Should I get a warranty
 

Just bought an '05 X5 3.0 with 82,000 miles- excellent condiditon. I'm undecided if I should buy a powertrain warranty. Anyone out there with thoughts, experiences, etc?

Thanks!

Unless you have a lot of cash available in the event of problems, then the answer has to be a resounding yes! These cars have some big issues with transmission reliability. Some go for years and huge miles with no issues at all, and others fsil without warning and at earlier points, but at that mileage I would like to have the peace of mind just in case.

I had a tranny fail at less than 42,000 miles and it cost over £3,000 to fix. BMW wanted approx £7k just for the tranny and another £3k for the Mechatronics Module. Covered by a warranty though. ;)

I just bought an 06 4.4i with 70k on it. I didn't hesitate to purchase a powertrain warranty. I haven't had anything go wrong yeat, but i'm glad I've got it.

Don't think of it as a warranty (it isn't one). Think of it as an insurance policy. You should not purchase it expecting to come out ahead, as the insurance company has to make a profit, averaged across a population of vehicles, or they will go out of business and your policy won't be worth anything anyway.

If the cost of a single large issue (most likely the transmission, estimate $3k - $5k, as the engines are pretty solid) is not manageable in your monthly cash flow, then you should definitely consider the policy. Don't expect it to be like a full warranty, you will still have deductibles and minor repairs that aren't covered, as well as regular maintenance expenses, but you can certainly purchase some peace of mind.

Usual caveats about the financial condition of the insurer, how easy they are to deal with, and the fine print as to what is covered.

yes

no, create your own insurance, called self-insuring, for things you can 'weather the storm with'. DIY, its a lot cheaper anyway...

take the insurance amount and invest it, then if you need it, it is there. if not, then you get the amount and the growth to yourself. doing this for all your little things adds up fast.

you can partially do this as well by increases any deductibles you have that you are unlikely to use anyway. eg, for our housing insurance, we have a $2,500 deductible. the annual savings on the policy is big, yet, we are protected against catastrophic loss (earthquake, fire, etc) that would hurt us significantly financially.