neo

paulTOO i now own a M3 and traded in my scooby STI V5 type R for it and when it comes to repairs scoobies are also bloomin expensive as i found out with only 21,000 miles on the scooby the maiin bearing shells packed in resulting in nearly a £4000 repair bill,so £1000 for a vanos timing gear system seems a lot sweeter considering, it just goes to show BMW are not alone i'm sure you will agree.neo

mozzaITA

The more i look into getting an impreza the more im put off, 4k thats sum big bill, theres noway in the world i could fork out 4 big ones to repair my car, M3 are really reliable, i wanted a turbo car but all i hear is bad news, Lancer Evo was my first choice but they are bit too pricy, impreza's may need a pitfull of money to run it but then again the lancer might be as bad but i havnt heard as many horror stories about them, as for the M3, well i didnt want one atall at first, i think they are plain looking and a bit common but now i think they maybe a safer semi-supercar option!!!!!

ahhh its not fair!!!!

PaulT00

OK. Big expensiveness can happen to almost any car, but some are more prone to it than others. Perhaps I should mention here the 1500 quid new springs and dampers all round I had done on my old BM 325... and then it cracked a cylinder head 4 months later requiring nearly 4 grand to fix. And no sign of a warranty to take the strain either...

I remember years ago expressing shock at the quantity of money BMW wanted for a relatively small part and being told (I kid you not) "Sir, you are running a BMW". Don't think I should tell you my reply as this is a family BBS... but BMW still seem to make a "snob value" thing out of the running costs - if you have to ask (or don't have high-limit plastic money to charge it to) you can't afford it and all that.

The big question is, at what point do you stop funnelling cash into something which seems to eat it, belch loudly, and then ask for more?

At the time, the engine and suspension seemed like a good idea - I kept it for another two years by which time it was showing its age so I sold it privately and got the scoob. Best decision I ever made!

neo

Mozza sorry to dampen your expectations ive had two scoobys the first was a uk prodrive PP and was fairly reliable except for the Air Con kept failing spent a £1000 on that in the end and then sold it months later for the STI then a few months into that the engine failed big ends, in the end i could'nt keep up forking out,i would'nt care but they were both nearly new when i got them and i treat my cars with kid gloves etc.May be just unlucky i guess do your home work they sre still heaps of fun but at a cost???

DazV

Well I haven't had a single problem to report on my M3 Evo yet. Car is till under warranty so anything major like VANOS is covered.

So far theo only trip to the dealer has been for a service £115 and a set of vanity plates £22

father_jack

I thought the vanos thing was like exup on Yammy bikes i.e. an electric exhast valve to boost bottom end power, not variable valve timing - or am I talking mince?

neo

its down to pay your money and takes your choice but ive been there twice make your own mind up its your wallet that's paying for the repairs if you need them?????????

GaryC

VANOS is variable valve timing - but has other bits to it which may include the exhaust......

g0d

Just to back up the snob value point whenever I've taken a BMW to have a specific job done it always costs At least 25% more than you get quoted on the phone. Questioning this alwys results in shock and stammering. The always tell you small jobs will take 45 min and leave you waiting over an hour watching cack TV in the 'snob lifestyle' section
Despite all this you have to make your own Tea as well.
to be fair this is all based on one dealership in kingston MK ************************************************** *****************
edited by moderator to remove potentially libellous comments****************************************** *****************
Quality service my ****

[Edited by ian/555 - 4/9/2002 12:26:53 PM]