Took it in for Valve cover gasket change for the 3rd time in 4 years. The first time, it was leaking so I changed the gasket myself (though I was sure I did it correctly) it started leaking again about 5k miles later. So I took it to a shop that specializes on "german" cars and he "adjusted the gasket and buttoned it up. (he only charged me $100 I think) It worked fine for 15k miles and started leaking again. Took it to another shop, he looked at it and said the gasket was cut, so he changed it and told me that my valve cover might be warped(x5 is 01 with 180k miles) and since the cover is plastic, it could happen. The fix worked for another 10k and it's leaking again. Has anyone heard of valve cover getting warped? This will be at least a $500 fix.
Oh also I saw coolant drop on the floor, I just changed the radiator 3 weeks ago and the leak is not coming from the radiator or any of the hose connections. So i'm guessing it's either the water pump or thermostat. Considering I had less than $300/year of maintenance cost in the last 2 years, I feel like this year is the year where i'll end up fixing a bunch. Already $1k in repairs this year. (Alternator, door handle, radiator, aux fan clutch, valve cover gasket changed so far)

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2001 BMW X5 3.0 Sold
2008 VW jetta S
2006 Lexus Rx400h