Now I own a 2009 bmw 328i, again paid cash. However I can't change my oil, heaven forbid something big breaks, ac goes out, etc. I will have to take it to a specialist or a dealership to keep service records up to date etc.
I'd pay what I paid my bmw to have either my truck or camaro back. I've had several vehicles throughout my life, and as much as I love driving my bmw I'd make a straight trade right now.
As an aside- I blew the engine out on my camaro (original owner had done a home bore-job and left pits which cause structural weakeness in my engine block and one day while driving normally a piston slammed through the sidewall.
A 'new' v8 350 engine installed was about 1.5k, this was about 1998, and on a car I'd bought for 1k cash.
That's cheaper than replacing all 4 brake/rotor on my bmw by a good bit.
My drive shaft on my truck broke when a geo metro t-boned me in my work parking lot. No body damage. 200 for the shaft 100 for installation. I cant imagine what would happen to my bmw if tboned, much less the cost of repairs.
I miss the old days :(
I used to be a big fan of German engineering, but I'm afraid it is too stringent on maintenance records and specialty systems. If you don't change the oil at 3241 miles and check the wiper fluid at every 1001 mile interval, the car is going to blow up. And Jurgen will not care; you must read ze manual! We write ze manual for a reason!