BMW Problems

Most BMWs come out of Bavaria in Germany, which is BMW's—Bavarian Motor Work's—namesake. The factory started out producing motorcycles and engines for planes before it moved on to automotive production in the early 50s. BMW produces vehicles in lots of different countries now, including the USA, UK, China, Austria, Brazil, South Africa, India, Mexico and Thailand.

BMW is short for Bavarian Motor Works in English. The brand was founded in Germany, though, so technically BMW is an acronym for Bayerische Motoren Werke. BMW's headquarters is in Munich, the capital of the German state Bavaria.

Currently, the most expensive BMW is the 750Li, listed at $318,710. For more info on the latest model, check out our 7 Series pricing and specs page.

I presume the seats are leather. Leather needs regular maintenance with cleaner and conditioner to keep it supple and prevent it from drying out and cracking. You can buy leather conditioner at all major auto outlets.

If there are any common problems and complaints about reliability or faults, they'll likely show up on our BMW problems page. You can also calculate a car's projected resale value via our price and specs page.

What you want isn’t readily available, so I would suggest you survey a number of mechanics specialising in Discoveries and X5s to get the information.

BMW Group is owned by shareholders but the BMW brand owns Mini and Rolls-Royce as well as BMW. Half of BMW's shares are owned by the Quandt family while the rest of the shares are owned by public investors. 

Depending on the engine, the range is $4500 to $7500.

Currently, the cheapest new BMW is the 118i Sport Line which is listed at $39,900. For up to date information on the pricing of BMWs, head to our pricing page.

The reality is that the chances of problems increases as the mileage climbs, so to expect a car to be trouble-free after 300,000 km is asking a lot. If the car you buy is in good condition, with a full service history then you stand a good chance, but it’s important to maintain the servicing and be prepared to fix anything that breaks or wears out, and hope it’s nothing major. Other makes are subject to the same provisos.