I’m looking at purchasing an X3 or X5. However, I have heard that the BMW maintenance costs are quite high and after warranty the maintenance issues occur extensively. I’d appreciate hearing from BMW owners if this has been your experience. Is it fact or fiction?
As a BMW F10 (previous gen 5-series) it’s true that BMW maintenance cost are higher than other Japanese or American luxury brands. I think I averaged about $2000-3000 a year on maintenance for wear and tear items (battery, brakes, shocks & struts) once the warranty ran out on my BMW. One of the biggest problems is that parts and labor is fairly expensive and it’s often difficult to find qualified independent (non-BMW) shops that are willing to work on BMWs. When I previously owned a Lexus, most of the parts were shared with Toyota, so I could take it to any Toyota or Japanese auto shop and the mechanics there were willing to work on it and the maintenance cost per year was about half of what it cost to own my BMW.
Thanks for sharing your experience. You bring up a good point about Toyotas and Lexus. Seems as though the higher maintenance costs are true but people are still buying BMWs do that must say something about their contentment with the vehicles.