1997 BMW 318 Service Costs

Hello: I have had my car since I bought it brand new. I have kept all service receipts. The total of all service receipts to date is $16,092. This is everything excluding gas, insurance and license tabs. So this includes all oil changes, scheduled maintenance, brakes, tires, everything.

I have had numerous problems with the car including air conditioner, heater, starter, fuel pump, window, electrical in general, transmission. These are problems that required non scheduled service because they happened randomly and I was unable to use the car until fixed.

My question is did I get a lemon? I have had the car 147 months to be exact. 12 years and 3 months. $16,092 seems to be alot for even a 12 year old car.

My only other car experience was a Honda Accord which I drove over 200K miles and my total service charges were probably under 5K during the life of the car. The Honda did not have any "random" problems that I recall. I just had scheduled maintenance and replaced the tires and brakes, etc.

I have always gone to non dealership shops for service so as to get a reasonable price.

Did I get a lemon? Or have I just learned a very valuable lesson regarding cars (Honda v. BMW)?

Thank you very much for any comments you can give me.