Holy Stupid Eff'in BMW

The wife has a 2008 BMW 335i with 52,000 miles. Repair Warranty ran out at 50k. Oh I still have a maintence free warranty till 100,000 but this only covers free oil changes, brakes, and well I don't know what else but not what I need it to cover!!

Wife on her way to work yesterday when car overheats and goes into limp mode. Dealership tows car to dealership and a diagnosis is done. Phone call comes just a few minutes ago and service advisor says its the electric water pump and repair bill is going to be 1199.00. I about fell out and now I am typing this post at my credit union. BMW will be traded in as soon as the repair is done. This is turned into a shi&@y day

Wow bro sorry to hear that.

I know a guy who does all the work on his BMer and all his family BMers, he told me when we were looking at new cars dont ever buy a BMer or a Benz unless you plan to learn how to fix them. They are great cars but requires tons of upkeep and repairs.

The reason you dont hear about all this is because people think there hot chit owning one of them.

If i was you look into the Jetta or better yet Passat TDI like we have. Fully loaded Passat TDI SEL every option the factory has on Claudias car we got it for less then 35K. Shes consitantly getting 40+ mpg every tank. She gets about 650 miles a tank and it costs about 70 to fill it

Oh man that sucks but the prices on everything (but salaries) have gone through the roof. Is it really worth trading over a $1100 bill?

I feel you Jason, wife 2.0 has a mercedes I cannot stand to even ride in! It costs us a ton everytime any little thing goes wrong! Would she consider one of these trusty rides?

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Originally Posted by New Guy

Oh man that sucks but the prices on everything (but salaries) have gone through the roof. Is it really worth trading over a $1100 bill?

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Now that the warranty has expired I'm thinking so yes. I'm not trying to drop a grand every time this thing needs a little service done. Oil changes are 200 bucks alone, granted you only get it done once a year but none the less I can't imagine what the future repair bills will cost. I used to tell everyone how great the BMW was and how above par the warranty package/maintenance free warranty was. Until 50k miles anyway. I'm literally sick to my stomach right now, I've never had this kind of repair bill on any vehicle I have ever owned. I guess all good things come to an end huh

What kind of idiot car company would use an electric water pump????

Bring Money Witchoo!


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Looks like BMW does David


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Jason, that sucks, I hate dealing with car issues. I currently have the '08 335xi. Previously I had a 2002 325i that was trouble-free for the 125,000 miles I put on it. But I did the preventative maintenance. The 335 is a bit more finicky and I don't expect it to last as long (without more repairs and maintenance that the 325). There are fuel pump issues with this model as well, and overheating issues as you've found out. I didn't have any issues, but there's a "trifecta" fix that my dealer did which replaced the high pressure fuel pump, the lifters, and something else (maybe injectors) which is BMW's remedy for this. The twin-turbo increases the potential for issues exponentially, but 300lbs of torque is pretty fun and much less expensive than an M3. If you want a trouble free car (which I do for at least the family wagon), it's going to be modest power, modest handling, non-turbo, etc. Can't beat the torque and handling (almost more important than power) for the price of the 335 IMO. Do you like the car for the performance otherwise? If you're not into that, then I would agree that it's definitely not worth the cost.

For others, I could go on an on about how I think what I have is the greatest, but there's enough of that on here...base price is mid-40's, pretty similar (or less) to the SUV's and trucks that most of us have to pull our boats, so I guess I don't understand the comments about BMW drivers' attitudes.

So, is this the first (and only) thing to go wrong on the car? If so, chit happens and parts break. It could have been a Ford, VW, or Toyota, things break. How much do you thing new tires are going to be? Try around $1000 when it is said and done.

If you have had no problems with the car, you "know" it's history. Buying a used car is a guess on what issues it has had in the past and why it was removed by it's previous owner.

You should call the service manager and try to get BMW to cover some of that cost under the (expired) warranty. I had a Volvo that was 1200 miles out of warranty with broken engine mount. Volvo covered the entire part and half of the labor, even though it was out of warranty.

first lesson is to find a local shop that repairs and specializes in that brand other than the dealer. most(notice I said most, not all) will suck you dry if given the chance. service advisors don't make a lot of coin and depend on writing repairs for income. most every large town has that "one guy" that is well known for that brand that will work for a lot less $$ than the dealers as they don't have the overhead and know the cars well. all the bmw guys here know hurless, not the dealer(peterson bmw) as the go-to shop for work.

fyi, rockauto has a steering pump for $218 rebuild. would be without your car for a week, but essentially they rebuild your exact unit. bet it's no more than 3hrs labor to r&r the pump. that should be in the $4-500 range at another shop plus a week without the car.

I've had all the scheduled maint done at dealership and this is first issue minus the standard scopes and recalls. It's been trouble free. Tires are a little over a grand, has the run flats.

It's a very fun car to drive and looks fantastic. Smoke grey with black interior and blacked out windows. Speed, torque, and handling are out of this world but I drive it very little as its the wife's car and she don't enjoy driving the family war wagon.

The fuel pump is also a known issue, finding all this out by reading on BMW forums just a tad to late! There is a local mechanic that specializes in BMW and VW but I don't know the dude and his shop looks a tad funky. I guess this is why he would probably do the same job for 500 bucks less.

Just don't think keeping this thing and the future issues that may or may not arise or worth me keeping her. Time for a new ride I think. Maybe I'll cool off a little after a while. Got my kiddos at Madagascar now to keep my mind off this bill


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LOL! Just put a water pump on a BMW 323ic with 80k on it. Probably due by then, I guess. Plastic water pump though. Crap. Already had to put a transmission in it. This was the BMW "lifetime" transmission, whatever that means. It didn't even have a dipstick (unless you count the guy that bought it). Car is cute and fun to drive but I'm sick of working on it every week. Wife has to rent a car to go to the beach for a wedding on Sunday. This one's going up on the block too. Gonna get her a V-6 Mustang Convert. Yea, I know. It's a chick car. Not more of a chick car than a 323ic though.

I never want to hear about "German engineering" again. I put that one right up there with "military intelligence" and "jumbo shrimp".

Well I'm glad you can laugh Kane. Maybe once I pay this Amex bill I'll also be laughing-:(


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Well, I've been doing it all on the cheap. Transmission would have been $3000 plus. Found one on ebay that didn't sell and got Wolfeman to pick it up for me and deliver it half way down here. Paid $200 for it and had it installed for another $400 by my shadetree guy. Fixed the broken convertible top myself. Put the water pump in myself and yesterday replaced a radiator hose. There's only one key for it and a new one is $200. Hope she doesn't lose it before we sell. CD changer broke. Radio signal is only good for about 10 miles. Just a way crappier car than I was expecting it to be.

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Originally Posted by kaneboats

I never want to hear about "German engineering" again. I put that one right up there with "military intelligence" and "jumbo shrimp".

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Don't forget "manly Dusty"

When I first saw the thread title, I figured it was started by Kane.

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Originally Posted by rdlangston13

What kind of idiot car company would use an electric water pump????

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Virtually every car company is doing this in an effort to meet the CAFE standards for gas mileage. Electric water pump, steering,A/C, and brake assist reduce HP needed by the engine and allow for engine shutoff at stop lights. In 5 yrs, every car made will have a lot of the hybrid technology found on today's cars.

sucks max. just like the fancy lcd controllers that all the boats are going to. it goes out and no more pp, radio, ballast, etc...

give me a good old basic car with none of the add-on bs :)

We're going to have to build our own. Then they won't let us drive them.

Sorry, I remember "simple" cars and trucks. They got terrible gas mileage, they lasted fine until about 50,000 miles and then started breaking. When they did have a problem, you needed to know something about engines and electronics. I prefer modern computer controlled cars. If there is a problem, just plug in and it will tell you what is broken. Aside from minor issues, I believe every new car sold today will last at least 125K miles before any issue.

pass on that one. I have a 98 ford ranger. has a high speed idle problem. pulled the code and says replace "x". replaced "x" and it's still there. the laundry list of parts they gave me now will be over $300. that same truck 10 years earlier would not have any of these issues. granted, I might give up a few mpg with all the electronic add-on's gone, but at least it would run properly..

guess the only advantage I can say is with tuning. got an extra 60hp at the wheels from my last evo from a tuner from florida using nothing but a dyno and a laptop reprogramming the factory ecu.

Have you tried talking with the service manager and the regional BMW rep. They might cover part of the cost since your not too far past. Also do a search for and TSB out about this repair, I have had good luck with GM and Nissan both in getting help.

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Originally Posted by maxpower220

Aside from minor issues, I believe every new car sold today will last at least 125K miles before any issue.

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Living in fantasy land, are you?

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Originally Posted by kaneboats

Living in fantasy land, are you?

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You're right, I forgot that Italians and British still make cars.

I don't see how electric water pumps add to the reliability of a car.

I do agree that modern distributor less cars with fuel injection do run better and outlast their carbourated and distributor counter parts


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Just remember, people under the age of 35 may have never driven a car with a carb, definately no points/condensor, or without at least 1 airbag.

I never said electric was more reliable, but has less HP draw on the engine. If your kids are under 10, they may never drive a car with a serpentine belt.

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Originally Posted by maxpower220

If your kids are under 10, they may never drive a car with a serpentine belt.

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will be interesting to see how things change to say the least

or how they stay the same.
manufacturers will do the bare minimum to make a car "pass" the gov't standards and if the other countries don't impose same/tougher standards, then I think manufacturers will do just enough to keep the gov't happy. it's all driven by, imo, cafe standards. I do concur that fi cars run much better than carbs, but they don't need the amount of sensors/data input that they are currently getting(look at the basic small block in our boats). it's all in a quest to squeeze out the cafe number the gov't wants for the manufacturers fleet sales. the end price is a few more mpg's out of a car, but one that is next to impossible to diagnose without expensive electronics and when something does break, you are paying big $$.

rented a car in mexico 4 years ago. was a brand new nissan sentra with 1000 miles on it. was interesting to note not a single airbag nor abs and when you lifted the hood, it was missing half the sensors/vacuum crap that we require here. bet that same car here for sale would be $3k cheaper and betting it would run just as long as a "us" sentra with a cheaper long term repair bill.

You guys remember the air pumps they used to add on just to pump air into the exhaust so it would test with fewer ppm and pass emissions. Wasting horsepower to turn a pump that does nothing. That's what some of the govt standards have done. Then you have all this plastic crap instead of metal to make them cheaper and lighter so the union guys get $48/hr and great benefits and pensions. I could go on. No need.

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Originally Posted by kaneboats

so the union guys get $48/hr and great benefits and pensions.

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man, don't get me going on unions either. ever looked up what a ups driver makes? it'll make ya vomit..
talk about a world of entitlements..

Toyotas have electric power steering but I think they are trying to use common parts with their hybrids. Talk about sticker shock. I have 11K miles on my motor home but it is also nine years old which means cracking side walls and time to replace the tires. The cheapest for six tires is $1,800 so it looks like a trip to Oregon next weekend (no sales tax). I see my golf cart batteries aren't keeping a charge so that is another $180. My boat is actually doing well so knock on wood.

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Originally Posted by sandm

man, don't get me going on unions either. ever looked up what a ups driver makes? it'll make ya vomit..
talk about a world of entitlements..

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I have a couple of buddies that are/have been UPS drivers....the work their butt of man. Summer time no AC in the big ol heat box! Sometimes they are working 12-14 hour days....lifting heavy boxes and stuff. But yeah Unions suck! We have them where I work at AT&T. I am not a Union employee and I am glad about that! Wanna talk about entitlements and people who are over paid...look at EVERY government official! "Civic Duty" shouldn't pay that well and have such good "perks"!


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