The Used E53 Odyssey - Replacement after Total Loss

[ylwjacket]

Well, just got the car back from the shop. They replaced:
- oil pan gasket
- oil filter housting gasket
- valve cover gasket
- transfer case
- driver's side c/v axle

So, I also added:
- new belts
- lower radiator hose
- coolant temperature sensor

So, thusfar, those are the prior owner catch up fixes required to get us back on the road with this car.

[PropellerHead]

Originally Posted by upallnight

So for 10K you now have a 15 year old car that is probably worth 5k or less.

Anyone can place a dollar value on a car. No one can tell you what it's worth.

[X53Jay4.8is]

Originally Posted by PropellerHead

Anyone can place a dollar value on a car. No one can tell you what it's worth.

Yes some people fail to factor in "marginal utility"

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by X53Jay4.8is

Yes some people fail to factor in "marginal utility"

Is that like Alternative Facts???

[PropellerHead]

Originally Posted by upallnight

Is that like Alternative Facts???

It's something we learned about in school. If anyone didn't, LMGTFY

In economics, utility is the satisfaction or benefit derived by consuming a product, thus the marginal utility of a good or service is the change in the utility from increase or decrease in the consumption of that good or service. Economists sometimes speak of a law of diminishing marginal utility, meaning that the first unit of consumption of a good or service yields more utility than the second and subsequent units, with a continuing reduction for greater amounts. Therefore, the fall in marginal utility as consumption increases is known as diminishing marginal utility. Mathematically, MU1>MU2>MU3......>MUn. The marginal decision rule states that a good or service should be consumed at a quantity at which the marginal utility is equal to the marginal cost.

[X53Jay4.8is]

Originally Posted by PropellerHead

It's something we learned about in school. If anyone didn't, LMGTFY

Yes a business school economics thing. Nice Prop

[Ricky Bobby]

It's sad that people under 25 probably have zero idea of what he just posted. Too busy giving out participation trophies and offering grief counseling post election.

[X53Jay4.8is]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

It's sad that people under 25 probably have zero idea of what he just posted. Too busy giving out participation trophies and offering grief counseling post election.

Yes so true. very funny

[ylwjacket]

Well, just to keep the fun going, a few more updates.

Daughter was driving yesterday, coolant dumps out, and she pulls over. I have it towed home to sort it out.

Turns, the brand new lower radiator hose that I just put on slipped off. Ok, that's a head scratcher.

After looking at it more, I realize there is 4 inces of sway in the radiator/electric fan assembly. There is almost nothing holding it place, so I surmise that loosed the lower hose.

The clip on the hose was slightly bent and popped out. I fixed that, reinstall hose. From a prior E53 radiator replacement, I happen to have (almost) all of the hardware needed to hold it in place, so I install that, and all is good.

I did notice two rear tires look bad. One is worn, the other low. Go to the tire shop, and the low one has a sidewall puncture, that had some sort of liquid rubber fix-a-flat stuff on it. So, two tires installed. I still need a spare, because the spare that came with it is crap - I wouldn't even put that on the car. The two replaced were so bad, that neither could become the spare. Two fronts were new.

So, now I need a jack, and a spare. May call around to a few salvage yards to see if I can find those items.

Just for grins, I checked the air filter. Gross. Will replace that this week, along with plugs.

I am aghast at the condition the prior owner drove this thing around in, and that the "dealer" would sell it in.

Oh yeah - after filling with coolant yesterday, I noticed the water pump is dripping. If I wasn't an idiot, I would've replaced that while it was totally out of coolant anyways. As is, I'll do it this week, so all the coolant I bought yesterday was wasted.

I hope that soon we can actually just drive this car a bit w/o a daily repair.

We are having to cover the prior owner's pathetic maintenance.

[X53Jay4.8is]

Originally Posted by ylwjacket

Well, just to keep the fun going, a few more updates.

Daughter was driving yesterday, coolant dumps out, and she pulls over. I have it towed home to sort it out.

Turns, the brand new lower radiator hose that I just put on slipped off. Ok, that's a head scratcher.

After looking at it more, I realize there is 4 inces of sway in the radiator/electric fan assembly. There is almost nothing holding it place, so I surmise that loosed the lower hose.

The clip on the hose was slightly bent and popped out. I fixed that, reinstall hose. From a prior E53 radiator replacement, I happen to have (almost) all of the hardware needed to hold it in place, so I install that, and all is good.

I did notice two rear tires look bad. One is worn, the other low. Go to the tire shop, and the low one has a sidewall puncture, that had some sort of liquid rubber fix-a-flat stuff on it. So, two tires installed. I still need a spare, because the spare that came with it is crap - I wouldn't even put that on the car. The two replaced were so bad, that neither could become the spare. Two fronts were new.

So, now I need a jack, and a spare. May call around to a few salvage yards to see if I can find those items.

Just for grins, I checked the air filter. Gross. Will replace that this week, along with plugs.

I am aghast at the condition the prior owner drove this thing around in, and that the "dealer" would sell it in.

Oh yeah - after filling with coolant yesterday, I noticed the water pump is dripping. If I wasn't an idiot, I would've replaced that while it was totally out of coolant anyways. As is, I'll do it this week, so all the coolant I bought yesterday was wasted.

I hope that soon we can actually just drive this car a bit w/o a daily repair.

We are having to cover the prior owner's pathetic maintenance.

I am sorry that you are having a terrible experience with this X5 but lets be honest the level of miles that you bought this X5 at would qualify it for the wholesale lot were it would then end up at shady buy here/pay here type of dealer. These dealers are not concerned about integrity of repairs or condition of vehicle. Second the only way this X5 is going to start returning the utility that you are expecting is to run through it with a fine comb on all the maintenance, preventive maintenance and use of quality repair parts. Then you know what you have.