BMW people- Is it just expected to put money into costly BMW repairs?

I've owned BMW and Mercedes for 40 years and they do require meticulous maintenance or you def will have expensive repairs. You have to do ALL the maintenance as required per schedule, not just change the oil annually and then call it a day. This happens frequently with these cars where the owners cheap out, bring it to Jiffy Lube, do nothing else and then complain about too many repairs Sure, you can do some of the work yourself but do understand that they are complex vehicles and sometimes maintenance items are tricky (like transmission services) and diagnostics can be complex where you'll be scratching your head for hours whereas a competent BMW shop will know right away what the problem is. Just because someone is a mechanic doesn't mean that they know BMWs so keep that in mind with your friend (unless they do have German/BMW experience). You must have a good indie BMW shop available for diagnostics/repairs as needed. Also, if the previous owner does not have maintenance records or was a change the oil at jiffy lube type, expect a large maintenance catch up bill. You def want a vehicle inspection at a competent shop prior to purchase. They can also advise problem areas with this particular model. You can also check in on some of the BMW specific subs as well. With that said, they are great cars - they ride and handle well with plenty of power. Only caveat here is the 430i is a 4 banger and honestly, the BMW straight sixes (440i) are much better engines than the i4's. I own 2016 X3 35ix M and when I was looking at it, one of my BMW shops said to shy away from the 28i i4 version.