That’s one way to up the persons next service money spent.
“Oh weird, you need new knock sensors, cps, and your cats are damaged......weird.....
Oh man you should probably just buy a new one, we hav 0.9% financing!”

Modern cars can retard timing if you use regular.

Feel free to put 87 in your Ecoboost Mustang, if you are cool with losing 60 horses.

I'm aware it says 89AKI on the fuel cap for non M too.

This sums up my experience with two E38s; a V8 740i and my current DD, a V12 750iL:

https://az616578.vo.msecnd.net/files...its%20fine.jpg

[QUOTE=Mr.C;8896478]This sums up my experience with two E38s; a V8 740i and my current DD, a V12 750iL:

v12 750IL? Are some type of masochist?

my understanding though is that most cars aren't actually sampling the AKI of the fuel but instead using knock control.

so your engine will be knocking before the ecu starts retarding the timing. I'm not happy with that solution in terms of long term health for the engine.

I know a guy who has been running 87 in his 2009 Audi A4 since almost new. It pulls timing and reduces horsepower. Cheap bastard.

bought my 2009 in 2013, so far in 4.5 years it's been fairly good, but repairs are expensive.
pretty much anything that needs to get fixed is over $500, and even just doing front or rear brakes are $500 a set. a headlight burned out and the shop wanted $300 to replace both.. i bought one on amazon for like $60 and did just the one myself.
Tires cost more if you stick with runflats, oil costs about $150, uses premium fuel, etc...
Also there are some minor issues that are not critical but are still expensive fixes that i'm putting off.

Next car is japanese for sure!

Was looking to buy an 850i about 7 years ago as a daily driver... decided on something else instead... now that I'm in the habit of trading in my daily drivers every 5 years once the warranty is out , I'm once again looking looking at the 850i as a summer car.... but I probably won't, same reason why I didn't buy it back then... I don't want to fix it all the time..

[quote=97ITR;8896518]Surprisingly, I've spent almost nothing on maintenance over 30k km, even though it was a barely running piece of shit when I bought it.

Spent way less than on the V8. Gas, however...

so what became of this???

I am in a similar dilemna.... after 17 problem-free ACURA vehicles... albeit i may have only kept them around for up to 60,000km each or less - am now officially 'bored' of the brand.

looking at a 2016 BMW. A mere 19,000km on it and has 2yrs left of manufacturer warranty (aug 2020 or 80,000) and includes all maintenance up to that warranty period.

It seems like things have improved since the 335 HFH days of the early E90's? Two friends that got them early all had cars stopped in middle of the road when the hoses leaked/came loose.

My experience is always to lease Euros for business expense. Works out the same.
Can't say I had terrible experience with Audi and Mercedes. Speaking from NEW vehicle standpoint, not buying depreciated vehicles off CL and bringing them up to snuff, etc.

Japanese cars retain value better and I don't mind financing and resell at higher than market. Usually other than rarer vehicles (M, AMG), most Euros don't seem to hold value well so save yourself the headache and potential repairs.

Can confirm that this indeed happens.

If your only keeping it for the warranty period, what's the big deal?
Go ahead, get it and enjoy it.
Once you get a feel for the repairs and maintenance you can decide if you want to keep it, get another one under warranty, or go back to Acura.

Seems like there's no possible bad choice here.

Ended up with a Lexus :lawl:

What did you end up doing with that credit from Brian Jessel LOL

this is a funny thread. i was also looking at a BMW (albeit 3 series) but ultimately ended up with a Lexus IS cause i didn't want to deal with all that comes with owning a BMW.

pussy

lexus is the safe rational left brain choice. The fact you started this thread wanting a BMW means deep down inside you want a BMW....for probably $1K to $2K extra each year in running costs, I would rather have what I really want vs settling for a smart choice.......

Depending on what you end up with I'd bet the running costs of many of the more popular BMWs are offset by their better resale value than their counterparts.

They’re simply more engaging to drive in most cases.

Only a Porsche or exotic level stuff drives even more engaging ( don’t forget ITR / CTR!)

What do you consider a counterpart? I'd think both running costs and resale would be better than a Merc or Audi. Though I will say in my limited dealings with Merc parts they seem fairly reasonable, it's the labour that'll get you.

i have a bmw and want to get a lexus. Yes its fun to drive, but not knowing if you are gonna die at the side of the road at any given time is not living free in my mind. And its way more than 1 to 2 K for maintenance. at least once you are out of warranty. If you go in and only pay a grand for an issue you are happy. some years I have paid close to 7 grand for maintenance (and not thru the dealership). Its a nightmare to own a BMW bottom line. Never again I tell myself. Mercedes has been more reliable overall I would say but still alot of problems.

I have owned 9 BMWs, 7 being Mcars. Most of them I bought 2 years old with 10K kms to 25K kms. I normally keep them 3 years and put approx. 10k kms per year on them. The only one I have had issues with, was my E60 M5....had to replace clutch and flywheel under warranty. Otherwise, all I did was basic maintenance. i change all the fluids religiously and probably way sooner than required, but it is cheap insurance imo. Not sure what you were dealing with, but I am not sure why people just assume BMWs are more expensive to maintain. Most people who have issues normally can be traced back to skipping service intervals. Mercedes more reliable......now that is a hilarious comment!! Mercs and Audis are way worse!!!

I'd probably bet that Acurael owns an e90 335i?
Thats really the only piece of shit BMW has made in recent memory, or an x1/x3, or some serious e90 m3 bad luck.
Mercedes ownership is a far step above financially over modern BMWs, however in the last couple years I'd bet Audi has everyone beat in terms of reliability. Deiselgate pushed VAG to stop making garbage.
As far as the "may die on the side of the road," I did 6k in road trips last summer in a 20 year old BMW with no stress.