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Whats So Good About Bmw's, I Need A Good Arguement

12K views 41 replies 25 participants last post by  91notchback 
#1 ·
I have a 325is and dont egt me wrong I love it, but alot of times BMW's get a bad rap it seems, Being way to expensive for what their worth

and people go to say they are unreliable

so what is good about bmw's that far exceeds other cars

Ive heard from others that
-better quality metal and paint
-better built engines, with better metal-Not sure if this is true since yall say alot about bmw's engines cracking and stuff, maybe im wrong
-obviously tight handling
-pretty good for touring
-luxury or course
-comfortable
-styling

anyone else got any facts or agree or disagree or got anything else?
 
#3 ·
true true, my old 84 bmw has 230k miles but even fords and stuff get this, I think, maybe not.

but is it true that they use stronger metal than say a taurus or honda or something like that, for both the engines and the frame.

ive heard this but not sure if it is true
 
#4 ·
umm i hear people refer to bmws as "tanks" meaning they can get hit or be crashed and you are pretty safe.. this is probably do to the way they are built the quality of metal etc....anyways any car specailly like a honda can get to 230k... its how much money you have to put into the car to get it there... my friends bmw is about to cross into the 300 zone... and he hasnt put much money it at all new clutch tune ups... and control arm.... oh yeah fuel pump a few years ago...

David
 
#6 ·
I think the big thing is quality.
If you want a better quality car you are going to pay for it.
I work in the automotive industry and there is quite a difference between what domestic manufacturers want and what import manufactuers want.
Tolereances are much tighter on imports which equals more money.
Just take a look at the smaller details like fit and finish, seam lines and overall build quality.
Then take one out for a ride and you'll really feel the difference.
 
#7 ·
I would personally put this in the off topic. But as far as agreeing/disagreeing with you lets see:
THe only reason why I think anyone would have a bad rap about bmws is that they believe is not worth the money. Take the new e46 325i for example, it's MSRP is around $29,000. This is pretty much almost the "cheapest" base model you could get. By cheap I mean lowest cost next to the 323. Now if you look at the specs, (0-60 in 7s and so forth) For this, you could be on your way into getting an EVO VIII (msrp at 28000). This great car does 0-60 in about 4.8s, which is well in m3 territory. But that's all people look at, numbers. They don't look at the bigger picture such as build quality, comfortbility,and overall drivability. Yes they are not the fastest thing out there but they provide the best "all around" feature. Keep in mind that these cars are the ones of the only few expensive car brand that get driven on a regular bases. Next time when you get into your friend's car, just look around and compare.
Then again, how many girls would go for a guy with a mitsubishi as oppose to a BMW.
 
#8 ·
yeah and do you know cars such as the wrx and evos cruisin speed is about 65.... the 3 series such as m3 is 110 haha

By crusin speed they meant... the high speed in which the car still drives good... good means smooth safely etc... evos are made for the short distance etc bmws are made for autobahn and german highways.. high speeds with comfort and safety

David
 
#9 ·
Just take a look at the smaller details like fit and finish, seam lines and overall build quality.
Then take one out for a ride and you'll really feel the difference.
AGREED.
 
#10 ·
well the company does so much for the drivers, the cars are real driver's cars, is there a FORDCCA?, and also the engines, some of the best in the world, my friend had a 4.6l gt mustang, 225 hp out of a 4.6l v8, what is that,

check out the bmw engines of the year, no american company got any of the awards, for any group

http://www.ukintpress.com/engineoftheyear/winners/3_4.html

http://www.ukintpress.com/engineoftheyear/winners/2_25.html

also did i mention BMW has won the most engine of the year awards, then any other company
 
#14 ·
wow, haven't been in the forums in awhile...miss all you guys...I'm diggin this debate though...


Of course we are all gonna be biased to our wonderful BMWs :D But the term "German engineering" actually speaks for itself. German engineering has always been immaculate when it comes to pretty much anything. German engineering is why the Germans were pretty damn close to kicking our asses in the World Wars. In a way...BMW's are a history lesson. The symbol itself is derived from the way propellors of German fighter planes would look while in motion (at least what I heard, which is a nifty little anecdote).


Regardless...I have driven a lot of cars in my life...a lot of really good cars. My family has a Hyundai Sonata, a Ford Windstar (both pretty new), and my 96 BMW 318i...by far...the technology I see in my car alone, and its quality of craftsmanship by far blows both of those cars away. The other two are in and out of the shop for engine lights and warning lights every other day. I have had maybe one problem on my BMW and it was time for its maintanence anyway. Don't get me wrong, many cars are very very good, but like someone mentioned earlier, what the companies strive for may be totally different.
 
#15 ·
yeah and thats from your 318 im in the same boat my 318 is nicer than most peoples cars.. then last weekend i sit myself in an m3... and dear god

Bottom line who ever starts an arugument like this to any of us bmws owners tell them to sit in an e36 m3, and even drive in 100 yards and they wont question you again, it knocked out every single one of my thoughts of a wrx for a long time!

DAvid
 
#16 ·
I would say BMW is at the top of my list...for "ride quality & realistic handling". I never look at my E36 as if its a "luxury car". In fact, I don't see BMW for luxury as much as I see Jags and Benzes. Those cars sell Luxury and the name. BMW sells ride quality, and its name.

Take this example...When I had my 15 inch steel rims and caps I went into a knee deep pothole in Brooklyn at like 40-50 mph...My entire front passenger side steel wheel became a taco and the tire was reduced to flaps of rubber....The entire car collapsed on that side and dribbled to a halt. Before I even got out of the car to look, I had swore my whole front suspension was wrecked from the force of impact (I mean my radio face plate fell off) But the mechanic who replaced my tire and wheel said I had a good car because he had seen this type of accident often on American Cars and usually the damage is much much greater than tires and wheels.
 
#17 ·
Innovation.

BMW was one of the first to mass produce fuel injected cars in the 70s. American, and even Asian manufacturers were using carbs into the early 90s.

GM used pushrods in cars as recent as the aztec. The e36 has no distributor.

GM has OnStar. BMW has GPS navigation, voice command, and idrive.

Ford offers MP3 headunits in some models. BMWs integrate iPods.

More reasons to add to the list.
 
#18 ·
Also BMW had the first factory production turbo. Anybody know what it was?

But why I like BMWs is because they are sedans, (for the most part) that are made with the idea that the person who has them might just be some one who is going to flog the living shit out of their car (like me). So they keep performance, balance, drivability, and useablity in mind and give you this perfect thing with four doors, decent torque, great balance and tell you to enjoy. Believe me, I broke the air suspension on a 1995 lincoln contential in less than a year (the car only had 50k miles on it when I got it). The front right corner was leaking so bad the compressor for it ran about 15 minutes straight when ever I started to car up and would run about 20-25 minutes per hour I drove it. Don't tell me it wasn't meant to be driven like that. It was actually Ford trying to make a luxary sports sedan (HA!).
 
#19 ·
I was recently invited to test drive BMW 530i, Benz e500, and Cadillac CTS with both 6 and 8 cyl engines (by Car & Driver with Cadillac sponsoring the event). CTS was very fun to drive on the track (with ASC turned off) and very nimble, but the quality of interior and exterior was crap-lots of flappy plastic and cheap looking leather. Steering response light, tho handled really well, but not refined.
The 2 German cars were far more refined and built much better , with much more attention to detail and road manners.
Anyway, of the bunch the BMW was my choice for car I'd buy, even with the lowest power output. Benz was a bit heavy feeling, Caddy too cheap.
As far as German engineering--what about VW's--not the best, or Opel for that matter :yezfunny .
 
#20 ·
Originally posted by bigred318@Nov 30 2004, 05:00 PM
umm i hear people refer to bmws as "tanks" meaning they can get hit or be crashed and you are pretty safe.. this is probably do to the way they are built the quality of metal etc....anyways any car specailly like a honda can get to 230k... its how much money you have to put into the car to get it there... my friends bmw is about to cross into the 300 zone... and he hasnt put much money it at all new clutch tune ups... and control arm.... oh yeah fuel pump a few years ago...

David
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I got rear ended by a toyota camry going 50 and i was at a dead stop in my moms 2001 330i and the only damage to my car was a minor dent and paint chip. The camry was missing its front bumper, radiator and headlights. The hood was also buckled.
 
#22 ·
style, bragging rights (come on guys - you know that part of the charm is that BMW roundel), tight handling, beautiful engine, did I mention style?

There are other cars that have more hp and handle better - but Bimmers just have a certain way of bringing it all together in a really nice package. Sure they are a little maintenance heavy - but given the choice between my 325is and say a Porsche 944 turbo (yeah I know it's a poor man's porsche - but I'm poor and it's still a kickass car) I'd still get my bimmer.

It has a kind of timeless appeal that only certain cars have (not sure if I can say that about the latest models that BMW is churning out though). It's the first car that I've had in my three decades of life that I can envision keeping for more than 5 years.
 
#23 ·
Originally posted by brien4787@Dec 1 2004, 03:31 PM
If the camery was going 50 mph, there would be much more damage to both cars. did you mean that the car was going 5 or 15 mph ?
[snapback]241445[/snapback]​
yeah that seems pretty crazy.. but hey stranger things have happened i got tboned by a semi that was doing 60 when i was crossing an intersection doing 8 or so... pushed me forever spun 3 times.... into a ditch then the airbags went off when i stopped... i got out of the car pretty much right away when i realized what happened and got back into things really shook me up, anyways got out of the car swearing and punching haha

David
 
#24 ·
Originally posted by bigred318+Dec 1 2004, 05:53 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bigred318 @ Dec 1 2004, 05:53 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-brien4787@Dec 1 2004, 03:31 PM
If the camery was going 50 mph, there would be much more damage to both cars. did you mean that the car was going 5 or 15 mph ?
[snapback]241445[/snapback]​
yeah that seems pretty crazy.. but hey stranger things have happened i got tboned by a semi that was doing 60 when i was crossing an intersection doing 8 or so... pushed me forever spun 3 times.... into a ditch then the airbags went off when i stopped... i got out of the car pretty much right away when i realized what happened and got back into things really shook me up, anyways got out of the car swearing and punching haha

David
[snapback]241568[/snapback]​
[/b][/quote]

I had $8,000 worth of damage to my car from getting pushed into a caravan at 10mph by the car behind me. The caravan had a nick on the bumper and a bent muffler. BMW's are not "strongly built," you were just lucky methinks. (reply to 5Speed's situation)
 
#25 ·
I got rear ended by a toyota camry going 50 and i was at a dead stop in my moms 2001 330i and the only damage to my car was a minor dent and paint chip. The camry was missing its front bumper, radiator and headlights. The hood was also buckled.
[snapback]241087[/snapback]​
[/quote]

50? I was rear ended by a guy going 45. Totaled both. Said bye to a 94 325i. Was hit by a LaSabre tank!

The steel used on the body panels is way better than the ricers or even most American cars. I have done alot of body work, 3 years of it in Japan. The metal in the American versions of Japanese cars are better than the metal used in Japan.

The one draw back of the BMW is the "over engineering". Makes it a real pain to isolate electrical problems. Alot of unnecessary resets required by dealer. BMW might think about a self healing computer system. :devil
 
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