How many miles do you put into your car before you say, the mileage is X and I need to get a new car? Do you drive your car to the ground? Do you say when my car hits so many miles, I’ll get a new one? Do you just just keep fixing what is broken and full steam ahead?
My friend had an X5 with I want to say either 250k or maybe 300k before he finally broke down and retired the bucket for a newer one. I don’t remember how the old his car was but he does drive a lot. For reference, he bought a 2022 X5 and already has over 80K miles. Again, he drives a lot of work. The only reason he even bought a new one was because his mechanic refused to continue to work on his old car, LOL.
I have a 2018 and I’m coming up to 80K probably by the end of year. Still runs great with no issues aside the regular maintenance needed. Sometimes I think I want to trade it in for a new one, then I say no, I’m run this bad boy into the ground.
Just got me thinking what every other BMW owner does when you begin to get into the high mileage.
Until I get bored with it… Or within 6 months of the lease being up. Current M4 is financed, so it’ll be the former, which is typically around 3-4 years/40-50K miles… But miles don’t matter much.
Im just passing 120k on my 2015 x5, but it’s a diesel so….aiming to get more than double that :)
How do you like it? Any issues with the timing chain? Did you emissions delete it?
I absolutely love it. Have had no issues with the timing chain although I do keep it closely monitored so I can stay ahead of it if it does become a problem. Everything is stock for the emissions and I am also planning to remove it possibly next year.
The magic number for me is 180k. I do some extended maintenance every 60k so twice in the lifetime of the car.
180k was my number. got 2 cars to that mark. But I also feel like 10 years old might be a new magic number for me. And realistically that’s gonna be like 75k miles. Still worth selling and not a giant maintenance project.
Infinity. Just do maintenance and be happy. That’s why my brother just sold his e36 328 convertible at 287k miles to a friend of ours so he could make room for his newly acquired corvette. His own words, not mine: “if I had the space, I would’ve kept it. That car was a blast to fuck around with since it was cheap enough to not care as much about, but still fast enough to have fun.”
Every three to four years I purchase a new car, the only exception was my 2005 GTO which I had from new in ‘05 to the summer of 2012. I just kept it while others came and went. Another exception is my 2020 M4cs while will be coming up on four years of ownership soon, with nothing yet compelling enough to replace it with. We’ll see when the G82 is LCI’d
I’m very curious to see how the LCI of the G82 will look. I wasn’t sold on the current model looks at first, but then it certainly quickly grew on me. I can’t wait to get one one day
Outside of some catastrophic failure, as long as the body is good (I live in the rust belt) I don’t care about milage. I’ve had a few 200k+ BMW’s of varying years. Most notably a 135 and 328xi F31, and numerous other non-BMW vehicles over 200k. However I used to be an auto tech and do all my own maintenance and repair, so that cuts down on any huge costs.
Bout to crack 200k on my e39 540iT/6 and there is nothing newer that interests me so… we’ll keep doing the maintenance.
Doing it right
Old buddy had one of these, black on black. Still remember the first time I drove it in like ‘10ish. Great fuckin car!!
Oops, misread the iT in your comment: even better!! 🤩👊🏼
I’ve only driven the US spec sedan.
I don’t go by miles. I go by when I feel like getting a new one. Had a ‘14 that had less than 50K that I gave to my kid (in ‘19) who was commuting to college at the time and his car pooped out. He still has it and it has a little over 80k. He said he will drive it into the ground. Got ‘19 Audi A5 Sportback and got rid of it last year. It had less than 36k. Bought a brand new ‘23 and plan on driving it cost too much to.
227,632 in my case 2012 535xi
525i E60 from 2007 and I’ve only put 120k miles onto it, I keep up with maintenance very meticulously (Google Sheets of every purchase or repair/maintenance done with a sum of total cost) . considering getting an android CCC unit for Carplay. It certainly isn’t the fastest car or have that instant torque but the drive and (hydraulic)steering and everything is soooo smooth. When I called BMW how much a new windshield was they said 2k for the glass and 2k for labor :( , regardless
I plan on the car to outlive me because I also like not having a car payment.
Looking back I guess when I’m sick of fixing it or feel like I’m spending too much to fix it relative to its value.
I feel that buying a car is really just like renting it. You pay a large amount and sometime later you sell it for a lesser amount. If you divide the difference between the two by the number of months you had it you get the monthly rental cost. For accuracy include all the repair work. For example, a $30k car over 6 years will have cost you around $260 per month to own, purely in depreciation. Keep it another 6 years and that number drops dramatically. A more expensive car is far more on a monthly basis of course.
I keept my car util some expansive issue appear .
My previous 3 series was gone at 370.000 km /230.000 miles because at some point there was smoke from the exhaust ( diesel engine ) caused by a leaking turbo.
Bmw said repair will be 3500 €, more than the car value so i trade it in for a new 3 series, the one i’m driving now and just last week had an oil leak, i’m waiting for the bmw center to call me and tell me the price, i may sell it at 220.000 km.
I never keep a car out of warranty. I trade in every 2 years mostly.
There’s no definitive mileage when you must replace a BMW from a reliability standpoint. But here are some considerations around higher mileage vehicles:
- 200k+ miles is when more expensive issues like engine/transmission may start popping up in many BMWs. But not necessarily if regular maintenance has been kept up.
- If the vehicle has a thorough service history and has aged well visually, no reason it still can’t go strong for awhile.
- An older high mileage BMW out of warranty tends to get expensive to repair and maintain though. Budget for increased costs.
- Many start looking to trade theirs in from 150k miles up to 200k when repair frequency picks up or the car starts feeling worn.
- Leasing/buying new and getting a fresh warranty every few years appeals to some rather than prolonging repairs.
There’s certainly no definitive line you have to trade a BMW in. With TLC some do last and run for 300k+ miles. Do the math on your repair costs, how it drives, and other factors. If it makes financial sense to keep fixing it, drive on!
