Originally Posted By: Gixxer8989
Life is too short to drive boring cars. I've owned just about every make there is but I'm staying with euro cars from now on. We own 4 euros, 3 of them are bimmers. Next vehicles on the to buy list either a mercedes or bmw SUV for the wife, then an M5 or E series for me. If going with BMW stick with the straight 6. If you can't shop around for parts ( rock auto) or do any of your own work, it's going to cost you. For example and actuator for my awd bmw was $ 1600 plus 2 hrs at the dealer. Ordered from rock auto for 400 and installed myself. Saved 1600. There's nothing like a euro car, they have character and soul. They will probably need more repairs and cost more but for me it's worth it. If it's not for you, it's not for you. I'm NOT driving until my dying day in a fkn beige Corolla ( no offense they are great cars).
Being able to DIY is the difference between being able to own a German car, and feeling like it is a huge money pit.
My GF has a 2006 BMW 325xi. It has close to 130k miles on it and has been a good car. It needs front control arms, which are easy to replace and she already has them, we just haven't had time to do them yet. A week ago it decided to crack one of the plastic coolant hoses. Online the hose is $25-50. The dealer is $80. The car puked all it's coolant about 2 hours from home, so she had it towed to a local Indy shop thinking it wouldn't be terribly expensive. Well the hood latch somehow mysteriously broke while they had it, which is $600, and they claim the hose that broke is $350. Coolant is another $200 ($30 at the dealer for OEM coolant). They also stated they could replace the control arms (4 bolts total hold them on) for $300 since she had the part already. She basically went in for a $80 coolant hose + labor and coolant that ended up with an estimate for over $2000. It is being towed back to my house in a few days so I can fix the hose.