shorten servicing time(reduce labour cost) but bcos of the technology used the cost of these extra gadgets goes to the consumer.

 

The strategy works in their favour, not only consumers have to return to AD for servicing(cos outside workshop got no diagnostic kit to troubleshoot), they can service more cars in a given amount of time.

 

Not true, my friend used to have a E36, he brought it to a Workshop specialist in Bimmers at Sing Ming BVO, they have the diagnostic device, i was amaze by how this device works well with a 15years old car!

Edited June 20, 2008 by Hoppie24

[Rochelle]

cars are like humans, got prob no see doc, prolong liao might become 4th stage cancer, discover early got cure and spend less money =) cars the same too, take good care of them, they will love you back, bmws is realiable if you sayang sayang =)

[Route88]

A good maintained car will last longer,maybe he heard many BMW car catch fire

[Route88]

any car will have problem be it less than 12 mths or more than 3yrs if the owner does not maintain the car.

 

Friends Father-in-law has never changed his Altis engine oil in 3 yrs, maybe just top up.

 

but the car has neber been into workshop for servicing since he drove it out of borneo.

 

suprisingly it still runs well, jus tat car vibrate more n gear shifting is rougher.

 

his reason ? car is ur slave, you need not take care of it, jus drive till spoil

 

Nowadays only a few will follow his bo chap attitute. Car need servicing,if he go on like tat...master will become slave sending car in/out to workshop

[Santa]

MASTER DEEP POCKET LA - so he just scrap and out new car - dun even bother with the body value but maybe apply to atlis . if he drive bmw - he sure become slave at times to change oil

Edited June 20, 2008 by Santa

[Whiteice78]

Years ago when I got my first car, I chose a 6 year old e36 318is coupe. It came with 160k on the odo. When I fired her up, black smoke was bellowing out of the modified exhaust that it came with.

 

However, due to some strange reason, I still bought it, or rather, my dad. Subsequently, I sent it to performance to get it all straightened out. The replacement costs of various parts came up to 2k plus over 2 visits. Thereafter, every 8k, i would go back for servicing and since then, nothing broke down for the next 3 1/2 years. I used it till 236k milege when it was finally exported to malaysia.

 

My mum also bought a used e39 523 (3 1/2 yrs old when bought). This had only 30k on it and with regular servicing, no major problems with the car till it was sold 2 years later.

 

It's the maintenance, not the car. BMWs are pretty good cars. You won't regret the 520 though a 525 would be sweeter.

[Chickenbackside]

U want to know ah? Buy one to see whether it's myth or truth lor.

 

Since warranty by AD is over. Outside workshop labour & parts are not as ex as AD's. But I dunno whether outside workshop have the BMW's diagnostic kits to troubleshoot. It's all $$$ issue. If u can keep up & live with it, sure, anything will be fine.

 

What I dun like are the diagnostic system they developed in European cars. The extra wiring and computers added supposed to troubleshoot faster and shorten servicing time(reduce labour cost) but bcos of the technology used the cost of these extra gadgets goes to the consumer.

 

The strategy works in their favour, not only consumers have to return to AD for servicing(cos outside workshop got no diagnostic kit to troubleshoot), they can service more cars in a given amount of time.

It seems you have not owned a BMW before since you made this statement.

 

Outside workshops have diagnostic tools that are capable of doing anything AD can. During the ownership of my ex car, I went to PML to request for certain things to be reprogrammed to my liking, like not wanting the doors to lock by themselves after moving off and disabling the need to press unlock twice to open all 4 doors. They wanted to charge me for it.

 

Forget it, I went to outside workshop at Sin Ming for an oil change. The workshop did it for me. No charge. Boss even taught me how to use the diagnostic tool.

[inlinesix]

I juz bought YOM 2002 E39 520 3 mths. It got 110k km when i bought it. It is sweet ride. I juz changed 4 tires & Inspection II on d 1st mth. My only prob is voltage regulator of alternator gave up. Changed d alternator & battery. Took back d old alternator 4 recon.

 

Maintenance BMW is like maintenance of an airplane. Change things b4 it broke down & d ride will bring smile 2 u everyday. Juz go to BMW SG month end meetup next Sunday @ ka park opp. Kallang Leisure mall 2 talk 2 owners. Time is from 4pm onwards.

[Ah_tee]

i believe jap cars are more reliabel than they are before.

 

 

sadly with the high cost of living, none of us dare to take on these kind of risks, so we become slaves to the maintenance schedules.

 

that altis is still running strong till today, so hes been there , done it, wad can we say ?

 

forgot to mention hes one of the 1st generation Engineers when SIA was newly setup.

 

i asked the same questions, being the pioneer in sg aviation engineering, how can he not take serviving seriously?

 

maybe hes really too bo chup,

 

maybe its us worrying too much and get pwned by our servicing schedules