[paradoxical3]

A close friend of mine has a 2007 328xi. It is probably the least reliable car I have ever seen, and strands her on average once every couple of months. Every 3 months or so the car requires a $1000+ fix.

It has 130k miles on it, but this has been going on since about 60k.

In the last year the car has cost her an additional $6k in maintenance and repairs, getting everything done at an indy shop that hooks me up on pricing:

front wheel bearings failed
Water pump failed
IBS battery cable failed and stranded her 4+ times before the dealer fixed it
Power steering pump failed
front bushings worn out and needed to be replaced
fuel pump failed
new front brake pads and rotors
new belts
cracked valve cover gasket
oil filter gasket leak

The car has $5k left before payoff, I am guessing it is worth 8k due to cosmetic issues.

She likes how the car drives, but it is getting to be an emotional problem (not having a reliable car, she keeps getting stranded) and a financial problem.

What else can possibly go on this thing? I am guessing water pump will die again at some point, and she will need rear wheel bearings eventually. What about suspension rebuild? I keep telling her that everything has died that already can, but the car always seems to prove me wrong.

A new Audi A3 is like $350 a month to lease.....

What would you do?

[Delta0311]

A3 is garbage a chick here at my job has it and it pretty much looks like a Volkswagen with an AUDI badge (and yes I know AUDI is owned by VW) and doesn't pull much better than my beater Civic. If anything have her get a A4.

As far as the 328 goes.

front wheel bearings failed: probably his a lot of potholes and at that mileage they where bound to go

Water pump failed: normal, on my 335 it failed in like January at like 30k miles. Normally they go at around 100k.
IBS battery cable failed and stranded her 4+ times before the dealer fixed it: there was a recall on that they should have fixed it the first time around
Power steering pump failed: I guess she never did preventative maintenance. At around 70-80k miles she should have had all fluids flushed and filled. Most of these pumps fail due to contaminants in the fluid over time.
front bushings worn out and needed to be replaced: normal especially in a high mileage car; replaced mine in the 335 in July (at like 35k miles); car is under warranty though
fuel pump failed: usually happens on a high mileage car. can happen a lot earlier if shitty fuel is used. I take it she was not using top tear gasoline.
new front brake pads and rotors: normal wear and tear item
new belts: belts should be replaced at around 100k miles so this is nothing new
cracked valve cover gasket: normal; replaced mine in my 07 328 at around 85k miles
oil filter gasket leak: same as above, although it did not fail on my 328

Hope she didn't get any of that work done at the dealer or else yeah she got the rape with no lube treatment. This is why it pays to learn how to do the work yourself or know a good mechanic.

[Agentphish]

It sounds like she wasn't prepared for the types of failures/wear items these cars are prone to. Nothing on your list is out of the ordinary. I'm not defending the failures, but none of these things strike me as "oh that's a strange one." Belts/Pads/Rotors/Gaskets/Bushings are all wear items and should be expected to need replacement. I had a failed Valve Cover, Valve Cover Gasket, and front wheel bearing under 50K.

It sounds like the battery cable was a big item as far as what "left her stranded" over the years, and thankfully that was recalled and should have been fixed at no charge. She should have gotten a refund for any costs incurred due to this failure. If she hasn't she should contact BMWNA.

It sounds like reliability is paramount for her.

It sounds like maybe (this?) BMW isn't the right fit.

It sounds like she should get something like a Subaru, Honda, or Toyota.

I'd say go for a trade in with this car and see what happens.

[mlifxs]

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

What else can possibly go on this thing? I am guessing water pump will die again at some point, and she will need rear wheel bearings eventually. What about suspension rebuild? I keep telling her that everything has died that already can, but the car always seems to prove me wrong.

water pump failure is not a given but sounds very inconvenient since the car just basically shuts down. I'm still on the original pump at 133 k miles.

suspension rebuild is possible if dampers are original; if so, that's pretty much wear and tear on any car.

agree if reliability is paramount, a trade to something more bullet proof and under warranty might be the ticket.....but.....the depreciation hit (including the 100% immediate depreciation on sales tax) would cover a lot of future repairs and wear and tear.

if someone put a gun to my head and demanded I trade in for new, I would at least test drive a new mazda 3.

[Delta0311]

I also hope she replaced the spark plugs at least once in that car? This should have been done at 100k. Personally I did mine at 40k and 80k. Also the ignition coils might start failing at this mileage.

[paradoxical3]

Yep I recently replaced plugs for her.

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

Yep I recently replaced plugs for her.

Ignition coils will go soon. You can get BOSCH coils cheap on Ebay if you look around. I did overkill maintenance on my 328 because it was tuned and replaced them at 80k.

[galahad05]

Wait, the fuel pump failed?!? On a 328....

The gasket failures are expected (for BMW), but IMO a pretty poor showing from BMW in general. These things shouldn't fail so often, and in particular with the oil filter housing gasket, so potentially catastrophic).

[paradoxical3]

The nature of the problems certainly don't help. For example, she was stranded 4+ times by the IBS cable (this was before the recall, The BMW Store in Cincinnati repeatedly denied it was a problem then charged her $4700 for the fix and I had to argue with BMW NA to get refunded), and in the middle of rush hour traffic by the water pump and fuel pump. And then just the other day she was stranded again with no power steering. She is a woman and did not have the strength to turn the wheel in the parking lot.

Oil leaks and wheel bearings...yeah, all cars have that. But no other car I've ever had has stranded me as many times as she has been. Stranded 7 times in just over a year is not a good track record.

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by galahad05

Wait, the fuel pump failed?!? On a 328....

The gasket failures are expected (for BMW), but IMO a pretty poor showing from BMW in general. These things shouldn't fail so often, and in particular with the oil filter housing gasket, so potentially catastrophic).

Rare on a 328 but with high mileage and constantly filling up with shitty gas it can happen.

[Johnny Boost]

Lol the A3 does look like a Jetta. But it's probably a great car for a girl. I would definitely sell the 328. Nothing cool about an unreliable car that turns into a money pit.

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

The nature of the problems certainly don't help. For example, she was stranded 4+ times by the IBS cable (this was before the recall, The BMW Store in Cincinnati repeatedly denied it was a problem then charged her $4700 for the fix and I had to argue with BMW NA to get refunded), and in the middle of rush hour traffic by the water pump and fuel pump. And then just the other day she was stranded again with no power steering. She is a woman and did not have the strength to turn the wheel in the parking lot.

Oil leaks and wheel bearings...yeah, all cars have that. But no other car I've ever had has stranded me as many times as she has been. Stranded 7 times in just over a year is not a good track record.

That's horrible but do note that any decent mechanic will tell you to change your water pump at around 80-100k miles since it is a ware-and-tare item. Their life expectancy gets cut even more if the radiator was never flush and filled with fresh fluid. Normally on a car with a timing belt they recommend swapping the pump out with the belt, which is roughly around 80-100k miles. It will also fail on any other car without warning. Seeing your radiator fan run at full speed as soon as you start the car (no AC on) is a sure sign of a water pump ready to blow.

The fuel pump is a fluke, they usually last damn near forever on a 328. Like I said before constantly filling up with cheap gas could have been the culprit here.

But yeah at 130k miles get that car traded in while you can still get some $$ for it.

And yeah the shit you had to deal with for the battery cable is total BS.

[ctuna]

IBS is BS as far as I can tell it just makes things complicated without
delivering anything useful.
She should change the radiator soon or at least have it pressure tested
on a regular basis at that many miles.
Fuel pump on this model is odd.
You would expect most of these things on any car with this many miles.
The gaskets are a shameful design issue in my opinion.

[vapore0n]

The good news is, most of the things that could go wrong already did. So changing her car now would be a waste of money, as it wouldn't be expected to have any major issues for a long time.

Also tell her to keep up with maintenance, else stuff like the PS pump will happen.

[JeM9]

If the car is "Insanely unreliable" then sell it, no questions asked

[hongsc]

With all the work done already, it should be "insanely reliable". I would tell her to keep it. If she sells it then it will be "insanely reliable" to the next owner.

[datbimmer]

My "stepfather" has an A4 2007 and it's a piece of shit.

[stormtrooper7]

I like how most things are perceived as "normal", especially for a supposed premium brand. Don't get me wrong, I love my car, but I do have to agree that it is somewhat unreliable when all these "normal" issues tend to pop up before or near the 100K mark.

My previous vehicles were a 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege, 1994 Eagle Summit ES, and a 1991 Cavalier RS V6. Other than brakes, plugs, filters, basic maintenance, etc., none left me stranded (or limp mode) like my Bimmer did (or still could). And, all those cars I drove well past 150K. None had gasket issues, water pump issues, bearing issues, suspension issues, or steering issues.

Don't even get me started on the cold weather issues with battery tender/charger/blanket, frozen TB, etc...

[Johnny Boost]

Originally Posted by stormtrooper7

I like how most things are perceived as "normal", especially for a supposed premium brand. Don't get me wrong, I love my car, but I do have to agree that it is somewhat unreliable when all these "normal" issues tend to pop up before or near the 100K mark.

My previous vehicles were a 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege, 1994 Eagle Summit ES, and a 1991 Cavalier RS V6. Other than brakes, plugs, filters, basic maintenance, etc., none left me stranded (or limp mode) like my Bimmer did (or still could). And, all those cars I drove well past 150K. None had gasket issues, water pump issues, bearing issues, suspension issues, or steering issues.

Don't even get me started on the cold weather issues with battery tender/charger/blanket, frozen TB, etc...

I've noticed that also. I don't think your car breaking down and leaving you stranded multiple times a year is "normal". Those things are "normal" with these cars but I wouldn't say they are normal for ANY car.

[Meeni]

There were normal wear item and common issues. Now that you had them all sorted out, enjoy a reliable car. Get prepared for the next round in 5 years though.

[InControl]

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

A close friend of mine has a 2007 328xi. It is probably the least reliable car I have ever seen, and strands her on average once every couple of months. Every 3 months or so the car requires a $1000+ fix.

It has 130k miles on it, but this has been going on since about 60k.

In the last year the car has cost her an additional $6k in maintenance and repairs, getting everything done at an indy shop that hooks me up on pricing:

front wheel bearings failed
Water pump failed
IBS battery cable failed and stranded her 4+ times before the dealer fixed it
Power steering pump failed
front bushings worn out and needed to be replaced
fuel pump failed
new front brake pads and rotors
new belts
cracked valve cover gasket
oil filter gasket leak

The car has $5k left before payoff, I am guessing it is worth 8k due to cosmetic issues.

She likes how the car drives, but it is getting to be an emotional problem (not having a reliable car, she keeps getting stranded) and a financial problem.

What else can possibly go on this thing? I am guessing water pump will die again at some point, and she will need rear wheel bearings eventually. What about suspension rebuild? I keep telling her that everything has died that already can, but the car always seems to prove me wrong.

A new Audi A3 is like $350 a month to lease.....

What would you do?

Your thread doesn't make sense. Why would anyone pump in excess of $20,000 in less than 5 years to any car and continue to keep it. That's insane!

[dmpnyc]

You probably need a good mechanic to go through the car. It will cost a lot of money however to make it reliable upfront. At 130k, lots of things need replacing. Maybe sell and spend that upfront reliable money on a lower mileage BMW.