Farewell

[e39_touring]

Two of my favorite car sayings are:

1) friends don't let friends buy a BMW V8
and
2) there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche

Anyway, sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience with the brand, and, yes, they tend to be a bit over-engineered (I'm dreading the long-term reliability of our E70 and probably won't buy anything newer). Just rest assured knowing that you drove 'peak BMW' for 15 years!

[bcredliner]

Bought my 4.6 new. I have replaced the normal wear items but little else. It's been a great vehicle. Same goes for two other sedans we had and the X5M we have. I wouldn't purchase a used vehicle of any kind without a complete history and wouldn't at all if couldn't DIY. Better to pay payments on something newer than the cost of having repairs and maintenance done by a shop. Sorry to hear of bad experience.

[amancuso]

Good luck with whatever you choose next. I've heard the same stories for other makes, but their brand perception outweights the stories. As far as cautionary "avoid these cars" tales from service managers, it's all too common everywhere, after all thats why they end up at service shops. Tales from Honda, Hyundai and Nissan come to mind.

[iansanderson]

Owning an E53 truly is a labor of love. I bought my 04 6MT used with about 130K on it.

"Oh, but this is the "reliable" E53!"

I have somewhere over $15K in parts into it over the course of 4 years. That's just parts, most labor and diag has been done by me. With labor, I would probably be pushing well over 30K.

Does everything work? Today, yes.

For how long? Probably a month.

I would not do it again, but I have learned a great deal about BMW's and cars in general.

Farewell, and good luck on your next car!

[Glsons]

Farewell, I will say my farewells soon too. I thought Jeeps would nickel and dime you to death but BMW's are the worst. Bad ass cars when they work right though. The pickiest cars I've ever worked on or owned... Going to try a couple more things to make mine happy and if that doesn't work... Selling it for 1/3 of what I spent buying it and investing into it. Good luck to you!

[HKX]

Here, I know car maintenance is horrible after manufacturer warranty. It seems no one services properly, I see fancy Ferrari/Lambos in the worst looking garages... there's no way they could have the diagnostic tools from manufacturers to properly do a service.

So when I was looking at my E53 3.0i and also test driving a E53 4.8i, they felt exactly the same. I figured the 4.8i was so poorly serviced that it just drove like it had half the hp. As tempting as it was, I played it 'safe' and went for the 3.0i.

I spent money after money for the first 12 moths on the 3.0i after I bought it (11 years old and 60,000 miles) but put it down to less-than-stellar servicing despite very good looking logbooks. Now in its 3rd year in my hands it seems mechanically stable. Reading this thread maybe I'm only half right... maybe BMW engineering isn't all it's cracked up to be (at least, to not-so-handy car owners like me).

Anyway hope your move overseas goes well and whatever your vehicle of choice is makes up for the dramas you've had with the E53.

[oh2ball]

As a former X5 owner I can relate to your frustration. I bought my wife a 2013 Lexus GX460 and she had never been happier with a vehicle. I thought buying her a BMW X5 10 year ago would be easy because I knew BMWs for over 20 years and could manage most issues but this thing broke seemingly ever other week! Live and learn.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by HKX

It seems no one services properly

This is the crux of the problem with buying a used BMW. When i go look at one, if they don't have complete service records, I typically knock their asking price down at least a few thousand bucks. They get offended because they are already "priced under KBB", I just tell them the offer is there if you change your mind and leave.

Someone else can pay full pop for something they are going to have to drop $$$ on immediately.

[nate13]

Originally Posted by iansanderson

Owning an E53 truly is a labor of love. I bought my 04 6MT used with about 130K on it.

"Oh, but this is the "reliable" E53!"

I have somewhere over $15K in parts into it over the course of 4 years. That's just parts, most labor and diag has been done by me. With labor, I would probably be pushing well over 30K.

Does everything work? Today, yes.

For how long? Probably a month.

I would not do it again, but I have learned a great deal about BMW's and cars in general.

Farewell, and good luck on your next car!

This is incredible. I’ve owned my 3.0 for 6 years and am in about $2000, excluding oil tires etc. I can’t imagine what part hasn’t been replaced for 15k


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[ajacks8]

I agree. A lot of the ownership experience with these vehicles, I think, relates to expectations and due diligence of the buyer. I've had my 2004 3.0 for 8yrs and outside of the trans oil line popping off and costing me $3,000...it has mostly been brakes and tires. Upon purchase of my 2006 4.8is from a forum member, with history...I had timing cover gaskets, valve stem seals, valve cover gaskets, coils, and coolant pipe replaced. IF I hadn't been patient waiting for just the right truck - that money would not have been worth sacrificing. Here I am two years later without a single hiccup. If my priority was care-free driving, they do make Toyotas.