On most cars with 187K I would expect these things to go bad. I have an '01 and I just turned 80K miles--only non-typical things that have gone wrong was one window regulator, some kind of O2 sensor and a couple ball joints for suspension.

2001 3.0 with 99,000 miles, repairs since the warranty expired:
camshaft position sensor
CV boots both sides
Thermostat
Right Tail light assembly
4 window regulators
engine aux fan
1 lower control arm
oil separator
power steering hoses
oil return hose
driver's door handle carrier
On Monday:
Main seal $750
Oil Filter housing seal $250
Unfixed:
General module with intermittent passenger door unlocking
Seat heater drivers side which gets so hot it burns your skin and has burned the leather bolster

It seems it's basically a car payment every month to have the car repaired. Every time something goes wrong I tell myself that I'll eventually run out of things to repair and the car will not have any issues for a while. It drives great and I don't want to spend the money for a new car. I wish there would be some warning about the transmission getting close because I would definitely trade it in then --

I don't know that I agree with this generalisation... I have been driving long distances for 30 odd years and the only car that ever stranded me on the side of the road was my 3 Series BMW... the plastic expansion bottle in the cooling system popped (the same one that our X's all have!). I did over 250,000kms in a Toyota Camry 300 SEi and it never let me down once!

The BMW is definitely the nicest vehicle to drive, but I have no illusions about its reliability...

3.0 2001 97,900miles

No Horror stories till now:

1 window regulator
1 outer front CV boot

I have a leaking steering hose... will keep toping up....
The coolant needs 2 cups every 6 months... will keep toping up as well :D

With a 2001 X5 4.4i that has 118,298 K on it.

Well honestly I went through my share of fixes and I guess I have to be very grateful I have a lot of family members who are in the mechanic business.

What was does so far:

<> Replaced right lower control arm
<> Replaced Spark Plugs
<> Fixed driver side window screws (Window got stuck while closing the door and window is all the way down)
<> Oil Changes...
<> Replaced 2 anti-freeze leaks. (Hoses wear and tear)

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What I still need to get done:

<> Rebuild transmission (It doesn't skip alot but it starts to after a good 3 hour drive, hard down shifts come up after all that as well)
<> Replace cat converters (Both sides)
<> Replace thermostat (Code comes up on ODB II, but car does not overheat at all)
<> Replace 3rd Brake Light (Needs replacing but it seems to be way to much $ for a stupid light...
<> Signal Side Markers (Change them from Yellow to White)
<> Window Tints
<> Buy & Install custom sub-woofer & amplifier

And honestly I hope after all those things I will be finally happy and done with mechanical fixes for a while.

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Mods:

<> Installed 2 DVD Headrests (I will be making a thread soon)
<> JVC NX7000 Navigation
<> Front Hood 2 blue lights
<> Headlights and Tail lights (Updated from yellow tails to white, headlights are eh so-so ebay ones, maybe ill update this later...)
<> Front blue LED side lights (Interior, Hard to explain, ill take a picture one day)
<> Sound LED Strip (Interior, A blue flashing strip that reacts to the sound of music in the X)


Well thats about it. Once I am fully done I will see how much this will all cost me overall.