The love/hate relationship with German cars

Last month marked my 25th year of driving 3 series bmws. Two e30s, an e36, an e46, an e90, and now an f30. (Id give my left nut to have my 318is again)

I usually keep them as long as I can. my F30 only has 81k on it so I’m putting the nasty winter miles on my 248,000 mile 335. Plus rwd is so much more fun than awd!

What‘s fascinating is the consistency in the engineering “language” over time. The e46 doesn’t feel all that different from the f30, except that the modules get smaller over time. And probably easier to work on.

some thins seem to have gotten worse. I’m awaiting a new, custom built amp for my f30 since the oem unit is water damaged and is of worse quality than my e90’s. Don’t get me started on the horrible, dead steering of the f30. Some steps forward, some back.
 
dnewton3 said:
On the topic of "over engineered", that's a matter of perspective IMO.

I'm looking at Lexus and Acura for luxury cars with a hint of performance. I could certainly get quicker, better handling cars from Audi or BMW, but that comes as a cost. The German cars perhaps handle a tad better at the 9/10 or 10/10 level of driving, and the extremely complicated suspension systems and brakes and steering linkages make for the "best" experience at 10/10 driving. But short of that, driving at normal speeds, the Acura and Lexus brands do everything just as well, for less money, with less complication, and WAY more reliability.

It's not that the German cars are bad; that's simply untrue. Most of them are really outstanding performers and very interesting. It's just a matter of how much tolerance one has for fiscal pain after a few years. These high performing German cars get very expensive past year 3.

As has been mentioned, one can lease if you choose to. But even during a lease, you still have more expensive service products (brakes, filters, etc). And, heaven forbid you have an accident during your lease; you will almost certainly be waiting longer for your car to be repaired due to the infamous backlog of German parts supply chain. I know this second-hand due to issues my various friends have had waiting on parts due to accidents. Waiting literally weeks and weeks for simple items at times ... and that was PRE-COVID. So even if you lease a German car, you're not immune to the issues facing those who own. Leasing keeps you inside a warranty period and so WARRANTY parts are not a cost consideration. But SERVICE parts are always a consideration, and ACCIDENT REPAIR parts are always a consideration because cost and timing are not uniquely separated by a lease.
Click to expand...
Actually part of this are not true.
Brakes on BMW are less complicated to service than Toyota. You don’t have 10 or whatever clips for each caliper. When I was changing brakes on Sienna (which happens a lot if driven just a bit harder) I always had to be careful to put all the clips back etc.
On BMW I can do axle on track in 45 minutes, easy peasy. But not only that, ATE replacement rotors I took off few weeks back lasted 35k including 11 track days using track/racing pads. On Toyota I couldn’t get 30k on street without rotors starting to vibrate.
Suspension is also not that complicated, but last longer.
And, Honda/Acura moved to ATE as supplier of brake components in last few years. So, on new Acura you might get same supplier as on BMW, for a reason.
 
antonmnster said:
Last month marked my 25th year of driving 3 series bmws. Two e30s, an e36, an e46, an e90, and now an f30. (Id give my left nut to have my 318is again)

I usually keep them as long as I can. my F30 only has 81k on it so I’m putting the nasty winter miles on my 248,000 mile 335. Plus rwd is so much more fun than awd!

What‘s fascinating is the consistency in the engineering “language” over time. The e46 doesn’t feel all that different from the f30, except that the modules get smaller over time. And probably easier to work on.

some thins seem to have gotten worse. I’m awaiting a new, custom built amp for my f30 since the oem unit is water damaged and is of worse quality than my e90’s. Don’t get me started on the horrible, dead steering of the f30. Some steps forward, some back.
Click to expand...
G20 is big improvement over F30. Problem with F30 is that BMW wanted to get Audi, Lexus and MB audience. So, they made car to satisfy everyone.
Except M sport, I personally wouldn’t get any other F30.
 
As I've worked for a very busy indy for the last 10+ years, located in a neighborhood full of 30 something's that love to show their success, I work on many many European brands. Swedish, German, British, you name it. Heck, my shop used to service an entire fleet of Amphicar 770's! Should anyone be unfamiliar, I'm referring to these abominations:

Amphicar 770

Anyway... in the end, every manufacturer has their quirks. Sure, European (weighted towards German) cars are more of a pain. However, there's also aspects of their engineering which boggle the mind. For every special tool I've purchased purely to service a Euro, there's the opposing Nissan Rogue with it's blower motor mounted deep in the dash. Removing the complete pedal assembly just to service a blower motor? Now THAT'S thinking like a German!
 
I had a decade of moderate, annoying but not debilitating migraines. Then one day they ceased and never came back. Felt relieved after that. Ditto, two Bimmers and one Benz also gone.

Same feeling.
 
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