Before we truly answer this question, let's be honest with ourselves for a moment, shall we? In our current days of breakthroughs and innovation, virtually every product you covet can be produced with varying degrees of quality. You can buy a $5.00 shirt or a $500.00 shirt. Both will do the same job of covering your upper torso, however, there's a very good chance the more expensive brand will be softer, stronger and better styled. You can also pay $10K for a self-flushing toilet with a heated, massaging seat and LED lights, but are you really getting your money's worth?
The truth is, you don't have to be an expert to understand that BMW's are expensive to maintain and repair. The companies history dates back to the early 1900s when they manufactured aircraft engines, but WWII almost forced them into bankruptcy and as a result, BMW only truly began their foray into luxury and high performance cars and motorcycles in the early '60s. Since then, they've strived to be one of the world's leaders in the high end market, further ensconcing their position by acquiring Rolls-Royce in 1998. There are 27 new BMW models in 2020, and the cheapest is the X1 with an MSRP starting at $36K.
Based on how expensive a car is to maintain, year after year Toyota is ranked near the top for average brand value, while BMW is ranked near the bottom. These figures are a little deceiving however, because BMW doesn't sell uber-economical cars like the Yaris, Corolla, and Prius. Factors affecting repair costs begin with initially high sales prices; then we add advanced and complicated engineering and options, the need for specialized dealer servicing, and finally the bloated prices to manufacture and import genuine German parts in the case of BMW. Keep in mind these findings don't include manufacturers of exotics and hyper-cars like Bugatti, who apparently charge $25K for a Veyron oil change.
We researched 3 of the top automotive websites (YourMechanic.com, Edmunds.com, and RepairPal.com) to discover just how expensive it is to maintain and repair the average new and used BMW.
Your Mechanic
This site ranks BMW as the most costly brand to maintain. Period. They estimate that over the first ten years of a BMW's life, an owner can expect to spend $17,800.00 on average for maintenance and repair. Mercedes is second at a distant $12,900.00, and for comparison, Toyota is 30th at $5500.00.
As of 2018, the top three most expensive cars to maintain and repair over a ten year span are estimated to be the Porsche 911, followed closely by the BMW 640i Gran Coupe and the BMW M4. The M4 is quite an engineering marvel that utilizes a small twin turbo-charged 3.0L inline-6 to create 425 HP. You can get a track GTS version that uses an innovative water injection system to make 493 HP.
Edmund's True Cost To Own Data
Using Edmund's proprietary TCO data, we compared the average vehicle repair and maintenance costs for one of the top sellers by BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, and Audi. Keep in mind all four companies offer a standard 4 year, 50K mile limited warranty that covers most, but not all repairs. If you purchased your vehicle in 2018, the estimated costs to own a Lexus IS300 until 2023 is $9113.00. A Mercedes C350 is $9130.00. An Audi A4 will cost you $9493.00, and a BMW 330i will set you back $10557.00.
From 2015-2020, the IS250 will cost you $13252.00 and the A4 $15409.00. The C350 will average $18854.00 and the 328i comes in at $19542.00. We can certainly see rather large cost to own differences in the four cars when averaged over a five year span from 2015, with BMW once again leading the pack.
RepairPal
According to RepairPal, BMW ranks 30th out of 32 brands for reliability, with an average rating of 2.5/5. For perspective, RepairPal claims to have the "most genuine reliability metric in the industry". 345 unique models were tested from all the major manufacturers and again, companies like Ferrari and Bugatti were not included. Model years from 2010-2019 were used, and statistics showed that the average annual repair cost across all brands was $652.00. BMW's annual average was $968.00. The average number of visits to your mechanic for unscheduled repairs per year was 0.4 for all brands, while BMW was 0.9. Lastly, on average there was a 12% chance your visit was for something severe, but if you owned a BMW, that number was 15%.
Also More Expensive To Insure
Insurance prices are calculated using a few important variables such as your age and driving record, but more importantly how expensive your vehicle is to repair, and how likely that vehicle is to be involved in an accident. The Zebra is the top US insurance comparison site (according to them). Every year they compile a top ten list of the most expensive cars to safeguard, and BMW as a brand has been at or near the top for years. In 2020, #1 belongs to the $150K+ BMW i8 (seen above). #7 is held by the BMW X6 and #9 is the entire 7-series. In 2019 they were ranked #2, #6, and #10 respectively.
The takeaway from all of this is simple. BMW makes expensive, high performance cars and you should be prepared to spend more than most brands to maintain them. As a result, some feel it's no longer the 'ultimate driving machine'.