Seeking Advice Regarding when is it time to let go/trade-in

[snarleyow]

I have a 2012 135i with a PE Exhaust, PPK, Evolution Charge Pipe and 55k miles.

I bought it in October 2014 from an independent dealer, a lease return with 22.5k on it and put 14k on it over the next two years. I put the PPK on in January of 2014, got the VANOS recall done. Then the charge pipe. Then went out of warranty in May 2015.

The coolant reservoir tank cracked in June 2015. Not covered, replaced it myself.
The HPFP failed in August 2016 around 36k miles. It took 3 visits to the dealer and 3 HPFP replacements before it ran properly and they also replaced my air flow sensors, all done under warranty. They also diagnosed a minor leak in the transmission, either in the sleeve or the side cover.

In November 2016 I started a new job which had me commuting up to 180 miles a day. I've put almost 20k miles on the car since then. I replaced the spark plugs at 44k, the windshield wiper fluid pump failed and had algae in the system. Got that fixed at the same time.

In August 2017 my air conditioning wasn't holding up well. Cracked condenser core. Got the transmission leak fixed. $4,500. Told my brakes need to be done soon.

I took the car in for maintenance this morning for an oil change and the mechanical check turned up a leaking oil filter gasket, dealer quoted 1k for the repair, misfires that since I had recently done plugs, probably meant injectors, and a failing battery.

This is a 6 year old car with 55k miles on it and I'm looking at close to 10 grand in repairs this year with more stuff going wrong every service. Is this just the cost of owning a BMW and hope that my next few years aren't breaking the bank or am I correct in thinking this is excessive. Do I have any chance of recourse with BMW NA as a lemon or am I just a little unlucky and should just deal with it.

All advice welcome. Thank you.

[Matticus91]

I have a few points in response for you here:

• No chance at lemon law
• These cars are expensive to repair, ESPECIALLY if you go to a dealership. Do not be afraid of a good independent shop, they often have techs that are better than dealerships.
• The issues you've mentioned are somewhat common, and there are others as well.

As far as options go, I think you realistically have two. The first being to sell the car and get something else that is more reliable for the type of mileage you're doing. The second option is to get a warranty on the current car and find an indy shop to keep the labor rates reasonable. Any BMW shop will destroy your wallet for every hour.

Here's a thread we've made for prospective buyers that I think would be useful for you, it outlines some common problems with these cars as well as other points you should keep in mind:
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1285231

Additionally, I made a very detailed thread on the aftermarket (non-BMW) warranty that I purchased at the time of buying my car. It has saved my wallet an unimaginably amount of distress and has already paid for itself multiple times over, and I've had the car for less than 2 years. Do A LOT of research before you settle on a warranty - what is covered, what time frame, mileage limits, what voids it - are the most important factors.

i completely understand your frustration and hope things turn up for you, these are awesome cars when they work, but can certainly be problematic.

[Esteban]

This is a very true statement: "these are awesome cars when they work, but can certainly be problematic." If you're not having fun in the car anymore, then it's not worth it, but if you are, then you have to pay to play. After all, it's a BMW and everybody knows they're expensive to maintain.

PS - you could always buy a beater to commute back and forth to work.

[doublevanosrc]

I feel for ya man but an aftermarket warranty is your best bet. I just hit 58k and my car has been basically flawless however, I did purchase an aftermarket warranty just in case. I thought carefully before dropping $$$ on an aftermarket warranty but if you think about it, a couple big repairs(ofhg, waterpump) and boom it pays for itself. Also as someone pointed out find a reputable BMW specialist which should be easy in CA, quit going to the dealer.

Final advice get an aftermarket warranty or patch it up and trade it in. Hope things workout man.





FYI I had the condenser issue as well however it happened around 30k miles.

[vinylengraver]

I know this will not answer your question, but as much as I love this car, I will have it up for sale/trade once I encounter the very first major issue...
I have less than 20K miles on it right now and just put it in storage mode for the winter. So I hope it won't be for a while that I have to make a decision you are facing right now...

These cars are known to be very reliable in Europe.
I do not know if it is the fuel, the oil, the extreme climate variations or simply the way they are driven in North America that makes them such hit-and-miss...

Still, this was sold as an entry-level car and to me it makes no sense to deal with luxury-car-level expenses to keep it in good working order when it is still basically new.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by vinylengraver

I know this will not answer your question, but as much as I love this car, I will have it up for sale/trade once I encounter the very first major issue...
I have less than 20K miles on it right now and just put it in storage mode for the winter. So I hope it won't be for a while that I have to make a decision you are facing right now...

These cars are known to be very reliable in Europe.
I do not know if it is the fuel, the oil, the extreme climate variations or simply the way they are driven in North America that makes them such hit-and-miss...

Still, this was sold as an entry-level car and to me it makes no sense to deal with luxury-car-level expenses to keep it in good working order when it is still basically new.

Not trying to argue, but an entry level car with a pretty badass engine in it. lol

[tracer bullet]

I can see your frustration, that seems to be a lot of issues.

I've got an '11 that's been bullet proof other than the recalls, but I only have ~ 30,000 miles on it. I'm pretty anal about keeping things in good condition and an experienced car guy, I don't think I'm missing anything that needs work. Maybe I'm just lucky? Maybe you're just unlucky.

I agree that to own the car you need to be able to afford to maintain and repair it. Anyone that says that snobbily is indeed a snob. But it is true from a practical standpoint.

I'd consider a local shop that specializes in Euro imports, pay them for their time to look over everything and point out to you anything they see wrong. Hopefully you will either see more issues you don't want to deal with and sell the car, or feel reasonably certain you've done everything in need and can get some more years out of it with little more than oil changes.

You might also see what they think about your existing failures - i.e. after 3 HPFP's could the repairs have introduced anything that got into the injectors?

[Matticus91]

One more thing to note, I drive my car pretty hard, and I know that causes things to fail earlier. It's a price to pay for the way I drive and I've come to accept it, it's partly why I was ok with shelling out the $3.7k for a warranty because I knew I would break things lol. If you drive these cars gingerly, they're pretty much bulletproof, but that's not why I bought it

[snarleyow]

Thanks ya'll for the replies. I truly appreciate the feedback. Luckily I can afford the maintenance, it just sucks to all hit so close together and makes me question the car more. Other than these problems I love the 135 and would keep it as long as the engine holds out.

Today I'm looking at the various indy shops in the San Jose area trying to figure out who I want to go with. Wouldn't mind doing a walnut blast at the same time.

[kprocivic]

Let it go.

[04mazdaspeed]

For me its a toy car. Mine is a 2011 with almost 33k miles and will probably only ever see 5-6k miles a year. I don't drive it often but when I do, I drive it hard. I take the utmost care of it but if something breaks, its most likely due to me enjoying the car and I will fix whatever I need to. Some people call me crazy but I daily a 96 ford escort. Mainly due to working in Chicago and living near there and the winters can be brutal on a car. Also, most people here don't give two craps about there car let alone yours. The escort is great for taking the everyday beating. Its a 1k beater with a heater(also phenomenal ac) that allows me to rack up the miles and keep my toy cars more prestine for longer. I can park it wherever and whenever and don't give no consideration if someone hits it or dents it. I'm in no way "saving" my toy cars for the next persons enjoyment but the way I get enjoyment out of my fun cars isn't by driving them everyday to work but that's me.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by 04mazdaspeed

For me its a toy car. Mine is a 2011 with almost 33k miles and will probably only ever see 5-6k miles a year. I don't drive it often but when I do, I drive it hard. I take the utmost care of it but if something breaks, its most likely due to me enjoying the car and I will fix whatever I need to. Some people call me crazy but I daily a 96 ford escort. Mainly due to working in Chicago and living near there and the winters can be brutal on a car. Also, most people here don't give two craps about there car let alone yours. The escort is great for taking the everyday beating. Its a 1k beater with a heater(also phenomenal ac) that allows me to rack up the miles and keep my toy cars more prestine for longer. I can park it wherever and whenever and don't give no consideration if someone hits it or dents it. I'm in no way "saving" my toy cars for the next persons enjoyment but the way I get enjoyment out of my fun cars isn't by driving them everyday to work but that's me.

I have a 2011 and it's my fun car as well. I take it out most every day just for enjoyment and I always have a blast in it. I work at home so no daily commute, but for errands and appointments and the like I drive my daughters '05 Jetta. I pay for everything on the Jetta; maintenance and repairs, insurance, registration, gas. Been driving it for years and it's very reliable and I don't have to worry about it at all. My daughter doesn't mind. It's her "extra car" and she leaves it for me because she knows I treasure my 1er and it is for fun times only.

[champignon]

I think these cars, or at least most of them, have passed the point where they can be high mileage daily drivers, unless you are either a very capable do-it-yourselfer, have a good and cheap indie shop, or are willing to just tolerate things breaking that you choose not to fix.

High mileage at low cost is just not something that is in the current BMW DNA, but then it isn't there for pretty much anything except a cheap Japanese import or maybe some selected American made models, none of which are all that much fun to drive.

[P1]

My wife's 2011 had barely 30K miles when I felt it was the time things would start breaking on it. Not necessarily due to the miles, but rather its age. Traded it in on a CPO 6-series and got top dollar for the 135i.

[desertman123]

Originally Posted by champignon

I think these cars, or at least most of them, have passed the point where they can be high mileage daily drivers, unless you are either a very capable do-it-yourselfer, have a good and cheap indie shop, or are willing to just tolerate things breaking that you choose not to fix.

High mileage at low cost is just not something that is in the current BMW DNA, but then it isn't there for pretty much anything except a cheap Japanese import or maybe some selected American made models, none of which are all that much fun to drive.

*nervous laughter* hahahahahahahah.. yeah there aren't random bits failing on my car.. never.. *looks at dirty finger nails and bruised knuckles*

Kidding aside, I totally agree. If I brought my car into a shop every time something has broken, I'd have invested like half of what I paid into it. Big ticket items were the valve cover gasket (w/ new valve cover), oil filter housing and door actuator. Put full fluids/wear items on top of that and we're getting pricey.

[Cavpilot2k]

I bought mine (a 2012) in 2015 with 22k miles on it.
I shelled out for CPO warranty (I got it from a dealership after scouring the country for the model and options I wanted) and for the maintenance plan.
Between the two, I spent probably an extra $3k.

And it has been worth every penny and then some.
My CPO and what little factory warranty I still had on it have covered transmission replacement (yes, you read that correctly - replacement of a 6MT transmission) and Water pump replacement, and the maintenance agreement has covered all normal services as well as replacing both my front and rear brakes.

I haven't paid a penny for anything done to my car at my local dealership. Not a penny.

This information is useless to the OP currently, but it has taught me that I will not likely own a high performance BMW again without a warranty (factory, CPO, or aftermarket).

All that said, I will most likely own another BMW, I will just go into it planning on buying warranties (when I have to retire my 135, I have an M2 in my sights - absolutely will have warranty coverage).