Quote:
Originally Posted by The Nightman
Exactly why I would never advise owning an old German car if you can't turn a wrench. Sounds like they would be happier with Toyota/Lexus products
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I agree 100%
SO many people associate a German luxury brand with success and rewarding themselves with something special, not understanding they just threw themselves off the dock with heavy chains wrapped around their ankles. To admit the mistake and trade "down" to a more reliable car admits "failure" and loss of personal status to them.
During the 90s until last year I operated import repair shops and had a slug of 70s, 80, and 90s BMWs and MBs (as well as a few British sports cars from the 60s and 70s). I also had some newer MBs up through early 2000s R170 and W203 cars. These were all quite reliable and offered comfort, good ride and good handling, though cars designed
after 2000 tended to be built to a price and offered belles/whistles features with complexity, over engineering, and reduced reliability. (The British cars were not reliable, but were easy/cheap to fix and a leftover addiction from my youth) Eighties BMWs of all series, and MBs of most series were among the most bullet proof ever made (Especially the W123 and W126 sedans) and were easy to keep on the road. Since then, they are rolling liabilities IMHO, though STILL nice to drive while well maintained (albeit it at hard to justify cost).
When I closed my shop and retired I sold my German cars and bought well used Japanese cars. Hondas, Toyotas, and Subarus because I was not about to pay people exaggerated sums to do what had been easy for me with the tools and equipment I had at hand, especially my service lift. The last month in my shop I did long term preventative maintenance on my Japanese vehicles (Brakes, suspension work, timing belts-basically anything I figured would need replacement in the next 50-100k miles) to preclude paying shop owners like I used to be. One exception is my wife, who LOVES Lexus SUVs and has a 2013 50,000mi RX350, but hey, it's a Toyota and reliable out of the box.
The neighbor I asked about and her mom have the BMW e90 and mom's E350. Neither is a "bad" car but they are paying for their reluctance to be practical, and I feel bad for them. They sometimes ride in my '07 Subaru Forester and remark how easy it is to get in and out of, and are amazed that with 170k it still feel "new" but I know they would never downgrade to something like that, though when I share that the PS pump, Alt, and AC Compressor is on top and can be changed in 20 minutes, and the starter in no more (vs the e90 that is a real PITA, but was a very profitable job for me a couple years ago) they smile but will cry in agony when that e90 starter job that costs $1300 and up and requires new aluminum bolts and intake manifold removal of brittle plastic parts.
But it's a choice a LOT of people make. Here in Phoenix where I retired the road is FULL of quite new BMWs and MBs.
"You pays your money and takes your choice," as a 30yr friend and fellow shop owner says. He was like me an aficionado of 70s-80s BMWs owning as I did 2002s, 3.0CS, a couple B9 Alpinas, e30 M3 , e28s, e32s, e34s, and a few 635CSi. Those M20 and M30 engines were things of beauty and good engineering and capable of 400k miles in gentle hands.
He pampers his customers driving pricey iron and says nothing bad to them about their choices (He is a BMW/MB certified tech but does the Aston Martins, Porsches, Maseratis and the few Ferraris living in Olympia), but his daily driver is a '96 Civic with almost 300k, an '03 4X4 Toyota Tacoma with almost 350k that's never seen a Check Engine Light, and yes, he has a mint 6 speed e36 Coupe he bought for pennies from a customer for fun, and builds clone Shelby Cobras for fun and resale (and nice summer drives). He could own any car he wanted (business has been VERY, VERY good to him), but he would not own a late model German car. Ditto say I.
Sad that German cars have become what they are today. They are not "bad," believe me, but they are not the simple stout cars they once were, either.