93 325i--why are these cars rotten?

[golden]

Just for starters.....Vanos died,...plastic water pump (similar to a dae woo) died and now bearings at the rear wheels shot at 115k. I was under the impression I was paying for quality materials AND engineering. I'm am not pleased with the e36 at all! Even a pontiac Grand-Am could probably have done better than this POS.

[LiquidBMW76]

Just as with every car, you have bad ones, not every car can be perfect. Plus how long have you owned it. Who knows how the person who had it before you maintained it, if it isn't a one owner car. There are numerous reasons why things fail don't blame the whole line. E36's have a reputation for being pretty reliable minus a few things here and there. Plus the car is over 13 years old. Stuff breaks after awhile. I have a '93 318i with over 210,000 miles on it and the only thing mechanically wrong is it leaks a little oil. I drive it almost 400 miles every weekend and and it has never failed me once. So don't blame the whole line. You just have a car that is old and when things are old sometimes they break.

[Rick V]

Don't condem the entire line or model because you have had some bad luck. My daily driver has 215 on the clock uses 1 qt every 3k so when it is 1qt low it gets changed. I would drive this puppy to Ca and feel very safe doing it.

[golden]

full records,..every item attended to,...I just wish people would admit these cars were the runt of the litter (besides the v8 nikasil episodes of the big boys)

[supertack]

Back in 1991, I bought a brand spankin' new Honda Prelude SI. Boy was I excited, it had the larger 2.2 liter engine, 5 speed trans, & 4 wheel steering package. That car was pretty frickin' sweet.

Then, almost prophetically, around the 5th year I had it, stuff started going wrong. Not just normal maintenance stuff mind you, stuff that you would almost certainly not characterize with a Honda.

The engine would continually over-heat. I'd loose oil regularly. The exhaust system needed replacing prematurely, the timing belt broke while I was going 50mph bending my valve stems & cracking the head, the drivers seat lost all the bolts in the ratchet assembly which made the seat fall flat & could not be returned to the upright position. After bumping a curb with my front wheel (not very hard mind you) during a snow storm, the front part of the frame bent, making the car pull hard to one side. Finally, 9 years after I bought the car, with less than 90k on the odometer, the engine blew.

My point is, no car, by no maker is bluet proof. When a car maker produces the mass numbers of vehicles like Honda does or BMW did with the e36, a few bad apples are bound to turn up. You more than likely were the unfortunate recipient of what I experience with my Prelude, an isolated 'lemon' among the masses of quality built cars.

[Jeron]

VANOS, a water pump and 2 wheel bearings in 115k does not sound bad to me.

[golden]

WELL DONE SUPER,.. I understand engineered obsolescense and I know BMW is in business for a reason. They would not have the following they have if not for a certain quality. I expect a lot sometimes. Mechanics have to pay the rent also! Your history with that honda was a great wake up.