Worse day of my BMW's life.

[Mr.Macintosh]

Last night I lost the steering on my 2002 BMW 330XI and the engine kept on overheating. I nursed it to the local Exxon station and left it for the night. I figured it was the belt since it powers, the power steering and the fan which cools the liquid. But, it is much worse. Got a call from the Exxon saying the water pump burst which shreaded the belt.( I was half right) According to him it started with some bearing problem. So the water pump, themrostat, and belt needs to be replaced. Something tells me I should have the BMW towed to the BMW dealer to fix it but, it is out of warranty so this is most likely cheap way to get it fixed. I aways figured a car will have at least one major problem in its lifetime. This is my BMW's major problem. It seems my theory is correct since every car I owned had a major problem. All the Chrysler cars I owned had a serious transmission problem. The Jeep Grand Cherokee's transmission was shot and my Jeep Cherokee had major raditor problems. That story aside hope my BMW gets fixed soon.

[Blazer06]

That suXors


Blaze

[The Real Bingo]

Eh...

My car is 18 years old and hasn't had a major mechanical problem yet. *shrug*

I guess it's just the luck of the draw.

*Knocks on wood*

[jml90]

I'm surprised their Bingo its a Ford

[The Real Bingo]

Our family has had nothing but success with FoMoCo. 1986 Crown Victoria LTD still runs like a dream with 133,000 miles; 2001 F-150 SuperCrew is great; 2003 Mazda Protege... eh, it's a Mazda, but it still runs fine. My grandparents also had a 1983 Lincoln Town Car which ran fine until about 1999 when it encountered an incessant stalling problem. They now have a 1999 Town Car that runs great. My grandfather also has a 1962 Mercury Meteor which runs dandily.

I don't know...

It also helps when one does his own maintenence. Cars don't like those paid mechanics...

[Toadman]

It's no secret in the auto industry that some German car manufacturers have lost the once-prized stigma of prestige and reliability in the past decade, especially VW and BMW. Yes, it's a generalization but CSI scores, owner retention, maintenance costs, and warranty claims are speaking volumes in publications like Consumer Reports. For a 330XI under warranty to burst a water pump(they usually seep with bearing noise) and shred the serpentine belt so soon is hopefully an anomaly.

[Mr.Macintosh]

It's no secret in the auto industry that some German car manufacturers have lost the once-prized stigma of prestige and reliability in the past decade, especially VW and BMW. Yes, it's a generalization but CSI scores, owner retention, maintenance costs, and warranty claims are speaking volumes in publications like Consumer Reports. For a 330XI under warranty to burst a water pump(they usually seep with bearing noise) and shred the serpentine belt so soon is hopefully an anomaly.

It is out of warranty. It had a 36,000 mile warranty. It currently has 48,000 miles. Well BMW isn't the worst german car. The least german car in my view is mercedes. You get crappy benz intill you pay $100,000+.

[samwichse]

Honda and Nissan: those are the ticket.

1973 Datsun (Honda) truck: 19 straight years, no problems through about 250k miles, 10 years, when the odometer broke, then it developed a starter problem, my dad drove it 9 more years push starting it with an estimated 350k miles.
1987 Nissan pickup: No problems for 235k miles till it was sold.
1990 Honda Accord stick: No problems at all, currently at 255k miles and still going strong.

Sam

[The Real Bingo]

1973 Datsun (Honda) truck

Datsun was Nissan.

[Cruez]

^
l
l

What he said...... Datsun was NOT Honda....by no stretch of the imagination.

I haven't had a car so far that has had any major problems.....

All of them have been Datsuns or Nissans... Except for a 1964 Dodge Dart that I blew the differential out of.., 1968 Camaro (rarely drove it), 1988 IROC (sold) and the Taurus SHO..(still here)

[RobRich]

the Taurus SHO

I take it your transmission has not yet blown apart. Just wait. It is not a question of if, it is a question of when. BTW, I am not knocking the model, as I have driven three Taurus/Sable cars over the years - one first generation, two third generation. I just haven't had much luck with the transmissions, especially after 100,000 miles.

Something tells me I should have the BMW towed to the BMW dealer to fix it but, it is out of warranty so this is most likely cheap way to get it fixed.

Don't worry, a water pump is an easy repair, even for a BMW. Assuming the mechanic can loosen and tighten a few bolts, then you are good to go.

You get crappy benz intill you pay $100,000+.

I am trying to figure that one out. I know people that have had fewer problems with their entry-level Benz's than I have had with most of the American and European cars I have owned. I know a couple of people with 300,000+ miles on 190E's, and that is the cheapest and worst engineered POS model to ever roll off the Mercedes assembly line.

[EpyonMelee]

Datsun was its own company until Nissan bought it out in the 80's.

[Bizkitkid2001]

The biggest problem on my truck was when my radiator cracked. It was plastic so I don't blame it for cracking after 122K miles. Other than that, it hasn't had any major repairs. 1990 Mazda b2600i.

The biggest problem my mom had on her Crysler 300m was a broken timing belt which wouldn't let her get out of first gear. No transmission problems and the car still runs great almost 6 years later (Bought in 1998, Model year 1999)

My step dad hasn't owned a ford truck long enough to get a major problem. So far the one he has kept the longest is his last one which is a 2001 F-150. The biggest problem it ever had was when the computer got shot.

[RobRich]

Datsun was its own company until Nissan bought it out in the 80's.

Incorrect. Datsun has always been Nissan. Datsun was to be Nissan's brand presence in the American marketplace. Time for a trip down memory lane....

The original Z car was to be the Datsun Fairlady, at the direction of the Nissan CEO at the time. The directing manager for Datsun operations removed the Fairlady stickers on the cars when they reached the US ports, thus leaving them with only the Z designation. There was a big controversy in the company, but the Z sold so well in its first few months that the manager was never fired for his act of insubordination.

[Mr.Macintosh]

I take it your transmission has not yet blown apart. Just wait. It is not a question of if, it is a question of when. BTW, I am not knocking the model, as I have driven three Taurus/Sable cars over the years - one first generation, two third generation. I just haven't had much luck with the transmissions, especially after 100,000 miles.



Don't worry, a water pump is an easy repair, even for a BMW. Assuming the mechanic can loosen and tighten a few bolts, then you are good to go.



I am trying to figure that one out. I know people that have had fewer problems with their entry-level Benz's than I have had with most of the American and European cars I have owned. I know a couple of people with 300,000+ miles on 190E's, and that is the cheapest and worst engineered POS model to ever roll off the Mercedes assembly line.

I got that statement from my brothers friends parents. They have a whole collection of mercedes. Maybe like 10-15 mercedes. They got a E class and that thing kept on giving them problems. They got the G500 SUV and the handles fell off, computer malfunctioned, and when on cruise control it would rather slow down or speed up to 100 MPH without anyone touching the controls. They have some $100,000+ mercedes(they allow there kids when 16 drive them ) no problems yet.

[implexant]

It is out of warranty. It had a 36,000 mile warranty. It currently has 48,000 miles. Well BMW isn't the worst german car. The least german car in my view is mercedes. You get crappy benz intill you pay $100,000+.

That's odd, my dad's Benz 300D Turbo Diesel has 268,000 miles on it, he purchased for $1500, and it works great. The thing is built like a tank. I like to call it "Dad's Little Bradley Fighting Vehicle."

-Chris

[RobRich]

Several of my friends swear by Mercedes. Anyway, I never had a problem with any the Mercedes I ever drove, but those were 70's and 80's models. You know, back when companies still built cars with steel bodies and cast iron engines.

[Mr.Macintosh]

That's odd, my dad's Benz 300D Turbo Diesel has 268,000 miles on it, he purchased for $1500, and it works great. The thing is built like a tank. I like to call it "Dad's Little Bradley Fighting Vehicle."

-Chris

The 80's and 90's benz models were really reliable. I am talking about 2000 models and up. Mercedes went down in quality and brought Chrysler down with it( Chrysler was much better without mercedes). BMW as well dropped but, at least working on it and not as much of a drop as mercedes.

[implexant]

Several of my friends swear by Mercedes. Anyway, I never had a problem with any the Mercedes I ever drove, but those were 70's and 80's models. You know, back when companies still built cars with steel bodies and cast iron engines.

True, I know someone with a newer Benz, whatever that huge flagship model is, and they've had no problems. But who knows

My dad got rear ended last week by a VW Passat. Some 25 year old yuppie forgot to stop. Poor girl's front end is a wreck. He had two small, barely noticeable scratches on a little black rubber piece of his bumper.

I used to be a HUGE Volvo fan... now I'm leaning more towards the Benz market.

-Chris

[implexant]

The 80's and 90's benz models were really reliable. I am talking about 2000 models and up. Mercedes went down in quality and brought Chrysler down with it( Chrysler was much better without mercedes). BMW as well dropped but, at least working on it and not as much of a drop as mercedes.

Yes, this is very disappointing. I'm pretty much resolved that unless you can spend $60k on a car, you might as well stick to Ford and Honda. Right?

heh.

-Chris