Bought the New 7 Series

[euphoria]

I get very surprised when people write about problems w/ their BMW's. This is my 3rd BMW and the 5th BMW among me and my fiance. I've had a 3 series, a 5 series, now a 7 series, and my fiance had a 3 series and a Z4. So in short I've had 5 BMW experiences in a matter of 6 years and never had any electrical problems in any of them.
There are a few things to remember guys:
1) European designed cup holders are not designed to hold a gallon size container from am/pm or 7/11 full of ice and coke. BMW's are designed in Europe where people don't really drink big gulp size sugary drinks or coffee's in a 20 oz cup. They are designed to hold smaller portions, not the way Americans eat and drink. So next time don't put a half gallon jug in there and expect it to hold
2) I sometimes get sick of people saying "my such and such car has less problems than a BMW". Well if a corolla or a Geo had so many features and technological advances in it, so many things that are displayed and alerted to you, it would have a lot more problems than a BMW. The less features and complex a car is built, the less electrical problems it will have. In olddddd cars you don't have much info wired to you except your speed and RPM, hence no electrical problems. The sits are also hand adjustable, so no electrical wiring.
BMW (or other cars of that level) have all kinds of data and sensors giving you round the clock info about the car, so something's bound to go wrong once in a while and not work. A sit w/ a few dozen sitting adjustments is going to be more complex in terms of circuitry and mechanical parts, hence break down more often than a sit w/ just a few up and down and back and forward motions.
So you can't really compare one simple car to a complex car and say "oh it doesn't have any problems".
Plus BMW is one of only 2 or 3 companies that offers warranty and free service for 4 yrs/50000 miles.
Anyways I've vented enough. You guys want to know tire pressure, outside temp, have all kinds of toys in the car, navigation, fancy sits that cool you down in summer and warm you in winter, and a steering wheel that warms your hands in winter, voice activated features, bluetooth phones, yet you don't think how complex that is and things are bound to go wrong.
Lates :happy:

 

[fishman830]

I've got myself a 1986 528e, and i love "her" to death, only problem is she smelled of gas, the carbeurator was leaking.. the hose leading to it anyway, but that hose had been in there for what... 18 years? 1,200 bucks.. not a bad buy at all 217k miles

 

[benj2112]

How big are the tires on the new 7 series? I saw one and the tires looked huge on it. It had an interesting body too that seemed pretty different from past ones. I am not sure if I liked it (I have only seen that one, though).

 

[tangman99]

I can't knock BMW too bad as I do like mine alot. Actually, my wife likes it a lot as it is hers. If we did not, we would sell it and get something else. Not much drives and rides like a BMW.
Now I have to disagree (respectfully of course) about the cup holders. They are just so flimsy it difficult to get anything in them. The only thing I ever put in them is a coke can and you almost have to use 2 hands. We've only broke one in 4 years.
There are a lot of cars out there also that are just as sophisticated electronically as my 5 series that are a lot more reliable. We looked into buying a Lexus RX330 and every feature our 5 series had was offered and more. The ******** quality was very surprising. My wife did not like the ride though. After all, it is an SUV.
My Corvette has a more complex electronic and computer system than my BMW has and the traction control system is much more complex. Reliability in both has been about the same with BMW probably a little bettter and they both cost about the same thing.
I do have lots of friends with BMWs also and some have had no problems and some have more than I. I do agree you do have to compare apples to apples.
Although I don't plan on buying another one, I don't plan on getting of mine anytime soon either. It is a nice car overall.

 

[fishkiller]

My dad has had a GT2 for about 2 years now. He loves it. He wants to race me, but I need some work done before that happens. If I get him tore-up enough, I could probably get him to go title for title.... I'll throw some crisco down in front of his tires before we race!!!

Oh, and you guys were talking about expensive oil changes??? HAHAHAHA!!!!!

 

[euphoria]

Have you driven or sat in an american car after it has had some mileage on it? Everything rattles and shakes and is loose. There's absolutely no craftsmanship, no quality.
As far as the cupholders, the 5 series cupholders aren't all that, I agree, but the 3 series and especially the 7 series ones are deep holes and can't be broken.
At the end you get what you paid for. A cupholder may suck, it may have an electrical problem, but when you drive a over 4000 lbs car that handles like a 2500 lb coupe, that's when you say "oh yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa money well spent"

 

[jacknjill]

my mom drives a mercedes. she loves it and we are getting a bigger one soon.
EUPHORIA, i agree with you completely. an old honda (in most cases) is a piece of crap that rattles, creaks, leaks, and everything. an old mercedes or BMW runs like new. you just cant beat a european car. they are amazing quality.

 

[jacknjill]

Originally posted by Fishman830
I've got myself a 1986 528e, and i love "her" to death, only problem is she smelled of gas, the carbeurator was leaking.. the hose leading to it anyway, but that hose had been in there for what... 18 years? 1,200 bucks.. not a bad buy at all 217k miles
my mom is gonna get me an old mercedes when the time comes. i cant wait.

 

[tangman99]

Originally posted by EUPHORIA
Have you driven or sat in an american car after it has had some mileage on it? Everything rattles and shakes and is loose. There's absolutely no craftsmanship, no quality.
I've owned many American cars and you are absolutely correct. They are built to cut corners and cost as much as possible. That is why we bought the BMW in the first place. We were pretty much sick of American car quality. I did buy the Corvette after that, but there is no other car that offers that much performance bang for the buck. It has had it's problems but having the extended warranty makes it more of a nousance. When the extended warranty is up, it's gone. My next car is the Porsche 911.
[At the end you get what you paid for. A cupholder may suck, it may have an electrical problem, but when you drive a over 4000 lbs car that handles like a 2500 lb coupe, that's when you say "oh yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa money well spent"
Yes Sir! It handles like a dream and I don't even have the sports package. I took the West Virginia Turnpike through the mountains at 95 mph except for really sharp turns and it was a blast. I could not get the grin off my face. Like I said, I don't plan on getting rid of it any time soon and it is no longer under warranty. That says alot as I've never kept a car when the warranty is out. It is definitely one of the best cars I've owned and is high quality. My wife and I just can't help but laugh when we pull out the cup holder and look at this thing hanging out over a $500 dollar piece of burl wood.

 

[motohead]

tell you what,ill take a ford f250 with a powerstroke anyday over a bmw.i know i am talking trucks versus sporty cars,but ya gotta love looking down on people in their lil cars from a big ol truck.also had an 86 f250,it was 95 when i had it,150,000 miles on it and it did not shake rattle.it did roll though.........

 

[euphoria]

Originally posted by motohead
tell you what,ill take a ford f250 with a powerstroke anyday over a bmw.i know i am talking trucks versus sporty cars,but ya gotta love looking down on people in their lil cars from a big ol truck.also had an 86 f250,it was 95 when i had it,150,000 miles on it and it did not shake rattle.it did roll though.........
What kick do you get out of looking down on people in lil cars? Plus it's not the size that counts, it's the performance :scared:

 

[fishkiller]

moto- I bet when I jump out of my little car, I'll have a good time looking down at you. Some people don't need big trucks. Some do. I'll leave it at that.

 

[ctm474]

Originally posted by tony detroit
I love little schoolboys with Honda Civics that have watched Fast and Furious too many times.
BMW is a nice ride.
I agree with both of those statements...I have an '04 Cobra and i can't count the number of times somebody pulls up on the side of my with either a Civic or an Eclipse wanting to race. They rev the engine - kind of sounds like a lawnmower - I just let them speed off, my insurance is already high enough without the speeding tickets. Congrats though, nice ride.

 

[euphoria]

Originally posted by ctm474
I agree with both of those statements...I have an '04 Cobra and i can't count the number of times somebody pulls up on the side of my with either a Civic or an Eclipse wanting to race. They rev the engine - kind of sounds like a lawnmower - I just let them speed off, my insurance is already high enough without the speeding tickets. Congrats though, nice ride.
I love the way their bumpers shake and wave in the wind as they drive 50 mph on the fwy on the highest gear. Whoever coined the term "fartcan" for those exhausts is a genius

 

[socer03dud]

civickid Do you know what BMW stands for
Baverian Motor Works Which means trash car. Dont waste your money on one.
It's Bavarian Motor Works and that doesn't mean trash car.... Bavarian is a dialect of German..... Their really nice cars

 

[motohead]

guess ya'll took "looking down"a bit too seriously.i did'nt mean looking down on them as a person,just meant looking down size wise"cars size".but i guess you guys can take it how ya see it.hmmm,euphoria,performance you say......let' see,can your beamer,which by the way,i always liked the 5 and seven series,but i am thinkin,"performance wise",can your car yank around a mobile home or a backhoe?i guess you will get lucky if you can pull a jetski.course,we are talkin luxury sport cars versus a truck.so any performance comparison goes out the window.sheesh,why do i get in so much trouble by what i mean to be a innocuos statement?

 

[motohead]

oh ya,fishkiller.i am about 6'4" or 6'5".lotta people in this world have a hard time ,"looking down at me"as you so eloquently put it.lessun you got me beat there,don't reckon thats gonna be happenin anytime soon.

 

[jacknjill]

dont take this the wrong way, but if you drive a BMW, chances are you wont be needing to move a mobil home or a backhoe

 

[motohead]

true there,guess if ya got one you can probably afford to have someone do it for ya.one other thing,my truck ain't gonna get stuck either. or flooded in rains.

 

[jacknjill]

or you could do what my parents did. mom bought a mercedes and dad bought a big truck. dad paid the truck off and bought a bigger mercedes and kept the truck