Quote:
Originally Posted by crystalworks
^ I've also not had frequent problems. I am the third owner and bought at 90,000 miles.
I do lots of preventative maintenance however rather than waiting for failures. I throw many fully functional/serviceable parts into the trash bin. Especially when it comes to suspension and cooling system parts as those are on a ~100,000 mile service interval for me.
If you bought yours used, and you wait for things to start breaking, they will, and that will of course affect reliability. If you are proactive then you can avoid the headaches but not the work if DIY or expense if not.
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This.
This has been the secret to my success with the E53 as well. Like any unexpected repair, I've been delayed, but never stranded. Neither of the '04's I've driven for 13 years and over 200k miles has seen a flatbed. Proactive maintenance- getting in front of known/expected issues before they explode is central to this experience.
But then of course, the '01 is the 3rd E53 I've had lots of time with. We bought it new for my mother-in-law. It's been towed 2-3 times in 16.5 years and 110k. It's even the more 'reliable' 3.0 driven- literally- by a little old lady.
For the second time in two years, I will send my wife, my daughter and a group of 'BFF's' out of town for a birthday celebration in the '01 3.0. I don't expect to have to rescue anyone.
