[John 070]

It says a BMW 328i is the most expensive car to maintain, $15,600 in 10 years

I just think many people say it's the internet, it has to be pretty much correct.

C'mon now.

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article..._source=impact

[srey]

No, it doesn't bother me. I'm actually glad these articles come out, because it means that I can buy awesome BMWs a huge discounts because people are afraid of maintenance costs.

[E92inAZ]

Originally Posted by John 070

It says a BMW 328i is the most expensive car to maintain, $15,600 in 10 years

I just think many people say it's the internet, it has to be pretty much correct.

C'mon now.

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article..._source=impact

No, these articles don't bother me because it seems about right. Probably.
Parts for BMWs are expensive, if you pay to have your car serviced the labor is outrageous, but that's because they're labor intensive to fix. I used to run a Honda and it cost me about $1000.00 a year in maintenance which I thought was pretty good. So by this articles standards, that car would be $10k for 10 years and I would bet just with the difference in price for parts between Honda and BMW you could easily make up the extra $5k.
I don't feel like it's a bad thing. I really really like my 2007 328i. It's my first beemer, bought used at 120000 miles and I do all my own work to it. It's the nicest car I've owned. I swapped a new engine into it six months ago after a catastrophic failure because I want to keep it going and I plan on HPDE driving it this year so I'll probably keep on breaking stuff.
People that criticize the cost to run one of these cars haven't driven one.

[jwalker87]

Sounds about right.

While I do all my own maintenance, I track the parts meticulously, and a few months ago I went through an effort (for a friend of mine considering a BMW) to estimate the labor costs that would have been associated with all of the repairs needed.

Including EVERYTHING (tires, brake flushes, etc), it was $9k in parts and estimated $6k in labor over 8 years and 65k miles. This was for a 2008 335i (with the N54), so I would imagine a 328i is slightly cheaper, but then again that was 8 years not 10.

My wife's 2011 335i was slightly cheaper at $3k in parts and $1.6k in labor over 5 years and 40k miles, but it's newer.

[Run Silent]

I would agree - I think it is pretty accurate. I baby my cars and always take care of them with preventative maitenance and all necessary items to keep them in tip top shape.

The 328i E93 has been the second most unreliable car I've ever owned and it was a 2013 with 30k miles on it. The only one that was less reliable was my old 1986 Alfa Romeo Spider.

I understand that parts wear out and need replacing - but my car needed coil packs at 40k miles. That is obscene. The cup holders broke at 30k miles and I cracked 2 wheels, which has never happened in the past with other cars. I also had to replace the blower motor and final stage unit at 50k miles.

None of these things were huge, but goodness, that is quite a bit of items for such a low mileage car that was babied all it's life. Heck, the 360 has needed less upkeep.

[hassmaschine]

That's about 20x what I've spent on my 330i. lol

[ryan stewart]

I refuse to believe, accounting for the same level of care, that a BMW costs more to maintain than a Land Rover. I refuse to believe it because I have had a lot of friends with them. Even a brake job was an expensive nightmare on those things.

[KillaManjango]

Most of the time these articles are based off of "worst case scenario". Very few people will have to spend this much if they adhere to a basic maintenance schedule and do most of the work themselves.

I feel like most of these articles are geared towards people who have little to no mechanical experience but still want a luxury car on some sort of a budget.

[e90yyc]

I really don’t care... The reality is that German cars are expensive to maintain in general, especially if you’re basing costs off dealership servicing and upsells.

OT, but the strangest part to me is how some people talk so much smack about one German brand versus the other as if BMW is someone the only one that breaks down...

[Efthreeoh]

So Cadillac ranks No. 3 to maintain, yet has no vehicle in the the list of the top-20 most expensive models to maintain... Statistics. I'll put my 12 year old BMW's condition up against any 12 year old Camry any day of the week. LOL

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by ryan stewart

I refuse to believe, accounting for the same level of care, that a BMW costs more to maintain than a Land Rover. I refuse to believe it because I have had a lot of friends with them. Even a brake job was an expensive nightmare on those things.

This. The only one that might be more expensive to maintain or own than a Land Rover would be an E60 M5.

[hassmaschine]

I have a friend who owns both a Land Rover and an E60 M5. lol

heck, even our X5 hasn't really cost that much to maintain, although we've only had it a few years. Maybe $700 in parts? it does need a waterpump but it looks like a relatively straightforward DIY.

[Beaming325]

I think it applies to all modern cars in some measure.

As so often with statistics it's the distribution that is more important than the mean. $15,000 over 10 years is $125 a month, which is pretty reasonable for a fairly sophisticated piece of technology doing a hell of a lot of work.

When this sophisticated tech breaks down and costs $250 per injector to fix it gets a bit much IMO.

I suspect that the actual cost is hugely skewed to the end of that range - i.e. fairly low for the first 5 years then rising steeply once things start going wrong. It will also fall disproportionately on a relatively small number of owners who are either unlucky or don't properly maintain their cars. If you didn't spend a single penny on maintenance for the first couple of years then the new engine would probably be not much short of $15k.

Coming from owning an Alfa Romeo I find most BMW parts fairly reasonable, believe it or not.

[Gamb1t]

Only if I'm a first time buying a used BMW. A discerning buyer would try to nail down the specific models. 335i would account for double that.
I've never owned a Honda or Toyota so am not sure if they cost zilch to upkeep?

[Sconley]

Originally Posted by srey

No, it doesn't bother me. I'm actually glad these articles come out, because it means that I can buy awesome BMWs a huge discounts because people are afraid of maintenance costs.

I couldn't say it better myself.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

When you compare dealer costs, BMW is absolutely way above everyone else.

Over $1,000 for front and rear brakes. That is stupid. They really reel in the lazy and mechanically-inept.

[lookalikehuuh]

Not at all! So I travel a bit for my job and my company pays for rental cars wherever we go... anyway I get to drive lots of different cars from different mfgs. Some much faster like Challengers, some slower and everything in between. Anyway, every time I come home and drive my E90 I realize why we pay the "BMW TAX". I will continue to keep my BMW and maintain it religiously.

These cars drive great and they are worth the upkeep.

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by John 070

It says a BMW 328i is the most expensive car to maintain, $15,600 in 10 years .

I just think many people say it's the internet, it has to be pretty much correct.

C'mon now.

I have kept track: my 2010 335d has cost $14,687.01 up till now. And that doesn't include the cost for tires (OEM PS2ZP for sport package are $1500 a set. So that number seems reasonable.

Don't forget that maintenance, as accounted for by Consumer Reports or whomever, includes a lot of stuff some people don't consider maintenance.

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by Gamb1t

I've never owned a Honda or Toyota so am not sure if they cost zilch to upkeep?

Depends upon what goes wrong. The Toyota dealerships (I have a '95 T100 Truck) vary more widely than BMW dealerships do in their costs. The one in Eastgate in Bellevue, WA charges very similar prices for their work compared to Bellevue BMW. Labor costs and OEM Toyota parts cost very similar to BMW costs.

[NFiftyWon]

Coming up on 6k 3 years into ownership. A lot of preventative maintenance though. Also sacrificed reliability for some power so comes out about right

[mecheng77]

I will say they got the component failure 100% correct: window regulator, tensioner and idler. And cars that don't start, I was victim to this, with low mileage. 😈🤑

[fleet]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

When you compare dealer costs, BMW is absolutely way above everyone else.

Over $1,000 for front and rear brakes. That is stupid. They really reel in the lazy and mechanically-inept.

It ain't just BMW. My wife was quoted $1800 for front and rear rotors and pads...

for her 2013 Touareg.