Disgruntled UDM Drivers

[bmwcar]

Agree with Zaki,

1) the bmws are normally reliable till year 4 to 5 of ownership.....my car was relatively cheap to maintain for year 1 to 3 of ownership (average of RM1,200 per year and nothing went wrong!), then in the last 6 months - about RM12,000 of maintaince but that included new tires, absorbers, brake discs, o2 and cam sensors and control arms.

2) Mercs are just as expensive to maintain, especially those from 1997 onwards........

3) Japanese cars are also getting expensive as they start getting crammed with technology.....

All this technology does not come cheap but the driving pleasure is worth it.......

 

[wglee]

Originally posted by bmwcar@Jul 3 2006, 07:05 PM
3) Japanese cars are also getting expensive as they start getting crammed with technology.....

Apparently, this is true in respect of Japanese cars' parts. Naidu of BMW aircon fame told me the aircon system of the present generation Toyota Camry (well, present generation Malaysian market Camry) costs more to replace than that of the E46.

 

[emaveric]

Originally posted by wglee+Jul 3 2006, 09:01 PM-->QUOTE (wglee @ Jul 3 2006, 09:01 PM)

 

[Daniel]

not only that, that BMW rep is not comparing apple to apple.

He is comparing a current air-con design with one that was designed when the E46 was still on paper! Of course new technology is more expensive, esp when considering the age and market availability of the E46.

Don't you love how BMW give answers to defend their product.

Next thing they will say is how their cars with active headlights will cost lower to replace than LED headlights.

 

[Afro_D]

Originally posted by Daniel@Jul 10 2006, 11:30 PM
not only that, that BMW rep is not comparing apple to apple.

He is comparing a current air-con design with one that was designed when the E46 was still on paper! Of course new technology is more expensive, esp when considering the age and market availability of the E46.

Don't you love how BMW give answers to defend their product.

Next thing they will say is how their cars with active headlights will cost lower to replace than LED headlights.

Dude,

You seem to have lost all love for the car. Judging from your extensive list of part failures, I would be like you too! Maybe it is time you switched car. Make you a happier man I would think.

Just my 2 cents

Peace

 

[Daniel]

Passion/love for the car is the same for all my cars and bikes.

Serve me well and do what i expect them to do, excel in those categories will certainly get honorable praise.

Fail and i am ready to admit its a POS, no matter how much it costs. If it's shit and i paid money for shit, i will admit it. Doesn't matter if others say different.

Last year, I posted out in a local bike forum that my previous bike, a RM104k Aprilia RSVR Factory bike was a real POS. Didn't matter if it had OHLINS suspension or forged wheels. This bike, for RM104k new, i could had gone better if i bought a RM60k 600cc sports bike. But guess what, others probably keyboard gurus, attacked my thread and my opinions, based on what they have read in magazines about how that bike had rave reviews overseas. Thats overseas, UK and America, on the other side of the globe! The biggest attack was from a sponsored rider, and guess who sponsors him.... Aprillia Malaysia. :yes:

So, judgement and opinion is unique to everyone, I may have the biggest E46 lemon, probably assembled by a one eyed, 4 fingered and lobotomised assemble man on unpaid OT on the day of his 1st son's wedding.

That said, as a car for driving pleasure, yeah, not the best but its pretty good (after all the susp upgrades). High speed stabilty, something yet to be desired. realibility, you know where i stand on this. And last off all, it's all paid for, i own it 100% and the value for it is on the low side from 150k. Change to another car that will provide me with the performance/looks of my E46 for that same money, yes probably a JDM with a turbo, but factor in a JDM turbo with leather seats, classy looks, etc for the same money, nothing beats my E46.

 

[Mont-o]

I got no problem with my yr 2000 CBU E46 323i. I don't encounter any reliability issues such as power window, ratling sound, power steering etc...still feel like new. Just replaced my expansion tank and others wear/tear parts as a preventive maintenance. Carried out the gearbox flushing at 90k km and oil servive at every 8000km interval.

Cheers.

 

[Daniel]

Wah, rub some of your good luck on me!

 

[Redd]

haha sounds like bimmer owners arent as different from alfisti in their fanatical support for their marque, lemons and all.

redd

 

[Afro_D]

Sorta expected Daniel's answer to be that. No matter how pissed off us bimmer owners are with our rides, there is always something about the car that keeps us happy

 

[Kaiza635CSI]

I'm happy eventhough ive been through a lotof crap with my ride. Remind u my ride is 25 Years old next August.

 

[funfer_fahrer]

Originally posted by Kaiza635CSI@Jul 11 2006, 08:24 PM
I'm happy eventhough ive been through a lotof crap with my ride. Remind u my ride is 25 Years old next August.

Your ride is already a classic. The value is going to shoot up very soon. Worth keeping.

 

[supergripen]

hi guys..i haven't posted here for quite a while.been busy with the new car and new forum(SubaruClubMalaysia) though i do admit that no other car forum is livelier than this one.

as u all know,i'm selling off my car(without much success).i'm a disgruntled UDM owner too.why??

don't get me wrong,i love all my UDMs past and present.this E46 though,is the first that i'm selling off without any undue harm(accident or mech/electronic problems).all my previous ones were only sold due to an accident.WHY???

here's the thing.i LOOOOVEd my E30..i think this was the best BAR NONE.she was simple,sturdy,robust yet very agile and fast.she was also easy to tinker with,modify,upgrade etc..LOVED IT!!
the E36 was a little more laden in more ways than one,but in a good way.she was still very much an old school gal,easy to poke around,change this and that and make her come/go faster..easy peasy.LOVED IT TOO!!!

then comes along the E46.on first acquaintance,she's a gorgeous beast.looks like a compact 5,very very smooth indeed.but she was all digital,fully wired to the kazoo with electronics..this presents a 'small' problem when u start to want to tinker/upgrade/modify.
this was where my frustations started.almost everything i wanted to do with her was met by a brick wall..not that it was impossible,but almost la.
thing is,BMW made her tolerences so fine.when you make something with fine tolerences,they tend to break at the slightest hint of push.

as u all know,i wanted to swap her tranny for a manual cuz the crappy step was so weak.this was also met with so many pitfalls ands hurdles.
in the first place,the reason i wanted to swap the tranny was b'coz i wanted to supercharge or stroke the engine.guess what???? weak aluminium block got in the way..of course it can be done,just swap to a steel block rite?? sure,sure..pay double for a stroker kit?? just cuz i nedd a steel block replacement?? don't think so..
same problem with supercharging.all in all,a VERY VERY FRUSTRATING situation to be in.

so here's the thing..new age BMW engines are just not meant to be tinkered with.yes u can,but at what cost?? i was quoted rm35k for a stroker kit,which would probably give me 230bhp??? at rm35k?? do the maths..

SO..as a conclusion,for as long as i have the tinkering bug in my blood,there will be no BMWs in my wishlist.the older ones ie the E30 and E36 are fine but are getting too old.hence my disgruntled self...nothing wrong with its reliability in standard from,i've had 2 trouble free years with my E46..BUT they were also frustrating years for me.

 

[rifhamdi]

well said gripen....

if you want to extract more power from a BMW, than i think its wise to to get a motorsport series....

i guess, my e21 managed to survive this far is because of the less 'tinkering' attitude... whereby everything is kept stock standard as near as possible to standard specs giving a little leeway on adjustments due to the age of the car.

BMW have already spent a lot of money, time and effort on R&D on a particular model before launching so its best to leave things as they are unless one is prepared to 'invest' in the M series which has been factory tuned and all tolerances kept to the very minimum.

so 'tweaking' it further on any BMW can be at times, disastrous and costly. so, if money is no objection to you and is falling from trees by all means, indulge.... otherwise play it safe and let the engineers at BMW do what they are paid to do.

cheers

 

[safri]

i've 2 e46s at home...the older one had just celebrated its 3rd anniversary last month, so far no major problem...maybe it's still too early, well only time will tell. Compare it with any of the japanese or european direct peers, i'm sure everyone will end up saying that the e46 ranks very highly in terms of overall driving pleasure...no doubt bout it.

 

[Daniel]

kinda makes you wonder how the BMW tuners such as ACS, Breyton, Hamann, Alpina etc make money, and i believe BMW in europe approve their mods into the warranty.

 

[bal3056]

I've heard realtime horror stories of today's new-tech bmws. Wait till you hear stories about the cost of replacing the I-Drive system in E60s and 65s ... scary!

BMWs were true UDMs before but now it appears to becoming UNM (Ultimate Nightmare Machines) at least for some.

I was once the owner of E32 750iL '88 and E34 '89, save to say the E34 was a brilliant example of reliability using the tried, tested & trusted M20. 4 years and daily driving and nothing failed except the AC compressor and steering centre-rod. It was sheer pleasure and I had no worries about it ever breaking down on the roadside. It kept on going like cars of yesterday.

Some of my mates could trash the guts out of E28 M20s, E23 M30s and nothing failed, apart from the usual AC compressor, water pump.

Hmm ... !

 

[Zoggee]

I've heard realtime horror stories of today's new-tech bmws. Wait till you hear stories about the cost of replacing the I-Drive system in E60s and 65s ... scary!

BMWs were true UDMs before but now it appears to becoming UNM (Ultimate Nightmare Machines) at least for some.

I was once the owner of E32 750iL '88 and E34 '89, save to say the E34 was a brilliant example of reliability using the tried, tested & trusted M20. 4 years and daily driving and nothing failed except the AC compressor and steering centre-rod. It was sheer pleasure and I had no worries about it ever breaking down on the roadside. It kept on going like cars of yesterday.

Some of my mates could trash the guts out of E28 M20s, E23 M30s and nothing failed, apart from the usual AC compressor, water pump.

Hmm ... !

Dude,
thats why I love the E34 sooo much!!!!

 

[funfer_fahrer]

hi guys..i haven't posted here for quite a while.been busy with the new car and new forum(SubaruClubMalaysia) though i do admit that no other car forum is livelier than this one.

as u all know,i'm selling off my car(without much success).i'm a disgruntled UDM owner too.why??

don't get me wrong,i love all my UDMs past and present.this E46 though,is the first that i'm selling off without any undue harm(accident or mech/electronic problems).all my previous ones were only sold due to an accident.WHY???

here's the thing.i LOOOOVEd my E30..i think this was the best BAR NONE.she was simple,sturdy,robust yet very agile and fast.she was also easy to tinker with,modify,upgrade etc..LOVED IT!!
the E36 was a little more laden in more ways than one,but in a good way.she was still very much an old school gal,easy to poke around,change this and that and make her come/go faster..easy peasy.LOVED IT TOO!!!

then comes along the E46.on first acquaintance,she's a gorgeous beast.looks like a compact 5,very very smooth indeed.but she was all digital,fully wired to the kazoo with electronics..this presents a 'small' problem when u start to want to tinker/upgrade/modify.
this was where my frustations started.almost everything i wanted to do with her was met by a brick wall..not that it was impossible,but almost la.
thing is,BMW made her tolerences so fine.when you make something with fine tolerences,they tend to break at the slightest hint of push.

as u all know,i wanted to swap her tranny for a manual cuz the crappy step was so weak.this was also met with so many pitfalls ands hurdles.
in the first place,the reason i wanted to swap the tranny was b'coz i wanted to supercharge or stroke the engine.guess what???? weak aluminium block got in the way..of course it can be done,just swap to a steel block rite?? sure,sure..pay double for a stroker kit?? just cuz i nedd a steel block replacement?? don't think so..
same problem with supercharging.all in all,a VERY VERY FRUSTRATING situation to be in.

so here's the thing..new age BMW engines are just not meant to be tinkered with.yes u can,but at what cost?? i was quoted rm35k for a stroker kit,which would probably give me 230bhp??? at rm35k?? do the maths..

SO..as a conclusion,for as long as i have the tinkering bug in my blood,there will be no BMWs in my wishlist.the older ones ie the E30 and E36 are fine but are getting too old.hence my disgruntled self...nothing wrong with its reliability in standard from,i've had 2 trouble free years with my E46..BUT they were also frustrating years for me.

Bro Supergripen,

I know deep inside you still love the beemer. And also deep inside I know you love the M3 so much. You are the one who got me into this in the first place. We both feel the need bro-the need for speed. Can't afford to lose you bro.

 

[supergripen]

answer to FUHRER's..

yo Fuhrer!!! or shall i call ya Mav'???

i'd love to keep the 46 but as you and i know,our company don't pay that well.as much as i'd like to keep her,having 2 sports saloons is hurting my not too deep pocket
the reason its still with me is b'cuz i can't sell it as yet,task proving very very difficult and testing at times.u won't believe the offers i've been getting man!!

i'd love an e30 though..remember mine??? we used to have plenty of fun during those carefree days huh??