Mark and Mitch, it was when my '84 528e starting needing new parts every year that I decided it was time to let it go. $1500 a year for a couple of years was more than the car was worth! I did enjoy driving it for twenty-four years, though, and got 230,000 miles out of it.
BMW has similar story to ARC. Basically it's not complicated and easier to repair than most of domestic cars and far most of japanese cars as well. The 'BRAND' drives the maintenance prices UP while the effort is substantially smaller vs. most of the cars on the market. I own 1997 318i convertible as 'garaged toy' and previously owned 1978 2002TTI. Neither one had ever been touched by any professional shop. In 90's I ordered parts mostly from Europe and Middle East and later on with internet handy I order parts from FCP Euro that are more than half-way down from dealer prices.
Enjoyed BMW (bring my wallet) a couple decades w/several 80's era cars & 1 magical '95 R100RT. the older stuff was simpler & easier to fix - the newer stuff forget about it says my independent mechanic for my '88 535is that I finally unloaded w/200K a few years ago. Owned a few ARC pieces never had any issues but they didn't stay around long. Go Music Reference & be happy & done with it.
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