[Sasquartch]

Ennoch, I don't disagree with anything you've said but I think there's a lot of truth in the idea that cars (not just BMWs) are engineered to last through the initial 3-4 years with minimal maintenance rather than to last for 200k with minimal work.

Compare a current BMW that can have had perhaps 2 or 3 oil changes in 4 years when it's traded in or handed back with something like a 1990s Mercedes which genuinely could last 20 years and starship mileages with regualr maintenance. The difference is that BMWs may be premium but are engineered to be as cheap as possible for the first owner as this is what most new buyers, fleet operators and lease companies want.

I still stand by my comment that a 70k mile 5 year old BMW will be approaching the time it will need money spent on it. I'd imagine that would be the same for Audi / Mercedes and many other brands.

Lexus, Toyota and Honda, also Kia / Hyundai seem to do things differently, if you really want reliability and durability over a long period they're probably the best engineered brands. But these are not (except Lexus) perceived as 'premium'

Originally Posted by Ennoch

Then I will reiterate what I've said; if 70k is the point where a car is failing then that is absolutely not acceptable and a clear indication that very few people still buy cars with the intention of keeping them beyond the initial 3yr lease or 4th-6th year finance period. Dampers wear, bushes wear etc, but if a car is requiring serious money spent on it when it hits 70k miles then that is patently ridiculous. Most of my cars haven't had big things needing doing until nudging 100k, and none of them were a supposed 'premium' brand. The only exception to that was a Vauxhall Vivaro van which I managed to shift on before the gearbox/steering rack/rear hubs/injectors became an issue. All at a massive 45k miles. But then that was French...

There's a mist of oil appearing in intercoolers, and then there are leaks. The turbo on my Impreza is on over 100k, 50k at stock 225bhp and a subsequent 50k at 300bhp with its arse being kicked most times it gets driven. It doesn't drink a drop of oil in 4k miles, and there are no leaks bar the usual drips from the rocker cover gaskets (a cheap fix rather than a turbo rebuild!). If a premium car (and I use that word intentionally) is having issues with turbos at 70k then that isn't acceptable. Now clearly this isn't going to be on every car, and this one may be an anomaly but you suggest expectations should be set otherwise.

I guess my issue here is that if people accept cars won't last long and don't keep them for long then manufacturers simply won't waste money on making them last properly beyond the absolute bare minimum. And as someone who actually cares about the environment it's frustrating when looking at cars and seeing that most are junk long before their time, partly down to design and partly because people now see them as disposable white goods. It's incredibly wasteful and further reinforcement of the problems in our society.

The other thing is that if you spend £18k for a car that's 'above average' mileage (my recent searches would say that isn't actually the case) then you would expect more in running condition and after sales than if you bought it for £13k.

[NISFAN]

The car industry work to 10 years / 100,000 miles. It's determined by other bodies and court cases, that is what defines a vehicles useful life span.

Some car manufacturers engineer to exceed these by some margin and indeed there are many examples going well beyond this.

Any car company building to a lower expected life cycle would be painting a target on their backs for the legal profession.

Like with any process, there will be deviation in the results. Some products will fail early, some late, but the majority will reach the target lifespan without issue. My F30 330d is coming up to 180k. Still purrs like a (diesel) kitten and no rust, so I don't believe BMW are anywhere near having to be questioned over their built in longevity in F30 models, except perhaps the gearbox sealed for life nonsense. But you can see that ZF fluid is capable of reaching 100k miles, so why burden extra expense on an owner to exceed the industry standards.

[Bmwguy82]

UPDATE

Car has been returned to me with brand new genuine bmw turbo (small turbo), feeds and oil service. The rumbling noise was from exhaust and just needed adjusting. All is fine and the car drives really well

The turbo went to a turbo specialist who stated it was totally shot!!

The trader was really helpful and didn't hesitate to pay for all the work needing doing!

I was also given money for the bodywork and will be getting it sprayed soon!!

Might remove the Alpina flash on gearbox.. not a fan of it. Does anyone know how this would be achieved?

Thanks for all the help guys!! Really appreciate it

[ZedsRedBaby]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy82

UPDATE

Car has been returned to me with brand new genuine bmw turbo (small turbo), feeds and oil service. The rumbling noise was from exhaust and just needed adjusting. All is fine and the car drives really well

The turbo went to a turbo specialist who stated it was totally shot!!

The trader was really helpful and didn't hesitate to pay for all the work needing doing!

I was also given money for the bodywork and will be getting it sprayed soon!!

Might remove the Alpina flash on gearbox.. not a fan of it. Does anyone know how this would be achieved?

Thanks for all the help guys!! Really appreciate it

Great result, well done!

[BBri89]

Good result.

You could always get xHP and flash that, but I would have thought it'd be pretty similar to the Alpine.

Without having a TCU backup I'm not sure how you could delete the Alpine flash, only overwrite it.