No, I've been lurking here for a few years. The DIY articles here have been enormously helpful and have saved me many $100s and probably $1000s.

But when I saw this thread, it was like waving a red flag in front of a bull, I couldn't resist ;-)

What do you drive when you go on a trip or out for dinner?

The thing is, many people buy a brand name car and expect to drive for years without even changing the oil, because it's a "brand name here" and it's reliable. Many people also abuse vehicles, slamming doors with windows down, yanking on door handles, not changing fluids etc., and expecting "lifetime"......

The only big difference in "reliability" as I see it between let's say a German car and a Japanese car is:
The Japanese cars have more reliable electronics.
German cars have more reliable drivetrain & engine. And drive much better.
Domestic cars are a mixed bag, with Ford stepping up on quality & reliability big time (lately).

Every make has it's own issues, and one could visit different other forums and read some real f*cked up stuff. Much worse than what's on BMW forums (this or other). Might be a wake up call.

Also a vehicle that has been neglected for years, will take lots of $$$ and effort to bring it back to a "reliable" state. Because you will fix one thing that has been neglected (you wait for the CEL, or the car doesn't start), and next week you'll fix another, which might need to undo everything you did last week, because it's right next to your previous issue, but your current issue didn't "need it fixed now" last week.

Almost any car is as reliable as it's maintained.

95% of the time it's in my Chevy K1500 Blazer.
A year or two later, Chevy renamed them "Tahoe", which has persisted to this day.
Yes, many would say the X5 is more "refined" than the K-Blazer. But the K-Blazer has been hands down more durable, and when it does break (rare) it's far cheaper and easier to fix.
My wife dislikes the Blazer, except when she wants to borrow it because her X5 is broken :-/

Riiiiiiiight. It may be time to decide what is most precious to hold on to in your divorce.
I am betting you wife will want another BMW.

Could be worse....check my sig....guess which is HERS, (the X5 is "shared")

Nothing wrong with a Porsche. I always have seller's remorse but not as much as I did after I sold my 1988 930 last year. It only have 7,860 miles on it absolutely flawless. Should have keep it.