sell it or keep it
 

We inherited a 2001 x5, 4.4. It is a CA car, pampered by a car nut with a 111,000 miles. We are also car nuts and had it shipped to MI where we live and it has been a pain in the ass since. Door locks, slide return had to be replaced. Window motor had to be replaced, abs sensor has to be replaced now. We love the car, but is it going to get progressively worse? Should we keep it or sell it? Another question is should we replace the transmission fluid and filter?:dunno:

SELL it quick

it depends what you want from the car. At 100,000 plus miles it may have a number of maintenance issues but if you maintain it it is still a very nice SUV.

The resale value is limited and if it meets your needs, find a good indy and keep it. Just think of the maintenance cost as less than car payments.

I agree as well but the big question is are you really using it ? You said you inherited it so I'm guessing you already have enough cars as is. If you plan on driving it as a daily driver then you need to give it more time. I don't think the couple of things you said needed to be fixed are a red flag at all. :popcorn:

We are using it as we sold our other car. We love the driving dynamics of the vehicle but we are reading about all the nightmares being posted here and don't want to get into a money pit situation. We baby the car like the previous owner and the condition of the car is gorgeous. Just concerned as these things are happening one right after the other.

The only big ticket item is the trans.

The rest of the maintenance items should cost less on average than car payments. At 100,000 miles it may need some maintenance but over time these items will cost less than car payments.

A number of members have older X5 that can give you more direction.

As long as the engine and tranny are going strong, keep it. It didn't cost you anything (other than transportation and taxes) so yearly maintainence under $1k/yr on a 100k mi luxury vehicle isn't too shaby. If you were going to sell it, you should have sold it when it was in Ca - higher resale value. Although, anything you make on the thing is pretty much profit to you at this point, so I'd base it on how strapped for cash you are.

My rule of thumb is to take cars to between 90-100K then sell them. Granted most BMW's will go double that mileage with little effort. Reliability of vehicles tends to drop off quickly around the 90-125k range. Upkeep and the best care will help lengthen the inevitable, but machines can only go so long before they wear out. A few people will cheat the odds, but expect repairs as you start going into the higher mileage.

just remember, there are 40,000 members here. People come here for advice.

Yes the cost of mainteneance is higher, but the returns are most likley higher.

It at least deserves a chance.

Enjoy

Going once, going twice, SOLD. SELL IT ASAP, first you are not familiar with it and its repairs, second you rely on it right now. There is no chance of you keeping it and making work for you in your situation. SELL, SELL, SELL period. Don't listen to the people who has driven BMW most of their lives, they are TOO familiar with the issues BMWs have, you are not. Indy is not cheap let alone the parts. You can lose $600 on a weekend easily on some CV boot job, and that is nothing related to the engine. Oil separator fails will cost you $1K if it doesn't cause failure of other related parts which would raise the cost double. Just SELL IT already.