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      01-17-2013, 07:47 PM   #23
strokeoluck
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Personally I'd love to hold on to the Z so long that Wayne Carini (or his kid...), from Chasing Classic Cars, bus it from my son's barn with 200k miles on it..and then restores it.
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      01-17-2013, 07:52 PM   #24
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Maintenance is not just about money but also about time. It is a real pain in teh arse to have a car break down if that's your only ride. If you have a backup then, well, it can be your toy car and you can take your time fixing it.
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      01-18-2013, 06:27 AM   #25
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The only Achilles Heel that I would worry about with a 3.0SI is the potential of the dreaded valve noise issue with the N52 engine. But if you don't have that by now, you likely never will. So don't worry about it.

My 2006 3.0SI has about 30,000 miles on it and has been out if warranty since the summer of 2010. In that time, I've had a few routine maintenance things done at a reasonable price.

With respect to maintenance costs, sure, BMWs may not be bargain basement cheap to get work done. But they are not always going to cost you a fortune, either. For example, in 2011, I had a new set of front rotors and pads installed for $50 less than my Dad paid for the same work on his Ford Fusion.

I have no intention of selling my car in the future for fear of any repair bill.

Cheers!
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      01-18-2013, 06:58 AM   #26
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In my experience, "foreign" cars are typically more reliable than American cars but cost more to fix when they do break. Anything made by VW or anything English or Italian are exempt from the "foreign" cars blanket statement.

For instance, in CTS-V land there are many people that have replaced water pumps 2,3,4 times before the car gets to 125k miles, yet the cars are still considered "reliable".. Overall the CTS-V has more design related issues to it that require attention than the Z's, but most people would be a lot more scared of a Z just because they think it will cost more to fix.. I think this mantra is pretty consistent with other American cars compared to their Japanese, German, or Korean counterparts. It's all relative.

Also another thing that most people forget when they come onto the forums..... People come to the forums to figure out problems with their cars. I'd say for every 10 posts relating to an "issue" with the vehicle, there's probably only 1 or 2 posts saying "I love the car it's great I've had no issues"... People tend to get scared off by reading the forums thinking that every car is an unreliable POS. It's really interesting how different people view "problems" differently. Go onto the golf GTI forums or Audi forums and you'll be glad you're driving what you have!
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      01-18-2013, 11:14 AM   #27
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I think it would be a good idea to complile a list of commonly replaced parts, not wear items obviously. Then take that list and make it into a poll.
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      01-18-2013, 11:41 AM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elwesso View Post
BTW, if you're going to Porsche and expecting better reliability that's definitely amusing. Not saying they're bad cars, but I'd trust a BMW to stay out of the shop more than a porsche, and also to be CONSIDERABLY cheaper to maintain.
While I agree with most of your other thoughts, this part's really not true any longer. In recent years Porsche has made significant strides in reliability, hence why just about every poll/survey is going to show Lexus and Porsche as one and two in reliability, while unfortunately BMW continues to rank below average in just about every report I see.

BMW apologists will want to talk about how great BMW engines when trying to rationalize the ownership experience, but they conveniently sidestep everything else that is known to go wrong, particularly when it comes to electronics.

Cost of ownership (including general maintenance) of most modern P-cars might be a little higher than BMW, but I really think the reliability nod goes to them now. IMHO, BMW just got too concerned about sales and technology in recent years instead of sticking to what made them so great to begin with.

Just my .02
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      01-18-2013, 01:37 PM   #29
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Perhaps I've been lucky but I haven't had any major problems with any of my VW's (at least 10 of them)- including R32 (had that car for 7 years). Right now I'm driving an old Golf I've had since 2006, has over 180k now, and it's needed nothing- still on original clutch too.
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      01-18-2013, 03:02 PM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Huz-Z View Post
The only Achilles Heel that I would worry about with a 3.0SI is the potential of the dreaded valve noise issue with the N52 engine. But if you don't have that by now, you likely never will. So don't worry about it.

My 2006 3.0SI has about 30,000 miles on it and has been out if warranty since the summer of 2010. In that time, I've had a few routine maintenance things done at a reasonable price.

With respect to maintenance costs, sure, BMWs may not be bargain basement cheap to get work done. But they are not always going to cost you a fortune, either. For example, in 2011, I had a new set of front rotors and pads installed for $50 less than my Dad paid for the same work on his Ford Fusion.

I have no intention of selling my car in the future for fear of any repair bill.

Cheers!
Cheers and good to hear.

I've actually had the lifters replaced in the spring of 2011 re the diesel like sound. I think I heard it again a couple weeks ago for the first time since the lifters were replaced. I aim to get this addressed before the CPO runs out.
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      01-18-2013, 03:06 PM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Finnegan View Post
Good idea.

Firewall strut bar (older version only), check tightness every 10K miles.
Rear ARB, check tightness every 10k miles.
Motor mount bolts (not really interval based)
Power steering lines, check every 5K for weeping/seepage or annually.
VANOS bolts, check cams for looseness when doing valves.
Possibly oil pan bolts (recent thread on that).

First three aren't going to leave you stranded, but are "failure points".

The last three could be bad news.
This list sounds like a great idea. It would be helpful to be as specific as possible and list the problems that exist in relation to particular model years and engines.

Your list sounds pretty M S54 related.

My limited knowledge of common N52 issues is:

hydraulic lifter noise

that's really all I've come across as a recurring theme?
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