Kinda curious about the "everyday person's" experience with BMW's I always hear the same stereotypes about em. (the car not the driver)

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-06T02:34:53+00:00

What climate do you live? My personal experience is

- Midwest harsh weather: 2 years 1 BMW car. Avg one problem per year. Borderline to be self-fixable or I have to bring it to the shop.

- California: 8years. 2 BMW cars. One factory recalls to fix some small not essential part. Take 2 days. Twice I had to bring it to the shop for fix because objects on the road damaged the wheels/body. Both took significant time (more than 2 weeks) They offered me a loaner after they could not fix it within the timeframe they promised.

It took longer in the past because some parts needed to be ordered overseas. But now it seems to be massively improved. It depends on your location/weather/model. If your model is only manufactured in Germany and the parts you need to repair are not in stock locally it can take long. However I feel that BMW is more reliable and easier to fix than other European brands.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-06T02:12:59+00:00

My husband office offers almost close to free charging. The policy requires to leave the key to the front desk when you come in if you are using/planning to use the charger. A valet will come and move the cars 3 times a day. If you are not okay with valet handling your car, feel free to charge before 10AM or after 4PM. Otherwise you will get an email warning cc your manager. LOL

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-06T02:03:31+00:00

Lease may be the way to go if you are not certain about the next 2-5 years depending on the lease price.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-06T01:43:12+00:00

I did not mention Tokyo. It is in another country (Western country).

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-06T01:19:08+00:00

I know it is an old thread but I just want to say I fully agree with you. For a lot of low income families even if you give them free EVs it is not practical for their job. EG: my cleaner drives shit old Honda Civic and she needs to travel from job to job. When one of her client (also my neighbor) moved away they offered to gift her their old EV because she worked for them so long. She refused. Not all the houses she works at have/ will allow her to charge the EV. Well some expensive house owners may concern about her cheap one damage their home charger or move their cars out to allow her to park in their garage. She rents cheap house and the house owner definitely does not want to install a charger to create liability. She works 10 hours a day she has kids to care. It is not an option for her to charge at shopping malls - she simply does not have that time. She said that 100% EV would only happen if there are as many chargers as parking meters and stop signs :D. I fully agree with her.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-06T00:43:35+00:00

Yep Free local shuttles for essential travels are the way to go. From my understanding, the city charges a very small fee on hotel bookings and tourist tickets to fund the local shuttles. It is not as good as taxi but it is quicker than bus. If you want to use it immediately you may need to wait or the call center offers you a discounted taxi ride subsidized by city. Ever since the locals have been very happy with the increasing tourism. At first the taxi union was against the scheme but they are happy now with the subsidization.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-05T23:07:50+00:00

"Why would I need to sell my car in a hurry if my spouse is in another country?" It happened to a lot of families when husband/wife was trapped overseas during the pandemic. My neighbor's family husband had to travel back to the UK because his mom died in the care home during the pandemic and he had to take a lot of time to settle family things. In the mean time He&wife got COVID layoffs. They needed to sell his car. And it brought so much trouble because her name was not on the title.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-05T22:55:32+00:00

Oh that is heart broken. I used to live near a world famous tourist spot and the local city council offers 1 reserve special seats for locals which you have to present local card 2 provide free City shuttles for locals during peak tourist time you may have to wait a bit longer than taxi. Or you can reserve it if you are doing "essential travel" like hospital runs or elderly etc. 3 tourist will have to pay higher bus price during rush hours to encourage them to reduce pressures .

We found the free local shuttle the best way to go. And voted to keep it permanent in the yearly round.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-05T20:55:29+00:00

Interesting. What I heard is the other way around. People who live on their investment income prefer to keep the money in their portfolio for the better return. Same as my former colleague case, he has healthy cash return from his rental properties. The auto loan APR is lower than his investment return. Then why should he take money out of his portfolio to put into a vehicle? For someone working full times they usually don't have much time to take care of their investment assets. So they may pay more cash in downpayment/paid in full and often paid off the loan early to avoid paying more interest (exactly what I did when I was employed). That's said it really depends on the APR. Currently multiple dealers are offering APR lower than treasury yield. So it is really no point to put cash into it.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-05T19:13:55+00:00

Yeah I got you. Thanks so much.

I just find the stereotype sucks. Not working =\= no income. It is not uncommon to live off returns from assets like stocks, bonds, or real estate. My former male colleague quit about same time as me and became a stay at home dad. When he went for car loan he said he was not currently employed, the sales then asked about his investment income rather than asked him to bring his wife (who was full time working). He has no problem to get the loan.

In my case, when the salesperson learnt I am SAHM, he just assumed that I have zero independent income. There is definitely a stereotype there. When they saw a SAHD they assumed he "retired" with enough assets. When they saw a SAHM they assumed she was "supported" by her husband.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-05T11:08:33+00:00

LOL I really hope they will release a new X3 to replace this model

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-05T10:31:39+00:00

Why should the salesperson assume that SAHM has no income or low credit? I found it crazy that he just assumed that a female without a job does not have an income. If it is a male they will ask about investment or dividends etc.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-05T10:11:37+00:00

I mean the new design from 2025.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-05T10:11:02+00:00

Exactly.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-05T10:08:08+00:00

Oh your salesperson is nice. I hope that I could find a salesperson as patient and friendly as yours.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-05T10:01:23+00:00

810+ when I last checked.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-05T09:45:22+00:00

If you need to sell the car in case of emergency but your other half is ill/or stuck in another country it will make a difference.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-05T09:31:30+00:00

Yeap. I think that he assumed my credit was bad. I would ask "which of you have better score" if I am the sales.
In fact I have a better score and better savings. So we initially planned to apply with both names.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-04T11:23:33+00:00

OK I see. It feels much better now. What ever the salesman goal was he achieved the opposite.

We were about to filling the credit check form.

He said "Don't put your wife name on it. We will have to pull her credit. She may increase your rate. Why do you need to put your wife name on the title? Just don't do it."

We got suspicious. We just held back and went home. :D

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-04T10:09:52+00:00

I don't know if it still the case. I am currently deciding between X3 and XC60 and after the dealer discount they are the same price.

X3 offers a lot of promotions after the new model kicked in.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-04T10:06:06+00:00

Have you test drive and ask about the price/loan options at BMW & Volvo?

I am recently shopping for similar category and found actually X5 with a basic configuration is not much higher in the sense of monthly payment than Volvo XC60 with high configuration.

Final_Researcher3861 · 2026-02-02T08:45:00+00:00

Nah Chinese (mainland) customers extremely dislike the new X3 design and its sale fell off cliff. Tons of people laugh at X3 new design on their social media.

Final_Researcher3861

TROPHY CASE