Need some advice, keep it or part it out

[g300d]

Well, I enjoy these cars, but they are rolling headaches lol!

Your brother is right, all cars need maintenance and these BMW's are not the cheapest or easiest to do that on.

Only you can decide if the enjoyment and use you get out of your X will be worth the maintenance costs.

[NewX5girl]

Originally Posted by g300d

Well, I enjoy these cars, but they are rolling headaches lol!

Your brother is right, all cars need maintenance and these BMW's are not the cheapest or easiest to do that on.

Only you can decide if the enjoyment and use you get out of your X will be worth the maintenance costs.

Do you guy's have other cars that are as much work? Or is it just the x5.

[dkl]

Originally Posted by NewX5girl

Isn't this true of all cars or just bmw's? I own a 99 Mercedes and it does not give me a lot of trouble. I was always told German cars had longer lives...it that not true for bmw?

True to some degree. It's difficult to describe without getting technical. One example is the expansion tank design on the X5 and most BMWs, which is pressurized - so it can achieve a higher maximum operating temperature. BUT the expansion tank is made of a composite materials, which is prone to leak or burst with age. It's also part of the radiator, so when it burst, all the coolant may be lost. On a lot of Japanese cars, this isn't the case - the expansion tank is simply an overflow (not pressurized) and therefore doesn't have this additional point of failure. So, whenever I start to see a weep (or smell coolant) from the expansion tank on the X5, I need to change it out ASAP. But on something like a Honda, I can live with a slight leak on its expansion tank for quite sometimes before needing to replace it. This is just one example.

Originally Posted by NewX5girl

Do you guy's have other cars that are as much work? Or is it just the x5.

The MCoupe is more of a fuss than the X5:
1. It needs a valve adjustment every 25K-30K miles.
2. Vanos hub tab(s) that can break - catastrophic if not caught.
3. Vanos hub bolts that can sheared off - catastrophic if not caught.
4. Rod Bearings may wear prematurely - need to do an oil analysis every oil change to monitor this - catastrophic if not caught.
5. Diff that makes noise if not using the BMW unicorn juice
etc...etc...

It's a matter of what you tolerate for the enjoyment of driving it.

Originally Posted by NewX5girl

Yet you continue to buy them, something is redeeming in them. So in your opinion should I keep it or no. I am not afraid of maintenance, but I am deathly afraid of a money pit. I can't figure out which way to go that has the least amount of bleeding.

This is a tough question. I've owned my X5 for its entire life (over 12 years and 114K+ miles). I won't even try to predict if and when it will become a money pit. It's paid off. So, I'm happy if maintenance runs less than $1.5K or so a year (on average), which is a lot less than a new car payment! I'm doing a lot of the fairly easy stuffs myself and know someone who can do the tougher things so I can keep the cost down.

[NewX5girl]

Originally Posted by dkl

True to some degree. It's difficult to describe without getting technical. One example is the expansion tank design on the X5 and most BMWs, which is pressurized - so it can achieve a higher maximum operating temperature. BUT the expansion tank is made of a composite materials, which is prone to leak or burst with age. It's also part of the radiator, so when it burst, all the coolant may be lost. On a lot of Japanese cars, this isn't the case - the expansion tank is simply an overflow (not pressurized) and therefore doesn't have this additional point of failure. So, whenever I start to see a weep (or smell coolant) from the expansion tank on the X5, I need to change it out ASAP. But on something like a Honda, I can live with a slight leak on its expansion tank for quite sometimes before needing to replace it. This is just one example.



The MCoupe is more of a fuss than the X5:
1. It needs a valve adjustment every 25K-30K miles.
2. Vanos hub tab(s) that can break.
3. Vanos hub bolts that can sheared off.
4. Rod Bearings may wear prematurely - need to do an oil analysis every oil change to monitor this.
5. Diff that makes noise if not using the BMW unicorn juice
etc...etc...

It's a matter of what you tolerate for the enjoyment of driving it.



This is a tough question. I've owned my X5 for its entire life (over 12 years and 114K+ miles). I won't even try to predict if and when it will become a money pit.

Oh my, that was it...it was my expansion tank. (I could not remember what my mechanic said...to in shock from the ordeal)

So if I understand what you are saying, the bmw is not a money pit by nature and I could get many years of enjoyment after my new engine lol.

[dkl]

Originally Posted by NewX5girl

Oh my, that was it...it was my expansion tank. (I could not remember what my mechanic said...to in shock from the ordeal)

So if I understand what you are saying, the bmw is not a money pit by nature and I could get many years of enjoyment after my new engine lol.

I'm still enjoying mine after 12yrs+ and hoping for many more to come

It seems to need more TLC than other cars