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lowside67 · 06-28-2019, 02:58 PM

In general, the BMWs I have owned have been quite reliable. They live hard lives as basically pure autocross and track cars for me and really almost all failure I have experienced have been related to that use - bushings, etc.

I try to buy the simplest ones I can - my 128 though has definitely more systems to potentially go wrong. I was doing some suspension work recently and when the car was back on the ground, it had spontaneously lost its coding relating to steering wheel sensor. Not a huge deal, just needed a reset, but cost me $75 and a bit of time. This direction to make cars smarter is not exclusive to BMW but is what worries me about “modern” cars.

In summary, I recommend naturally aspirated 6spd manual BMWs. Skip the turbos with DCT.

-Mark

06-28-2019, 02:58 PM	#8
lowside67 Old School RS Join Date: May 2004 Location: Port Moody Posts: 4,641 Thanked 4,157 Times in 1,262 Posts Failed 130 Times in 80 Posts	In general, the BMWs I have owned have been quite reliable. They live hard lives as basically pure autocross and track cars for me and really almost all failure I have experienced have been related to that use - bushings, etc. I try to buy the simplest ones I can - my 128 though has definitely more systems to potentially go wrong. I was doing some suspension work recently and when the car was back on the ground, it had spontaneously lost its coding relating to steering wheel sensor. Not a huge deal, just needed a reset, but cost me $75 and a bit of time. This direction to make cars smarter is not exclusive to BMW but is what worries me about “modern” cars. In summary, I recommend naturally aspirated 6spd manual BMWs. Skip the turbos with DCT. -Mark __________________ I'm old now - boring street cars and sweet race cars.