I know I'm nearly a year late to this one, but the maintenance costs of these cars fall upon two issues, (a) So-called "European Specialists" that charge a small fortune per hour to do basically the same work as any other mechanic. Maybe they have a bit more expertise on the ins and outs of these cars, but the labour required for a simple oil change should not run $500+. (b) Parts distributors, whether affiliated with dealerships or not, seem to think BMW parts are a license to print money. I've come across examples where parts for my E36 run 5-6x the cost here than they do SHIPPED from the U.S.A (including the crappy exchange rate).Swift wrote:That's the whole problem with them!!scott wrote:The only problem with BMW's is the high maintenance costs and the cost of parts.
Suspect these two points are what supposedly make European types more expensive, when in reality, a savvy owner could probably invest a bit of time and do their research to get a good deal. It's little wonder the Australian retail sector is collapsing, if this sort of thing is widespread.