Thru thick and thin
 

So I was about to pull the trigger on a new vehicle and decided to keep the old beast instead and ride her into the sunset.
She's only got 89k on her so I hope I'm doing the right thing and I won't go bankrupt trying to keep her afloat down the road.

I wish there was a glass ball you could check out the future to see if I made the right decision.

To a solid finish with my '06 4.4i.

Not worth selling it when i had around 90k on the clock i wanted to sell but i made the right decision to keep mine is 06 4.4i as well just be ready to change the control arms if you havent yet like 160 and DIY :D

My '05 has just turned a bit over 81k miles. Drives so well it is hard to imagine another vehicle that could replace it and perform nearly as well... <crickets>

Thanks that's reassuring. I have not replaced the control arms. I'll have to look into that. Are there warning signs as far as when they need replacing?

Vibrations in the steering wheel, usually at higher speeds and/or braking.

Many variables, needs and desires by each of us...but imo, a car you 'know' that is running well, esp a car that is paid for, (or nearly so), is the least expensive car one can own.

'Some cost' of most annual repairs/maintenance is much less expensive than a new car.

Fwiw, I asked the Magic 8 Ball and it displayed, ;)
GL, mD

MD got the Magic 8 Ball :thumbup::D

I've run lots of numbers on this. Even with major system refresh and rebuild work, my take has been that keeping and maintaining beats selling and replacing, at least with anything else I'd want, by a lot of dollars. Hell, I might be saving enough to pay for that supercharger....

The problem you have to deal with is timing and human emotion. Instead of a nice, predictable monthly payment with the comfort of turning over your problems to a dealer and a warranty, you get unpredictable failure events. That's emotionally difficult to deal with. The $2,000 repair bill you get surprised by this month somehow causes a lot more angst than four $500 car payments would have.

What can you do? Others have made good suggestions here. Keep a designated cash cushion for your car and keep filling it up as you go along - that's the "put the monthly payment you would have made in the bank instead" strategy. Works pretty well, if that's what you need to do. I've been able to just roll with the surprises and have reconciled myself to not getting into a twist about it, I'm fortunate that there's enough cash cushion in my life that I can do that.

Another is to do the work that's going to need to be done before it's needed. Everything is going to wear out. You can replace it when you want, or when it wants. I've cracked 110,000 and am working my way through everything with that approach. Cooling system is fully refreshed, suspension and steering refresh is nearly all done. I get bonus points for the suspension and steering work, since she drives and rides great now that everything is new and tight.

Anyway, good luck with your decision.

Or when you go over a bump you will hear like a cracking sound and it will get annoying so i suggest when you notice the vibration when you brake just change it, it is like $80.

Thanks guys, great advice. I do have a bit of a shake. My shop was telling me that I might need new rotors but the control arm seams to be what you guys are describing.
I'll have to do a search for control arms replacement. I'm sure it's on here somewhere with guidance and info where to pick them up.

Thanks again.

I'd be weary of any Beemer that is a v8 going into the 100k mark. These beasts get expensive. I hope u have a warranty. I sold mine at 98k and I never looked back. The 3.0 x5 is very reliable the v8 not so much. If u start to feel that tranny slipping you should reconsider selling. I opted for a new honda when I gave up my x5. I now get 260 miles out of a 45.00 fill up. This is a game with fire. The e53 will always go down in my books as one of the sexiest body style ever

Like one of the members on this forums said you dont have to worry about the mileage if you take good care of it, in you case you had 01 4.4, he has a 06 i think that the best year to buy the 4.4 is 2006 because it was the end of the production, the car by that got more stable as in tranny and other parts. That is just my perspective.

Exactly. My list of "something I'd want" as a potential replacement is a whole different deal. Anyone thinking about owning an X5 headed into its second 100,000 that would accept a new Honda as an alternative should probably go get the Honda. They will never be happy with the X5.

Exactly right. As long as the intermediate levers are good and the tranny and torque converter are good then all u have to worry about are frozen door handles a window regulators and the fsr and the voltage regulator. The list goes on. Since leaving mine it's overwhelming how many problems exist on this forum. Watch out for the air suspension too. That gets expensive

Well in Cali there is not much you need to worry about it :) but you are right. Sometimes it gets out of hand.

Miles don't mean much by themselves. If your X5 does alot of long highway trips, 89k is just getting started. If you're doing a 10 minute city commute in freezing cold weather, good luck.

There are many examples of 200K+ X5 4.4i's out there. Maintenance is obviously key. I kept mine 02 X5 4.4 sport to 154K and runs strong. Needs small things as expected. I bought an e70 x5 4.8i 2010 a while back and kept the E53 to drive back and forth to Florida and to haul my dog around. Trips to Florida are less frequent now so I will let her go as soon as I get the minor things repaired. Cv boot and drives door windows sticking when it's all the way down. Otherwise its been very reliable since day one.

Many like the E53 driving characteristics better than the E70's and I must agree. The E53 drives better but with sport on my E70 it handles better but doesn't drive better. Makes sense? Tranny shifts etc are better on E53.

Great philosophy! Can you share what you did to your suspension and steering to get the tightness back? I'm at 120,000 miles and would love to get some of the tightness back.

Cheers,
monto

This post has details on most of it: http://www.xoutpost.com/919024-post1694.html. H&R springs, rear ball joints and some other rear pieces on the way from OEMbimmerparts.com will be finished shortly.

I dunno. My daily driver is a 1994 Volvo 850 turbo wagon that I purchased 5 years ago when it ALREADY had 168K miles on the clock. It has been the most reliable, comfortable and fun to drive car I have ever owned. It runs like a top. I would not be surprised if it makes 300K. I have no intention of selling it. We've been through a lot. I built a company and remodeled a house with that 'truck'. The other day I put an 8ft aluminum ladder inside the car... and closed the trunk! Sentimental value for sure. Love it.

Buying a 2003 BMW X5 4.6is with 80K miles did not bother me at all. I got a $65,000 car for a little over $15,000. It's still tight. No issues. And it looks better than almost anything on the road today. I think the E53 body style (in the right color with the right rims) is superior to the E70 body style. I would never buy an E70 (no offense to anyone). The E70 does not have the same fun muscular 'Hot Wheelz' look as my red E53 with 20 rims. If I have to put $10,000 into my E53 over the next 5 years to keep it tight I will happily do it and I budgeted for that when looking. Heck, maybe I'll even keep it 10 years and drive it to 200K++. If a car looks good it looks good. If the design speaks to you and there's an emotional connection... that is hard to find and impossible to value.