In Feb 2009 I am planning on getting 1 of these 4 cars below. Besides that have you had enough from owning a BMW. Could you please tell me your story. I have been doing alot of research for about 2 years on BMW reliability and many unhappy owners. Then I get the die hard BMW owners that say they are like all other cars, a bad one now and then. Thankyou. Below is the list of cars I am considering. Let me know which one you would purchase and why.

1. 2009 Acura TL AWD. I hope they offer a manual and HP.
2. 2009 BMW 135i manual sport. This car has been out for several years in Europe with different engines.
3. Infiniti G 37S Coupe, manual, sport.
4. Lexus IS 350, I WISH they offered a manual.

I really appreciate your time for posting any and all opinions or bad experiences with any of these cars, except the 09 Acura of course.

Thankyou Very much, Jeff D.

 

I'd like to have some of what you are smokin' .

All jokes aside, go with the Infiniti, you wont be disappointed .

 

You even have Acura owners who have bad stories as well. No car is perfect.

But if you that concern then either get an extended warranty or go with the Infiniti.

I have all hardcore BMW friends and none of them have had any major issues. Myself included. Of course if you browse the BMW forum you will see people who have many issues. Then again thats how it is on most car forums.

 

We used to have a 7 series and that thing was in the shop every other month until we finally ditched it. Not sure if all the others are like that, but the one we had was deff a pain in the ass and the repair bills were insane.

 

The 7series was an unreliable turd.

 

www.e90post.com Read there and you will get an idea of issues better than an Acura forum.

Here you will just get "I know a girl who knows a guy who turned into a girl that slepted with a dog, and she had issues" type of stories.

 

of those cars I'd go with the G37

 

I'd get a 3 series over the 1 series. But if its out of those choices, I'd get the Infiniti, good overall car, I'm sure you'll love it.

 

135, if you like it I think it will be the best performer of that group

 

i persoanlly dont think i will ever buy an acura again. dont get me wrong, its not like its total shit at all, but all it is is a cheap car dressed up nicely.

 

I'm on my second BMW. While the 540i wasn't as reliable as my Lexus GS400, it was still more reliable than the CL-S. Now I'm back in a 330ci and I haven't had any problems with it at all (besides a hit and run a few weeks ago.) It's been the most reliable car I've ever owned. It really all comes down to how you maintain your car.

 

Plus with BMW everything until 50,000 miles is pretty much covered. So theres no worries on buying a brand new bimmer. But personally I rather have a 3 series than a 1series.

 

Completely agree, but it was the prettiest car they've made in a long time.

 

Reliability-wise, BMW is doing better than average these days. My experience has been perfect, except for the control arms issue on warranty.

 

My buddy works for BMW and he got a great lease on his 550. During the last two years, his bimmer has had some issues with the Navi, I-drive, etc ... now he is thinking about getting a hybrid for his daily beater ...

So if you don't mind bringing the car to the shop (yes it's under warrenty) once in a while, then get a bimmer ..... or else Acura or Infinity would be a better choice IMO

 

bingo

 

Had at least one BMW (all M3s) in the garage since 1990, and I have never had any serious issues.

I had one clutch issue on the E30, a blown head gasket between the 2 E36s and a small rattle and a broken passenger door handle between the 2 E46s. All were driven pretty hard and tracked on occasion and I had a minimum of 70k on each except my current E46.

The average BMW is NOT as reliable as the average Japanese built car but the idea that they are nightmares to own is either just from anecdotal stories or people with a grudge against BMW or just passing on internet babel with no personal experience.

 

Thankyou all very much.

I have been on many BMW forums doing research. I use to have an Acura TL-S and was here all the time. I just wanted to see the opinions on several forums, not just the BMW forums. I am still going to wait to see the new Acura TL before I buy another car. I was looking at the 335i but its too expensive for me. I really love the 135i, I have seen and sat in one. With the manual, sport pkg. and leather its $6,000 less then a 335i coupe with the same options. But the 335i comes standard with power seats.

Anyway thankyou. Jeff D.

 

Haven't driven a TL, but I've heard it just feels heavy and not as sporty as say a TSX (that is, if you want a sporty drive). The 1 series just look like trash to me, and that's coming from somebody who has liked BMW vehicles since I was old enough to really understand cars and whatnot. If your budget doesn't allow for a 3 series, I would steer clear. The Infiniti G37 Coupe is no doubt a beautiful car. I don't know much about them, but I've never really heard any complaints about Infiniti, so it could be a good choice...especially sport and manual. And lastly, I love the IS. It really seems to have a presence in my opinion. A car that demands attention. But I've heard from owners or test drivers that it feels similar to the TL. They say it doesn't really handle extremely well and that it feels like your no planted to the pavement ready to take on everything.

So in my short little spill, I would definitely say the Infiniti G37 Coupe manual sport. Choose whatever is your favorite though. It's all about you. With exception of reliability, others opinions are great but it all comes down if YOU like the car. Happy Shopping!

 

I hate these threads.

OMG I can't make up my mind RIGHT NOW on a car I'm gonna buy IN ELEVEN MONTHS.

Jeezus.

 

^ +1

why would you consider bmw 135...when you should be considering the 335 coupe..not that much difference in price.

 

The 335i is $5k more to start and I think ends up being almost $8k more ... As goofy as the 135i looks, I kinda like the more compact dimensions.

 

Interesting.... if the new TL has SH-AWD with a manual, it would be one of the few cars out there with optional AWD WITH a manual transmission. I don't think Infiniti or BMW offer manual with their AWD vehicles (still), and Lexus sure as hell doesn't

 

I was checking into all of those cars last month (including the 335i) and I ended up with a G37S 6MT. I've had it now for just under two months and already have over 4k miles on it. Suffice it to say that I love this car. I would definitely recommend it over the others you have listed (though don't kid yourself, the G37 is still gonna run you around $41k+ depending on options)....

 

There is a difference in price and some people prefer the smaller dimensions. I prefer the 135 to the 335 as well and it has nothing to do with the money.

 

Drive 'em all and buy the one you like the most < / thread >

Wait till I post my "which rumored car should I get" thread

Hmmm.. Next gen s2k, CR-X, Toyota/Subaru Ae86/supra, etc etc



Right now it's a tossup between the BMW 128 and Hyundai Genesis Coupe, but since I can't test drive either it's kinda pointless to discuss...

 

Dont forget hes been researching for 2 years as well.

 

Sounds like a guy with commitment issues.

Probably gets overwhelmed at Subway and makes everyone stand there for 5 mins while he stammers out a turkey sub with lettuce and mustard.

 

 

Search his name in the 3G TL forum...

 

Is this the $41k A-Spec guy?

 

Where are all the ex BMW owners who bought Acuras because of their BMWs being unreliable?

Not saying they are as reliable as Japanese cars but you would think we would hear a few personal stories here. All we typically hear are 2nd hand ones. Weird.

 

You can get a stick in any BMW vehicle except for a 7 series or a new X5. Wagons, X3s, older X5s, AWD, RWD, doesn't matter.

 

When you're buying new or leasing, I dont' think reliability really matters... all new cars today are pretty reliable. Sure, there's a bad one here and there, but as a whole, most cars are at least good till the oem warranty runs out.

If someone is thinking about buying an used acura or bmw with 70-100K miles and planning to keep it longterm, then it's an entirely different story...

 

^ Yea but theres plenty of ex Acura owners on the BMW forums who dumped their Acuras even before the warranty ended.

My guess is that people who buy BMWs expect that maybe few things can go wrong. Whereas when you buy an Acura you expect it to be perfect. So when little things goes wrong in the Acura, people flip out.

I dunno, I just hear so many 2nd hand stories on this forum about BMW that i figured there had to be a couple who personally had bad experiences with BMW.

 

I've lost faith in Acura and their newer models. I was looking forward to seeing what they were going to do with the next gen TSX, but was disappointed.

 

Audi FTW!

 

My A3 thread was started a LONG time ago, but I had pretty much already decided it would be my next car, even though I went with the A4 in the end.

I didn't commit to buying the A3 because of financial reasons and in the end playing the waiting game worked and in all honesty, I think waiting and really thinking it through can't hurt whether it takes someone 3 months or 2 years.

If your circumstances don't warrant the immediate purchase, waiting isn't a bad thing. Look at what it did for me, got me a great deal on financing.


FYI, I don't have decision making issues at Subway either.

 

Quit sackriding


I'd buy the 135

 

ROFL, I wasn't talking about you and you bought a car in this decade. Three years to decide on a car isn't worth posting about.