Background:
Having just paid stupid money to have a bearing replaced in the rear diff of my 2011 Volvo, and after seeing how badly corroded the fasteners were on it, I find myself longing for the good old days. As what might be described as a decent shade tree mechanic, I was thinking about what older car would make a decent daily driver. No long trips, but durable, if I take care of it. I want to find one that started out as a good product, CAN be repaired (by a pro if necessary), and will last.
This is what I have come up with as a list of criteria:
PARTS - should be readily available. (which was not the case for my BMW motorcycle)
REPAIRS - should be doable, due to decent design. (My Volvo has a Ford diff,which is simply not repairable, as the parts are welded, and it requires the rear subframe to be removed to do any work on it.)
USE - year round in Canada. So decent in snow, and must have A/C
BODY STYLE - no convertible. should have room for 4
CONSTRUCTION - more steel than aluminium. ( with luck, none)
ELECTRONICS - minimal, definitely no fobs
SAFETY - should have a decent safety record.
PERFORMANCE - I'm a senior citizen, so that does not matter like it used to. Nice to have, but not essential.
I'm open to suggestions and comments. I have not driven a BMW car since the 70's, so I am definitely out of the loop...
How about a Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus, Nissan/Infinity, or Mazda?
All possibilities, but are you suggesting that no BMW comes close to fitting the bill?
Based on your post, those are the cars I would recommend for you. I have 3 BMW and no interest in the cars I recommended but I recommend those cars to most people. They are reliable and efficient, and if you want those qualities with a little more power or sportiness, 3 of the 4 companies have upscale offerings. No BMW will match any of their cars in consumer reports long term reliability ratings.
Last edited by pbonsalb; 06-20-2019 at 08:56 AM.
I get your point. Reliability is important, but so are the other items in my list. If the car is not too complicated I can do many repairs on my own. IF the car is meant to be repaired.
All newer cars are complicated. Since you have a 2011 Volvo, I assume you want a car from this decade and BMWs from this decade are complicated with multiple computers and modules that need coding or programming when being replaced. Even the battery needs to be registered. You can do some on your own but you need to have a bidirectional scan tool to do more and even that sometimes is not enough. Go back another decade and BMWs are a little more DIY friendly but you will still find multiple computers and modules and fobs and canbus wiring and dual vanos, etc. If you want to go back to the 80s or 90s, you can find simpler cars but they are wearing out and need constant attention.
Based on what you write, I would be hesitant to recommend any to you. If you insist, stick to a naturally aspirated inline 6 with a manual transmission. Probably a 2011 or older, but I am not exactly sure of the cutoff date since those cars don’t really interest me. This thread might be useful:
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2399355-What-is-the-most-reliable-modern(ish)-BMW-SUV-or-wagon
Last edited by pbonsalb; 06-20-2019 at 10:39 AM.
THanks for the response. I suspect my requirements are going to take me back to around 2000. Or before...
Interesting. Thanks fro the link. Perhaps something very much like that...
Don’t buy a V8. Stick with an inline 6 if you want reliability and easier maintenance and repairs.
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