This hasn't been an issue since the early version of the M30 engine's cylinder head found in the E12's. At least not that I've seen. That was about 25-30 years ago.

 

Dad had a 1992 525i that he kept till ummm Just last month... just traded it for a Merc.

1.) yes it was reliable. Never broke down and left him stranded... 1992 525i

2.) I think average running cost after warranty was $500 for him which included oil changes and repairs. Like Radio, Fan belts, AC Fan motor, running cost was actually was suprisingly low. BUT dont forget theres less junk in older BMW than there is now. I think it'll cost a lot more to keep a E60 running than a E34.

3.) For the E34 No he didnt... E60? I'll think about it when it gets close to 3 or 4 years and check my repairs...

 

These BMW's can run forever. My 1997 528i that I have had since new now has 307,000 miles on it. Yes I had the extended warranty up to 100,000 miles on it, but that is long gone.. It did pay for itself when the Cat. Convertor went at abt. 65,000 miles.
I will definitly get the warranty ext. on my 545ia. One mishap like a Cat Conv, or just imagine the cost of an auto tranny for a 545ia ( I am told abt. $10,000) plus all the electronics in this car vs. the E39 makes it a no brainer.
Not even a choice, it's a MUST!

 

Most people don't know this but your cat. convertor would be covered under warranty up to 8 years and 80,000 miles. It's law in the US.

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/warr95fs.txt

See the link. It may help save you some money on ANY car sold in the US in the last 8 years. I find most dealers don't know this either.

 

I had a 2002 330Ci that was a fair weather car. I just traded it off with only 12500 miles and two months out of warranty. It was always reliable, but with that few miles it should have been. What irked me was that even with the low miles, being out of warranty cost me on my trade in. The dealer claimed (and I don't know enough to dispute) that it would cost them to recertify it for the CPO program therefore reducing the trade value for me.

Long story short...I will not keep anything past warranty. Especially my M5 with all of the electronics that could go wrong.

 

Here's my vehicles, mileage at the time I parted with it, and problems I had:

1983 E28 528e - 254,000 miles - owned for 3 years - new muffler ($300), timing belt broke and damaged valves ($1500, probably my fault)

1989 E34 535i - 270,000 miles - owned for 3 years - replaced a timing sensor in the engine ($170), replaced front suspension and steering components that were worn out ($1600), engine oil pan gasket ($300)

1997 E39 528i - 142,000 miles - owned for 4 years - outside temperature sensor ($150), ABS wheel rotation sensor ($200), engine oil pan gasket ($350)

All of the parts, even on the oldest cars I've owned, were readily available or orderable. I find no difference in difficulty in obtaining service, or frankly, even that much difference in price, from other manufacturers.

No.

Given my luck with BMW so far, I probably wouldn't get any extended warranty. BUT, this is probably one of those things where, like insurance, if ONE major thing happens, it's already paid for itself. The problem is that many third party extended warranties will try to weasel out of coverage for various items.

 

Bad Rival - why didn't you just buy an extended warranty rather than sell a good car ?
I did this with my last car. Only one small claim, but was great peace of mind knowing that a major failure would be covered - and helped me sell on when hit 5 years (ironically has proven more relaible in its 6th year than my replacement E61 has been!)

 

Because it only happens approx. once every 2 billion years that my wife would go for trading a perfectly good car on a new M5 that was due into the dealership within 1 week @ no dealer markup.

Thankfully, business and life in general has been good enough to allow for the slight hit on the trade.

 

I kept my 1997 528Ai after the factory warranty, 1997 was a first year run for the then new E39 body style. It cost me around $1100 for three years/ 36,000 miles, if you purchase it before your existing warranty runs out, and I used around $1000 of that warranty on repairs. If you are discussing doing this with a 2004, which is the first year for the E60 body style, I would get it. Incidently, I had a 2002 E39 and it was only in for oil changes. My 1997 and 2004 were/are in the shop alot more with some significant problems.
PS- Read the warranty before you buy it as they are not all created equal.

 

I currently have an '05 e60 and a '98 e39. I find both to be extremely reliable and have had minimal problems. The 528 has 98,000 miles on it and has had nothing but regular maintenance performed except for replacement of the thermostat and housing, which I did myself. I do not have, and doubt I will ever get, a service contract or extended warranty.