gmartin,
I'm with you. I currently drive an '86 Caprice with only 72k miles and it runs great. Before that, I had a certified used 3 series, and I owned it from 55k through about 112k, and not one single problem. I hope and plan to do the same with the new 5.

One thing I noticed is that many of the people who say they would never own the 5 out of warranty have never owned a car out of warranty (I get a car every 2-3 years, I've never owned a car more than 4 years, etc.). So my question to those people are...how do you know how expensive the maintenance cost out of warranty will be? No bashing or nothing like that here, but if you look at the poll, there are many people here who plan to keep the 5, so at least I am not alone.

Lastly, let me thank you all for participating in this poll and posting your thoughts for this topic. This is really helping me decide what I want to do, as well as others. Please keep it going, but I thought I would send my thank you out now.

 

I lease for 3 years but have never made it the entire term. I usually buy it out early (actually sell it and have the new buyer accompany me to the bank to pay it off ). I may actually make it 3 years with this 545 though...I like more than any car owned by a wide margin. I can't imagine that I will want to buy it afterward though for maintenance and warranty reasons. I figure I will always have a car payment...

 

Will keep it till it dies on me or I wrap it around a tree, which could be 2 weeks or 20 years....no guarantees in life! But I sure hope this car lasts, I love it so...

 

Keep as close to warranty expiration then get a 550i!

 

Same here !

 

Anyone who thinks that it is "financially smart" to drive a newer car needs rethink that. Sure if you have a car that is falling apart, that may not be the best thing. But it is pretty hard for repair bills to add up to lease payments.

As far as someone complaining about $100 oil changes ... they happen once a year. That is $8 a month.

As far as worrying about electronics ... they don't really wear out all that much. Sensors do but decent wiring and chips don't. I had a very electronic 1990 car (300ZX). Sure if anything went it would have been expensive but nothing ever did.

With a new loaded 545 depreciating at about 7-8000 a year and the money cost being about 2-3000 a year, that is 10 large a year. Come a 6 year old car that is depreciating at 2-3000 a year with a money cost in the 1000/year range and you would have to have 6000 a year in repair costs to be "losing" money - actually just breaking even.

My 300ZX (Japanese I know) was bought in 1998 for 14,500 (new cost 40000). I sold it in 2004 for 11,000. 6 years of depreciation = 3,500. Repairs over that time - maybe 10,000. Maybe not that high but for the sake of argument. That is about 1000 year money cost and 13,500 for repairs and depreciation. So about $2500 year. About 25% of the cost of my 5 series.

And to add to all this. Money is cheaper now than at any time in recent history. The money cost estimates could easily double - further adding to the "cheapness" of an older car.

 

I'm assuming that's directed at me... Two points. One, I am in the car business. I see people with ridiculous repair bills all the time. It seems like every time a car that's out of warranty comes in, it is $3000. I frequently see bills as much as $7000 (on a car that's not even worth that). Think about this: a transmission on a new Range Rover is $11,000, just for the part. Point two, My very first brand spanking new car acquire was this 2004 BMW 5, the second my 2004 Range Rover. Every single other vehicle I've owned previously was used. In fact, the entire reason that we got the new 5 was because all of the other cars we were driving (every one of them out of warranty) were costing an arm and a leg to maintain, and weren't terribly reliable. We wanted something with $0 maintenance costs, that was very reliable (cough, cough, oops!) at least for the next 3 years, that is. I currently have 7 cars, only 2 of them in warranty. I only drive the 2 in warranty on a daily basis. The 3rd in line is a 1995 Range Rover with 130k miles. (Obviously no warranty). That gets driven quite a bit, since the BMW is in the shop constantly and they don't give us loaners. I am very familiar with owning cars out of warranty. Here's the flaw in your thinking, though... owning a high-line car out of warranty that was produced before say 2002 is certainly doable--generally not too much critical electronics/computers, etc... However, technology changed significantly. Just look at the new 7. They are worth pennies on the dollar once they are out of warranty. Why? Because very few people are equipped to deal with that vehicle. They need an expensive computer to fix it, that mainly only a BMW dealer will have. If a computer fails? $$$$$ In the past, maybe your heated seats would stop working as your car got older... not that big of a deal-- not going to make you crash or anything. Just think about all of the active steering problems people have had, or the DSC/DTC/ABS failures I've had (where I completely lose brakes), how are you going to deal with that when your car is out of warranty? It's not exactly like you can ignore those problems like you can a broken heated seat. Computers are ruling the car now, and they are very glitchy. At the moment, we dismiss these little niggles and say, oh, I'll just get another software update, and that will fix it. Think about how much a software update that drags on for 3 days once you are out of warranty is going to cost. Again, I am only talking high-line here. Most general repair and mainenance on Ford/Chevy/Dodge/etc... can be accomplished by any shadetree mechanic, and doesn't take a whole lot of cash, even if you do have to go to the dealer.

Now, if you are planning on having an extended warranty, that's "IN WARRANTY". Lots of people buy used cars (as long as they are in warranty) and drive them for 2 years, then trade them in and get a newer one. If you are planning on buying one used, BUY IT CERTIFIED! There really is a difference. If you keep a BMW/Audi/Insert your favorite high-line car here/Land Rover/Saab/Jaguar past 50,000 miles on its odometer or 4 years past its first sale date, GET A WARRANTY, preferrably a factory warranty.

I actually have more experience than the average bear on this topic. Sorry if it didn't sound that way from my first post.

 

I don't think anyone said that. Driving a new car costs money, sometimes a LOT of money. The assumption is that people driving new/newer cars have more disposable income to allot to transportation than people driving older cars. A $6000 hit on depreciation is a lot easier to take by someone in a high income bracket who is voluntarily trading it in on a newer model. They are the ones that put themselves in that situation. A $6000 repair bill on an older car, however, is a lot harder to swallow when you are driving an older car because that is all you can afford.

No one NEEDS a new car. People WANT a new car. Is it "financially smart" to buy expensive jewelry? Of course not. You do it for the prestige, the personal enjoyment, the "look at me" factor. You get a new car for the same reason. You have the money to do it, and you want something better. Plus, assume for a minute that you are an extremely busy executive. Your time is very valuable. It would be completely unacceptable for you to miss a meeting, etc... or be late because you had car trouble. How many times is, "I'm on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck," or "I'm stuck at the dealer waiting for my rental car to show up" going to fly as excuses? Driving a new car mitigates that risk. It is expected that once you get to a certain income level, you will use that income to purchase nicer things.

A car should never be looked at as an investment (with very rare exceptions). It is something you choose to spend your money on. The more disposable income you have, the more choices you have. No one needs a new 5 series as transportation. We could all take the bus, or drive a $1000 car. They would get us from point A to point B just the same. They may be more inconvenient, and they certainly won't get you there in style, but they accomplish the goal of transportation. If everyone looked at getting a new car as wasting money, there would be a lot less new cars on the road. And look around you-- I don't think that is happening.

 

I plan on Keeping Mine for about 6-7 years or maybe longer. My wife currently drives it (LOVES IT, ) and she puts about 12-15K a year in Mileage on it. Her last car, a 98 Grand Prix GTP, we had for 7 years. No Problems at all and about 75K on the clock when we sold it to my Dad last year. Lots of Electronics there as well.

Will take my chances with the 545i. Also, I like the car so much, am considering adding a 550i in the fall for myself. We will see!

Regards,

Mehall2

 

SueBMW,

It wasn't directed to you at all...there were others with similar comments as yours. It wasn't a personal attack by any means. With that said, from your first post, it wasn't clear that the previous cars you owned were used or out of warranty...didn't really get that from your first post.

Everyone-
I think everyone is justified in their decision, and it just depends on how you want to spend your money. I am in the automotive engineering business (Electrical Engineer) and I work on safety systems. I can tell you this...Electrical items (when designed correctly) are a lot more reliable than Mechanical items, so a car having more electronics is not necessarily a bad thing. Especially for safety systems...we can't afford for our electronics to go bad, so we have to validate and test for 10 and now even 15-years of life. Also, items like transmission, engine, suspension are the things that I expect to last on a BMW. If some electrical problems occur, I can at least still drive the car and enjoy the drive and not have a payment doing it. I don't want a car payment my whole life, some people plan for it...there is no right way, right. As I said, my BMW from before had its fair share of electronics (Ohms law doesn't change with time, nor do electrons, the technology gets more advanced, but its based on the same principles) and I never had an electrical problem except for a shorted taillight, and I fixed that my self. I will take my chances with the 5, and if it gives me problems, I'll sell it, take the hit and have something new, hoping that IT will then last 7+ years.