Agree with others here that it's not always about the money. It can be about quality and if keeping a long-ish time, then buying quality will end up being about the money as the car usually lasts longer and has fewer reliability issues
I've had European cars before and I must say my favourite was an E class Mercedes. My current drive is a US marque although it is made in Austria. It's 11 years old and a very quality vehicle.
I have never bought a Korean car although read and understand that they have lifted their game a lot. I have owned Japanese and local cars also.
I service at the nominated kilometere schedule and always change oil and filter every six months regardless of km's travelled.
There is nothing like the reassuring "thunk" sound that a German car makes when closing the doors. Even the luxury Japanese marques cannot match that sound. Horses for courses at the end of the day.
I will be in the market this year for a replacement vehicle and requiring an SUV type set-up I am spoilt for choice. I may purchase an X-5 or depending on how some property transactions go, would be just as happy buying, say the new Ford Territory coming out in a few months (finally in Deisel) and delaying the german luxsury purchase; not becuase I can't afford it, but because other priorities will surface on the investment horizon over the next 12-24 months that are more important right now. A Ghia would be less than half the price of the Beemer and for good reason; I wouldn't keep a Ford for as long as a BMW or Merc or even my current wheels for that matter.
Then again, I would just as happily buy another Grand Cherokee, new model is out and it's cheaper than when I bought mine 11 years ago.
Not made in Austria though, so quality may be different as it's assembly is back in Detroit.
Oh, and back to the original slant of the thread about BMW financing and difficulties with repayments, there will always be a proportion of the population who cannot afford trinketts and get into trouble trying to look rich or successful rather than initially focusing on having an asset backing behind them first. They would never read the fine print and consequences of not living up to their obligations.