Originally Posted by squidzilla

My Bmw's sometime go a few years without issues. My 545i seems to have problems pop up every few years. Last year the battery and voltage regulator went out. I replaced the battery with a Walmart one for 125.00 and the VR for 41.00 with a Valeo part. I did both of these myself and saved about 1500.00 since the dealer wanted to replace the entire alternator. This year my window regulator and door carriers are failing on my X5's. And to make things worse the door actuator had the section that holds the Bowden cable super glued together and it broke while removing the door card. Now I get to replace that with a Dorman brand for 114.00. Personally, if this is your only car and you do not have time or patience to be a DIY guy, these will get expensive fast at high miles. Otherwise it is just parts and your time.