Almost made 200K miles

[Murph]

I don't post a lot although I do browse and read especially the How To's and problem solutions on this forum. I appreciate all those that took the time to document them as I used them many times. However, our 2005 E53 4.4 is finally ready to move on from us. I still have the original sticker at almost $67K but alas it's now only worth maybe $1,000 on trade in. We bought it CPO and have made it to now 196,600 miles. However it needs brakes, drivers airbag and tires. Also it's burning a bit of oil like a quart every 500 miles. After sitting at idle for a few minutes we leave in a cloud of blue. It's just not worth spending 3-4X the value of the vehicle to fix.

My wife is looking around at what's available now as the landscape has changed dramatically. Maybe we'll get another X5 CPO. There's just something very special about these wonderful vehicles.

Thanks again to this great forum for all the wisdom. - Murph

[Overboost]

Take care Murph. With the 170,000 miles you put on her, I am willing to bet you have some stories. Let us know it you go with the F15.

[zonefive]

People always say not to fix a car when the repairs are greater than the car's resale value. I disagree.

The resale value for other cars like yours is low because the cars need repair. No one knows if it's a new motor, transmission, or simply a gasket.

What you should do is compare the cost of repair to what it would cost to get into a similar vehicle. If you put three grand into your current vehicle and get it 4.0, you won't even come close to what the taxes are on a new CPO.

It is cheaper to just keep fixing the car. Do the numbers.

[StephenVA]

Unfortunate to read of another one going off into the sunset but that is the life of cars. Great to read that you leveraged the posting and ramblings here on the forum. Hopefully someone will take on your X and drive her some more but at that mileage she will be another bone yard candidate.

Regarding the alternative options, your car, your tolerance for time/cost/skills, and the draw of something new all are factors to our decisions in life. Good luck with the next one. Hopefully it will have the same life span.

See way too many postings on "after one month/year and xx $$, I am leaving". Here was one owner who lasted. Congrats!

[Murph]

Thanks guys. Although it's still a good looking vehicle it absolutely needs all new hoses, valve seals, drivers airbag, brakes and tires all around. That's north of $3,000, probably closer to $4,000. I've chased repairs on older vehicles before. It becomes a money pit with no hope of increasing the cars value. As my dad said to me one time (updated for inflation) "Son, you can put $3,000 into a $1,000 car and you still only have a $1,000 car." KBB.com shows average trade in value for this condition as $450 - $1,000. I do appreciate those that want to do the work themselves and those that have different opinions about my strategy. However, for me it's time to let it go.


Thanks again for this great forum. As you can see I joined in 2010 and still have less than 10 posts. However, I have spent many hours either researching or just reading.

[dkl]

Originally Posted by Murph

Thanks guys. Although it's still a good looking vehicle it absolutely needs all new hoses, valve seals, drivers airbag, brakes and tires all around. That's north of $3,000, probably closer to $4,000. I've chased repairs on older vehicles before. It becomes a money pit with no hope of increasing the cars value. As my dad said to me one time (updated for inflation) "Son, you can put $3,000 into a $1,000 car and you still only have a $1,000 car." KBB.com shows average trade in value for this condition as $450 - $1,000. I do appreciate those that want to do the work themselves and those that have different opinions about my strategy. However, for me it's time to let it go.

Thanks again for this great forum. As you can see I joined in 2010 and still have less than 10 posts. However, I have spent many hours either researching or just reading.

I agree with "zonefive" about repairing your existing car. You shouldn't be too concern about the resale value since you won't be selling it once it's been repaired. What you should be more concern with is will that $4k spent cost less than the expense incurred with buying that new CPO, including taxes and depreciation over the same period that you expected your $4k repair to last. People keep getting hung up on what the existing car is worth, but you should really be looking at your overall out of pocket cost when doing comparisons.

But if you really want a new car, then that's a different thing - nothing wrong with that.

[motordavid]

+1 on what dkl wrote above...
As I have a 2001 E53, a 2002 VetteVert, a '75 HD Shovelhead/'87 Honda Hurricane/'94 Honda GW Aspencade, and my CEOs newer '17 X1,
my stable is mostly a collection of old stuff, all of which I bought new way back when.

I admire the new C7s, I like the new BMWs, (some), and would like a new Honda GW, all of which I can 'afford' eg pay cash.

But, my batch all still runs and the the annual R&R costs are not large, just a PIA, esp at my age.

I get the NewCarJones, however. Glad the OP enjoyed his X and I wish him well in his new car(s).
GL, mD

[Overboost]

Originally Posted by motordavid

+1 on what dkl wrote above...
As I have a'87 Honda Hurricane

OMG my first street bike. 1987 Honda CBR 600 F1 Hurricane

[wpoll]

Originally Posted by Overboost

OMG my first street bike. 1987 Honda CBR 600 F1 Hurricane

It wasn't my first street bike but I had one also - mine was the 1990 F1 in red/white/blue. Dang, that was a good bike...

[Overboost]

Originally Posted by wpoll

It wasn't my first street bike but I had one also - mine was the 1990 F1 in red/white/blue. Dang, that was a good bike...

I don't have a picture of mine, digital cameras didn't exist back then.

But I found this one on the interwebz. This is the one I had. I even had the same slip-on pipe.