A Farewell :-(
 

So after years of semi-faithful service, the X was traded last night on a 535i (with 100k warranty!). It heads to auction Monday in Charlotte, if anyone is fortunate enough to get it. Of course, I left all service records and a personal note in the glovebox for the next owner. But just in case that note goes missing... Hopefully Google caches this post and the new owner searches the VIN...

New Owner of 5UXFA53533LV80809:

Please take care of my old boy. He likes about a quart of oil every 2k miles. Castrol 5w30. His left headlight ballast can get wonky sometimes. Give it a rest and in about an hour it'll come back to life. Do not turn the drivers side heated seat on past one light, it WILL burn the leather (and you). He loves tires. One set every 20-25k. Preferably Michelin Primacy MXV4s. The tranny HATES cold weather, so let it warm up before heading to work on a cold morning. I'm leaving the Sirius active for a few months, because I'm a nice person. The headlight washers are blocked off at the pump due to a leak somewhere in the bumper, that is why they don't work.

Lastly-- if you ever have any questions, please contact me (I left my phone number and old registration cards in the owners manual). Please remind my boy I'll miss him, he'll always be in my heart.

Ben



To X-Outpost Community:

Thank you for years of advice and help. The people I've met here are some of the friendliest and most dedicated people in the world. It's been fun. Long live the E53!

A fine farewell to your X...hope the next owner finds your stuff/appreciates you caring and tips.
GL, mD

When I traded in my first E53 X5 the dealer took my service records and promptly shredded them. They did so for privacy reasons since they had my home address and phone number on them.

I know you had your reasons for trading it but it's a shame for car like this to end up on auction.
On the other, if you tried to sell it privately, people low ball you and they don't appreciate the importance of taking good care of car as you did.
Let's hope it ends up in decent hands and those records survive.

You were not kidding about it being most expensive club membership. I'm one month into owning my 4.6is and already $3600 deep.

How right you are. I went back to Carmax today because I found another 5-series at the dealer, CPO, three years newer, and with additional options, so I wanted to take advantage of the five-day return policy. I'm still on the fence about whether I want to give the 535 back and go for the one at the dealer (a 528), but I had read your comment and after asking if there were any restrictions on the five-day return window I asked him if they shred service records left behind. He laughed and said "oh yeah, somebody told me you you left a note in the glovebox along with all the service records... yeah those get shredded." This is after my original sales guy told me they would go with the car and how appreciative the next owners would be. Screw them.

On the bright side, they told me that if after five days I wanted to bring back the 535 they would give me the X5 back (i.e., they'd hold it until the auction after next). Anybody think I could get more on trade from the dealer? They were also offering a better interest rate through BMW FS, but would only finance for five years vs. six through Carmax.

I still have my valet key. I'm very tempted to reprint my records (and note), break in, and hide them under the spare.

By the end of it all, I had shell out out close to $15-17k on service, maintenance, repairs, retrofits, etc. And I had the six-cylinder. I can only imagine what you're going through with the V8. Even my SA told me long ago BMW couldn't make a proper V8 to save their lives. At least you have the M62 and not the first-gen Valvetronic V8 with its water-cooled alternator and fancier electronics.

No such thing as a cheap BMW. If you bought a cheap BMW chances are you'll spend more on deferred maintenance by the previous owner(s).

As the whopper computer would say in "War Games", the only way to win is not to play.

I wish it was cheap.

Still cheaper than buying a new car.

God I miss him. I tracked him down with the help of a cop friend and have the address of the new owners. My 535i is in the shop now with a non-functional blower motor and compromised rear door vapor barriers (so rear seat passengers have to wear rain boots after a storm). I had only made one payment on the 5 before it went into the shop. Warranty is only covering the blower motor, not the $500 parts + labor of the rear door seals.

My X5 at least had the decency to wait 3-4 months before it began to eat alternators, water pumps, etc.

How long did you own the X5. Had the 01 X5 3.0 for about 5 years and was regularly spending $1k per year and i was doing most of the work myself except for 2 times when the alternator went out one year and the power steering went out the following year. Each time getting my wife stranded and had to take it to the closest shop that specializes in bmw or euro cars. I do miss driving the x5 but i don't miss having to work on it regularly.