Would YOU trade your 10 year old european car for a brand new 2011 $15,000 domestic

[1stE53]

Somethimes I think it would be nice to just get into a Honda or Acura and not think about any maintenance other than oil... but last weekend I did nothing to the cars (they didn't even need a wash) and was bored!!! LOL.

[X-cellent]

The article the OP was referring to is from Automobile Magazine this month and WAS written by a car guy (Ezra Dyer) and actually had some validity to it. It was more than being just a flame on old european cars, it was based on the reality that there are many options out there and was slanted to those who look at automobiles as just a form of transportation...it was actually rather sarcastically written....another way to look at the same point is owning vs leasing...two good fights there...

Having owned a number of "high end" vehicles, and also quoting many on these boards (especially the E70 board that I'm always on), some of these vehicles are frighteningly expensive to own and maintain out of warranty so for many it is a valid concern. One of the points in the article was that if you're buying a 10-year old 7 series because you want to show off and think "wow a $70k car for $12k" you have another thing coming to you...

As my lease just ended I am actually debating heavily on the lease vs purchase scenario and struggle with the thought of owning something like an X5M 6 years from now...what will it really be worth...what are the lost opportunity costs... would I be in the same bottom line position after 5 years (real world value of car vs. what i have in it) or is it better to rent and walk away....

I've been reading the mag. since it started in the 80's and always read the editorials with a smile as MOST of the time they are a great mix of humor and insight....

flame on!

[JCL]

Originally Posted by 1stE53

I wouldn't trade. The safety of for one. My wife and two children use the X 90+% of the time. The smaller cars may pass crash tests because of the cabin structure is rigid, but with the larger and heavier vehicle, more of the impact is dispersed thoughout the vehicle and not the passenger. ie. the crash test done between an old 90s S class Merc and the new Smart Car. The passenger cell was not crushed after the impact but the people would have surely died due to the force of the impact transfered to their bodies.

Crash test results consider both the integrity of the passenger compartment, and the maximum forces applied to the crash test dummies. You need both to be good to survive, or to receive a good score.

There are lots of factors involved in crash statistics, but a couple of comments:

Vehicle weight really only matters in a head on collision with another vehicle. In that case, it helps to be in the larger vehicle because you are more likely to kill the other vehicle occupants than die yourself. Those other bodies are your shock absorber. In a single vehicle accident vehicle weight doesn't matter, there is more mass and thus more kinetic energy to dissipate. If you hit a wall, a SMART car is as good as the S Class. If they hit each other, the S Class is safer, but not as safe as a Kenworth would be, taken to an extreme.

If you want to be really safe, mini vans and four door sedans have better histories than SUVs, simply because SUVs are more likely to roll over. In one study, with four door sedans and mid size SUVs of the same weight, occupants were nine times more likely to die in the SUV, simply because of the roll over risk. Also, the SUV was more likely to kill occupants of the other vehicle because it was higher. We can argue over whether the X is typical of all mid-size SUVs, but if we accept that BMWs have good handling and are thus better off than vehicles like Jeeps, we still are left with the conclusion that a 5 series is safer than an X5 in terms of handling.

[1stE53]

but both are better than a Malibu :-)

[JCL]

Could be. Don't know a Malibu, don't want one.

I was commenting on the fact that there are many reasonable new small cars, fun to drive and economical, that are a good alternative to an aged X5.

[Enigma]

Originally Posted by PropellerHead

They may be a reasonable alternative until the unthinkable happens. Would you put your child behind the wheel of a Honda Fit or one of these?

Good pic. I'm on my second X5. First one saved my life... Since then, even my wife traded hers for one too.

[X5Matador]

Honestly, to ask this questions of most X5 owners on this forum is well, silly. I could spend the $15k on a new domestic (as well as most of you) but choose not to because of what many of you have already stated, I'm a driver and I enjoy driving my 02 X5 4.4 because of the feedback I get when I drive it. My wife has a 04 Ford Taurus that she won't let me get rid of and for her it's the right car. For me give me my BMW.

[bigwave2255]

now that makes sense

[c4racer]

Originally Posted by JCL

Could be. Don't know a Malibu, don't want one.

I was commenting on the fact that there are many reasonable new small cars, fun to drive and economical, that are a good alternative to an aged X5.

WRX wagon comes to mind!

I ended up replacing my X5 with a new $30K Japanese SUV - Mazda CX9 Touring AWD - which I don't like nearly as much as my 8 year old X5. But since my wife is now the primary driver it is much more apropriate for our family needs right now. So now instead I am driving an 11 year old 7 series when I need more seating or space than my Corvette provides. And I would take that 11 year old BMW over any new sub $20K vehicle made today without a second thought!

[Buzzcut]

I'm an Automobile subscriber, and chuckled at that commentary. I bought a 2002 X5 for about $15k last year.

The X5 is my dream car. It is perfect in every way, except perhaps gas mileage (although I just went on a trip and got 22 highway, which ain't that bad). It's fast, it handles well, and it looks awesome. It's comfortable and is built like a Panzer tank.

Yes, it is a 10 year old car. But mine is in good shape, and nobody believes that it is that old, and has 100k miles on it. It seems to me that new X5s don't look very different from mine. And mine looks better!

Maybe I will feel differently when I have to do major work to it, but so far all I replaced is the coolant tank, which leaked. Knock on wood. Did it myself thanks to this forum.