The Cost of Owning an E60, E61 BMW 5 Series Wagon
A YouTuber spent less than $190 (USD) per month owning a BMW 5 Series Wagon, including purchase & maintenance.
Curious about what it’s like to buy and maintain a 10-year-old BMW 5 Series? The Road and Race YouTube channel has been documenting their 5 Series Wagon ownership experience for the last six months. But they’ve actually owned the vehicle for approximately three years.
Let’s be honest, buying a 10-year-old 5-Series with over 130,000 miles isn’t a recipe for a hassle-free ownership experience. BMW’s are famously well-designed and handle like a dream, but replacement parts are expensive, and the labor required — especially if performed by BMW — can be horrifyingly expensive.
That’s why the Road and Race host, Niel, recommends looking at a used BMW’s service records before a test drive. “Don’t drive the vehicle first. Look at the paperwork and start from there,” he says. Why? Because you’re going to fall in love with the E60/E61 5 Series. It’s a stunning platform, but you need to figure out if most of the expensive and/or likely repairs have already happened. If there’s no paperwork, it’s a much riskier gamble on your part, unless you can do all of the maintenance yourself.
As for the Road and Race host, he paid just under $5,000 USD for his 5 Series Wagon and estimates that it’s worth just under $2,500 USD. He also spent just over $4,200 USD on repairs, which brings his estimated three-year ownership costs down to just-below $190 USD per month. Considering how much it costs to lease or purchase a new BMW, especially when factoring in depreciation, we’d say that’s a pretty respectable figure for a world-class wagon.