Was it worth it?

[TMR013]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Not sure why the bill for a water pump is $1200 - $1500
We have the water pump + kit for $435 shipped and installation would be $250 max.

Mike, it's called a "Dealer".

Final price worked out to $1000 so considering Dealer markup it was actually better than some people were saying.

And I have an indy I go to, but in this case couldn't be without a car for a couple days so went the Dealer route so I could get a loaner.

And yes I need to look more at the DIY route, and I have for some things. But honestly, if you don't have the right tools/lift/confidence, that's difficult. Just getting the damn engine cover off this car is a minor project. It's ridiculous!

But in the end, still worth it (so far).

[JimD]

I'm facing my first out of warranty repair right now. I am pretty sure the evaporative system leak detection pump is not functional. getbmwparts wants $123, Rock Auto wants $73. I'd prefer BMW parts but the only reason I want this pump functional is to put out the "service your car soon" light. $50 difference seems worth taking the chance.

Oil changes are also relatively expensive and inconvenient. A differential without a drain plug and an engine without a dipstick seem like poor design decisions. But it's great fun to drive and will be in the garage when I'm not driving it for the forseeable future.

[BMWX1-35i]

Originally Posted by tglazed

Do it yourself. 500 bucks

x2

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

I own my car outright now so I just take the POV that any major repairs can be offset by the fact that I didn't have to make a monthly lease or finance payment inbetween. If the annual repairs start consistently getting beyond the cost of getting a new car I'll rethink my position.

If I had to pay for these expensive repairs on top of still making car payments that would be a totally different story.

+1

I don't get why people always complain about owning a BMW out of warranty. So you might need to spend $1200 every 60K-80K miles for a water pump & thermostat, $800 for brake rotors and pads every couple of years, etc. So what? First of all, you can significantly reduce these costs if you find a good indy (or even more if you learn to do the work yourself). Second of all, what's the other option? Spend $40K on a new car? And that will save you money how?

Some people act like they're somehow saving money if they constantly have a vehicle under warranty. Granted, they may never have any maintenance costs, but you're losing a ton more money in monthly payments and depreciation. Now, you could argue that it's cheaper to own a Honda for 10 years than a BMW for 10 years, and I would agree. But it's definitely cheaper to own one BMW for 10 years than 2 or 3 BMWs for the same term, right?

[BMWX1-35i]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

+1

I don't get why people always complain about owning a BMW out of warranty. So you might need to spend $1200 every 60K-80K miles for a water pump & thermostat, $800 for brake rotors and pads every couple of years, etc. So what? First of all, you can significantly reduce these costs if you find a good indy (or even more if you learn to do the work yourself). Second of all, what's the other option? Spend $40K on a new car? And that will save you money how?

Some people act like they're somehow saving money if they constantly have a vehicle under warranty. Granted, they may never have any maintenance costs, but you're losing a ton more money in monthly payments and depreciation. Now, you could argue that it's cheaper to own a Honda for 10 years than a BMW for 10 years, and I would agree. But it's definitely cheaper to own one BMW for 10 years than 2 or 3 BMWs for the same term, right?

+2

And comparing a BMW (Performance orientated car) to a Honda (more of a economy car) is not apples to apples. If you're going to do that, you should not own a BMW.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

I don't get why people always complain about owning a BMW out of warranty. So you might need to spend $1200 every 60K-80K miles for a water pump & thermostat, $800 for brake rotors and pads every couple of years, etc. So what? First of all, you can significantly reduce these costs if you find a good indy (or even more if you learn to do the work yourself). Second of all, what's the other option? Spend $40K on a new car? And that will save you money how?

Some people act like they're somehow saving money if they constantly have a vehicle under warranty. Granted, they may never have any maintenance costs, but you're losing a ton more money in monthly payments and depreciation. Now, you could argue that it's cheaper to own a Honda for 10 years than a BMW for 10 years, and I would agree. But it's definitely cheaper to own one BMW for 10 years than 2 or 3 BMWs for the same term, right?

+3.

As I found out, the warranty is worthless regarding some items (the battery, though I did recover the money after some wrangling)... Doing some of the work yourself and having a good indy is desfinitely the best way to go.

[dcaron9999]

Agree on above comments. Once the car is paid for, costly repairs will be easier to swallow.

Search the DIY's on the forums and Youtube. Learn to do as much as you can yourself. If some of the tasks are overwhelming to undertake, at least you will be well informed about what is involved. This will help you shop around for the indi shops.


When I bought my pre-owned 6 speed MT 2011 135i, I made sure it was without I-drive, without electric seats, and with the more reliable N55 engine. Less things to break down. Ive been driving the car hard at the track for three seasons, and I never experienced drivetrain issues.

The car is making lots more power than stock. See list of mods in my signature, which were done gradually over period of ownership (June 2013 to now).

[rrinker]

Fraction of the cost with an independent, plus $40 for a rental car for the day - STILL cheaper than the dealer. Paying 3-4x the labor rate per hour just to get a loaner is kind of silly.
I learned that with my first BMW, it was a CPO purchased from a dealer. WHen the first oil change came due, I first checked with the dealer - $150. There's a local independent place that works only with German cars. Called them. $40. Both full synthetic. The only BMW I took to the dealer was the X3 I had, which was purchased new so all warranty and maintenance work was free anyway. Now that I have a place with a garage to work on my cars, I will go back to even more DIY. Absolute LAST resort will be the dealer, if the part needed is not available anywhere else or something - though I do have a year left on the warranty of my 135, so should something break between now and then, I will certainly use the dealer. After that though - forget it.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by TMR013

So, today I found out that I'm looking at a $1200 to $1500 bill to replace the water pump on my 79K miles, N54 135. I want to ask if others felt it was worth it.
My last car was a Honda S2000, a fantastic car. I had to take it in for an issue 1 time, other than maintenance, while I owned it. My BMW, I'd have to say I've had a loaner in my garage at least 6 times since I've had it. That is a very poor record compared to the Honda. And I have to say that the S2000 was not a typical Honda, I don't care what anybody says, the S2000 was a serious performance vehicle.
My point is, I want to know if you feel the extra hassles you have to deal with owning a BMW was worth it.
I knew going into BMW ownership what the issues might be. Knew I wasn't buying a reliable car, I was buying a performance car. And that was OK. And I have to say, despite all the issues, driving the car has been a dream. I can't imagine owning another car besides a BMW today.
So wondering what everybody else thinks. Am I an idiot for buying a ridiculously expensive car to maintain. Or is the driving experience worth it?
My opinion, it is worth it.

Well, you can't really compare a car that is 10 years old to todays cars. The electronics are SO much more complex, which also means expensive. Cars 10 years ago are almost laughably simpler.

Like the owner of an MDX we just had in the shop. NAV computer fried. No HVAC as it goes through the NAV computer. $6800 for a new one. I believe the customer scraped the car.

I can tell you of countless Honda/Acura repairs that are a hell of a lot more expensive than doing a water pump on the 1er.

Helpful tip: Never, ever, ever, EVER buy a car with electronic shocks. Ugh.......

[TMR013]

Good feedback all. And I gotta tell you, it's been a Hell of a month since my pump failed. Took it to my indy for an oil service and discovered a wheel bearing was bad, $600, then immediately started hearing a new noise. Took it back to the indy, thought it might be a warped rotor, $300, but noise is still there. Looks like my diff might be going, $3K+. So when I started this thread I was concerned about a $1000 water pump, and all said and done, I might have to put $5K into the car in a little over a month. Guess I lost the extended warranty bet.
Thought about just replacing the car. But I agree with some of you who have said $5K is a lot better than $50K. The math just doesn't work out to replace the car at this point. So, on the bright side, if I do replace the diff, at least I'll upgrade to an LSD.
Still love my baby. She's worth it.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by TMR013

Good feedback all. And I gotta tell you, it's been a Hell of a month since my pump failed. Took it to my indy for an oil service and discovered a wheel bearing was bad, $600, then immediately started hearing a new noise. Took it back to the indy, thought it might be a warped rotor, $300, but noise is still there. Looks like my diff might be going, $3K+. So when I started this thread I was concerned about a $1000 water pump, and all said and done, I might have to put $5K into the car in a little over a month. Guess I lost the extended warranty bet.
Thought about just replacing the car. But I agree with some of you who have said $5K is a lot better than $50K. The math just doesn't work out to replace the car at this point. So, on the bright side, if I do replace the diff, at least I'll upgrade to an LSD.
Still love my baby. She's worth it.

Oh shit, that was you too? Sorry to hear. Yes, it is worth it. It is a bit of a love/hate relationship. Like being married to a beautiful woman. It is never simple.

[EMWOLB]

Well this is my third BMW: 1970 2002, 2009 135i, and 2015 M235i.

The only reason I bought a 1 instead of say an S-Class Mercedes is I once owned a 1970 BMW 2002.

I have done a lot of mechanical work in my life, but at this point, I'm kind of tired crawling under cars. I did all of the repair work on the 1, but I believe I'll get an extended warranty for the 2.

[Lucky1]

Funny enough I was cleaning out a closet the other day and found some old invoices for repairs for my parents old '91 GM/Pontiac Sunbird. I couldn't believe the amount of money they had to dump into this thing for repairs!! By 50,000 miles and 6 years on the road they were getting hit with thousands of dollars for repairs at the dealership. Lets assume they were honest about what needed to be fixed and these were legitimate costs to keep the car going.

I know an early 90's GM is not at all in any way close to comparing to a modern BMW but I can tell you we've come a long way because even with inflation the BMW has been more reliable and cheaper to repair up to 90,000 miles than that GM car at 50,000. And you get more, granted you pay way more to own.

Just adding a different perspective. I just can't believe the 1er has been cheaper to maintain. Lets not talk about tires and TCO though

[TMR013]

So my mechanic is recommending a KMS LSD. Anybody have any experience? I did a search and not a lot out there, but what I found was pretty positive.

[BMWX1-35i]

None with KMS but MFactory worked out great for me...

[135TX]

1+ on Mfactory I have loved every minute of it. And as far as I know it's the cheapest. With a lifetime warranty.