Resentment? Class warfare? I think you’re seeing things that aren’t there. I think BMW drivers have a far higher opinion of BMWs than other people do. I don’t think most people think much about BMWs, let alone resent them or engage in class warfare over them. I think if you drive a Ferarri or a Lamborghini or a Bentley you might get a bit of envy from very few people, but mostly admiration and lust with some joy. BMWs? I think they get a lot of meh if they get anything.[/quote]
Regardless, BMW’s are status symbols.
Even though they appear to be common, the reality is that most people cannot afford to drive a BMW.
Even an older less expensive BMW will generally need more maintenance than an appliance car, and on top of that they cost more to fix.
I just paid $97 to have my oil changed in my BMW.
An oil change for a camry or f-150 can be done for $30 bucks or less.[/quote]
Actually, BMW’s aren’t *that* expensive in many ways. Purchasing them preowned, and especially 5 series or 7 series, they prices plummet pretty significantly after about 3 years of ownership.. I figured out most people that drive euro cars either
1) lease
or
2) purchase them preowned
and the two actually are complementary because often the same people that lease the latest 5 or 7 end up turning them in 2-3 years later, which then gets resold as good pre-owned vehicles.
$100 oil change sounds about right. But it’s not really just BMW..It’s european and some japanese engines that require one to run synthetic, especially turboed, or FSI, or TFSI.
Retail for synthetic is about $7/quart, unless you drive an M and then it’s more. Depending on your engine I think is about 6 quarts. So that’s about $42 in oil alone…And BMW probably charges $60/hr as a shop rate for routine stuff. A VW with a the 2.0 TFSI engine will demand the same kind of synthetic oil that runs the same cost.
BTW first 4 years service is included for BMW though.
IF you need to pay for oil service. You can cut down on the cost, by bringing in your own filter and oil. I have a shop that does it for $20 if you bring in your own materials that I rarely visit if I’m pressed for time on the older a4 and c320
For most cars, you probably cant get by with Mobil 1 0w-40 at Oreilly for about $5/quart when it goes on sale. It’s the only Mobil 1 that is VW approved on the newer engines, though imho not the best oil… I normally run that in the older europe cards.
For newer cars, I run the standard Castrol Syntec 5w40 that the dealers run. No choice there…Mainly to keep consistent… Maintenance is included, I have to top it off sometimes, because the way the twin turbo v8 is, it eats a quart of oil every so often…I guess they way I drive. The i-6 N55 and N54 don’t seem eat oil as much (as long as you’re not chipped…)…..
And yes, I would agree that BMW’s aren’t necessarily status symbols. I sure don’t feel wealthy. Otherwise I wouldn’t be caring about how much, what oil grade, things were running.
