[fe7565]

Just curious, based on my own experience..I am more of a BMW fan-boy now vs just a causal BMW owner.

If not for this forum where I can find DIY info and ways to add/modify the stock setup of my car...I probably would have not stayed this loyal to the BMW brand. Adding to this is that this forum does not have dictatorial moderators/owners...they are mostly invisible...and yet this forum self-regulates quite well.

What also makes me a bit more assured that staying with BMW is not just a passing fad...is that BMW has taken the top and near top place in reliability (in the US at least). A side note on this: I always thought that BMW is getting a bum-wrap on reliability as many owners in the US maybe considered high-end snobs who do not want to get their hands dirty or are clueless about turning a wrench. So at every tiny issue that infringes on their luxury expectations (i.e. one hears a cricket sound from the trunk) they take the car in the dealership under warranty to have it looked at. These "service calls" add up and go against the overall brand, and may dilute the numbers of "engine seized", "transmission failed", etc service calls.

Imagine the looks you get, if you take in your super-lowered Nissan Sentra or Honda Accord (with the giant rear wings and monster truck mufflers) in to your dealership and complain about a cricket sound?!

I was not planning to keep my car this long, for 11 years now. I always kept cars for 3-4 years max. and moved on. The reason I stayed is mainly due to the fact that I was able to modify/upgrade my 2012 stock-base boring 328i to the way I like it. Of course having a great running engine is a must. Without this forum and other BMW forums, I would not have stayed with this car this long for sure. May not have stayed with BMW at all.

But had so much time, challenge, problem-solving, and hobby-work invested that I do not yet have the heart to replace my 2012 328i. Having access to ISTA+ and other tools and community knowledge by others made me even more invested in BMW.

So, wondering, if BMW benefits from people like me, who become loyal to the BMW brand and may keep buying BMWs in the future? Or does it hurt their sales that I stayed/staying with my car for 11 years vs the usual 3-4 years in the past?