Series 3 Side-Impact Issues & Reliability ?s

[Russell]

After many years I am considering buying a 2004 BMW 6 speed either 330CI coupe or convertible. I currently drive a Honda Pilot and my wife a Civic Hybrid. I want to give her my Pilot and replace her car (which I will drive) with the BMW because I feel the Civic is a dog and I believed it is not very safe, too light. Howver to my suprise, when I check the safety side-impact crash ratings and frontal crash ratings on the 3 series for the year I am interested in and in fact all years 2000-2005, the civic actually rates higher and the 3 series is marked as having a problem on the driver side for side impact. I would appreciate any comments on this issue.

Also, it has been many years since I owned a BMW 1800TI. Is the 2000 and up BMW 3 series comparable in reliability to the Honda, Acura, Toyota, or at least close. Those cars have spoiled me due to their reliability. I owned a 6 speed Acura Legend which was remarkable for 200K, but now my son drives it. I have been looking forward to owing a 330Ci but am a little hesitant now. Any comments on either issue is appreciated.

 

[codex57]

Easy. Those ratings aren't compared equally. They're rated for within their class. So, if a 3 series gets 4 stars while a Civic gets 5 stars, it doesn't mean the Civic is better. It means the 3 series got 4 stars in the entry luxury class while the Civic got 5 stars in the economy car class. I went from a Civic to a 3 series. Just close the doors of the two and you can tell right away which has a stiffer support structure (let alone air curtains and stuff like that).

They could do a much better job of explaining those ratings. Often, cars that get poor ratings might not be that bad. They get the bad ratings cuz they were tested without side airbags or whatever extra optional safety features others were tested with.

As for reliabitliy, it's all about maintenance. It's likely the BMW will have more chance of tiny annoying stuff breaking like a power window regulator or some crazy electrical thing, but in terms of running until 200K miles, both are easily capable of it if you maintain it.

 

[williamwoon]

Russell, what you are comparing with is not apple to apple. i would agree with codex57 that BMW has a much safer record in the luxury car market segment. and yes the door for BMW is very much stiffer and stronger as compared with jap cars..

 

[Kirby]

I was at my BMW dealer this week picking up some parts, and chatting with the guy at the parts counter. He commented that he used to drive a japanese car, and after he started working with BMW he got a 325i. He said that he couldn't believe how much better these cars are built structurally compared to his old car. He said that he routinely sees wrecked cars coming in the shop and is amazed at how well they hold up, and that if it was a japanese car, people would have died, where they walked away in the bimmer.

Coming from a parts desk guy, that says alot to me.

As far as reliability, I do think that the Japanese cars are *slightly* better in long term reliability if you do no PM on a car. But if you do the PM on a bimmer, and accept the fact that certain components tend to fail faster than Japanese cars (like radiators), they are pretty close.

 

[codex57]

I went from a Civic to a 325. I'd take the BMW any day over the Civic in terms of safety. Still have a Camry. Would still take the BMW when just considering safety. Since I moved up here to the Sacramento area, the drivers are real bad so we're considering upgrading the Camry to something with AWD and side airbags.

The Civic's a real nice car. However, once you start comparing it to bigger, more expensive cars, it's just not gonna be as good safety-wise in general.

 

[bmw046series]

Well the Civic and Camry are economy cars.

 

[codex57]

Camry's not an economy car. It's a regular midsize sedan.