Post Warranty Blues

[bozola]

As as early adopter of a 1 series, I had some expectations of teething pains of my 2008 128. I was pretty lucky with my car, It's been in the shop for a few things, mostly recalls. That includes:

Cracking Brake light
Bumpy seats
Replacement of the MULF
Replacement of the iPod connector
Replacement of the 128 lifters
Replacement of the rear lights
Replacement of the crappy run flats @ 25k.
Software update
4 rotors and pads

At 4 years and 50k (About the same time), I had my independent BMW mechanic do a once over and I thought most of the problems had been ironed out, in fact my mechanic thought the car was in great shape and should last a while. I have planned to keep this car for as long as I can. I didn't buy the extended warranty.

So... in the last six months (post warranty), the car seems to be falling apart....

There is an incredible creak in the front center of the dash, to which my dealer says he'd have to remove the dash (600$)
The passenger airbag is so much more noticeable
The VANOS crapped out and needed to be replaced (300$)
The angel eyes burned out and the dealer quoted me 250$ to remove the bumper to replace that light. (I did it myself!)
And yesterday, the Steptronic upshift on the shifter quit working (Estimate 1000$).

So.. it's a bummer. Do I start pouring money into the car? Will it be reliable? Should I dump it?

Oh.. and the dealer specifically tells me.. 'oh.. it's out of warranty' whenever I bring it into the shop.

[doublevanosrc]

Bummer, most of those things are wear and tear like the vanos and angel eyes. As far as the tranny it should last longer without issues. I would do a tranny flush and as long as the tranny keeps working under normal circumstance i would just keep it that way i mean how many times do u upshift and downshift manually? Now if you still owe on the car i would try to get it ride of it soon, if it's paid for i would keep it for now. GL!

[Jmanscotch]

Any BMW newer than early 2000s (lets say 2004 in my case) I've considered a throw-away car. Use till end of warranty, ditch.

If you want to own a BMW long term without going broke, buy one that still has a tool kit in the trunk and not just a tow hook/screw driver, as a good general rule of thumb (E46, E39, etc)

Years of owning BMWs and going well overboard with preventative maintenance (consist of E46, E36, E10, E85, E90) and I hadn't dump as much money into maintenance as I have the E90 and E82 in a few months of owning.

[rking117]

Originally Posted by Jmanscotch

buy one that still has a tool kit in the trunk and not just a tow hook/screw driver, as a good general rule of thumb (E46, E39, etc)

I am confused, you said 2000's are throw away car and that a good rule of thumb is to buy a vehicle that has a toold kit in the trunk not just tow hook. I might be missing something. My 06 E85 Z4 had a tool kit so I guess by using your rules it is a keeper.

Well I do agree with the fact that it was a keeper but i had to have an E89.

[Jmanscotch]

^ It's a flexible rule lol. My E85 (2003) didn't have a tool kit, but I would've considered it a keeper too, as the M54 engine was still a good engine and it had a dipstick...I don't think yours has a dipstick, correct?

Basically my point was that 2004-2006 (depending on models) or so, BMW stepped away from being a shadetree mechanics car and thus not one I'd personally like to own long term since I prefer to DIY stuff (unless I have a warranty).

[bozola]

Now to add:

Rough idle in D (Intermittent, not reproducible)
Loud HUMMING sounds from Stereo when unlocking trunk (Intermittent, not reproducible)
SRS bag WARNING light came on today.

So unhappy.

[zoomnad]

Bozola, you should paint your car LEMON YELLOW! I can handle one or two things but not at the same time. When I have that many things wrong I trade it in at the dealer. If I have good car, I sell it and pocket the cash. Life is to short to put up with a piece of shit car!

[PA135i]

I am at 65K with my 135i and post warranty the only item that needs replacing is the side view mirror glass. Had the clutch break at 53K, but that was not normal and BMW replaced at no charge. I am only worried about the water pump. But my indie shop tells me to let it go to 90K. It's a $1400 repair.

Maybe some cars are better than others. Sorry to hear about your issues.