Originally Posted by
rsbob
Rotten luck! Those are the worst kind of surprises. With vintage cars, breakdowns are to be expected (Always carry AAA card) but on a newer car under 30,000, unacceptable.
I am learning that used, even CPOs, can be a bit of a crap shoot. I know two foreign car repair shop owners - all too well. They both agree that BMWs newer than an 86 530i are their ‘best’ customers. Their main complaint is the use of plastic parts that get brittle from engine heat and disintegrate as well as wonky electrics. The recommendation is if you buy a new one, keep it while under warranty then unload it. Bmers have beautiful designs, can be hot rodded like crazy, are comfortable, etc, but their reliability has really taken a dump. It’s a real shame since they are such great runners.
The warranty on my Macan expires this month and am on the fence about getting an extended warranty. It’s quite the cash outlay, but then it can easily be exceeded with one major repair. Both shops recommend them so am leaning that way, but just had it completely inspected at its 40K service and it is 100% healthy. Hard to cough up several grand to bet against yourself. Still processing - the electric version is due in 2023.
Yeah, I totally had planned to finish paying off the Bimmer, sell it, and get something practical and reliable now that I'm a couple years out from retirement. Most likely the money that will go into this repair would have paid it off since I owe less than $2000. It will be on the market soon as planned. It sits in the garage all winter here anyway. I guess if you think about it, the car is 5 years old and this has been literally the only problem since I got it, not that bad....I guess.
One of my main, but silly, problems are my knees. I cannot drive a lot of cars for more than 5 minutes without the knees aching. Why I sold the GTI, there was no adjustment tilt of the seat bottom and I just could not adjust it for the support I needed. The BMW works well with the front of the sport seat pulled all the way out. Now I have to find something that's reliable and will work. Sucks getting old, LOL!
Oh, I do keep AAA. started memership with the Miata since there was no spare tire in case I needed a tow. Cheap insurance for only a hundred some bucks a year to supplement my other car insurance. Used it last night to get the tow.