Im actually amazed how low of miles most of you all have! Funny that most state high miles at 100k! My X5 but Ive only had it a few months has 200k on it.

maintain a vehicle properly and it will last forever.

my neighbor's 96 landcruiser just clicked over 400k driving to/from his mom's over christmas break.

he only uses oem toyota parts. aside from badly needing a paintjob and the carpet is slap worn out, it runs/performs just fine.

did take us two years to sort out his downstream o2 sensor and then I realized he had torn the shielded wire for it. new sub harness and all is well lol.

I have a 4.6 with 114,000 miles. I purchased it new. I have had very few problems. I am almost OCD about taking good care of it other than driving hard all the time. That said, I don't think it helps much to do comparisons because of the huge number of variables from one vehicle to another and the environment they are in.

I suggest you have a complete inspection done by a well recommended Indy shop that specializes in BMWs to see where you stand. I think particular attention should be paid to suspension components and state of all fluids.

Before the inspection I would check or have it checked for error codes. If there are any have them cleared and have the inspection done a few days of driving later so the shop if any have returned they are new codes.

Having driven BMW and other manufacturers well past the 200K mark, I would say what others have posted. Get a base line of where your vehicle is at today, any good Indy BMW shop can assist. Suspension, drive-train, electronics, cooling system, Brakes, etc. Line up the results that need attention in two buckets- Safety-performance (need now), keep you eyes on it (Long Term).

Plan on repairing/replacing everything in the short term column, add up the prices of repairs, make a decision - Keep or dump. Real simple.
The more you can handle on a DIY bases will allow you to stay longer, save your wallet from impacts, and make you a happier owner. The more other do for you ($$) the greater your pain will be. Wrenching on cars is like working on your home/house. There will always be projects needing attention/ completing. The more completed the less there is to do. Think of it as therapy for job related stress.

The forum is here to help on these 10+ year old cars. With age, costs go up. That goes for humans too as 80% of your medical expenses will occur in the last 20% of your life. When do you want to pull the plug on Granny? How about yourself?

When I worked at a Dealership the rule of thumb was less than 4-6 car payments? Fix it. More? Trade it in on a new one.....

My X5 3.0d / 2002 183.000km:

- at 120.000 km main fan broken
- at 125.000 km window regulator and drivers door lock broken
- at 130.000 km one front drive shaft broken
- at 140.000 power window switch broken - replaced with one from e-bay
- at 153.000 km gearbox broken and replaced with a rebuilt one
- at 177.000 km gearbox again broken warranty replacement with a rebuilt one again: http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...n-problem.html
- at 183.000 injectors worn out - repaired (NOT replaced)

- brake lines would need replacement - they are very rusty under the drivers door. Did not attempt that right now.

Basically I have to say that everything that is known as a weak point of this vehicle broke at mine - ok - not all window regulators broke and not all door locks - but I am sure as time goes by ............ ??

The car still drives very well and still looks great. It is still chasing away cars from the passing lane :-)

In the Alps we have salty lanes all winter long. But the only rusty things are the brake lines and the lower tailgate.

Good luck guys :-)

Helmuth