As I said above, inho everyone is entitled to their opinion. I dispute your claim; however in the interests of making the forum a more friendly place, I’ve already offered to the forum moderators to move my volunteer efforts elsewhere , and will immediately do so if asked publicly (here) by the Car Talk moderator team. .
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There’s an independent near me in Manchester NH called LexToy - They rarely use anything but OEM parts. But in general, most don’t use OEM parts. They have suppliers. Larger cities have suppliers that only cater to professional mechanics at wholesale prices.
Lexus parts aren’t any more expensive than Toyota parts. We own both (ES-350 and Highlander). Lexus and Toyota are not very difficult to work on. All dealers around here charge about $200-$250/hr but they also run specials on specific services like Brakes and oil changes and most independents are very familiar with them because they are so common. Most BMW owners I know don’t take their cars to independents so many independents aren’t as familiar with them.
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In today’s world where “American” Buicks are made in Thailand, “German” BMW’s are made in South Carolina, “Japanese” Mazdas are made in Mexico and individual components coming from all over creation, the only part that has a “national identity” is the 50 cent nameplate stuck on the trunk.
A much more significant determinant of vehicle failure is the presence of “Cutting Edge Technology”. Some examples are Porsche and Jaguar’s use of Nikasil engine coatings, Cadillac’s Northstar head gasket failures, GM’s 4-6-8 fuel economy engines, Subaru’s early problems with Turbo’s, Nissan’s CVT debacle and VW’s huge recall of their “Clean Emissions” diesels.
Bottom line, if reliability is a priority, go with a vehicle with long term proven technology.
OTOH if you want the “latest and greatest”, just be aware that YOU will be the beta tester.
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Back in the '80s, when I had a part-time job driving for a limo company, a few times I was saddled with having to drive their one Fleetwood V-8-6-4. The other drivers knew enough to avoid that bomb, so the rookie (me!) was stuck with it a few times, until I learned what a piece of crap it was.
After my first experience of NON-acceleration on an expressway entrance ramp, I mentioned the problem to the company owner, and he said, "Just be sure to warm it up for at least 30 minutes before you drive it. Aside from wasting a lot of gas, his advice made no difference, and one never knew whether it would actually have sufficient power on an expressway entrance ramp.
At the limo company, the nickname for that lemon was “the V-8-6-4-2-ZERO” because one never knew how many cylinders it would actually be running on, or when it would stall-out.
A technology at least 20 years ahead of its time… and the owners suffered the consequences. Now that technology is common in GM V8s, Chrysler V8s and Honda V6s (and maybe others…)
That is a good example of the differences between car cultures. The Germans (and sometimes the Americans…) will release new technology quickly. The Japanese will not. At least not in the US or European markets.
Their new tech is trialed in Japan first for several reasons. A strong nationalist buying history (the Japanese BUY Japanese cars, period) and the draconian registration and inspection laws that drop cars out of the Japanese market to be sold overseas (Australia, New Zealand, and other RHD countries) in as little as 5 years so the exposure to bad technology has a short life. The tech we see in the US and Europe is proven by the experience in Japan.
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Sorry, brief sidebar. @JoeMario I agreed with the flag on your post because I think it’s a bit harsh for the situation but we can tell you’re frustrated and you don’t typically comment like this.
@George_San_Jose1 no one from the mod team is going to ask you to leave the forum over this, set your posts to zero, or any other version of what you’ve been saying. No need to martyr yourself. All you need to do is stop using the kh d* phrase to provoke other people to double down on their feedback to you. (Anecdotally I think you’ve started, so thank you.)
I’m a mod and not a mechanic, but watching all this play out, the feedback which has been brewing off and on since before my hiatus seems to be that other members have suggested or outright said that increasingly you’re offering suggestions that are WAGs more than reasoned solutions. You’re right; newer cars do seem to be harder to work on for the DIY types. It doesn’t mean you’re not welcome here. But perhaps a more targeted approach to your repair responses will be most helpful for the community at large.
Hopefully we can get back to business now. Thanks.
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Great point! BMW makes a significant portion of its overall profit from after-sales services like maintenance and repairs and because of the additonal perks given by the brand resists buyers to go to independents.
I presume you meant to say “but I think it’s a bit harsh [for the situation]” rather than “because it’s a bit harsh [for the situation”. Otherwise , I have no disputes. As you note I am curbing my khdiy’er comment. While the phrase is car related and completely true, I’ll allow it could be judged tiresome, just like the poster here who seems to post their handle at the end of every post. Or the poster who time and time again posts immediately following my posts. The latter is ok by me, b/c I never actually see those posts. But I expect others here might find this forum behavior tiresome as well.
Going forward, b/c of my limited qualifications, I’ll indeed be less likely to offer up any ideas. Anyway, suggest for all to go back to the business. I’ll continue to drive my Corolla and truck and be happy that all the locks and windows work, no check engine light, no ABS light, no TPMS lights, not ESC light, no diagnostic codes, and no AC problems .