[Gran_Turismo]

Ok so I've been searching for 3-4 months looking for the perfect gt but almost everyone I talk to has told me not to get a Bmw especially used. Even friends that currently drives bmw and has worked for leasing companies advised me not to. I really don't want to listen to them but it seems like it's against my better judgement not to.

Is bmw really that unreliable and that much of a money pit?? The 328gt seems like the perfect car for me and my family and it seems like that's really the only vehicle with this styling that's spacious and practical enough. I'm really bummed right now and don't know what to do. I was planning on keeping A gt for at least 5+ years.

For the last 7 years I've owned a 2005 Acura TL, and for the most part it's been pretty reliable and relatively inexpensive to maintain. As I've searched for the gt in the last few months, I haven't really read or heard of any major problems with the gt. But I have read about lots of issues with the regular 328 sedans. Any insight guys??

[grnbean]

I'm assuming you're searching used. Make sure you get certified preowned (CPO)..that's what I did. It should cover your plan to keep the car for 5+ years

[Deli]

I listen to the everydaydriver podcast and one of the questions they got was this exact same thing on BMW reliability. They said most people are used to cars as appliances and forget to do maintenance. German cars aren't designed to miss these intervals and need to be taken care of. Think like a work horse compared to a race horse. The race horse needs a lot more attention, but are at the top of their game.

I purchased my GT which is my first BMW about 2 months ago with the same concerns, but decided it was worth it since it had everything I wanted. If Lexus made a fast, comfortable, big back seat wagon, then I would have just went with that, but they don't. I did not go with CPO, but that's because I saved around $4k by not going that route. I got a PPI and all the car's maintenance records to make sure it was clean. Yes maintenance is expensive, but once it's out of warranty at the end of the year, I'll do most of my own wrenching. Only thing I'm considering is getting an extended powertrain warranty just to cover anything crazy that happens. Best part about cars is they are depreciating assets, so if you don't like it, just find something else. So far it's been great and I don't regret buying at all, but time will tell. You just have to weight the pros and cons to decide if it's worth it to you.

[Billfitz]

The F30/31/32 forum is overflowing with complaints about this, that and the other thing, but when you look at where most of the complaints are coming from it's younger drivers who've modded their cars and think every daily drive is a Formula 1 race. GT drivers as a whole aren't like that, and you've got to do a lot of searching in the F34 forum to find any complaints. As a whole BMW's reliability record is better than average. If you removed the under 35 year old male drivers from the equation it would be much higher.
I considered Mercedes, Lexus, Audi and Infiniti. None had a car that competed with the GT. As for Lexus, while it's got the best reliability record out there, if you search 'Lexus Complaints' you'll get plenty of results, despite the under 35 year old male drivers not being the primary Lexus demographic.

[jeffc83]

For what it's worth, I haven't had one single issue with my 2015 328 and am at 11.5k miles. If you buy used used and take it to the dealer out of warranty, then it will be a money pit but these cars are nothing but reliable. (aside from a few creaks and rattles with some) I also have to disagree with your friend(s) about buying a used BMW as CPO BMW cars are better values than new ones, depending on what you want PLUS you end up with a better warranty.

And yes, Bill made a good point about modding...sound advice there

[lethbridge]

Well I've had BMWs for the past 20 years - admittedly from new but I do 25-30k miles per annum and get rid of them usually in year 4. The highest mileage I did in one was 115k (a 335d I had remapped at 15k). None of my cars have missed a beat... They've all been 6 cylinders so probably less stressed than some but I do drive hard I would say... My current 335d GT is on 55k and I fully expect to run it to at least 100k with no issues and routine servicing (which I reckon is good value)...

[Machinebuilder]

If you like the car but are worried about maintenance costs get a CPO car. Ok you will spend a little more but you will get a car that has been gone through and should be reliable and you will have peace of mind. That goes with any luxury German car really. They may be a bit more to service but they are wonderful machines to own. cheers

[G20t99]

I bought my '14 335 GT 13 months ago.

My mods consist of the MPPK and Dinan exhaust (both installed by BMW Plano), and a hardwired dashcam, installed by a place called Car Toys in Texas.

My car was CPO with 33k miles on it.

I have had zero 'major' issues with my car and absolutely love driving it. I'm sitting at about 55k miles now.

About to take it in for scheduled routine maintenance.

I am very happy with my decision to go CPO. The original sale price was 60k. Its a very nice car as a CPO, and I would recommend this route to anyone, based on my own experience so far. Still feels and runs like a 60k car.

-G20t

[Gran_Turismo]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. It's very encouraging and if I do end up getting a gt I hope it'll turn out good like all your cars.

[madmonkey]

There's been many great comments already given - so I will just share with you some of my, albeit limited, experience with BMW.

I'm on my second CPO car. The first was a 2006 E90 330i. The only issues I had in 6 1/2 years of owning her were a failed water pump that was replaced under warranty and a rear passenger window motor that was also replaced under warranty. I did regular maintenance myself such as oil and fluid changes. She ran like a dream and I would still be driving her if she hadn't been violently assaulted in the rear by an Oldsmobile.

My second CPO is a 2013 335i xdrive. She's only had an issue with the driver door lock that needed to be replaced under warranty - really a minor issue. I'm coming up on one year of owndership and so far she's been good to me.

The only reason I chose to go with CPO is that for the first 2 years of ownership, I have them pretty much on the hook for any major components that may go bad. That to me is worth the premium of CPO over a regular used car.

I suppose the point I want to make is that BMW has been no less reliable a brand for me than say any other brand and I would not hesitate to buy another when the time comes.

[instalher]

Maintenance Maintanance Maintenance...... be diligent, Brake fluid, and use what they say, oil changes, and don't skimp and use regular 10w30, check plugs, clean and change filters, with every oil change...YES maintenance is more than with a ford or a Honda, but no one every said nice car to ford or Honda..lol....

[roll_the_dice]

I have owned BMW and Porsche since 1992..I have had no major issues with either of them. They both get bad reps, but as said above, keep up with maintenance and you should be good. Will there be a bad one, sure, just like Every Ford, Toyota, and MitsuHonda... I do try to buy CPO for peace of mind, but again haven't had issues. I feel safer in my BMW than I do when I have a piece of crap rental. BMWs are solid and I like that.

[mjez]

Funny how most people who never owned BMW will always tell you not to buy one because they're not reliable, and usually they hear it from their friends that own the car. I've had quite a few in my life and I can tell you this; yes, they maybe more expensive to own, but not always, especially if you are diy type a person. Yes, sometimes something fails, but so do other cars. But the biggest difference is when you drive them, they tend to put a big ass smile on your face. Some older BMWs drive way, way better than some of the newest cars from other brands and most of the time a 10 year old BMW will still feel like a BMW. I have few friends that have driven other brands: Honda/Acura, Toyota, etc and they said they would never switch to other brands because their cars are most reliable, but once they did switch to BMW they all told me that they couldn't believe they wasted all that time driving other cars. Find one that you like, take it for an extensive test drive, make sure that it is what you want and if you want peace of mind get extended warranty. You're gonna love it.