Quality/reliabilty concerns

[TMR013]

Originally Posted by type135i

Bad thing about message boards is lots of people end up here because they were searching for information about a problem in the first place. Or they are a true enthusiast. Either way you end up with people that really love the car or are having problems. The majority of owners who are happy or content never seek out the forums. This exaggerates the problems and makes them appear more wide spread.

Wholeheartedly agree. These boards are full of people who will complain about anything (human nature?). But I would buy another 1 in an instant. The joy it gives far outweighs any potential issues.

[NewYearsBoy]

Originally Posted by TMR013

Wholeheartedly agree. These boards are full of people who will complain about anything (human nature?). But I would buy another 1 in an instant. The joy it gives far outweighs any potential issues.

HAHA... I have had a ton of problems (No HPFP problem).. But YES I would still buy another 1...

BUT I cant wait to see what happens when Im out of warranty....

[techlogik]

I don't quite understand. You are thinking about a 2011 car that has a full bumper to bumper warranty and maintenance, and you are concerned about reliability?

[Northx]

Originally Posted by Stoutnj89

BUT I cant wait to see what happens when Im out of warranty....

Picking mine up soon from the dealer (if ED deliveries are ever soon - 10 wks and counting) - would you get the upgraded warranty/service contract to 6 yrs/100k for the $4,600 price tag?

[boostm3]

Originally Posted by techlogik

I don't quite understand. You are thinking about a 2011 car that has a full bumper to bumper warranty and maintenance, and you are concerned about reliability?

Just because its warrantied doesnt mean hassling with the dealer over myriad problems is a pleasant endeavor, or something I look forward to.. Moreover, I plan to drive this car only about 5k miles per year or so, hence, some of these issues may not come into play til post warranty. I tend to hang onto my cars for awhile, past warranty stage, hence overall reliability is a big deal to me, as it is to almost everybody else..

Hope you can understand this better now.

[michifan]

Originally Posted by Northx

Picking mine up soon from the dealer (if ED deliveries are ever soon - 10 wks and counting) - would you get the upgraded warranty/service contract to 6 yrs/100k for the $4,600 price tag?

Negotiate that down by half or walk away. Dealers make beaucoup bucks on those extended service contracts. $4,600 is way to steep to pay 3 years before you even use it.

Join the BMWCCA and get the old BMW maintenance guides. Change your oil after break in and every 7,000 (you pay for one, BMW Pays for one...) and follow the service guides that BMW used to require when we paid 100% of the time. Use only top grade gas (no Costco, 7-11...) and put in Techron, or my favorite - Redline SI-1 before every oil change. Buy an Oil Catch can (easy install) regardless if you mod.

If your car isn't giving you trouble after the original warranty expires, you will still have the option of getting an extended warranty. Once you get out of warranty, find the BEST local BMW mechanic to watch after your car. I even recommend people getting a full inspection outside before they hit their warranty end just to make sure you catch a problem before it blooms.

[Northx]

Originally Posted by michifan

Negotiate that down by half or walk away. Dealers make beaucoup bucks on those extended service contracts. $4,600 is way to steep to pay 3 years before you even use it.

Join the BMWCCA and get the old BMW maintenance guides. Change your oil after break in and every 7,000 (you pay for one, BMW Pays for one...) and follow the service guides that BMW used to require when we paid 100% of the time. Use only top grade gas (no Costco, 7-11...) and put in Techron, or my favorite - Redline SI-1 before every oil change. Buy an Oil Catch can (easy install) regardless if you mod.

If your car isn't giving you trouble after the original warranty expires, you will still have the option of getting an extended warranty. Once you get out of warranty, find the BEST local BMW mechanic to watch after your car. I even recommend people getting a full inspection outside before they hit their warranty end just to make sure you catch a problem before it blooms.

Good call on the old maintenance guides. Couple interesting posts for those looking for more detail (and as little patience for searching out the old manuals as myself). The infamous Mike Miller (CCA Roundel Magazine Technical Editor - 2002) post is here which has some good information. And this one was cool as well showing detail on a clean older engine. I doubt anyone on this board would neglect their car but it's certainly a cautionary tale for used car buyers.

So, $2095 for extended maintenance, $2530 for extended warranty. You think they would come down 1/2 on those? I'd do $2,300 for an extra two years combined but I would be shocked if they agreed to that. I could see them coming down to maybe $4k but who knows; I'll ask if the thing ever gets here. I drive about 7k a year - probably stupid to even think about buying this kind of insurance and just keep the $4k for my first post-warranty extended maintenance visit at the dealer and a stiff drink to forget about the bill.

[michifan]

Originally Posted by Northx

Good call on the old maintenance guides. Couple interesting posts for those looking for more detail (and as little patience for searching out the old manuals as myself). The infamous Mike Miller (CCA Roundel Magazine Technical Editor - 2002) post is here which has some good information. And this one was cool as well showing detail on a clean older engine. I doubt anyone on this board would neglect their car but it's certainly a cautionary tale for used car buyers.

So, $2095 for extended maintenance, $2530 for extended warranty. You think they would come down 1/2 on those? I'd do $2,300 for an extra two years combined but I would be shocked if they agreed to that. I could see them coming down to maybe $4k but who knows; I'll ask if the thing ever gets here. I drive about 7k a year - probably stupid to even think about buying this kind of insurance and just keep the $4k for my first post-warranty extended maintenance visit at the dealer and a stiff drink to forget about the bill.

What is the difference between the extended maintenance and warranty? I'd probably go for the warranty over the maintenance (I thought $4k was for just the warranty). I'd still get them to come down, you can get at least the same deal in 3 years.

[NewYearsBoy]

Thanks for the info...

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by michifan

What is the difference between the extended maintenance and warranty? I'd probably go for the warranty over the maintenance (I thought $4k was for just the warranty). I'd still get them to come down, you can get at least the same deal in 3 years.

If I understand correctly, the extended warranty will cover you if anything breaks (powertrain, etc.). The extended maintenance is basically an extension of the free maintenance plan that accompanys the warranty - oil changes, brake pads, wiper blades, etc.

So the extended warranty seems like a gamble - most likely you'll lose, but you could end up winning big if you have some sort of catastrophic failure that is covered.

The extended maintenance seems like it should have a very well defined "worth" since maintenance requirements should be roughly the same for any vehicle over a given time period. If you know exactly what's covered it would seem you would be able to calculate weather or not the plan is a good deal or not. My gut tells me no (why would they sell you maintenance at a discount - perhaps to keep you away from an indy tech, but an indy tech is likely cheaper than the maintenance plan as well?) but this is just a guess.

[HappyNDing]

I actually test drove the 2010 GTI before buying my 135i, it was a decent car and a great buy at that price range. However, I figure since I was going to keep my next car for around 7 years - I just couldn't see myself settling for the GTI and then likely regret later.

I am 3+ months and 3,000 miles into my N54 135i now, no long cranks or any other issues. I think my iPod adapter or cable likely died but I haven't had time to take it to the dealer to diagnose. What I do want to know is whether or not the N54 will have other issues in the future besides the HPFP? I haven't seen much major engine issues from the early adopters of the N54 from late 2006 but I guess we'll see.

[richmondmike]

Eh, keep the e36 another year. Only 81K on it? pfft, you're just warming it up.

But I will say, I went from an e36 M3 (with 115K on it) to a 135i and I love it. They feel and act like they truly came from the same maker.

Quality? Yeah, the M3 had better leather for sure. But the 1 is a much finer car.

[boostm3]

Well, I did the deed this afternoon. Put down a deposit on a 2011 AW 135i with blk interior and grey burl trim.. Couldnt get the black gloss because the 11s dont allow it when teamed with M Sport pkg..Along with that I also got HK sound and Value Pkg. I got an unreal deal... They claimed it was a $600 loser..They didnt charge me destination charge, and only invoice +300, so they maybe right! What tipped me? I asked to drive a 128i since they had no 135s. It was a 128 stick which is the tranny i ordered with my 135i, and the car just embodied bmw. Its normally aspirated engine pulled so smoothly and strongly to redline I was very surprised.. And all I could say to my myself is, 'just imagine how strong this car will feel with 70 more hp and 100 more ftlbs! Right then and there I said, 'where do I sign'!.

Now, does anyone want to buy a 425 hp E36 M3 ?

[ptack]

Nice. If you liked the 128i that much you would probably would have refused to get out of the 135i. The bad thing is now you hace to wait. You will not be disappointed.

[boostm3]

Originally Posted by ptack

Nice. If you liked the 128i that much you would probably would have refused to get out of the 135i. The bad thing is now you hace to wait. You will not be disappointed.

Yea, maybe Ill see it by Halloween!

[fwmcb]

VW reliability is kinda scary.

[The1]

i know it's too late now. But my experiences with any VW. I run from them, i don't accept rides in them, and i even try to avoid looking at them. I'm trying to talk my mom out of her Eos and into a 1 series convertable as she loves taking my car for little rides, and that's with the chip and intake :P She has a lead foot.

but all in all, anyone i know with a vw has nothing but problems and they have the VW owner arrogance.

And one more thing, BMW owners are the type of people who point out every flaw no matter how big or small they are, so on a forum like this, you're going to get a lot of freaked out people over small things. Granted i'm scared about my fuel pump, but that may be because of reading forums like these with people having the problem. I'm at 18,000 kms with no hiccups.

only issue with the car is a very very quiet squeak from the clutch pedal, which you can't even hear when the radio is on at a really low volume.

i've done about 6200 miles in the last 2 months with a chip and intake and my only real concern is how long my rear tires are going to last :P

[boostm3]

The1... the E36 M3s used to have that clutch squeak also... There was an online fix for it which escapes me for the moment.... Maybe some lithium grease or even wd40 at the squeak point will do the trick?

[The1]

it didn't bug me enough to worry about it. It's in for service today and i just mentioned it to them, so we'll see if they were listening at the dealership :P

if not, I would assume the white lithium grease would be perfect, or vasoline, have lots of that around.....

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by boostm3

I asked to drive a 128i since they had no 135s. It was a 128 stick which is the tranny i ordered with my 135i, and the car just embodied bmw. Its normally aspirated engine pulled so smoothly and strongly to redline I was very surprised..

This is what us 128i 6MT owners have been trying to tell the haters all along.

And all I could say to my myself is, 'just imagine how strong this car will feel with 70 more hp and 100 more ftlbs!

LOL, I haven't driven a 135i and so I've wondered the same thing - but honestly, I'm quite happy with my 128i. Enjoy your new car!