A rant!!

[retcav1sg]

Woke up early this morning and read many threads...lots of them compalining about one issue or the other. Many on the premise that we own a very expensive well made "ultimate driving machine" that should not have "issues." First off...A F1 car costs many millions and can break on the first lap of a race, most routinely break because they are driven at their limits...always. We own very very nice vehicles, that drive better and are engineered better that most vehicles on the road. What do most do????? Treat them like shit, abuse them, only fix them if something breaks and then complain like hell because this "ultimate driving machine" won't hold up. I just spent a boatload of money (posted a thread on work done) on things that were prevenative in nature. At 100,000 miles things need to be addressed and replaced/fixed because if they break bigger "issues" will arise. I appreciate what I own and will do what is neccessary to maintain it. I like to think I did much research before I bought (maintance history, carfax, I even found out who the previous owner was and spoke to him). What amazes me is people will drive all over town and do much research to pay 5 cnets less for a gallon of gas but let a very nice vehicle go to shit out of sheer laziness. And "oh by the way" if you drive the X like a bat out of hell all the time (even though it is a tank) it will break!! I've driven real tanks and when driven at their limits they break. I could go on and on but I will stop. I think this board is amazing; it's one of the most knowledgeable communities I've ever encountered so please don't take this as an inditement against the board. I just had to unload...MAINTAIN YOUR VEHICLES AND THEY WILL BREAK LESS.

Sorry for the rant so early
Mac

[Weasel]

AMEN. I see the best and the worst come in at the dealer. In the same week I'll have an 01 with 220k+ miles come in for an oil change that looks and runs like a brand new vehicle, then have an 05 with ~65k miles come in that's already so trashed out that I could vomit! Body trashed with dents/dings/scratches, wheels bent and curb rashed to the max, el cheapo tires worn to the chords.... and the tan interior turning black with soo much trash in the back you can't get th the spare.

Your vehicle is only as good as you make it/keep it!

[skiboats]

Originally Posted by weasel56

AMEN. I see the best and the worst come in at the dealer. In the same week I'll have an 01 with 220k+ miles come in for an oil change that looks and runs like a brand new vehicle

Your vehicle is only as good as you make it/keep it!

I like that part of the story!

[realchef]

That's why it's called maintenance.

[Bimmer Ese]

Well said my friend. I know my cars aren't perfect, but I sure love to work on them. I've worked on other cars before, such as GM's (Corvettes...I will never touch a C4 Corvette again , POS Oldsmobiles), Lincolns and Nissans. BMW's are so much easier to work on.

When it comes to maintenance, I'm always on top of my vehicles. I too, agree with Weasel56 about nice cars with 200k+ miles and those ruff 75k mile cars. Pretty sad how some people treat their cars.

Daniel

[Icer006]

To add that, people blame BMW when their AFTERMARKET parts fail.

[RichiRich]

Mac,

Very well said! Funny, my neighbors think that I am sick because I am always washing, waxing and cleaning my car....or have the hood up doing a diy oil change.....etc. etc.. When I visit my INDY - I always have him look at any preventitive type fixes before the volcano blows....then i'll have my other Indy do the same. Kinda like asking a different DR. for a second opinion. Best of all We/I have X5world for preventative maint. and answers to quick questions. Just the other day weasel56 helped me with an issue that 2 days later is resolved......I'm @ 90k.....with an 02'..........knock on my thick skull things are going very well..

R Rich

[Bimmer4125]

Amen to PM. Spend a little now, or alot later.

[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.

[Icer006]

I think it's important to note that the Honda/Toyota claim may be exaggerated. i.e. I have a friend with a Lexus with 200,000+ miles. He keeps telling me that it has been and still is problem-free. However, when I rode in it, it sure felt like the motor mounts were shot, his ABS light is on and they didn't get it fixed, etc.