Quote:
Originally Posted by jmitro
skyline hit the nail on the head!
I'm at 136K on my N62. I'm freakin sick of fixing all the major problems on this car and if i didnt DIY I would have sold it long ago because the cost would be astronomical to maintain at a shop.
the only reason I keep the car is because I love the driving dynamics as a utility type of daily driver, it looks good, and it's paid off!
but yea, among other things, I've done the valve stem seals, alternator bracket oil seal, motor mounts, all upper oil seals, coolant pipe, water pump, and valley pan gasket. All major time consuming repairs.
Pushrod, I'm afraid you still have to worry about the valve stem seals. That was by far my most time consuming repair of any car I've ever worked on, short of completely removing an engine
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Great info, thanks!
I totally hear you on being sick of the issues with the N62. It bites to be spending more time fixing a car than actually driving it. I take public transit to work most days, and often my car will go unused for periods of 10 days or more, so it sucks to have to spend a bunch of money on a car that I barely need most of the time. That said, at least I can manage to let it sit in the shop for a week without really needing it! It also makes buying a newer CPO seem somewhat of a waste, as I'll be paying a bunch of depreciation on a car that sits in my garage most of the time. I've seriously had thoughts about just buying an 'appliance' car like a 2002 Camry and never having to worry about it.
I agree, the driving dynamics and features of the X5 are very difficult to find, especially in an SUV (SAV), and i love the way it looks. I truthfully love the car, and was planning to drive it into the ground when I purchased it. I searched long and hard for this one to find exactly the feature set I wanted, including the V8. The first time I hit it hard going through a cloverleaf onto the highway and the thing barely rolled and stuck like it was on rails, I thought, "Whoa, how does this tank of a car do that??" Perhaps having the 20" wheels and adaptive drive helps, I don't know. It's amazing how BMW managed to get such a big vehicle to drive like a sports car.
It sounds like if I fix the current issues, the only other 'for certain' major repair I would have to attack in the next 50k or so would be the valve stem seals at a cost of ~$2500 at an indy. 50k is about 4-5 years at the rate I drive, so less than $50/mth after this current outlay for the coolant pipe. $50/mth is still way less than a car payment. I know there's no guarantee that I won't have the sway bar issue or some other major issue, but those seem to be more rare and not a given like the alternator seal, the coolant pipe, and the valve stem seals.
One other bit of info: The tires are currently at about 75%, and the brakes were just done, so I should be good on those fronts for a while.
Thanks for you help!