AC_S5

I totally understand that there are these type of people, who are so picky that little problems with their car will upset them enough for a dealership visit, which most of the time they couldn't reproduce the problem to the SA and they say bad service and bad quality BMW, I understand that the SA works with alot of cars and different model so understandable that if you can't reproduce the problem they can't fix it for you.

An uncle of mine, who is a car freak loose sleep when the gear box jerks a little. Come on I mean these thing are man made and mechanical so I think people should have a bit more tolerence with errors like there's noise with the dashboard or the fit is not flush etc. Just calm down and don't let a car dictates your life.

Rudy

Although it doesn't look very good for BMW, it may not be as bad as it seems because of the footnote just after the IQS results:

NOTE: Due to changes in study methodology, 2006 IQS scores are not comparable to previous years.
Scores are based on rounded figures for problems per 100 vehicles.

merklebob

year ago there was a book on lying with statistics. base you buying decision on your experience. consumer guides rated the MGB as the worst car to buy. my experience was exactly the opposite. best car for realibility i've ever had. toyota was the worst right next to GMs cars. i've had 4 bmw's since 1999 and have had zero problems period.

DD694

My MGB had a fuel pump failure at 6 months. I lasted only 10 months in it. I had come from a Jaguar XKE, so the let down was huge. Economics played a big role in getting the MGB. The clutch on my Jag had gone, and I could not afford to get it replaced. All of this was over 30 years ago.

rautila

The fact that Dingolfing plant got very high ratings in the survey, combined with the overall dissatisfactory result for BMW, indicates that there are quite a few problems with vehicles assembled elsewhere.

Since Dingolfing makes exclusively 5, 6, and 7 series the probable cause for the worse ratings is the new 3 series...

Captain Tenneal

I believe a majority of the problems are from the X line and the new 3. The first year of any car run is always going to put a hit on a manufacturer. Look at Porsche. The first years of the Cayenne, they were pretty bad on defects and Porsche numbers fell in these rankings. Now they are top of the list.

Canada545

I've had nothing but problems with my MGB (needs new ball-joints, rear-end needs to be rebuilt, syncrow on the trany is gone, engine needs to be rebuilt, and it has some rust) ... so I've decided not to even drive it, its been sitting in my garage since 1989 - of course its a golden anniversary 1975 and I just can't get let it go
ps. but the top is in good shape

znod

I am not sure why we feel the need to make excuses for BMW. Bias is the only reason I can think of. Why wouldn't the factors that have been mentioned apply to other cars too? Why would JD Power be lying only about BMW and maybe Merc? Did JD Power lie about BMW's ranking in relation to Merc? Why does the noncomparablility between this year and last year provide any comfort? Remember, I am on your side. But, denial of likely truth doesn't seem productive.

Simple1

I don't think it's really about denial, it just shocking to be 3rd one year and then jump down to 23rd the next year. I don't think many people on this board experience such a huge jump in the problems there were having from their previous years to this year (meaning those that switched to new cars maybe from MY03 to maybe an MY06 or and MY07). Not ass-kissing for BMW, just finding the results really shocking that's all, so you sort of have to question, not on a conspiracy based just a conscious one that's all.

znod

Well, it makes sense to ask why the big shift occurred. Simply making the data comparable probably would answer this question. Regardless, let's assume that the data sets are as accurate for one manufacturer as another--which is very likely to be the case. In this regard, my assumption is that J. D. Power would not change reporting methods if it did not believe that the new method is superior for the users' purposes. I, for example, believe that the new reporting method is more pertinent to me. So, personally, I am more interested in the findings under the new reporting method than the old one.

I would be interested in seeing per-model detail across the various manufacturers. As far as you know, is such detail available? This detail would at least address the issue of whether much of the problem with BMW's is attributable to the new 3ers. On the other hand, most manufacturers have new models or updates of old models. In this regard, Lexus certainly did well with its new IS models/updates. Maybe the message is don't buy a new BMW model. Who knows without additional detail?