Re: bmw quality (was '94 Q45 / '89 200q comparison...)

[Dave Eaton <dave.eaton@minedu.govt.nz>]

agree about the m3 "quality".  my business partner had 1 '95 m3 (euro spec),
and i was amazed at the number of things which literally fell off that car...

1) rear air dam
2) left side impact strips
3) interior seat lifters (both sides)
4) 3 of the 4 interior grab handles (multiple times)
5) seat material split at seams (drivers side)
6) gear lever surround (adrift)
7) etc..

also overrated as a driving machine imho.  fast and great brakes with a nice
engine (bit lost low down) but offset against: twitchiness at speed, ability to
swap ends without much provocation and, in real conditions, (ie. a little bit
of a wet road) it is little faster than a badly driven gti...

yes, and i know what the car magazines say, which pretty much encompasses what
i think about car mags...

that and the interior quality which looked like an (old)  british car built on
a friday, and you get the picture....

dave
'95 rs2
'90 ur-q

>------------------------------
>
>Date: Thu, 19 Mar 1998 15:22:25 EST
>From: MSV96 <MSV96@aol.com>
>
>In a message dated 3/19/98 "Matt & Jenai" <matjen@xsite.net> writes:
>
><< almost every BMW is faster than the competing Audi, does better on
>the skid pad and slalom, and brakes better.  Moreover, BMWs offer the same
>type of feel and attention to detail as Audi and Porsche. >>
>
>In the US from a performance aspect you are pretty much correct. Though in the
>low end I will say that an A4 1.8t is quicker than a 318ti (right Christian?).
>As far as "same feel and attention to detail"? Uh uh...While I have no first
>hand experience of owning a new model bimmer (haven't owned one for almost 10
>years now...and that was a 68 2002), a life-long close friend has owned a
>couple and I get to play with them. He bought a 318is when they were touted as
>the second coming of the 2002tii. NOT! Huge POS!!!! It had the gasket failure
>that seems to happen to all the 1800cc twin-cam from the early 90's at around
>60k miles. This failure is well documented in wmb circles BTW. NO help from
>wmb and the cost was several grand...after which the car was promptly sold and
>replaced with a '95 M3. (Then again given the 2002 motor's propensity to crack
>heads and/or need valve guides almost as often as valve adjustments...maybe it
>was the second coming.) Said '95 M3 had interior parts falling off within the
>first 20k miles. The owner is a fanatic and is German...care and maintenance
>is not an issue here. Fit and finish is nice...certainly German, but I would
>say a notch below the current build quality of Porsches and Audis. Given the
>price, I would expect as good or better than Audi. We probably won't know what
>the longevity of the M3 will be as it is up for sale and will be replaced with
>an A4 q Avant. 
>
>Mike Veglia
>87 5kcstq
>
>------------------------------