And what do you think this says about the brand in general? I’m sure there are cases of ‘success’ but many non-car forum owners will tell you their BMW spends a good deal of time in the shop (regular joe shmoe people).
My warranty is about to expire on my Infiniti (at 88k, I’m at 84k right now)…and I have zero issues other than some rattles from the speaker area and in the rear deck area where the sub is. No funny engine noises, has never had ANY engine/tranny problems, have never seen the check engine light, etc.
Bottom line…IMO…if you want something that will last (mechanically) for a long ass time for the most part…stick to Japanese. If you want something that looks bad as hell and has more of a ‘performance’ feel to it…go German. But be prepared to work on it more, pay more for parts, etc.
Japs are just more into tech stuff and ‘efficiency’ while Europeans are more about the ‘driver’. Although, Japan has been doing a pretty good job lately IMO.
Well equipped? For the same price of a 5 series I’ll take a Lexus GS every time. BETTER equipped and FAR more friendly on ‘ownership costs’. Same goes for 7 series vs LS. LS hands down. In the 5-series’ case…you can get the same car from Lexus for 10k less.
Germany isn’t doing to hot in the quality department as you said. No arguments there. I will be the first to admit that Germany makes some SEXY cars as far as looks go. They are designed well, meaning…easy to work on…but the quality of the parts used is piss poor from what I know about them. Not to mention that the 5-series uses GM parts (tranny in the 528 for example). REALLY? I’d be curious to know what other GM products are in a ‘super duper German machine’ on their other models. Not to mention the plasticy interior surfaces, etc.
IMO…BMW = Apple. Pricey as hell. Has a strong brand loyalty for whatever reason. Isn’t as high quality as their loyalists suggest.
This is all just my opinion…so if you disagree, that’s fine :lol. I just don’t see anything extremely out of this world about BMW/Germany. Although I love my car, except for it’s crappy gas mileage, if I had to buy an expensive luxury car again…it would probably be a Lexus.