4 BMWs on Most Sustainable Car List

The primary issue I have with BMWs is that the vast majority don't last longer than 150,000 miles. Turbocharged engines usually don't last longer than 120,000 miles. The transmission seldom lasts longer than 150,000 miles. It is rare to see a BMW with mileage over 200,000. You have to baby them with constant maintenance when you are past BMW's free maintenance program. Sure there is the high cost of doing this. But the long-term reliability is simply not there.

BMW isn't like Mercedes Benz, which use to do ads of how its cars easily surpass 300,000 miles. A Mercedes Benz use to be considered a life-time car. You have to think about BMWs as disposable cars.

BMW enthusiasts know that BMWs are inherently unreliable. But they are fun to drive - more fun than practically any other manufacturer's cars. This is why they are called the driver's car. The enjoyment in driving outweighs the unreliability and cost.

It is like having a high-strung champion thouroughbred racing horse. Sure it requires much more than the $30,000 a year a regular horse needs for upkeep, but it is worth it if you want the wins.

You have to choose what is most important.

 

As a previous owner of a BMW it is a money pit. Expensive to buy and expensive to own. The dealer always gets you to spend over a grand. Never buy one.

You want reliability purchase a Toyota or Lexus or Honda Acura.

 

I notice BMW's 100 series EV didn't make the list. I wonder if that's because, as a lease only vehicle, eventually to be taken back and crushed or whatever ... that this can't qualify as being 'sustainable'.

 

BMW ActiveE Motor Failures: The Price Of Leasing A Test Car?

"In the case of this sudden failure--experienced by more than a dozen BMW ActiveE drivers--the loss of lubrication over time would cause the gear to grind on the electric motor output shaft until one or more splines failed.​

At least 16 such failures among lessees have occurred, one as early as last August, but the recall notice came only after multiple failures were reported."BMW ActiveE Motor Failures: The Price Of Leasing A Test Car?​

Definition of SUSTAINABLE
1: capable of being sustained
2 a : of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged <sustainable techniques> <sustainable agriculture>
b : of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods <sustainable society>

What is this sustainable stuff in English?

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Arguably (and you hint at this) Mercedes-Benz isn't like Mercedes-Benz anymore either.

 

Repairable so that it will last a long time, easily recyclable parts. Even that active E lubrication will only cause problems with one easily replaceable part that can then be recycled.

The Europeans have been leading in parts that can more easily be recycled.

Sustainable does not mean reliable without expensive maintenance. The Japanese designs, even those produced in Mexico, have high reliability even with poor maintenance.