Expectations of the new F10 are high, and from the information produced thus far; everything looks very promising. But what the new 5 Series really needs, is reliability. Although reliability may be subjective, from personal experience , the E60 has a questionable reliability record. (Eg. HPFP, Airbag sensors, tranny slam etc.) (My 05 523i is in the workshop now to replace a malfunctioned coil).

Hopefully, the new F10 will prove to be more reliable than the outgoing E60, which for all its shortcomings, is a car with soul.

 

Here's the deal.....it won't be.

They pack SO much technology into these cars and all of that will have to be replaced and will fail sooner or later. They pack SO many features into the F10 but it won't cost a whole lot more. Then we have all this emmission regulation bullsh*t.
These cars are getting more and more flimsy.

There's a reason a E30 can hit 250k miles, and an E60 usually doesn't see much more life after 100k miles.

 

Reliability Sheliabity

I think what BMW needs, especially in UK, is Lexus like Customer Service. I think that would make all the difference. When dealers become defensive, don't have enough product knowledge, deal with warranty claims as though they are going against "reduction targets" (whether that is true or not), and don't bat on your side of the wicket (which is Cricket speak in the land of Blitey ) then you as the customer get fed up and walk away.

I know reliability is (in the words of Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond) "tedious" but when you look at the Lexus Owners club, so many people are defecting because of poor customer service at the hands of BMW and Audi dealerships. You buy a premium brand, pay premium prices and you are, I believe, entitled to Premium Customer Service.

It might be different in the land of Unc Sam, but here in the UK it is an issue...all this stuff about Swirl Flaps, those Alloys etc on watchdog, and you get the drift....

With my old Lexus, it had 2 full sets of alloys in 2.5 years due to laqcuer corrosion - not life threatening, just cosmetic. in a BMW with a cracked alloy? It would have been "my fault" for driving over a pot hole....

Mine runs perfectly other than the lack of drive when starting her up first thing (nothing in D, no creep for 5-10 seconds), and I have so much nervinous about running a complex BMW Diesel after the warranty is gone. It'll out handle any GS, bring a smile on my face at every corner, but I do fear that it could get very expensive one day...

 

In all fairness, when you buy any prestige car you know that repairs are going to be expensive. You cannot have a Bentey and pay Ford prices for parts. If you wanted that you should have bought a Ford. What you should demand though is reliability which unfortunately is bad for most prestige brands.

Uk BMW dealers are s**t, most of them. But to be honest i've been treated quite fairly and all items repaired without asking too many questions when something failed , even a gearbox.

What i think is truly awful is the competence of the dealers and the complete lack of respect for your car. Most of their engineers are only trained to do standard stuff and know f*** all about anything else. Also, new scratches to your paintwork and interior is something pretty common when you had your car back from the dealer.

 

I agree, BMW needs to get their 'premium service' going on. I feel they're too defensive and too accusatory when it comes to service--- something that Lexus doesn't do (I envy my Lexus driving friends).

I'm lucky I've got a great SA, so I'm not entirely at their mercy......


But still.... BMW needs to improve their service.

 

Well, at least for me, I can't complain about my service. My SA always takes care of everything and does a really good job meeting all needs. He a pretty chill guy too He also gave me a
good will and replaced my peeling interior trim.

 

No doubt that dealers can make or break the experience. Minor niggles are much more palatable when the dealers look after you, but take on much greater significance when they don't. My local BMW dealer could definitely learn a thing or two from some others. A good dealer can make all the difference. If my dealer had been more customer focused, I'd probably have still been in a 5 Series after my 550 had its run of issues...

 

I'm hoping to get my E60 well past 100k miles...i was hoping at least 150k...anyone have one with alot more than that?

 

With proper care and some cash in your pocket it won't be an issue...you will just have to replace a lot of things on the car...

Another thing making the new BMW's unreliable in the long run are the ridiculous service scheduals. 15k miles before an oil change on a high performance car like the M3? Please.

 

If you dont mind me asking, what kind of things are prone to failure after that mileage?