Need advice about my car
 

I hope you guys do not mind me asking for advice about cars. I have been contemplating selling the car I have but not sure if I should. It is expensive to maintain and I just put some serious money into it last month. On the other hand the car is all paid off. I am the second owner of the car and it has always been worked on at the dealership. If I buy another car which would be used am I just buying someone elses problems? I know absolutely nothing about cars.

Please tell is model, year and mileage. Also, how many miles do you drive each year?

If it is a good quality car with not too many miles even some repairs every year will be cheaper than car payments, that's how I basically look at it.

I'm sorry to have to say that many shops see someone who defines themselves as 'knowing absolutely nothing about cars' as money walking in the door. Paying top dollar for dealer maintenance is, alas, no guarantee of honest service. You might decide to learn about vehicles and change your self-definition, and that can be done more easily now than ever, thanks to You-Tube. Or you need a more-knowledgeable person to go to service providers with you. Major expensive repairs require more than one estimate unless you're dealing with a provider who has previously earned your trust.

One thing I can think of is to find a shop/mechanic you can trust. Then insist that you be allowed to have the car looked at by your mechanic. That should save you from an outright rip off.

Dealerships are going to be the most expensive option for maintenance. If you can find a good independent shop you can easily cut repair bills in half.

My thinking is that new cars are so freaking expensive that a used car *that you like* and whose history you know can be the best choice.

It is a 2012 BMW M3. I do not know how many miles it has but the guys at the dealership tell me it has incredibly low mileage. I drive a few blocks to the grocery store and doctor appointments and every now and then I drive to the next town over to see a friend.

I trust the guys at the dealership as they have been very helpful. But I know their job is to sell cars so I consider that too.

Thank you for the advice.

Need advice about my car
 

I did not know dealerships were more expensive for maintenance!

I'd say all the lights are green for keeping that car. It's high quality, low mileage, and you don't drive it much. Trading your car in for a 2018 BMW M3 will (depending on several things) give you a car payment of $400 a month or more for 3 years or more.

I can't speak to that year and model but my 1999 E46 BMW can be serviced locally by at least 4 independent shops within 6 miles of me (lots of BMWs around here). Mine has 177k miles and can hardly even hear the engine when it's running.

Some guy told me that he had one like mine that had over 300k miles when his wife made him trade it in on something newer.

Thank you all for your help. You have given me much to think about.

Is the odometer broken? And if so, how can the dealership attest to the incredibly low mileage?

I think with Carfax it's pretty difficult to falsify such things.

Barbara this is coming from the guy who keeps his vehicles one day to long.
For I figure a used working paid off one is cheaper then a payment on something else.

If you have a shop you trust and happy with is a plus. I do know from personal experiences that more then once women are treated differently then men by service departments. When I worked out of town a few times would need to have a talk with the shop about the way they interacted with my wife.

If you are happy with the car now I vote keep it.

Sister-in-law was quoted $4000 for repairs by a shop in town. Had her take it to a place we trusted in the next town south. Cost about $1000 for extensive brake work and replacing an oxygen sensor.

Personally, I would never own a German car in the USA (and this comes from a guy who lived in Germany for 11 years and owned a Porsche and an Audi while there). While they are certainly nice to drive (the Porsche 911 remains my favorite car of all time), their initial high cost (they only come fully tricked out here), reliability and cost to repair/maintain are simply too high to offset their driving characteristics (which you largely can't take advantage of here anyway, particularly if used primarily as a commuter/grocery-getter).

Every German car I have ever owned has had myriad electrical issues from relays (fuel pump, windshield wipers, rear window defroster) to switches (heat, AC, power windows) to motors (for wipers and power windows). It's not a big issue in Germany, but it is here where parts and labor are at a premium for what we consider luxury cars.

I've become a big Mazda fan. They're extremely reliable, sporty, affordable and best-in-class (or close) for a variety of vehicle types. Between my wife, me and our kids, we have owned (or still own) a Miata, a Mazda3, a Mazda6 and two CX-5's. All have been absolutely bullet-proof and have never needed anything other than tires, brakes, filters and fluids.

While I fully realize the benefits, and limitations, of "carfax", I am asking Barbara a specific question about her car's odometer.

I will await her answer before engaging the topic further........

Just saying on some newer cars seeing the miles take an little effort, if not accustom to the dash computer.

Trip A Trip B OIL life all the choices can easily be confusing...

Even if her M3 has 150K miles, I'd vote to over-haul it as needed.

She'd have to spend over $100K on a new car that would match the M3 in quality.

BMWs are know to run a long time and aren't as prone to rust as, say, my Lexus SC300. Rust is what 'kills you'.

And the new car designs, especially the interiors, are awful (IMHO). Don't like the front end styling, the angularity, none of it for me.

058820 miles.
Good or bad?

Good. Barring some mishap, there's no reason not to expect that car to be good for twice or three times that. At the rate you are going, the seats will wear out before the engine.

Safe bet tires battery oil filter changes maybe front breaks will be the only service to expect for a good many years.
All common maintenance items for any vehicle with that mileage for that matter.

Thank you all for the good advice. I really appreciate the help.

Barbara my wife drives a 2012 with twice the miles as yours pretty much daily. A Ford Escape bought new and been paid off for many many years. We have found a Dealership trustworthy and affordable that does most of the general service now. Our go to mechanic's both retired in the last year so will be needing to find new soon.

Like stated before I drive the wheels off them. Get my last dollar from all the vehicles we own. Hence the keeping one day to long...

Toyota and Rust! Over the years Toyota has made good progress in dealing the its rust problem.
Anyhow down here in Florida Toyota has a huge following. Reliability is the key factor.
I have a Toyota Camry year 2000 in good condition, and with 306k miles.
I mainly use it to transport my great grand daughter to and from pre kindergarten.

Indeed. The Toyota rust problem has long since been addressed. My wife had a 2003 Sienna minivan that she drove until last year. She put ~250K on the clock over nearly 20 years and we had no rust issues whatsoever. My second-generation (1991) 4Runner did develop significant rust in the wheel wells late in its life.

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1995 with 195K on the odometer. Starting a huge renovation because the car is awesome. Probably a dumb thing to do.