Germany
BMW
Excellent to drive and engineered with little margin for deferred maintenance; cost of ownership is the real story.
The score here is a cost-of-ownership judgment, not a claim that BMWs break constantly. A modern 3 Series will usually run to 150,000 miles. The difference is what it costs to get there. BMW packs more systems into the same space than a Camry does, uses plastic in cooling components to save weight, and specifies service intervals that assume you follow them exactly. Deferred maintenance compounds faster on a BMW than on almost anything Japanese.
Concretely: plastic thermostat housings, water pumps and expansion tanks are wear items rather than lifetime parts, and a full cooling system refresh on an N20 or B48 four-cylinder commonly runs $900 to $1,800. Valve cover and oil filter housing gaskets are near-certain leaks past 80,000 miles. Electric water pumps fail without warning, which is why overheating is one of the most common reasons a BMW ends up on a flatbed. Brakes are larger and cost more per axle than the mainstream equivalent.
The mitigations are real if you plan for them. Independent BMW specialists charge substantially less than dealers and are common in metro areas, aftermarket parts from the original suppliers cost far less than the same component in a BMW box, and documented service history matters more than odometer reading. Budget $1,200 to $2,500 a year on an out-of-warranty car and you will not be surprised.
BMW models
Documented model years
Each year has its own reported issues and ownership costs.