Is it worth it?

[Russianblue]

I'm not reading this whole thread but I had a couple of things to add. First, I consider the car to be pretty high maintenance...in spurts that is. I've honestly had more issues with things other than the drivetrain which I find relatively dependable and low maintenance.

Most of the discussion here is around the cooling system, suspension etc. That's a given. Some of the stuff that may not have come up, which has been discussed ad nauseam in this forum and which I have experienced multiple times.

Broken Door handle carriers - 6 carriers on two cars
Broken window regulators
Broken window regulator clips
Dead pixels in radio/cluster
Headliner failure
Key cylinder failure
Mind-altering squeaks from rear hatch bump stops
alternator voltage reg failure
power steering hoses WILL leak
Oil filter housing gasket will leak - replace once with Viton version
aux water pump is toast on 90% of junkyard cars - albeit not critical
oil pan gasket WILL need replacing ($1500-$2000)
the car will EAT brakes depending on your pad and rotor combo - 30k mile intervals
you will likely need a brake caliper refresh during your proposed ownership period.

YMMV. My older e53 is still kicking with the OEM ignition coils. 220k miles.

The problem with something like a broken window regulator clip ($4 part) is that it can wreak all kinds of havoc even though it is relatively simple to fix ...like yesterday when my wife took my car (hers is getting a dent fixed), the clip broke, somehow jammed up the door handle works (don't ask me how) and the window stuck down. she had to drive home in the rain with the window down.

I was able to fix it, but if you are on a 2000 mile trip, you either pay somebody $600+ to fix that (because you aren't going to find an indy who will shoot you straight) or you drive with your window stuck down, OR get in through the passenger side if the window is stuck in the up position.

and the number of tools and gadgets that have to come out to fix something like this never ceases to amaze me. a small hammer, magnetic retriever, non-marring pry tools, t20 bit (with extension), and ALWAYS ALWAYS a bunch of door rivets, which break or go flying into the ether. Hard to carry all that with you. Increasingly with age, the door rivet brackets rip off the door panel itself turning a 45 minute affair into an overnight one and driving without a door panel...which WILL have a new rattle when your put it back on.

e53 is the only car I have driven in the past 12 years (two of them, both higher mileage 100k plus) and I've had only high mileage BMWs since 1999. I think this is my last one though. They are fantastic...IF you stay on top of it aggressively. But I am more concerned with not getting stranded these days. Not a big deal if I get stuck in town but I'd probably think twice about it if I were taking so many long trips.