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I would say the reliability issues for most german vehicles are higher than that for many japanese vehicles. The german's tend to over-engineer things, the complexity of many of these mechanical items are what lead to the failure of the unit. When i was shopping for a 3 series about 5 years ago (E46) most used units I drove had window regulator issues, sunroof alignment issues, etc...NONE had engine related issues, but personally i think the germans build pretty good engines, their electronics however...a tad more questionable.
As to electronic power steering, i think it's awesome. My 06' Jetta (the car i purchased instead of the 3 series) is equipped with electronic power steering. You still receive feedback through the steering wheel, however the on center feel is a tad different than with a hydraulic system. One nice thing is that the assistance forces are adjustable, if you want a more manual/sporty feel it can be dialed into the computer, and the steering feel is immediately changed, older driver wanting more assist and boom, it's done as well. Not to mention computer assisted wind correction, and crown sensing to aid on those long open highway drives...
Wagons don't sell, every single wagon introduced in the United States recently has been an abysmal failure. It's such a niche product that it isn't profitable to produce for the US market.
I HATE wagons; they're ugly, mediocre, and just overall disappointing vehicles. Most people in this country who haul things either have a truck or SUV, nobody uses wagons.
I remember commercials about the Dodge Magnum with a guy demonstrating that a full-size latter will fit into the vehicle. How many people really haul around latters anyway?? Any contractor/painter/construction worker will have a work truck, not a station wagon.
Europe can have those damn things, I hate seeing them!
Ugly? That's subjective. The A4 Avant is beautiful, if you ask me. Take a serious look at one and tell me it's ugly: http://www.roadfly.com/2009-audi-a4-avant.html
Mediocre? That doesn't even make sense. How can a car be mediocre just for having extra storage capacity? The wagon versions of sports sedans perform every bit as well as their sedan versions with only minor differences that you could only detect with testing equipment while driving the cars near their limits.
"Most people who haul things..."? So a wagon is not ideal for a contractor/painter/construciton worker - I'll grant you that. Now lets talk about the rest of us. Everybody hauls something from time to time - groceries, moving boxes, etc. Not only to you get more storage space - especially with the rear seats down - but it's also easier to load/unload things with a hatch as opposed to a trunk lid. I wish I saw more of them.
Not sure why anyone would be concerned with a BMW. They have 4 year 50,000 mile coverage from bumper to bumper and you can option for the 8 year 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty program. In addition for that 1st 4 years all the maintenance is covered as well. You never have to pay for an oil change during that time frame. You can upgrade that plan to 6 years and 100,000 miles and with either plan if you happen to break down BMW will send help.
There are two things about this. Many dealers are very prone, when you take your car in for the free service, to add on service that isn't covered by the free plan. Tire rotation is a good example. You have to be very diligent to stop them from doing this.
On the extended warranty, they will start the timer on the extended warranty immediately when they determine you have hit the 50K mark on the original warranty. So while you think you paid for 8 years or 100K, it could easily end up being 6 or 7 years and 100K.
the bmw full maintaince is really great. the 328xi ended up costing me less to own than our xterra did once maintaince was figured in.
i did feel the oil changes once a year with 8 quarts of synthetic really werent enough for a car i own so i would do my own every 7500 miles.
got new brakes and rotors at 30k totally free,even wiper blades every year.
bmw doesnt believe in tire rotations . they feel even the short term instability of having un-even tires on the car over ride the saving a few bucks by squeaking a few more miles out of the tires so no tire rotations are recommended..
wrong my friend ,since i have no clue what your screen name is!
The BMW shop manual states:
The tread wear patterns at the front end
differ from those at the rear - the actual
patterns will vary according to individual
driving conditions. In the interests
of safety and maintaining optimal
handling characteristics, BMW does not
recommend tire rotation.
they feel even the short term instability of having un-even tires on the car over ride the saving a few bucks by squeaking a few more miles out of the tires so no tire rotations are recommended..
And they're correct.
Also, when you do need to replace tires you can do it by the pair...
rather than all four.
i would never even think of not replacing all four unless i was replacing 2 because i damaged them.
even tires rated for 40-50k go off my cars by 36k or so. i find even though they still have tread their wet weather and snow performance gets worse. the tires are less than my insurance deductable if i crash
wrong my friend ,since i have no clue what your screen name is!
The BMW shop manual states:
The tread wear patterns at the front end
differ from those at the rear - the actual
patterns will vary according to individual
driving conditions. In the interests
of safety and maintaining optimal
handling characteristics, BMW does not
recommend tire rotation.
Not to mention that plenty of BMW's has a staggered set up, which kind of makes it impossible, unless you insist on rotating side to side.
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