I just got rid of my '07 4.8 because of the "multiple leaks" and cost to fix. Replaced it with a '12 3.5i premium. Definite drop off in power, but so far so good...

It's funny, when I had my old 2002 Focus I used to think that I was "always working on it" because I had to replace a thermostat, an alternator, a battery, do a brake job, replace my plugs and plug wires, replace my valve cover gasket, and replace my shocks and struts and sway bar end links. I bought that car new for $15,000 and owned it for 7 years, probably spent less than $800 in parts to do all of that work in my driveway, and sold it off for $5,000 with 155,000 miles on it when gas prices spiked up to $5.00 a gallon.

Then I bought a BMW...and I thought I was always working on something before?!?! Yeah...since then I've owned three, starting in 2010, and I've spent probably ten times what I spent on the Focus in repair and replacement parts just to keep my E46, E53, and E70 running...

Funny how "unreliable domestics" are bulletproof when compared to German cars (not just BMW, VW/Audi group and Mercedes Benz all have their major reliability issues). I've always tried to justify it by saying that "BMW manages to extract more out of their engines, and when you push something that hard, it's bound to find a weakness somewhere" but there seem to be some real issues with build quality and durability with these cars. They're fantastic to drive, but you've gotta have a lot of extra cash lying around to keep it running right.

Same issue here. I just dropped off my 2008 4.8i X5 for valve seal replacement at 75,000 miles. My symptoms were high oil consumption rather than seeing blue smoke (although I did see blue smoke on a warm start once).

When I called my dealer about the problem and suggested it might be valve stem seals he didn't push back at all. It was as if he had been expecting me to call about this.

I have to agree with you SlowLane, I've driven BMW's since 1998 but I think they have more than their fair share of issues. They are complex vehicles, perhaps too complex, which leads to diagnostic challenges for the dealer service people. But the performance when they are running well......There is something to be said about the simplicity of my Fords.

Wife's X5 was is in for a 3rd time with smoke from tailpipes after long idle. They finally agreed that its the valve stem seals and are seeking approval from my extended warranty company now.


Car has 80k miles on it but this was first brought to the dealers attention almost a year ago and they told me it was condensation and didn't even troubleshoot the issue.


Not to mention this is after the car has already been with them for 2 weeks to replace the oil pressure switch, rear wheel bearing, and vacuum pump. So far so good on warranty company covering all expenses. We'll see if they approve this one.


I'd have to say the $2400 spent for the warranty on this car has been well worth since to date I have approximately $10,000 in covered repairs and that doesn't include the valve stem seals yet.