Well, I can't say I'm surprised.

"phenotyp" (phenotyp) 12/08/2013 at 23:24 • Filed to: None

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Three weeks into it, I've had three instances of super-rough idle/misfire, but they go away after it warms up a bit. Then this morning I see oil spots on my parking space. I'm guessing leaking valve cover gasket and sticking/screwy VANOS on the left cylinder bank. Sonofabitch.

Not that I didn't expect it, I guess.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > phenotyp 12/08/2013 at 23:26

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What kind of car is it?

phenotyp > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 12/08/2013 at 23:27

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2007 550i.

vdub_nut: scooter snob > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 12/08/2013 at 23:27

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BMW, recent years from the look and the VANOS problems.

Party-vi > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 12/08/2013 at 23:28

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Audi R8 :3

nah it's a 550i. Not that I know, since I'm not creeping or anything...

vdub_nut: scooter snob > phenotyp 12/08/2013 at 23:28

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You may wanna double check that diagnosis before you start hacking into it. I've head the VANOS is a big job, and a misdiagnosis would really suck.

StoneCold > phenotyp 12/08/2013 at 23:29

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You need more M60 in your life.

Party-vi > phenotyp 12/08/2013 at 23:29

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Congratulations! Your German car is acting German :D

All Motor Is Best Motor > phenotyp 12/08/2013 at 23:30

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And this is why I get highly annoyed when Eurofanboys say BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Audi make reliable cars and tell me how they're just as cheap to maintain as a Japanese car.

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > All Motor Is Best Motor 12/08/2013 at 23:31

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And then there's the American cars...

vdub_nut: scooter snob > All Motor Is Best Motor 12/08/2013 at 23:33

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I don't think anyone makes that claim. German cars are expensive as piss to keep running, after a certain point.

All Motor Is Best Motor > The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 12/08/2013 at 23:33

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I've never owned an American car, don't look at me.

phenotyp > vdub_nut: scooter snob 12/08/2013 at 23:34

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Oh, that's the plan. I haven't had the codes checked yet. Not about to hack away without a professional diagnosis.

phenotyp > Party-vi 12/08/2013 at 23:35

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Yep. Everyone I know who's bought a used BMW has spent at least a grand in the first month of ownership, usually because of something plastic.

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > All Motor Is Best Motor 12/08/2013 at 23:36

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My family has had better luck with them than Japanese or Korean. And repairs on American cars are so cheap and easy to do yourself. That is changing though :\

phenotyp > All Motor Is Best Motor 12/08/2013 at 23:36

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Who the fuck says that? Maybe I don't know enough idiots.

vdub_nut: scooter snob > phenotyp 12/08/2013 at 23:38

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I assumed as much. Is it throwing a regular CEL, or a BMW special code that you can only read with a BMW tool?

vdub_nut: scooter snob > Party-vi 12/08/2013 at 23:39

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DeutschPuberty

All Motor Is Best Motor > vdub_nut: scooter snob 12/08/2013 at 23:39

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Actually, I've seen it a lot here on Jalopnik in FP articles. Remember the FP article on how the CLA was/is taking sales from Camry/Accord buyers? I commented on how the owners are going to regret their decisions when their CLA's start asking for direct access to their bank accounts and I got at least two Eurofanboys chiming in telling me how they aren't any more expensive to fix here in the USA and how they're so reliable. The basic engines might be well built but everything else is so prone to failure on these cars. ESPECIALLY electronics.

Back when I bought my 2001 Acura CL-S, I cross shopped with an Audi A4. I liked the car and was serious about buying one, but when I asked the salesmen how much regular maintenance cost they hemmed and hawed and tried to divert the topic elsewhere, and I pretty much just up and left after that. And every year I read in Consumer Reports how Mercedes, Audi, BMW, and Volkswagen are almost always at the very bottom of reliability.

phenotyp > vdub_nut: scooter snob 12/08/2013 at 23:40

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As far as I know, the service light on BMWs isn't the usual CEL, and requires a BMW-specific reader (according to my M3-owning friend, anyway).

. . > phenotyp 12/08/2013 at 23:41

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I was quite surprised to find that German cars are considered unreliable in America. Over here, in Europe, they're considered very well built and very reliable if maintained correctly. What gives?

vdub_nut: scooter snob > All Motor Is Best Motor 12/08/2013 at 23:42

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As someone who literally just sold their expensive to maintain german car, let me say this:

Those people are idiots.

phenotyp > . . 12/08/2013 at 23:44

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I think the key is "maintained correctly." Since BMWs tend to be leased as new, and BMW covers all maintenance and repairs during that period, they're often considered like expensive, disposable rentals, and when they come off lease, they're sold for cheap.

...not that I may or may not have taken advantage of someone else paying the massive depreciation, or anything.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > phenotyp 12/08/2013 at 23:46

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Nice ride. Is there any particular reason for the car to be having issues, or just it being its German self?

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > All Motor Is Best Motor 12/08/2013 at 23:48

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I've run into a couple of people like that. But I've more come into contact who are proud of how much the whole ordeal costs because you gotta "pay to play" and they enjoy that status.

phenotyp > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 12/08/2013 at 23:53

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Thanks. I'm enjoying it more than I like to admit. Moving from 8 years of mid-engine convertible to giant goddamn tank car has been a pretty big adjustment. I don't know what's causing the presumed VANOS sticking, my first thought was that it either had something to do with cold, or refueling, but I happened to need to refuel right on a day when it's gone from warm to below freezing, so I haven't isolated it. But the way it runs when it happens seems to indicate either a whole bank not getting fuel, or the timing fucking up.
And the leak? SOP for German cars in TX. Plastics, no matter how well-stored, just don't hold up down here.

Jeff-God-of-Biscuits > StoneCold 12/08/2013 at 23:56

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Well, I guess if it wasn't leaking before, the M60 would take care of that. Seems like overkill if it's just a gasket though.

phenotyp > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 12/09/2013 at 00:02

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Those people are idiots.

StoneCold > Jeff-God-of-Biscuits 12/09/2013 at 00:10

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What you did there...

...I see it

Collin > phenotyp 12/09/2013 at 00:40

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Other than the engine issue, how have you liked the car itself?

When it comes time to replace my E39, I'm having a hard time figuring out where to go next. Maybe the E60 550i? Maybe an F10 550i? Maybe a CTS-V? The list of semi-affordable replacements for a manual V8 sports sedan isn't particularly long.

phenotyp > Collin 12/09/2013 at 00:48

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It's exactly what I'd wanted to buy: a goddamn jet-powered tank. I've read and heard some less-than-flattering things about F10s, and I'm one of the few who didn't mind the looks of the E60. After I drove a few and found what I thought was the right one, well, it was the right one. Everyone seems to think that the E60s drive way better than the F10s, and other than the oil spotting, I have zero complaints about the E60. I love how it drives, I wish it were a manual, but those are suuuuper hard to find and the price I got was... Good.
All things considered, I'm very happy with it. Not much else out that that compares.

Collin > phenotyp 12/09/2013 at 00:56

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A quick look around the internet shows a 2008 manual E60 550i in Atlanta for $23,000. I'd gladly buy that over a Civic Si.

phenotyp > Collin 12/09/2013 at 01:03

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That's where I was, too. I'd driven a few E60s, almost bought one (530i— I would never buy a used turbo anything), and the guy who'd found a 550i manual at a dealer auction had this one for less than they were asking for the 530, and the 50 was in WAY better condition with the same miles.
I'm coming from 8 years of driving a braced-up mid-engined convertible, so it's a pretty big adjustment. The 6-cyl 5ers have a hard time getting out of their own way, but the 8s are pretty fuckin fine. Mine has all the options for the year except the HUD and the infrared. The wood trim on the driver's grab handle is broken and falls off, and the passenger mirror has obviously been "fixed" at some point.
I pretty much love it.

Collin > phenotyp 12/09/2013 at 01:08

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Coming from a motorcycle to a car with a roof and 4 doors was a heck of an adjustment, so I hear you. My E39 isn't perfect, but I'd punch a nun before I'd let someone lay a finger on it. What were you driving before?

phenotyp > Collin 12/09/2013 at 01:14

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2001 MR2, with custom underbody bracing and a much nicer than stock canvas roof and a few other improvements. Nothing else like it.
But since I needed a car that was more useful than a bike, I went for the brick-shithousest car I could find, that didn't make me feel like I'd given up completely. The V8 and M Sport suspension went a long way toward that. It's thirsty, but it's way more fun than I like to admit.
I still have a hard time parking, though. Even though I grew up driving Suburbans.

HammerheadFistpunch > . . 12/09/2013 at 02:01

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Out of curiosity, whats considered "old" there in the used market? How many miles/Kilometers? I know in Japan, something is old at 60-80k miles, but in the US, for example, ~150 is where things are starting to really get old. Maybe Europe just ditches their cars earlier? I don't really know.

Axial > StoneCold 12/09/2013 at 02:19

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Doubly punny because the M60 MG is based on the German FG42...

...and was also a problem child.

6shelBfan6 > phenotyp 12/09/2013 at 02:59

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The day after I bought my e39, I got the dreaded oil pressure light followed by overheating the next week. Most unreliable piece of crap I have ever owned. I lost over $5k on an $8500 car in less than a year. Before the $3k for insurance. That car cost me more than a dollar per mile to drive. I feel your pain. I hope you have better luck than I did!

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > . . 12/09/2013 at 04:01

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I've noticed that too, but I don't think we've got it right in Europe. I've heard enough stories of things going wrong with ~2000 onwards BMWs Audis and Mercs to know that it's just a reputation.

. . > HammerheadFistpunch 12/09/2013 at 04:19

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In general people here like to buy used cars that did less than 120k km, 160k tops. However, those who know something about cars and are able to fish out well maintained cars on the second hand market don't mind buying stuff with 200 or 220k on the clock.

. . > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 12/09/2013 at 04:22

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To be fair, there are horror stories about any modern car and the Germans have the additional disadvantage of being massively complicated.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > . . 12/09/2013 at 05:37

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Very true, but as an Italian and British car enthusiast I find it a little frustrating that they're lumbered with a reputation for unreliability when they're no better or worse than the Germans.

Party-vi > phenotyp 12/09/2013 at 08:07

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I spent $1,500 in the first few days - I had the transmission flushed, plugs replaced and water pump replaced with something a little more sturdy. I haven't had any issues since.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > phenotyp 12/09/2013 at 08:22

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Valve cover gasket wouldn't surprise me, easy enough job to fix. Could be letting oil into the spark plug wells.