I can't believe how freaking hard it was to get the wipers off my BMW. Took literally twenty minutes, they were extremely hard to remove. Let go of the wiper blade, and it slammed down on the windshield. Next time I was extremely careful, but at the last moment
Exactly. Every little thing is almost twice as expensive. An oil change requires synthetic, and costs me $120. My Bimmer had many oil leaks, costing me thousands. The alignment cannot be done at any mechanic, it requires a European car speciality shop. As welll as the rear differential fluid change.
I took my car to Speedy, and they said I need to replace my rear differential, at a cost of $5,000. I noticed that everywhere I take my car, they quote me outrageous prices (sometimes because they don't want to do the job). I've had Canadian Tire even refuse to look at my BMW, the manager told me to take it to a dealer. I was shocked. I know that BMWs are not only finicky, and very hard to work with, they also require special equipment.
I bought by BMW for $10,000 five years ago, and put in $15,000 in repairs and maintenance. I would have been better off buying a new BMW and selling it now. I would have paid the same amount.
Basically, my car is now worthless. The windshield is crack from me botching the wiper replacement. There is an oil leak, the car makes a loud noise since the rear differential is shot. The rear power windows are broken. The interior is stained because I put my tires on the bacseat without plastic. There is rust and body damage.
Worst of all is the reaction I get from people. People seem almost embarassed for me. They have almost a condescending attitude, since they think that I'm someone who's trying to look rich by driving a BMW, when if in fact I'm driving a piece of shit.
My logic at the time was that it was a great value. The car I have was, brand new, about $45-50,000 including taxes. I therefore bought it for the value aspect of it, more than anything. For example, I only buy used iPhones that are a few years old, since they offer the best value for the money. Little did I know that the car would literally have one problem after anohter, after another and cost me an arm and a leg.
I was fed up with all the maintenance, so decided to save some money. I bought rims for my winter tires, so I can change them myself. This saves $200 each year, since there are two swaps @ $100 each, every year. The oil change was next on the list. I invested hundreds of dollars ($400 for the rim, about $400 for the oil change equipment (rhino ramps, filter wrench, drain bucket, socket wrench, filter, oil). So far I have yet to recoup any investments I've made.
My last break job (front and rear) cost close to $2,000. I am planning to give it a shot. I've researched on YouTube, and honestly, it doesn't seem too bad.
By the way, I did get the drain plug removed. Some homeless kid was walking buy, and he was able to get it off in seconds. I gave him $25, an ice cream, and a ride. But now I can do oil changes on my own.
