What I've Learned from 10 YEARS of BMW Ownership

I've been a BMW owner for the last 10 years and I wanted to share some of the things that I've learned over that time to help new owners get the most out of their cars and maybe even talk you out of buying one if the time isn't right so if you're new here I had a 330xi from 2014 to 2020 and then I currently own a 340i that I've had from 2020 to the present there's a comment that I see on my Channel all the time that goes something like I've been following you for a while but the BMW life just wasn't for me they ultimately needed something more reliable that wasn't so much of a financial burden I don't mean this in a pretentious way but BMWs aren't for everyone yes they're incredible cars but they can also be incredibly frustrating and Incredibly expensive and they almost weren't for me I bought my E90 at a time in my life where I couldn't afford it between the payment the more expensive insurance premium gas with worse fuel economy and some of the expensive repairs that I had early on I couldn't really afford that car and what it came down to is I couldn't keep it unless I could figure out how to do some if not all of the work myself and that's sort of how this YouTube channel was born anytime maintenance would be due or something would break on the car I would do my best to try to figure it out document it and upload it here to YouTube and it turned out that there were a ton of people just like me trying to own these cars on a budget so if that's you um I want to give you some tips and resources in this [Music] video when guys like Scotty Kilmer or the car wizard tell you not to buy a BMW and to buy a Toyota instead they're not entirely wrong the average car owner not talking about car enthusiasts or BMW fanatics but just the average person just wants to get from A to point B with as few issues as possible what happens a lot of times is people buy a cheap BMW thinking that they're getting the deal of a lifetime only to get crushed by maintenance and repair costs what people don't understand is even though they only paid $5,000 for say an E90 the ownership costs are still like owning a $40,000 car and these cars are more sensitive to on time maintenance compared to to other brands for me I had seen a couple of Uncle Scotty's videos and I knew that it was going to be a little bit more expensive but the gravity of it didn't really hit me until my first major repair bill it is possible to own a BMW on a budget but much of it comes down to choosing the right model to begin with and then how much of the work you can actually do [Music] yourself coming from a Toyota myself there was definitely a learning curve when I got my first BMW you just have to figure out BMW's way of doing things so for example you can't simply replace the battery there's like this whole coding process that you have to do afterward you can't just take out the dipstick to check the oil level you have to let the car warm up and then use the car's computer system and just hope that the level system is working correctly oh speaking of checking the levels checking the transmission fluid level on the zf8 speeed is a chore um even down to things like the wiper blades my f30 is the first car that I've ever owned that has like a service mode for changing the wiper blades and it's stuff like that or even the simplest of maintenance is made more complicated now I understand that it's not just BMW doing this stuff some of these things are just common for European cars but again like I said coming from a very basic Toyota this stuff definitely took some adjustment for me you end up asking yourself is there really a sensible engineering reason behind some of the stuff or is it just difficult for the sake of being difficult to discourage you from doing your own work my uncle has always maintained all of his own cars and he recently bought an X540 so he's kind of been calling and texting me asking questions about it and he was saying between the complicated extra steps and the owner's manual which tells you basically nothing about maintaining the car he said he really gets a feeling like PMW doesn't want him to touch anything besides the door handle now all that being said it's not that bad once you get the hang of it but there are times where I'm working on my other two cars and I think to myself like wow that was so much [Music] easier one of the best aspects of BMW ownership is the sense of community around these cars cars I have found that BMW owners tend to be car people and they have a connection with their cars that goes beyond just driving them Beamer post is one of the most active forums where you can find information DIYs and a ton of helpful content so if you're having any issues with your car chances are dozens of people have had the same problem and it's been documented on the forums you can use the forums to figure out what the issue is get a ballpark estimate of what people paid at the dealership versus independent shops and you might even find a DIY write up and decide that it's something that you want to tackle at home on your own driveway YouTube is another great resource where you can find DIYs get inspiration for mods and even just learn more about your car there are tons of excellent BMW channels out there like FCP Euro Keys Motorsports and many many more making really good highquality content for BMWs I'll even link some of my own DIY playlists down below the point I'm trying to make here is that if you buy one of these cars you're not just going to be totally on your own there's a ton of great resources out there a word about the community despite the reputation that we have online the BMW Community is actually made up of a bunch of really good folks there are BMW shows and meets all over the country and even my local BMW dealer has a Cars and Coffee [Music] event some of my closest friends are people who have met through BMW ownership and just based on my experience here on YouTube and social media I have found that BMW owners are eager to help each other out and share knowledge and it's been an honor for me to be able to contribute to the community uh through my own YouTube videos [Music] one skill that you're going to pick up owning a BMW on a budget is figuring out when it makes sense to spend the money for genuine or OE parts and when you can maybe get away with using something cheaper so for example on my E90 one of the first things that broke were the headlight washer sprayers there were these things that come out of the bumper to spray the headlights that would always leak and I bought a generic set on Amazon for around $30 and they were still working years later when when I sold the car another DIY of mine that blew up really early on was the washer sprayer cover I found out that it was going to be like $50 to get one from the dealership so I went on eBay I got a $5 one and I spray painted it black myself now when it comes to more critical Parts like engine and suspension components then yeah it makes sense to spend the money on OE quality especially if it's a part that could leave you stranded if it fails a site that I recommend for OE and genuine BMW parts is FCP euro.com now full disclosure I have worked with them as a partner on the channel in the past but I've also been a paying customer ever since FCP Euro has a great reputation in the Euro Car community and they offer a lifetime replacement guarantee on many of the parts that they sell Amazon can be okay for some parts things like hood and trunk struts windshield wipers um cabin air filters parts that don't really make that big of a difference if you go cheap eBay is an excellent source for used parts so some of you may remember a couple years ago I attempted to install this fiberglass trunk on my f30 which just just turned into a total disaster just a nightmare of a project and I ended up putting the stock trunk back in but in the process I broke the backup camera in one of the outer tail lights so eBay to the rescue I was able to find genuine BMW replacements for both in like new condition for a fraction of what they would have cost brand new and I've even sold some parts on eBay myself all of the modifications I've done on my 340 have been generously sponsored by Keys Motorsports they have a huge selection of BMW mods and performance parts [Music] BMW is a brand that get so much right but they get hung up on the basics they still can't make a gasket that doesn't leak oil on more plastic parts than ever um delicate cooling systems I was just watching a Tik Tok video from FCP Euro talking about how b-58 expansion tanks are cracking and it's like how is this happening on 5-year-old cars they split just like an E30 or an E36 or an e92 or an e e53 BMW just can't figure it out my E90 with the n52 mar came with an aluminum oil filter housing and my newer b-58 has a plastic one which are known to crack and break and sure I could upgrade to an aluminum oil filter housing but it's like why should I have to do that why not just ship the car with the aluminum oneand from the factory in the first place so one of my frustrations is like with these newer generations of BMWs the prices go up and the quality of Parts seems to go down all these plastic parts do make me worry about longevity because even if you're a person who maintains your car down to the punctuation you do everything on time you're still at the mercy of all these different plastic parts and there's a joke in the BMW community that the car is only designed to last the life of the lease which is really a shame it is cool to see aftermarket companies stepping up and making aluminum replacements for some of these parts but like I said for how expensive these cars are they should really come with the stuff from the factory [Music] if you're watching this and you're in your teens or your early 20s this is likely going to be a big transitional period in your life transitioning from high school to college or the workforce transitioning from the security of your parents house to getting your first place you have to figure out how to live on your own you have to figure out how money works and how the world Works in my experience the last thing you need right now is an expensive high maintenance car you've got enough stress and adjustment ahead of you my my advice is buy something boring and reliable and use this time to build a financial foundation for yourself which is something that I wish I would have done when I was younger you've got your whole life ahead of you to buy whatever car you want but right now as you're just figuring things out I've learned that you don't need the burden of expensive payments and repairs that are going to drain you financially and mentally I can't tell you how many messages I've got over the years where someone will say like hey I just got my driver's license just wondering if this high mileage 335i is a good first car because they find one for cheap on Craigslist and just as much as I love BMWs I can't in good conscience recommend that kind of car to a young person circling back to what I said at the start of the video that BMW almost wasn't for me I really couldn't afford that car at that time in my life and it brought on a lot of unnecessary stress and thinking back to the early years of my um E90 ownership I would have enjoyed that car a lot more had I waited until I could truly afford it these cars aren't perfect but I've enjoyed the challenge and I've learned a lot about cars in the process with the help of friends family in the BMW Community not all BMWs are bankrupting L expensive if you choose the right model and you're able to do some of the work yourself it is possible to own a BMW on a budget it's not going to be cheap though if you're the type of person who wants a car where all you have to do is put gas in it you're going to be frustrated with the BMW experience if you're thinking about buying a BMW I'm going to leave a bunch of resources down in the description links to forums videos some tools that I would recommend to get you started and more for all the BM owners watching this past and present U leave a comment down below and let us know what some of your expensive repairs were and you can also pick up one of these crew necks down in the description as well thanks for watching give me a thumbs up if you enjoyed the video and I will see you guys in the next one

Channel: Justin Buice

Views: 147,181

Keywords: Justin Buice, BMW, 3 Series, F30, F30 BMW, BMW 340i, F30 340i, 340i, BMW 335i, F30 335i, 335i, BMW 328i, F30 328i, 328i, F30 M Sport, BMW mods, BMW DIY, BMW vlog, B58, F32, F32 BMW, F32 440i, 440i, M340i, M240i, 340i intake, 340i exhaust, bmw cost of ownership, bmw common problems, 3 series common problems, bmw ownership review, bmw problems 3 series, bmw repair cost, bmw reliability, bmw 3 series issues, bmw maintenance cost, bmw 3 series maintenance cost, bmw e90, bmw f30

Id: g5OLgQMGX6w

Length: 11min 13sec (673 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 23 2024