Buy advice? Low mileage BMW but infrequent oil changes

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It's funny how in Europe BMW's are by most people considered to be very reliable. Yet over in the US generally seem to hate them. Do US BMW's get assembled differently to ours? :rolleyes:
 
It's funny how in Europe BMW's are by most people considered to be very reliable. Yet over in the US generally seem to hate them. Do US BMW's get assembled differently to ours? :rolleyes:
different servicing environment. american technicians put a higher value on their labor and skills, and it gets more extreme with less common cars\brands.
 
different servicing environment. american technicians put a higher value on their labor and skills, and it gets more extreme with less common cars\brands.
Not sure you can blame servicing. For the last 10 years most BMW's have done 20k or 2 years between servicing. Far less than they would if they were in the US.
 
Not sure you can blame servicing. For the last 10 years most BMW's have done 20k or 2 years between servicing. Far less than they would if they were in the US.
by servicing i mean any kind of post-warranty repairs. big labor rates (inflated hours) + big parts markup = $$$. this is where the bad reputation of these cars come from.
 
It's funny how in Europe BMW's are by most people considered to be very reliable. Yet over in the US generally seem to hate them. Do US BMW's get assembled differently to ours? :rolleyes:

I think it largely comes from second and (worse yet) third + hand owners who are unwilling or are ignorant as to how to properly take care of the cars, and they also expect to drive them well into high mileage with the ownership costs of a Ford Focus. That's bound to lead to unpleasant results, and of course those must be blamed on the vehicle and then trumpeted all over the internet. Everyone here is a "victim" ya know. :rolleyes:

In the US many of these cars are bought down the line by people who can barely afford to get into the car but they want the "status". My neighbor drives an older Cadillac Escalade and rents a large house in a neighborhood dominated by owners on their third house (read financially well established). I've seen that Caddy towed for being a few hours late on a payment at least two times now, maybe three. Same kind of owner, different make. I honestly feel bad for them, they just don't know any better.
 
I think it largely comes from second and (worse yet) third + hand owners who are unwilling or are ignorant as to how to properly take care of the cars, and they also expect to drive them well into high mileage with the ownership costs of a Ford Focus. That's bound to lead to unpleasant results, and of course those must be blamed on the vehicle and then trumpeted all over the internet. Everyone here is a "victim" ya know. :rolleyes:

In the US many of these cars are bought down the line by people who can barely afford to get into the car but they want the "status". My neighbor drives an older Cadillac Escalade and rents a large house in a neighborhood dominated by owners on their third house (read financially well established). I've seen that Caddy towed for being a few hours late on a payment at least two times now, maybe three. Same kind of owner, different make. I honestly feel bad for them, they just don't know any better.
Exactly; it’s the people who buy BMWs to wear. They cut corners on servicing or neglect it entirely- then they whine and moan when their fashion accessory breaks down. And it’s not just BMWs; I remember a guy at my old indie shop asking if the tech would just replace the pads and rotors on one wheel of his 944 to save a few dollars.
And, as we often see in these threads, there are a lot of “experts”-most of whom have trouble even spelling “BMW”-who repeatedly regurgitate third-hand internet hearsay.
 
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It's funny how in Europe BMW's are by most people considered to be very reliable. Yet over in the US generally seem to hate them. Do US BMW's get assembled differently to ours? :rolleyes:
US cars are sold with more standard options which creates more potential failure points.
Oil leaks from failed gaskets are common and expensive to replace. For example Oil Pan, Valve Cover, Oil Filter Housing gaskets are wear items to be replaced every 50k-100k miles.
Parts are expensive due to comparatively low volume of vehicles sold in the US and the fact that they must be shipped from Europe.
It's expensive to operate a repair shop in the US.

Now would you like to buy my 435i?. It's a 2015 with 59k miles on it. I've replaced the OFHG gasket, valve cover gasket, spark plugs, and had the automatic transmission serviced. I'll let it go for $16k (USD) but you'll have to ship it to the UK. ;)
 
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I would be more worried about the rear subframe to chassis mounting points than the engine. These crack around the bolt holes and if left can cause significant floor pan damage.

get it into a specialist who knows them for a PPI as these cracks can be easily missed if you don’t know where to look. I’ve seen one car you could only see cracks with the subframe removed.

Same specialist should be able to advise on rod bearing issues.
 
I would be more worried about the rear subframe to chassis mounting points than the engine. These crack around the bolt holes and if left can cause significant floor pan damage.

get it into a specialist who knows them for a PPI as these cracks can be easily missed if you don’t know where to look. I’ve seen one car you could only see cracks with the subframe removed.

Same specialist should be able to advise on rod bearing issues.
There's a reinforcement kit for that as well.
 
There's a reinforcement kit for that as well.
Yes, however I have seen the welds then crack after they have been fitted. BMW was putting new rear floor pans into them under warranty then adding a structural foam into the chassis legs! Just something for anyone wanting one of these cars to be aware of before purchase
 
I've got a '97 Ford with 41K miles. Up until 30K miles it got oil changes every 3K miles regardless of elapsed time. Since 30K I've changed the oil every 5K miles regardless of elapsed time so, it's a 24 year old car that's had 12 oil changes. I use 10w40 conventional oil in it. Looking through the oil filler cap at the valve train it's clean enough to eat off of. At least 95% of the time when I take it out it's going to be run long enough to get the oil up to full operating temperature so there's no problem with moisture. When it's not being driven it sits in the garage sometimes weeks/months at a time.

In the case of the BMW 6 oil changes in 40K miles would amount to an oil change interval of approximately 6500 miles on full synthetic. I see nothing there I'd be alarmed about.
 
Congratulations! Your knowledge of BMW maintenance, repairs, and running costs is essentially zero- thus you qualify for the heralded title of BITOG BMW Expert!
You will retain that title in perpetuity as long as you never even sit in a BMW; you must further pledge to take no steps whatsoever to actually learn anything about them.
Well done!!!
Btw...feel free to check with your psychiatrist. I'm thinking your meds may need adjusting.
 
I can't believe it's been a year. I clearly remember responding to the original post (a year ago) as though it was last week. Time flies.
 
I can't believe it's been a year. I clearly remember responding to the original post (a year ago) as though it was last week. Time flies.
I guess we were trolled, guy only stuck around for a few days and hasn't been seen since. I wonder how he made out with it.
 
You’ve lost me at “20 year old”
Owned a 2003 530i, a true bawarian money waste machine
I Owned several BMW and never had issues period full stop. MY son has his own gently used high end vehicles, he drives BMW only, BTW, he stocks MERCEDES TESLA PORCHE Audi Lexus etc
 
It better be cheap. Old BMW's require a lot of care and feeding.

20 years ago, BMW oil change intervals were 15,000 miles (I'm not sure if there was a time requirement). I bought a 2001 BMW 525i that was maintained like that (it was dealer maintained and each visit was documented), it was 5 years old and had 69,000 miles on it. When I changed the oil the first time, (there was still at least one green bar on the service minder), I was shocked to see that the oil filter was covered with coked oil. The oil had completely broken down into hard carbon particles that looked like Folger's Coffee Crystals. I was crushed and was sure that I had just bought the biggest lemon in history. I started shopping for a used engine because I was sure that one was toast. Well, it's good thing I didn't buy that used engine, because we kept that car for another 15 years and put 110,000 more miles on it. That engine was fine. The rest of the car needed a lot of attention, but that engine purred like a kitten the whole time we owned. it.
My first was a 1995 530i stick shift, oil changed only at BMW, yet it had a slight leak, known problem bad pan bolts down again for free
 
I Owned several BMW and never had issues period full stop. MY son has his own gently used high end vehicles, he drives BMW only, BTW, he stocks MERCEDES TESLA PORCHE Audi Lexus etc
THIS IS NOT A TROLL only yesterday read my lips did this car come to my attention !! needs 1 rear strut $150.10 delivered, all other service complete and recorded.
 
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