FR-S vs BMW 135i

[thill]

The difference is your car is brand new with a 3yr/36K bumper to bumper and 5yr/60K powertrain warranty. His car is 5-6 years old (depending on build date). The cost of ownership is going to be way more for him than for you over the next 3-5 years that's for sure (even on gas alone). For what he will be paying for maintenance and repairs (and I know this because I owned a 3 series that cost me lots of dough around year 5) you could put towards mods or your next car.

[GotM]

I too am one of the converts from a 135i to the BRZ.

[Luis_GT]

Originally Posted by thill

The difference is your car is brand new with a 3yr/36K bumper to bumper and 5yr/60K powertrain warranty. His car is 5-6 years old (depending on build date). The cost of ownership is going to be way more for him than for you over the next 3-5 years that's for sure (even on gas alone). For what he will be paying for maintenance and repairs (and I know this because I owned a 3 series that cost me lots of dough around year 5) you could put towards mods or your next car.

How much is loads of dough?

I have spent around 2.5 grand in repairs on my car over the past 4 years... and my car is 11 years old...

I do need to spend $1600 on a complete suspension overhaul and 2 grand on a full body paint...

[j2digit]

First off, welcome to the club. Nice to hear a convert's story. looking forward to your build thread.

[thill]

Originally Posted by Luis_GT

How much is loads of dough?

I have spent around 2.5 grand in repairs on my car over the past 4 years... and my car is 11 years old...

I do need to spend $1600 on a complete suspension overhaul and 2 grand on a full body paint...

Owned the car 2 years (it was 4.5 years old when I got it) and put about $4-5K into it. Some expensive repairs. I loved the car but would probably not buy used again unless there was still warranty coverage.

[Luis_GT]

Originally Posted by thill

Owned the car 2 years (it was 4.5 years old when I got it) and put about $4-5K into it. Some expensive repairs. I loved the car but would probably not buy used again unless there was still warranty coverage.

Did you do the repairs yourself or went to an indy?

[WolfpackS2k]

Congrats on the new car, and welcome to the club! As to your 135 I gotta ask:

Fast forward to this month. The wife and I recently closed on our first home. The commute to and from work will be about triple of what it used to be, and DDing the 135i would probably be a nightmare, being that she gets about 14mpg. She suggested that, in light of our mortgage payment which is much higher than our current apartment's rent, we trim the BMW out of my life. Many fits of rage and sorrow ensue.

What in the hell did you do to that car to get 14 mpg? My brother's 335i easily tops 30 mpg highway, even cruising around 80 mph.

[Ammonia]

Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k

Congrats on the new car, and welcome to the club! As to your 135 I gotta ask:



What in the hell did you do to that car to get 14 mpg? My brother's 335i easily tops 30 mpg highway, even cruising around 80 mph.

Its alllll city driving to work. 14.5-14.7 is what it hovers around. As soon as you tune and mod the N54 its a glutton for gas.

[GotM]

In stock configuration I could get 16-17mpg all city driving. But, this car also made me drive like a nut. I think if I babied it every where I could get 19 mpg in the city. For 2 MPG, you might as well drive it the way you want.

The mpg is not why I got rid of the car. It was 3 AC system repairs in 3 years. 3 HPFPs in 3 years. And, main because BMW service and I had a disagreement over a flat tire on a loaner car. BMW will not repair RFT tires, they will want to bill you for a new tire on their loaner cars.

[WolfpackS2k]

Yeah I don't blame you for avoiding that. Shit like that is why I stay away from BMWs. A real shame as they used to be one of my favorite automakers.

[thill]

Originally Posted by Luis_GT

Did you do the repairs yourself or went to an indy?

Indy. I was living in Washington DC at the time with no garage and and working 60-70 hours per week. And everything costs way more in DC. I don't remember every repair (this was like 10 years ago) but I remember needing to get a new radiator, new brakes, new tires, new battery, new A/C compressor, new window motors. There was always something with the car and it was my daily driver. On the plus side I just about got what I paid for it when I sold it after two years.

I just have never had luck with German cars. I also owned two VW's that were always needing to get something fixed. That said, my best friend had an Audi A4, and his car was rock solid and all it needed was normal maintenance for the 7+ years he drove it.

[Ammonia]

Originally Posted by GotM

In stock configuration I could get 16-17mpg all city driving. But, this car also made me drive like a nut. I think if I babied it every where I could get 19 mpg in the city. For 2 MPG, you might as well drive it the way you want.

The mpg is not why I got rid of the car. It was 3 AC system repairs in 3 years. 3 HPFPs in 3 years. And, main because BMW service and I had a disagreement over a flat tire on a loaner car. BMW will not repair RFT tires, they will want to bill you for a new tire on their loaner cars.

That sucks about the loaner.

Originally Posted by thill

That said, my best friend had an Audi A4, and his car was rock solid and all it needed was normal maintenance for the 7+ years he drove it.

For what its worth, my wife's Audi A4 has been a champ. Not a single issue so far, knock on wood.

[DoomsdayJesus]

I didn't really mod my 330Ci, but going from that to the BRZ was a little bittersweet. The money I was saving was definitely sweet, though. $5k in repairs that I was completely incapable of doing myself in 4 months, and I was done. Ready to put that towards car payments instead of down the drain.

[regal]

Remember the twins are an all Japanese built and designed car. Parts are unique and the DI is just as unproven as BMW engineering. And in the last decade the Subaru boxer reliability has been worse for major engine repair than BMW in-line 6. Time will but in a few years of road time maintaining a Toyobaru may be just as difficult as a BMW, this isn't a corolla by any means. Also an I-6 is much simplier to work on than a crammed in boxer.

I don't think long term reliability is a given over a BMW 1 series by any means.

That said the chassis of the Toyobaru is much better than the 1-series. BMW dropped the ball with the 1-series with too much under-steer and too much weight, it could have been a return to their roots but those are gone.

I was close to buying a 1-series but chose a new FR-S instead, but my fingures are crossed. There are no guarantees in this industry anymore.