BMW 325i reliability and maintenance

I own a 1998 toyota camry with 190K miles on it. I had no major problem
with the car. It only needed oil change, timing belt, water pump, spark
plugs, idle control valve and other standard maintenances. It is still
going strong but a very boring machine.

I am considering buying a new 325i. How is the 325i reliability and the
cost of maintenance? Is it easy to maintain? I am planning to do the
maintenance. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Dan

Dan wrote:
> I own a 1998 toyota camry with 190K miles on it. I had no major problem
> with the car. It only needed oil change, timing belt, water pump, spark
> plugs, idle control valve and other standard maintenances. It is still
> going strong but a very boring machine.
>
> I am considering buying a new 325i. How is the 325i reliability and the
> cost of maintenance?

Not as reliable as your Toyota was. More reliable than many other car
makes. Cost of maintenance is relative to many things, many of them are
controlled by you.

> Is it easy to maintain? I am planning to do the
> maintenance.

Yes. In my personal experience, they are relatively easy to maintain.
Doing your own maintenance will go a long way toward 1) making your car
more reliable and 2) keeping the cost of maintenance in line.

High quality OE and OEM parts are readily available at very reasonable
prices for these cars. It is primarily the labor costs, especially at
the dealerships, that drives up the cost of ownership.

However, you should not buy this car if your expectation is that it will
even come close to the reliability of your prior Asian car. It will
not and you will be disappointed. Buy the car because you have a need
to drive a more exciting car with superior handling and performance and
realize in advance that this comes with certain maintenance requirement
strings attached. If you do this you will be much more likely to be
satisfied with your BMW experience.

> Thanks for sharing your experiences.

You're welcome. Have fun with your choice.
-Fred W

Malt_Hound wrote:

> However, you should not buy this car if your expectation is that it
will
> even come close to the reliability of your prior Asian car. It
will
> not and you will be disappointed. Buy the car because you have a
need
> to drive a more exciting car with superior handling and performance
and
> realize in advance that this comes with certain maintenance
requirement
> strings attached. If you do this you will be much more likely to be
> satisfied with your BMW experience.

My previous car was a Civic and I currently own a 325i. I couldn't
agree more with the above assessment. With the Civic, I had zero
problems. With the 325i, I've had several minor problems, and
one engine problem (ignition coil failure).

Anoop

Malt_Hound wrote:

> However, you should not buy this car if your expectation is that it
will
> even come close to the reliability of your prior Asian car. It
will
> not and you will be disappointed. Buy the car because you have a
need
> to drive a more exciting car with superior handling and performance
and
> realize in advance that this comes with certain maintenance
requirement
> strings attached. If you do this you will be much more likely to be
> satisfied with your BMW experience.

My previous car was a Civic and I currently own a 325i. I couldn't
agree more with the above assessment. With the Civic, I had zero
problems. With the 325i, I've had several minor problems, and
one engine problem (ignition coil failure). But if I had to choose
between the two, I'd still go with the 325i.

Anoop