BMW Ranked Top Overall Car Brand by Consumer Reports

[21X3M40]

Originally Posted by Alpine300zhp

I owned 1 Benz back in 2008. A ML550. It was a catastrophe. Dumped it, went back to BMW and have stayed clear of Benz. Was tempted to buy a E63s, but couldn’t do it.

Your post is a common theme for MB owners. I hear too often, it's a shame as MB use to be a bench mark for automotive engineering.

[Dpfghela]

I had my heart set on a 6 Series GC. I could find the right car and finance package and jumped early into a Merc CLA.

Mercs seem ok. But there is nothing technical or dynamic about them. To me, they’re the same league as VW and Kia…

At best, the Merc is a nice car with bling and a feel of expensiveness.

At worst… it’s simply… Meh…

[Revan24]

Owned one Mercedes, a C43 AMG and it was my least favorite luxury car I've owned.

Had great experiences with BMW and Audi.

[medialook]

To be honest I find it hard to believe. Had 3 X5 in last 6 years. F15 30d mSport, G05 30d mSport and current one (and the most expensive) G05 40d mSport. I'm affraid this will be my last one new BMW. During the last 1.5 year of its ownership two major issues. AC failure - first fan blower motor replaced which didn't help followed by heather box replacement which required dismantling entire dashboard. AC was working but I still think it's not right as it's much weaker on the front vs rear. Will go to another dealer for inspection. Now just picked my car from service as the roof was leaking - by the passenger door and then from the driver / passenger microphones. Pano roof cassette replaced followed by glass pano roof modules. The same issue in my previous G05 30d. This caused permanent water marks on the leather dash which will be replaced as well once it's delivered to the dealer.... quite horrible experience - don't want to even think about cost of repair if not covered under waranty... The only BMW I'm kind of tempted now is previous gen M2. Also what's worth to mention during the repairs I had several loan cars. 2 series grand tourer and most recently i4. Comparing to X5 those cars feel horrible - plastic everywhere and this digital dash that feels cheap and the worst is button button removal - any function requires you to play with the touchscreen....

[terrywang]

Interesting time, neighbour's 2021 CLA 35 AMG, suffered from a problem with the gear lever, the car cannot be put into reverse gear, it just stationed there, can only move forward. He had to drive it to the cul-de-sac and turn it off for 1 minute and start it again, lucky it worked. He mentioned it has happened several times and he is now afraid to drive it, he'd rather take his Aurion (AU model, consider it a Camry V6 3.5L + 6AT).

It is still under warranty, I heard he mentioned that was some reverse gear mechanism in the steering column, he is waiting for the part to come in and get it fixed, most likely will be sold pretty soon. Seems to be common issue with A-Class, CLA-Class...

NOTE: I've driven the 1st gen A 45 AMG, didn't like it (pretty much stock form, big turbo, so laggy, the gearbox wasn't good either, ride quality was so harsh, if tuned it can be better but I wouldn't buy it, let alone spend $ tuning it). The CLA 35 AMG, made bigger than 1st gen, looked OK, has similar issues, turbo lag is noticeably bad when car is cold in normal mode, build quality isn't up to scratch.

Not sure why people are attracted to buy such expensive but boring / unreliable cars. In Sydney metro areas, I noticed a pattern that certain group of people will buy these entry level performance cars (4-pod 35, 45, etc.). I sort of understand why young female drivers like those, they "look good" for their taste, nice to sit in, mechanical performance & quality is not of concern...

[Germanauto]

BMW definitely makes the best all around cars for the price.

Sure I have complaints as a driving enthusiast, but they are a no brainer if you want the total package. I wouldn't even consider most modern Mercs, Audi, Tesla, etc.

[ASAP]

as a side note- i think 34 is still probably to high for jeep... that is probably the biggest heap of junk on the planet... how does a company selling 70k suvs w a 20 year old pentastar v6 that does 0-60 in 15 seconds have such crappy reliability? they should make the wrangler as a one off model and just call it a day

[F32Fleet]

Meanwhile TUV has BMW ranked as one of the lowest automotive brands in terms of recalls.

https://car-recalls.eu/tuv-report-2023/

[chris719]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Not going to sit here and argue early gen F series vs E series because I 100% will say that they are both junk.

I owned 3 E series cars... 2 x 335i and 1 x 135i... so I had numerous N54s and N55s in my stable... i will tell you right now that at the time they were the finest sporty sedans and coupes on earth... but that was a whopping 15 years ago now and things have drastically changed. First off - the reliability of those cars was absolutely horrid... the N54 is indeed as bad as people say, I have experience to back that up. Second - the suspension tied to those first gen runflats was unbearable and the car had severe traction issues with that junk rear end and lack of a true rear limited slip diff. It was nearly impossible to throw into a slide for that reason... the steering was very solid in terms of feel but the non M racks were also incredibly slow. The non M f series was made softer so it was even worse... but at the time the Lci 340i came around, it was a better car in every way.

Now, once we get into the G series everything is on another level... the M340i is stiffer, faster, more reliable and does everything better. You may argue its heavier and steering is less involving but the reality is that it will mop the older cars around any track or autocross you choose because the chassis is that much better.

It is rose-colored glasses with these older cars. I used to get E90 328i N52 loaners when I brought my Z4M in and I was like get me the hell out of this car as fast as possible. It sure as hell was not all that sporty.

[crashoverride]

Originally Posted by Dpfghela

I had my heart set on a 6 Series GC. I could find the right car and finance package and jumped early into a Merc CLA.

Mercs seem ok. But there is nothing technical or dynamic about them. To me, they’re the same league as VW and Kia…

At best, the Merc is a nice car with bling and a feel of expensiveness.

At worst… it’s simply… Meh…

A CLA cannot be used to properly evaluate Mercedes-Benz. It's a cheap, cheap car with MB badging.

I don't mean to call your baby ugly. It's just not a vehicle that Mercedes-Benz has spent much money, time or luxuriousness on.

[crashoverride]

Originally Posted by Hoody007

You also WANT to drive a BMW 400K miles. A Camry? No way in hell.

The metric I like to use is smiles per miles 😂

Such a great comment. My daily driver is a 2006 e90. I still get compliments on the looks. It's a fun car to drive and with the upgraded factory sound system, I still find it hard to find a comparable sounding system in a new Mercedes or most other brands.

A younger coworker was sharing her concerns about her long commute in her newer BMW. I was like if you are going to spend the time in the car why would you get a cheaper less safe mehhh of a car. Hell a Nissan will be creaking and rattling within months of driving off the lot.... and it's a Nissan bleee....chhk

[Neusser]

Originally Posted by 21X3M40

Your post is a common theme for MB owners. I hear too often, it's a shame as MB use to be a bench mark for automotive engineering.

Not all models are equal. I had an excellent S204 and the equivalent E class at the time was also excellent.

Here in Germany, the guys in the shops would always comment on how good the W/S204s were.

I bought mine with 117,000 kms on it and drove it another 150,000 with only one big repair (a known issue).

[Neusser]

Originally Posted by F32Fleet

Meanwhile TUV has BMW ranked as one of the lowest automotive brands in terms of recalls.

https://car-recalls.eu/tuv-report-2023/

TÜV technical inspection failures are typically directly linked to the level of maintenance the car received by the owner.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by Neusser

TÜV technical inspection failures are typically directly linked to the level of maintenance the car received by the owner.

Of course we all know BMW is at the bottom in terms of oil leaks. Hahaha

In any case my link does rank best to worst for recalls.

[Neusser]

Originally Posted by F32Fleet

Of course we all know BMW is at the bottom in terms of oil leaks. Hahaha

In any case my link does rank best to worst for recalls.

The German brands are pretty much all the same with reliability.


And there are hundreds of thousands of 20-plus-year-old cars on the road here in the Vaterland. Some models fare better than others, but I find most of these stat compilations to be so flawed as to be utterly pointless.

[Baldilocks73]

It’s all about how you maintain your vehicle. Regular fluid checks and filter changes, inspections. It’s not difficult. My Dad’s old 1984 Chevrolet truck has 400K miles and runs like new.

[Dpfghela]

Originally Posted by crashoverride

A CLA cannot be used to properly evaluate Mercedes-Benz. It's a cheap, cheap car with MB badging.

I don't mean to call your baby ugly. It's just not a vehicle that Mercedes-Benz has spent much money, time or luxuriousness on.

I think you’re right.

I also briefly owned an E class 350e. And was similarly unimpressed.

I think I’m just a BM fan boy.

Been weird to come to that realisation…

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by baron95

Lol - My two vehicles -G87 M2 and Jeep JLU Rubicon. I have the absolute best and absolute worst. Nothing in the middle.

Win some, lose some ��

We used to own a 2001 Jeep Cherokee and it reached just over 352k miles before giving it to our son. My wife wants a Gladiator and I keep pushing back lol.

[Windshieldfarmer]

Originally Posted by c1pher

We used to own a 2001 Jeep Cherokee and it reached just over 352k miles before giving it to our son. My wife wants a Gladiator and I keep pushing back lol.

As the owner of a 2020 Rubicon…set your reliability expectations very low if you purchase a Gladiator. I’ve had quite a few issues ranging from hinge corrosion to electrical gremlins to coolant system challenges, even a leaking fuel line…all in the first 36,000 miles. I will not keep mine long term.

[Grease23]

A co-worker bought a 2022 Gladiator. The valve train came apart at 4,125 miles, ruining his engine. The manufacturer wanted to buy it back, but he had spent a fortune upgrading the suspension, wheels, and so on. They replaced the engine, and agreed to treat it as a 'certified pre-owned' vehicle, giving him a 100,000 miles 7 year warranty. So far so good.

My 2021 Cherokee Trailhawk is starting to have a similar noise from the valves, and I need to take it in. 67,000 miles. Fortunately, it really was a certified pre-owned and i have the extended warranty. Except for this, we've been very happy with it. Fuel economy is much better than claimed.

The thing about Jeep/Chrysler/Fiat that particularly irks me is that they don't react to a known problem by fixing it in subsequent model years or repair parts. We had a Jeep Liberty, and like so many others, the passenger side window went down one day and got stuck. (For some reason, it usually happens on that window.) A little plastic piece inside the door breaks and has broken on lots and lots of these. Go to the dealer and they will sell you the exact same part. Go on Ebay and you'll find an enterprising fellow makes the replacement part -- for less $$ -- out of aluminum. Apparently the part is popular enough somebody in China copied his solution. But not the vehicle mfg, no way.

These cam problems on the V6 have been around a long time. If you ask a service manager if Jeep has fixed it so it won't happen again, you get a blank stare.