No more BMWs

[Pip 12]

During the eighties and nineties I had many 318s,320s and 325s without any issues. I always liked these especially the autos as they sold well.  I stopped buying them until recently and they are no where near the same quality. I have had a few lately and every one has had or got an oil leak.  The latest being a 15 plate with 33000 miles fbmwsh. I thought this is nice to have one leak free, to start it up this morning and have smoke pouring from under the bonnet where oil is dropping on manifold. What’s people’s thoughts as I was going to use this as a smoker but think I’ll stick to my faithfull Mazda 6. 

[Nick M.K. 574]

EVERY modern car is built cheaper, less durable and much more complicated than it’s 80s and 90s counterpart. 

Having said that parts are cheaper and plentiful and anything can be fixed. 

You can always have a yard-full of 3-4 year old Hyundai and Kia still in the warranty period but then we only live one life. 

I personally love German cars and will not go back to selling rubbish built in Ellesmere Port, the home of the Astra. 

[NOACROSS 414]

10 hours ago, Pip said:

During the eighties and nineties I had many 318s,320s and 325s without any issues. I always liked these especially the autos as they sold well.  I stopped buying them until recently and they are no where near the same quality. I have had a few lately and every one has had or got an oil leak.  The latest being a 15 plate with 33000 miles fbmwsh. I thought this is nice to have one leak free, to start it up this morning and have smoke pouring from under the bonnet where oil is dropping on manifold. What’s people’s thoughts as I was going to use this as a smoker but think I’ll stick to my faithfull Mazda 6. 

I agree Pip- but I widen it to all German cars. Did about 2 and a half years ago. We are not alone. 

When I was a kid in the 80’s and into the early 90’s I loved them and sold plenty.

I still have a few, but mostly when they come in PX. The older they are, the more headaches  3-5 years seem OK  after that, I’m not so confident. 

Also, often cheap people aspire to own one and don’t look after them properly- and unlike in the old days- they are no longer ‘bulletproof or built to last’  especially if they’re not looked after.

Stress levels have been miles lower-  although, of course, the sales numbers are lower too, as many still aspire to Germany’s ‘ahem’ finest. The ones doing big numbers a month sell plenty.

For me, and I know a few on here, agree, VW/Audi is just one step above Vauxhall junk.

Bmw and Mercedes are a bit better, but the W123 was the last decent Merc IMHO.  

It’s a personal thing maybe but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. I’ve not been impressed by any VW/Audi, Merc or BMW for many a year. (I do like the BMW i3 but whether that’ll be a good older second hand product or not I don’t know.) Looks, build quality , driving experience or anything except a V8 petrol engine or Bi-turbo monster- but I wouldn’t want one myself. Kia and Hyundai a much better product I think by far. Love the looks of the Kia Sportage etc especially.  Anyway:

Us dealers are like customers luckily in that we all like and buy different things and have different levels of perceived risk-aversion.

How long a warranty do you get when you buy a new VW car? 3 years? Makes you wonder how much confidence the manufacturer has in the product. Or maybe they just want you to buy a new one. After all, it’s a bad business model making an indestructible car. 

[CRW 73]

To be fair I have pretty much stopped looking at German cars. There's the big question marks over the VAG TDI's that have had an emission recall, are they as reliable afterwards or has it been updated then become unreliable so the owner has ditched it?. That eliminates about all TDi VAG cars from 2010-2014 as Im not going to risk buying somebody elses trouble. I personally think buying a used BMW is potentially more risky than VAG cars, swirl flaps, chains etc but that's just my opinion. 

[Mikey360 68]

Always done well with bmws and Audis, I think whatever you buy it could be crap, just luck of the draw really. 

 

[Tom 164]

43 minutes ago, CRW said:

To be fair I have pretty much stopped looking at German cars. There's the big question marks over the VAG TDI's that have had an emission recall, are they as reliable afterwards or has it been updated then become unreliable so the owner has ditched it?. That eliminates about all TDi VAG cars from 2010-2014 as Im not going to risk buying somebody elses trouble. I personally think buying a used BMW is potentially more risky than VAG cars, swirl flaps, chains etc but that's just my opinion. 

Agreed, the modern BMW's are garbage timing chains, rear diff bearings, turbos, the 4 cylinder petrol engine craps itself. German cars used to be way made reliable old cars but not now. VAG are nearly as bad with crap petrol engines. The only brands I like are  Ford, Peugeot, Citroen, Toyota and Honda dont get much trouble with these. 

[CRW 73]

2 minutes ago, Tom said:

Agreed, the modern BMW's are garbage timing chains, rear diff bearings, turbos, the 4 cylinder petrol engine craps itself. German cars used to be way made reliable old cars but not now. VAG are nearly as bad with crap petrol engines. The only brands I like are  Ford, Peugeot, Citroen, Toyota and Honda dont get much trouble with these. 

I agree with you on the Ford, Toyota and Honda's although the only Peugeots and Citroens I touch are the 107 and C1's.To be fair though, Im beginning to group the Fords in with Germans, with their Ecoboost junk engines and the chronic powershift gearbox. 

[Tom 164]

Just now, CRW said:

I agree with you on the Ford, Toyota and Honda's although the only Peugeots and Citroens I touch are the 107 and C1's.To be fair though, Im beginning to group the Fords in with Germans, with their Ecoboost junk engines and the chronic powershift gearbox. 

Yes apart from the 1.0 ecoboom and powershit  dont touch these and you'll be fine. 

[CRW 73]

Problem is finding a post 2012 Ford (Fiesta, Focus, C-Max) that isn't a 1.0 Ecoboost! Did a few 1.6 Ecoboost until turns out the don't just blow up, they barbeque you! Hoping the 1.5 Ecoboost turns out to be better in the long run.

[Tom 164]

The 1.5 Ecoboost is the revised engine not heard anything bad about these. 

[Nick M.K. 574]

1 hour ago, CRW said:

Problem is finding a post 2012 Ford (Fiesta, Focus, C-Max) that isn't a 1.0 Ecoboost!

Looked for a newish petrol Focus for a brand-loyal customer recently. 

Ended up getting them an Audi A3 for the same money :-)  20 years of Fords and I don't see them in one anytime soon.

[CRW 73]

2 minutes ago, Nick M.K. said:

Looked for a newish petrol Focus for a brand-loyal customer recently. 

Ended up getting them an Audi A3 for the same money :-)  20 years of Fords and I don't see them in one anytime soon.

TDI or TSI? Im sure they feel they have made a move up in terms of quality, but only time will tell.  Theres little to choose between the VAG TSi or the Ford Ecoboost these days, they both have question marks, but if their brand loyalty was based on Ford CVH, Zeta's, Duratec and Zetec engines they could be potentially disappointed with the longevity and reliabilty of the TSI.

But then again, maybe not, its the great unknown!

[Nick M.K. 574]

10 minutes ago, CRW said:

potentially disappointed with the longevity and reliabilty of the TSI.

1.8 TFSI. 

They will not be disappointed. 

 

12 minutes ago, CRW said:

Im sure they feel they have made a move up in terms of quality, but only time will tell

The quality is obvious immediately. You smell the leather and you know. The price should usually be higher for the Audi but as I told them "you get lucky sometimes". The 1.8 TFSI may not win awards for "engine of the year" but it's was so much better buy than the small Ecoboost, they don't compare. Best £8500 these customers could've spent on a 2014 Focus sized car that wasn't a Focus.

[grant8064 219]

1 hour ago, Nick M.K. said:

1.8 TFSI. 

They will not be disappointed. 

Nick, is a newer/modified engine design? 

Be interested to know as we blacklisted the TFSi stuff because of the oil consumption issues but it was usually on 09-12 plate stuff. Has the newer VAG stuff improved?

[Tony911 79]

Nicked a lovely 325 last week as everybody got put off the smoke coming from side of the engine obviously it was rocker cover gasket failure common issue. £2500 under cap so not complaining 

[Nick M.K. 574]

Majority of TFSI have been sorted by Audi under warranty but you are only really safe on a post 2014 14 reg and newer. 

[Tony F 38]

3 hours ago, grant8064 said:

Nick, is a newer/modified engine design? 

Be interested to know as we blacklisted the TFSi stuff because of the oil consumption issues but it was usually on 09-12 plate stuff. Has the newer VAG stuff improved?

We were caught out with a 2009 A5 about 6 years ago that was using 1 litre of oil every 150 miles. Purchased 1 week before BBC watchdog highlighted the issue. We called Audi uk and explained that as an 'Audi customer', we were 'very concerned' about the watchdog report, and we had also been experiencing these issues. Anyway,  they booked us into a local Audi dealer, where long story short, they carried out a 5 grand engine rebuild under warranty. Good result for us!

[grant8064 219]

4 hours ago, Nick M.K. said:

Majority of TFSI have been sorted by Audi under warranty but you are only really safe on a post 2014 14 reg and newer. 

Thanks Nick, wondered if the later stuff had been improved. 

Interesting how Audi sound like they're happy(ish) to fix these...Skoda was a very different experience. Happier to f**k off someone on a supermarket brand than one you're trying to make premium I guess.

[CCC 31]

12 hours ago, CRW said:

TDI or TSI? Im sure they feel they have made a move up in terms of quality, but only time will tell.  Theres little to choose between the VAG TSi or the Ford Ecoboost these days, they both have question marks, but if their brand loyalty was based on Ford CVH, Zeta's, Duratec and Zetec engines they could be potentially disappointed with the longevity and reliabilty of the TSI.

But then again, maybe not, its the great unknown!

Zetecs and Duratec's are great engines. For a banger it's hard to go wrong with a Mondeo or Focus. 

Having read up on BMW"s cost saving measures in recent years (e.g twin to single row chains) then the newer ones are starting to sound decidedly risky, give me an old 3.0  M44 over an N series any day of the week.

[metcars 397]

22 hours ago, Nick M.K. said:

Looked for a newish petrol Focus for a brand-loyal customer recently. 

Ended up getting them an Audi A3 for the same money :-)  20 years of Fords and I don't see them in one anytime soon.

Wow, that's a gift! Who wouldn't want A3 for the price of a Focus?

[tradegirl 112]

I love a BMW. Obviously you keep your fingers crossed with the chains, but they're generally good sellers, good looks, and gearboxes are alright. Same goes for Mercs.

[NOACROSS 414]

15 minutes ago, tradex said:

I'll put my hand up and say I'd rather have a Focus over an A3

Amen. 

[metcars 397]

1 hour ago, tradex said:

I'll put my hand up and say I'd rather have a Focus over an A3

I agree with you. German cars are not my cup of tea, but plenty still want to 'buy in' to that dream?

[Grantlfc81 88]

our whole business is based on german cars 5-10 years old. they sell quick and the good out weigh the bad.

[Contracts 68]

On 09/07/2019 at 2:54 PM, Tony911 said:

Nicked a lovely 325 last week as everybody got put off the smoke coming from side of the engine obviously it was rocker cover gasket failure common issue. £2500 under cap so not complaining 

Was it just a gasket?, a few years back we had a few failures under warranty on the 320i and they had to change the rocker cover, I seem to recall it’s plastic and warps?

On 09/07/2019 at 10:26 AM, CRW said:

Problem is finding a post 2012 Ford (Fiesta, Focus, C-Max) that isn't a 1.0 Ecoboost! Did a few 1.6 Ecoboost until turns out the don't just blow up, they barbeque you! Hoping the 1.5 Ecoboost turns out to be better in the long run.

In the event you did get a failure on a 1.0 Ecoboost Ford still help with goodwill as long as you can show service history.