As the saying goes "America designs for lowest cost, Germans design for high performance and Japanese design for high reliability and ease of maintenance".

I heard this in the context of someone marveling at the layout in an engine bay of a 80s Toyota, but it also applies to a friend's brother who restores boomboxes. This gentleman was describing how a single motor turned a bunch of different things, depending on which switch was pressed, and how elegant and simple the design was.

They are a general nightmare to own after the first year or so. They encounter hardware issues way more frequently compared to Japanese cars. For a typical Japanese car like Honda / Toyota / Mazda, you typically don't need to do anything other than regular maintenance (oil changes, tire rotations, break and tire replacements) for the first 5–6 years or 60000 miles. These are simple enough to be done very easily at any regular mechanic. Many Japanese cars run 100K+ miles without encountering any issue.

BMWs, otoh, you would be lucky if you went a few years without encountering any mechanical issue. And when you do, you are more likely to have to take it to their dealership, and my friends' experience of visiting those hasn't been great either.

My BMW had the following failures within a short time-frame. The dashboard was "lit up like a Christmas tree". (Does not including normal wear items like brakes, battery, filters)

Mechanical failures - Water pump, air condition compressor, loose seat bushings

Sensor failures (Possibly all from the same sensor supplier) - fuel level sensor (!), all oxygen sensors ($$$), passenger seat airbag sensor (!), air mass-flow sensor, engine air intake sensor, rear ABS brake sensors, coolant temperature sensor, cam position sensor

These are known problems and fixes documented on car forums, thus home garage repair was possible for everything except the AC. The price of parts and sensors is high (compared to Honda).

They are not as high quality as Toyota or Honda. Not that Tesla is any better.