Now I'm curious what my costs are, per year and per mile. Bought my 01 new and it currently has 155k miles on it.

I've got a two inch stack of receipts for maintenance/repair stuff, probably 95% of it was DIY. Tire mounting/balancing/alignment and state inspection are probably the other 5%. I think I had one window regulator replaced by the dealer as I was travelling and wife needed if fixed ASAP.

Maybe start an "Official cost of E53 ownership" thread... don't want to steal your idea. Something like purchase price-estimated resale, plus cost of maintenance and repair.

Being over anal about cars and records, I built a spreadsheet that has a complete accounting of each vehicle. Makes for an interesting read to only myself, as no one cares but yourself.

Attached are the Parts order form and the maintenance record for the X5 for viewing yuks and grins.

No, I do not have a column for the bar code, nor the part images on incoming and out going parts. You can do all of that if you wish :rofl:

Josh did you DIY the compressor? I get some slight cricket/whistle from it sometimes when its started cold, and although my AC is cool, I know its more age at this point than mileage for me.

At $150 its not bad cost for the part and if its easy access for the most part I would consider it, or just pay an indy.


EDIT: Also to add, finally changed my fuel filter this weekend after dreading the big ass cover under the car for months - what a pain in the ass to drop that thing -

Fuel filter was replaced in 5 mins once it was dropped, but took an hour each time to get the cover off and on.

Not sure why people break the clips in the fuel lines, you just press in the quick connectors and the lines pop off, no tools needed - I also replaced the little piece of vaccuum hose which was pretty dry and brittle.


Next up is to get my passenger carrier replaced (aftermarket sometimes sticks so I bought a Genuine one) and do my window regulator slider clips and black window clips while its open - worked beautifully on the drivers side a few weeks ago.

^Doing the exact same thing before winter - debating whether I want to get a pair of new ATE front calipers which have all new everything out of the box (sourced for $90 apiece, not the rebuilt junk) - and then just do bushings and guide pins on the rear calipers.

Scott did you go with OE, Stoptech or ECS lines?

And obviously all getting a nice fresh coat of G2 :)

I did the compressor and condenser myself. It took about two hours. You only need to remove the mech fan/shroud/cover, a ground strap, the plastic splash shield, and the Sai hose. Then you just unbolt the rad so you can get a couple more inches of wiggle room. All in it's stupid easy.

My Indy wanted $2500. Granted that's including parts from the dealer. I replaced it for 600 including recharge plus I have a fcp lifetime warranty.

You can use Plastidip on the chrome around the rear emblem. I taped it off. I tried just removing the tape twice-can be done but it is hard to pull the tape at an angle. The third time, I sprayed the entire emblem. I used an Exacto knife to scribe the dip and I got a clean edge.

I did my wheels and emblems to match the color of the wheel well trim. That was about 3 years ago. I have done some small repairs which is easy to do but otherwise all of it still looks great and I always use a they-do-it carwash.

Your X5 looks great by the way!

Went with OE hoses. Came in Meyle bag, actually made by Semperit. Exact duplicate of original hose. Didn't want to mess with the pedal feel by converting to SS/teflon hoses, daughter is learning to drive on this X5. My hoses had a notch in them from chafing against the strut; I think that's what lead to the SIB to fit the stainless clips to the strut.

I used boring VHT silver caliper paint; been using it forever and it actually holds up pretty well.

Most of the 'regulars' know my cost of ownership has not been high (purchased new). Regardless, I think the cost of ownership should be balanced with the reasons you liked the X5. It should be weighed againt the purchase price and cost of ownership of a vehicle that will deliver as much or more of what you liked about the X5. At 116,000 miles I suspect I will experience more of the costs that others have incurred. I have been looking at buying something different for several months, something over 700HP. I, for one, can't find anything I think I would like as much as what I have. Even if I did I can only imagine it would be in addition to rather than in place of.

Turns out I bumped the brake light switch out of alignment. Easy fix. Also all my local dealers want a ridiculous price (including mini) for the switch.

Well shoot I didn't know it was that sensitive - when I did mine yes it was overpriced at around $30 I believe, but I did talk to Gary (luvmyE5303) who works in Spartanburg and he said those switches went bad on the early models quite frequently and there were newer superseded parts so I feel better having a new switch.

Cured an annoying random intermittent trifecta.