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Originally Posted by StanF18
Agreed with all. 
But just to play Devil's advocate and make it interesting, how then to explain the Hondas and Toyotas that "take a lickin' and keep on tickin'"??
I'm not even talking about the well-maintained ones. I'm talking about multiple missed oil changes, 250,000 miles on the odometer, and clueless owners, and yet time and again: THEY are the ones enjoying their brand's reputation for durability and reliability, while us Bavario-philes keep running to our indies and dealers for stupid sh#$. Headlight condensation, hatch rattling, CV joints, water pump, A/C blower, squeaks, rattles, leaks, and so on and so forth. Most of the Honda owners don't even know who their service rep is, while we are ALL intimately acquainted with ours. As much as I love my X, I wouldn't fault anyone for "bitching and moaning" about their X. BMW needs to aspire to both the ultimate driving experience AND the ultimate reliability experience. I do not see why they cannot institute more stringent quality control on their assembly lines, especially after certain issues are identified as problem areas on specific models. |
I'll play devils advocate advocate
. Japanese cars Perform to a different standard, for example most are front wheel drive (less expensive to produce) they also use parts designed to deliver dependability/reliability over driving experience. Thats because to improve the driver experience you will have to make some design compromises to optimum reliability. Toyotas drive terrible, they have harsh suspensions average brakes and average material quality on the interior. Honda does a little better but they have higher repair cost and the automatic transmission will fail by 100k on many Accords.
A Subaru WRX is a great car but is noisy and rides like a truck. The toyota highlander feels light and cheap. Those are the only cars I have personal experience with but the point is to get to the ultimate driving experience you need to look past the ultimate reliability experience. A SATISFIED BMW owner like myself who has owned at least 10 BMW's is not buying the ultimate reliability machine, I am buying the ultimate driving machine and will accept the need for regular upkeep to maintain it. If I need the ultimate reliability machine I'll look for a manual Toyota corolla or Honda civic.