Sell my X5 or drive it into the ground?

[kvc]

If it's your only vehicle and you rely on it daily, then I believe you may be justified in trading it for something a bit newer and possibly more reliable. If however, you have another vehicle at your disposal and as you say, you 'want to keep it forever' then I suppose anticipating some repairs at the car's current age and mileage, should be expected and you'll just have to prepare as best you can.
I have a 47 year old car in my stable, and if I were to do a longish trip, then I would have no hesitation as I know it's been maintained reasonably well. That said, I would definitely take some parts and basic tools along for the ride too...

[Nakatomi]

When I bought my X5, it had 65000 miles on it and I took it to my indy straight away to get it checked out and on a maintenance schedule. I spent around $1000 correcting a gasket leak and replacement of power steering hoses and some other minor trim stuff. The indy said all of that could wait but I like to stay ahead of things. The indy said to kinda plan for around $2500 worth of maintenance when the X5 hits around the 120k mark, but that the 3.0 engine will last forever. Both of the owners of my indy shop drive older X5's and love them.

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by Nakatomi

When I bought my X5, it had 65000 miles on it and I took it to my indy straight away to get it checked out and on a maintenance schedule. I spent around $1000 correcting a gasket leak and replacement of power steering hoses and some other minor trim stuff. The indy said all of that could wait but I like to stay ahead of things. The indy said to kinda plan for around $2500 worth of maintenance when the X5 hits around the 120k mark, but that the 3.0 engine will last forever. Both of the owners of my indy shop drive older X5's and love them.

Is your Indy this guy?

Reggie's Motorworks - Reggie's Motorworks is a full-service automotive shop in Noblesville, Indiana. We specialize in the repair of BMW, Audi, Volkswagen and MINI in the Indianapolis area.

[Nakatomi]

Originally Posted by upallnight

Is your Indy this guy?

Reggie's Motorworks - Reggie's Motorworks is a full-service automotive shop in Noblesville, Indiana. We specialize in the repair of BMW, Audi, Volkswagen and MINI in the Indianapolis area.

No Sir, my guy is Ress Motor Works @ 724 N Capitol Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46204 (317) 635-3201. I can't say enough nice things about these guys. I have used their shop for over 12 years, they always do great work. They only work on BMW and Mini, which is one reason I keep buying BMW, just so I can keep coming back to mechanics I trust! lol

Funny, I live in Noblesville and never noticed the indy you listed, even though I drive by it every day! They don't have any signage out front indicating they do anything with BMW's. They must be stealth! I'll definitely have to check them out though since they are in my back yard.

[srmmmm]

For the OP: My only concern with having a higher mileage vehicle in your case is your geographic location and the resulting salt exposure in the winter. The chassis photos of northern vehicles I've seen posted often show some significant corrosion on fasteners, fittings, and pipes. I'd be sure to perform frequent underside wash downs to minimize the effects from the salt. Other than that, with proper maintenance, "the ground" is a long way off for these engines.

2002 X5 3.0 278,000 miles
2004 325i 120,000 miles

[CharlieHustleX5]

Originally Posted by babyduke

2005 X5 3.0i sport 120K miles

I normally don't keep my cars for too long but something about my X5, I am not getting tired of it and want to keep it forever. FYI, I bought it new and it drove beautifully for about 7 years. Maintenance's done regularly and it's kept in the garage so still looks glossy. But in the last 3 years or so, mechanical problems started to appear.

- Had to get hoses, fittings, pcv replaced after serious oil leak during arctic winter

- Another minor oil leak, gasket replaced

- Coolant sensor and thermostat replaced

- Rear door carrier replaced

- Wear and tear items like CV boots, window regulator, wheel camber, etc... all corrected

What other costly problems may be knocking at my door soon? What to do prevent costly repairs? Many people have been telling me it's time to sell it while it still have some trade in value. Because of it, I'm kind of afraid to take it for a long trip.

What to do? Chicago winter scares me and this car isn't quite built to battle it IMHO.

Your list of problems aren't really anything extreme IMO. I replaced my first set of CV boots @ 75k miles and I live in Southern California. Most of my rear suspension arms were replaced just after 100k. Door handle ate it @ 104k. Expansion tank/Cooling Hoses/Water Pump done at 68k when the expansion tank cracked on me. I have about 182k now and its still moving along.

I'm not sure how great the trade in value would be on an e53. At this point, you could probably fetch 7k at most simply because its outdated in terms of technology and not the best on fuel. Nothing is made to last forever, so if you decide to keep your e53, repairs that aren't so typical should be expected. The suspension will probably need a complete makeover soon if it already hasn't been done. Transmission should have been serviced by now. Oil pan gasket will more than likely need replacement and its not exactly cheap regardless where you choose to have the work done.

It comes down to how much you like your car. If you're really worried about reliability, trade it in and get something newer. The only reasons I still own my e53 is because I do the work on it myself and I still enjoy the car. If I didn't service the car myself, I would've let it go a couple years ago.