[John 070]

I saw the newest Consumer Reports car buyer's guide, and the 2k5 and 2k6 3 Series have virtually all red circles. That's what was usually seen on the Japanese cars....interesting because the 2k5 is the E46 and the 2k6 is the E90.

On the 2k6, the only white circle was electrical. And I think the audio system was white (but who cares about that). I'm just curious if BMW has improved the reliability? Because it does seem that way in Consumer Reports which many people place credence on. I'm hoping the 335 turns out to be reliable, because coming from a Nissan I'm not used to a car not being such!

[Majikthese42]

According to the CR charts, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac and VW have a lot of red dots the first year, too, and they're the three worst brands as far as reliability at 5 years. Cars that are 6 months old on average and have 6,000 miles on average really shouldn't have a lot of problems.

BMW is likely to fall somewhere in the middle of the pack at 5 years. If you want reliability, buy a Lexus. If you want to go around corners fast, buy a BMW.

[eclivia]

+1 for lexus but for corners has to go to porsche boxster or cayman

[Saintor]

Initial 21 months with NOTHING to report. Hey even my 2 Accord could not claim this.

[MeTaL]

I've had my 320D for 4 months. So far:

Xenon headlight on passenger side was broken and had to be replaced.
Load through compartment in backseat broke and fixed.

A lot of problems for a car of only 4 months.

[NoMods]

and that doesn't include all the bitching and complaining about the littlest things here

[Master Deep]

BMW's for the most part are very reliable and won't leave you stranded. Some people just get a bunch of minor issues that may or may not annoy you. Like your power window breaks or something stops working or u might here rattles, etc.

[obLu]

Originally Posted by Sillent Killer

BMW's for the most part are very reliable and won't leave you stranded. Some people just get a bunch of minor issues that may or may not annoy you. Like your power window breaks or something stops working or u might here rattles, etc.

Nope, now that the ignition (start/stop) button is electronic, it has already left me stranded.

[Fester]

Just give it a year or two and e90/92 will be most reliable as ever.

[HarjotM]

Originally Posted by eclivia

+1 for lexus but for corners has to go to porsche boxster or cayman

+1

[Fester]

Originally Posted by obLu

Nope, now that the ignition (start/stop) button is electronic, it has already left me stranded.

The more gadgets you add, more prone it is to having troubles. BMW is loaded with gadgets and usually leading the industry in safety & electronics technology innovations hence faces reliability issues when such new features are introduced at first. Quality stablizes though after several months...JIMHO

[obLu]

leading the industry in safety & electronics technology innovations

I don't agree with that comment ... they don't particularly lead those areas, they react to what other manufacturers are doing and add the same thing. Merc usually has the same features at least 2yrs in advance of BMW.

But you are right, Germans don't do electronics all that well, so the more gadgets you have the less long term reliability the car is going to have.

I've yet to own a BMW, or any other german car, that hasn't had a major piece of electronics fail. And because they're so integrated with the car, they've all left me stranded.

[Master Deep]

I guess Lexus is the only luxury brand that can cram it's car full of all these electronic toys and helpers and still have a perfectly reliable car.

[HarjotM]

Originally Posted by Sillent Killer

I guess Lexus is the only luxury brand that can cram it's car full of all these electronic toys and helpers and still have a perfectly reliable car.

+1

[Majikthese42]

Originally Posted by Sillent Killer

I guess Lexus is the only luxury brand that can cram it's car full of all these electronic toys and helpers and still have a perfectly reliable car.

Originally Posted by The Wall Street Journal (on dismal Eurocar reliability)

The BMW 7 Series, for example, has more than 120 electric motors, including 38 just for the front seats.

Is there a Lexus with 120 electric motors? Even with a failure rate of 1%, the odds are that at least one electric motor is going to be on the fritz at any given time. There are plenty of good reasons to buy a BMW, but IMO reliability is about #79.

[ksfrogman]

I haven't looked at the last April issue of CR, but whenever a new model is introduced, the ratings are usually lower, because not enough data is yet available. Ratings for a particular model year usually go up subsequently.

[a burrito]

i had my starter motor go bad but thats probably it...33k at 1.5years so far and very happy

[akhbhaat]

With BMW, you can expect the engine block and most of the drivetrain (unless you have an automatic) to last without issue for some time. The rest of the car is suspect.