2000 BMW X5 4.4 from North America
Summary:
From BMW USA Customer Service: "Ma'am you don't buy a BMW for reliability, you buy for performance"
Faults:
Biggest Problem: Transfer Case/Drive Shaft / Transmission at 108,000 miles. 12,000$ Repair.
Medium Problem: Oil leaks at 85,000 miles.
$3500 to repair.
Lots of little problems, recalls time in the shop at exorbitant rates.
General Comments:
Lovely to drive. Will never buy another BMW again. They are not built to last and for the price of the car, I expect performance and reliable quality.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 30th March, 2006
31st Mar 2006, 10:53
BMWs made in America have horrible quality as do any Mercedes made here.
My 2000 BMW 528i was the most reliable car I have ever owned, and that fact was borne out by Consumer Reports. The 3 series has also rated highly.
The X5 and X3's are about the worst BMW you could ever buy, except for the 7 series.
31st Mar 2006, 12:35
Hate to burst your bubble, but if Toyotas and Hondas are being sold in Europe (which they are), then BMW is emphatically NOT the most reliable brand being sold in that part of the world. German cars have always been known for their performance, but only Mercedes has been known for its quality (which, sad to say, is awful these days).
13th May 2006, 17:10
Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but he said that BMW is the most reliable EUROPE0AN car. Toyota and Honda were not european the last time I checked ;)
4th Aug 2006, 22:06
Need to replace my ageing '95 Accord with 202,000 miles (original engine and gearbox) have been looking into a used BMW 5 Series... seems like past 100,000 ditch the car or be prepared to spend big... countless stories of transmission failures or computer issues = big bucks.
6th Aug 2006, 06:46
Makes you wonder if you should buy a low mileage 10 year old example instead of a new car nowadays. I use to buy a new car every 2 years and even that does not guarantee you will not be in the shop!
31st Mar 2006, 04:38
From all surveys I've seen (US, Germany, UK), BMW is the most reliable European brand, much better than Mercedes. I guess if you got that odd, very expensive problem, you wouldn't feel too good about buying another one, regardless of what surveys say. Two friends have BMWs, one sold it at 200K km (about 124K miles), never gave a problem, and they admittedly neglected its maintenance; the other one has had four years of no problems and almost 100K km (60K miles.) Nth Americans also have a big disadvantage in being stitched all the time by Euro dealers for repair and labour costs.