I wouldn't buy either one. My advice would be to keep looking - I think if you're going to go for an E53, you should hold out for a good '06 with the cold weather package. Where you live, you're not going to be happy without it and it will annoy you every day for half the year. Don't sign up for that.

From there, I think you have to have the right perspective to be happy with one of these. What I mean is you have to be content with the fact that the limited problem, no cost period of ownership is gone - somebody else had the car for that. You are getting an expensive vehicle in the late part of its life, the part where things will go wrong and will cost you money.

If you can bring yourself to live with that, a 2006 4.4i, for example, is a load of fun to have. I think of mine almost as a project car, and that keeps me from being bitter and angry every time something goes wrong. I self-insure for the things that will break, including if the transmission goes down, and I'm comfortable with that. If you're not going to feel good approaching things that way, either buy the warranty or look for something else.

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2013 X5M - Sapphire Black
2006 X5 4.4i - Sapphire Black
2002 M3 Euro - Alpine White
2003 M5 - TiAg
2003 M3 - TiAg
2010 535i - Deep Blue Metallic
2007 530i - Deep Green Metallic