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BMW vs. Lexus vs. Mercedes maintenance costs

post #1 of 31
10/20/10 at 6:17pm
Thread Starter 
A friend is considering a 3-5 year-old car and was wondering about the relative maintenance costs of BMW (3-series or possibly a 525i), Lexus (IS or possibly ES), and MB (C-class sedan). I'm pretty familiar with BMW, but I have no point of reference with the others. I know BMW's new car warranty covers all maintenance costs, but I don't think their CPO warranty does that nor am I aware of either Lexus or MB offering that.
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post #2 of 31
10/20/10 at 6:29pm
I think Bimmer's CPO 100k warranty does, just tell them to check with the dealer, all 3 are completely different cars, but I'd pick the 3, its quick, handles great, and is relatively problem free.
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post #3 of 31
10/20/10 at 6:35pm
Thread Starter 
Are there any websites out there that compare averaged maintenance and cost of repair? I found some stuff at http://www.automobilemag.com/used_car_costs/index.html, but its data on maintenance and repair costs goes back only a few years.
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post #4 of 31
10/21/10 at 12:44am
with the BMW CPO and 328i it'll beat the maintenence cost of either the lexus or the benz. will last you until 100k miles.
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post #5 of 31
10/21/10 at 12:49am
BMWs are much less temperamental (in general, I need this caveat so Benz lovers don't jump all over me) then Benzs. Lexus is pretty reliable though, a lot of cheaper Toyota parts can be used in place of "Lexus" parts.
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post #6 of 31
10/21/10 at 2:25am
BMWs are great until they are out of warranty.

Mercs just turned the corner and have finally gotten their act together on quality with the new C and E (so 2008-).

Lexus's are Toyotas and generally invincible.

Audi, well, you will certainly get to find out how good the dealer loaner program is.
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post #7 of 31
10/21/10 at 3:23am
i do not own a bmw so i cannot say for certain, but i've read on forums that BMW's schedule maintenance (aka oil change) is every 15k miles. That's just enough for the car to last through warranty and the car is no longer BMW's problem. there are some cars with heavy sludge and wear with only 40k normal driving miles.

i have a high mileage mercedes and there have been no major problems. i'm car savvy though, so i perform my own maintenance and fix my own problems.
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post #8 of 31
10/21/10 at 5:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by akatsuki View Post
BMWs are great until they are out of warranty.

Mercs just turned the corner and have finally gotten their act together on quality with the new C and E (so 2008-).

Lexus's are Toyotas and generally invincible.

Audi, well, you will certainly get to find out how good the dealer loaner program is.

lol so true.
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post #9 of 31
10/21/10 at 4:36pm
Lexus has a better CPO program.
Lexus does not have the deductible that BMW CPO has. Lexus CPO is 3 years versus BMW's 2 years. If your certified Lexus breaks down anywhere, Lexus will pick up your hotel and meals for up to 3 nights.

That all said..... I bought the BMW in the end.
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post #10 of 31
10/21/10 at 5:21pm
kinda depends on how much you drive. i drive about 20k miles a year and it costs about $1000 a year to fix up whatever is breaking down on my bimmer. i'm at about 90k miles now. This is WITH CPO.

if you don't drive that much then the little things won't bug you. that in mind, i keep my bimmer in tippy toppy shape and take it in when i detect something's off.

if you want reliability get yourself a toyota/honda/hyundai. the real price of a bimmer/luxury car is not the price you pay up front, it's all in the maintenance.

seed
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post #11 of 31
10/22/10 at 10:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by EMY View Post
i do not own a bmw so i cannot say for certain, but i've read on forums that BMW's schedule maintenance (aka oil change) is every 15k miles. That's just enough for the car to last through warranty and the car is no longer BMW's problem. there are some cars with heavy sludge and wear with only 40k normal driving miles.

i have a high mileage mercedes and there have been no major problems. i'm car savvy though, so i perform my own maintenance and fix my own problems.

I don't trust the manufacturer's schedule either, but have heard different opinions about how to approach regular maintenance. DO you change oil every 3-6 months for example regardless of miles?
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post #12 of 31
10/22/10 at 12:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bcate3 View Post
I don't trust the manufacturer's schedule either, but have heard different opinions about how to approach regular maintenance. DO you change oil every 3-6 months for example regardless of miles?

I haven't really thought about that since I am usually due for an oil change by that time. If I had a car that was not used much, I still think I will change it by mileage unless it was years since the last change.
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post #13 of 31
10/22/10 at 1:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by akatsuki View Post
BMWs are great until they are out of warranty.

Mercs just turned the corner and have finally gotten their act together on quality with the new C and E (so 2008-).

Lexus's are Toyotas and generally invincible.

Audi, well, you will certainly get to find out how good the dealer loaner program is.

This has been my experience with Audi
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post #14 of 31
10/22/10 at 1:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by EMY View Post
i do not own a bmw so i cannot say for certain, but i've read on forums that BMW's schedule maintenance (aka oil change) is every 15k miles. That's just enough for the car to last through warranty and the car is no longer BMW's problem. there are some cars with heavy sludge and wear with only 40k normal driving miles.

i have a high mileage mercedes and there have been no major problems. i'm car savvy though, so i perform my own maintenance and fix my own problems.
You're not going to build up heavy sludge and wear with 15k-mile oil change intervals when you're using synthetic oils. Granted, I change more often than that even with synthetic oils, but 40k miles of normal driving with 15k intervals won't ruin the car. Now their "lifetime" transmission and differential fluids, on the other hand, are silly.
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post #15 of 31
10/22/10 at 1:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dah328 View Post
You're not going to build up heavy sludge and wear with 15k-mile oil change intervals when you're using synthetic oils. Granted, I change more often than that even with synthetic oils, but 40k miles of normal driving with 15k intervals won't ruin the car. Now their "lifetime" transmission and differential fluids, on the other hand, are silly.

Yeah, it's unlikely, but that was posted on the forum (either bimmerfest or m3post). Someone bought a used car with 40k miles with regular schedule maintenance and it had developed heavy sludge with metal filings in the filter. Either way, most people would agree that 15k miles between intervals is pushing it.

I agree on the transmission fluid. By "lifetime", they mean lifetime of the warranty. hahaha I would probably change that immediately if I were buying a used car, regardless of whether it is CPO or not.
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