10th Jul 2001, 00:57
Your TL with NO muffler, let alone a noisy one, would be eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner by any BMW M5, new or old.
24th Jul 2001, 20:28
Nothing beats German engineering! Even for the Japanese. No offence but German cars are the best!
You are unlucky that the BMW did not satisfy you because not BMW's are born equal. We are not born equal!
30th Nov 2003, 09:59
"German Buick?!" I don't think so!
BMW are truly the "Ultimate Driving Machine".
Buicks are just, Chromed, Expensive, Gas Guzzler, Poor Built and Unreliable BIG American Heap of Junk!
Nothing beats the German Engineering!
Sorry, Japanese fellas, but your cars are just cheap and poor imitations from the Germans. Take a look at the Lexus for example: It's a cheap, overrated and unreliable Japanese Mercedes-Benz.
I think the author of this review just does not liked the fact that Caddies are crap or probably is a jealous Lexus driver!
BMW ROCKS, BABY!
25th Apr 2008, 00:42
Are you from planet Earth? Lexus being unreliable? The fact that they are the most reliable cars ever.
Stop thinking that German = the best and do some research. Imitations maybe true, but reliability wise, Germans have something to learn from the Japanese or particularly Lexus.
With German cars, especially something like the BMW 740iL, you have to view how much you want to put into the car. If you always want everything to be working, it'll be like with any other car. It'll always be expensive. BMW parts will cost more too. Then there's inherent reliability, with variation between cars of the same model.
Basically, quality does not equal reliability. You can have the nicest interior in the world, doesn't mean that the parts will be reliable.
23rd Apr 2010, 06:32
I agree with the previous comment above. All you really get with a BMW is just a totally unreliable badge that offers nothing but problems. The Japanese cars today are just as good as the European cars; yes they may be cheaper and may not have some of the sophisticated features these BMW's have, but what's the point of having those features if they keep breaking down and are very expensive to repair.
With a Japanese car such as a Mazda or Honda, you will not have anywhere near the problems you would have with a BMW.
24th Apr 2010, 07:29
I thought the BMW M3 I drove had far greater driving performance refinement and performance than my Honda TL Type S. I prefer rear wheel drive as well. At over 100 mph the Acura handling was sub par compared to BMW. I also went through transmissions.
25th Apr 2010, 21:10
I once owned a 740IL, and although it had some good points - I was impressed with the gas mileage, and it was a beautiful car, it ate light bulbs, especially rear brake lamps. It went through brake pads quickly, and the interior seemed to be coming apart at the seams - literally.
Not a bad car, but honestly, it handled little better than a Cadillac DTS!
If I had to do it again, I'd leave the 740IL to the pensioners and go for the 5 series...
18th Jul 2011, 10:10
Well. German cars have ALWAYS been rather unreliable. In the old days, Mercedes were built very well. Today that's the same piece of junk as BMW, Audi and the rest of VAG. I'm living in Norway, and have owned a lot of cars. They will run very well until you pass 100.000 km /60.000 miles, then it will turn into a costly money sucking monster.
American cars are very often very reliable, and the most reliable cars ever are old American cars built in the 60s and 70s. They're as solid as a rock, and will last forever as long as you could buy them gas.
In Norway, cars are very expensive. But the yearly average income is, in USD, about $70.000. Well, I'll drive my Chevrolet Caprice from 1989 forever. I will never trade it.
16th Nov 2012, 16:38
Original poster's first and biggest mistake, yet common:
Buying just as a status symbol.
When you buy cars like those old or new, you must do your homework, and must be open eyed about what you are getting into. You must be honest about your budget and understand those toys that that car comes with are cool, but would it annoy you and/or can you pay to replace it. And lastly, always buy a BMW because you like BMW. It isn't an Acura, it's a BMW. When an Acura/Honda/Toyota/Nissan/etc person buys a BMW merely as a status symbol, it usually never ends up well for either the car or the person's wallet.
They always forget, while a status symbol looks good, it cost money to keep up an image, especially when they have no understanding of the nature of the BMW.
26th Jun 2001, 17:37
Well. When you buy an expensive "eye catching" car, you expect certain level of reliability and not a bottomless money hole. A car costing over $50k should not need $70 here, $100 there every other week. As for your comments about Acuras, I own a TL and no BMW with a noisy muffler can come close to my Japanese rocket.