I mean...I'm preapproved for $62k. I could theoretically keep my existing loan and then use the preapproved offer for a new X5 and then work on selling my current truck private party. Only issue with that is that I can't roll anything over. I'd have to come up with a couple grand cash to pay off the loan when I sold it private party.

I'm really just fed up with the situation and the no warranty issue is really hanging over my head. It's either I pay for a truck I'm already upside down on with NO warranty and hope nothing happens. Or, I have high minimum payments and put an extra $200-$300 towards principal every month and drive around a new X5 with CPO etc etc.

How long have you had your current X5 and have you spent a good amount of money on repairs and maintenance which is scarring you?

Since August, 2009. I haven't spent a good amount of money on repairs but everyone fears the 100k mile marker with my generation of X5. Also, it's been in for warranty service twice since I've bought it for legit issues. I'm sick of it. Then my warranty ran out at 88k. The car was sold to me as a CPO. I then get the information in the mail a month later from some third party warranty saying it expires at 88k. BMWNA said they couldn't do anything about it. I guess shame on me.

Ugh,
that stinks.

Given you have had it for 16 months I now understand how you are underwater. Good luck with it. At the very least you should take a few pictures and post it in the classifieds section on here.

If it was a true CPO, I'd keep it. It's the warranty thing that scares me. I'd rather pay "upfront" (higher loan payment) for repairs (warranty) than have a lower loan payment and have to come up with potential thousands of dollars to repair a messed up tranny or something else.

I hear you. I was looking at older ones and found a nice 2005 4.8is with 48K miles with no warranty as it was at Carmax. Looked into the company they use for extended warranty and never heard good things. I am in a similar when looking. Either buy a CPO car that has under 50K miles and pay to extend the maintenance to 6 yrs and 100K and let the CPO take care of any covered repairs. Only issue is for a 2007 or 2008 X5 4.8 I am looking at close to $40K which is more than I want to pay.

Seems like the BMW's start to become affordable once they hit that 4 yrs and 50K miles. Most people are unwilling to buy ones of these and be making car payments and on top of that have to dish out big money for maintenance and repairs.

I think that if I can get $12-$13k for my X5 and the guy will drop this 07 to $35-$36k...I'm just going to bite the bullet. I have the pay for the negative equity at some point in my life so, why not do it while driving something way nicer than what I have?

Granted, my payments will be 2x what they are now but it is what it is.

I think the "maintenance bogeyman" drives many to an expensive and needless purchase of the 'maintenance plan'.

Look, you are buying a CPO- which means brake pads MUST be over 50%. Minimum. Ideally they were just changed, so maybe 95%. You may in fact never need a brake job the whole time you own the car.

So what your MP buys you is 3 oil changes, a few filters, and a brake flush. Wiper blades. and maybe a handy from the receptionist.

People seem to just lump "car expenses" into one big bad bin, and just don't do the math... They say, "I want it all covered". Fine, but BMW exploits this with the maintenance plan.

A bmw dealer, and BMW posters here, will scare you with "just a brake job alone could be $2 or 3000". Maybe true but you are getting way screwed- nobody should pay that for brakes.

There is nothing magic about BMW brakes at a BMW dealer.

And I focus my discussion on brakes because besides that, there is NOTHING expensive or extensive in the scheduled maintenance....

FYI

A

Good point. I was bringing this up as BMW is offering a special through January 3rd if you finance through them they will extend the maintenance to that 6 yrs. I would not pay out of pocket for this but just gives someone a good piece of mind.

Great point on the brakes. If to CPO the car it has to have over 50% brake pad life you could just be getting a few oil changes out of that deal.

I must say, I agree. I'm not afraid of maintenance. At all. I'm afraid of a tranny replacement or something of that sort. Trannies are known to go out at 60k miles on my generation of truck. I feel LUCKY to have made it to 92k without issue. I do have a slight stutter when turning and giving it gas though. This was temporarily "cured" when I changed the transfer case fluid. It's back now.

I have no idea what it is. Torque Converter? Who knows. But I do know that I'd much rather not hang on to the truck to see something break.

It could be the short drive shaft and the splines are skipping. Who knows.