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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum Advice: Should I keep my car?
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      10-06-2015, 10:53 PM   #1
Drewcati
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Advice: Should I keep my car?

Hi Everyone,

I've had a relatively trouble-free 2012 528i ownership. I purchased the Platinum warranty which covers the car for 7 years and 100,000 miles.

I've had to use it twice since my 50,000 mile standard warranty expired. The first was for a Drivetrain Malfunction which was a minor repair where a sensor was replaced.

The second was recently when the car had 73,000 miles and started blowing white smoke on cold starts. They replaced the turbo and car runs perfect again.

I love my car and have no other issues. From your experience, are there any other costly repairs that may appear after 100k that might justify selling the car now?

Thanks for your input,

Andrew
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      10-07-2015, 05:36 AM   #2
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1. Your daily driving habits might be relevant

2. 2015 has some nice improvements both powertrain and toys.

My experience is once a car hits 110,000 or so, the wear and tear items start to add up. And, I am only talking about Mercedes and BMWs (I did own a 63 Chev Impala that had nearly 200,000 miles, and my brothers and I were not easy on it at all).
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      10-07-2015, 10:26 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trian View Post
1. Your daily driving habits might be relevant

2. 2015 has some nice improvements both powertrain and toys.

My experience is once a car hits 110,000 or so, the wear and tear items start to add up. And, I am only talking about Mercedes and BMWs (I did own a 63 Chev Impala that had nearly 200,000 miles, and my brothers and I were not easy on it at all).
Thanks for the reply, Trian. To answer your questions:

1. 90% of my driving is easy highway, 10% easy city. I don't drive this car hard and drive about 60-90 miles per day.

2. I was given a 2015 535i loaner while my turbo was being replaced. It was nice but not sure I would want to purchase another BMW

3. What kind of wear and tear items have made your list?
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      10-07-2015, 11:34 AM   #4
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From my experience, electronics starts breaking and it's annoying. If you live in a region that rains and snow a lot, it can be a problem. You don't have the bigger engines so your transmission will probably last much longer. Your engine should be good if you keep doing maintenance on time as recommended.

But honestly, I think this generation of 5 series is actually built pretty well and it should hold up better than past BMWs. Of course the exception is the early N63 vehicles.
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      10-07-2015, 07:34 PM   #5
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Funny mine blows white smoke on cold start too. Having my turbo replaced tomorrow.
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      10-07-2015, 10:32 PM   #6
Drewcati
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 493263 View Post
From my experience, electronics starts breaking and it's annoying. If you live in a region that rains and snow a lot, it can be a problem. You don't have the bigger engines so your transmission will probably last much longer. Your engine should be good if you keep doing maintenance on time as recommended.

But honestly, I think this generation of 5 series is actually built pretty well and it should hold up better than past BMWs. Of course the exception is the early N63 vehicles.
I read that turbo engines should be warmed up and cooled down so I've started idling my engine for 3-5 minutes when it is completely cold, 1-2 minutes when it is somewhat warm, and then about 1 min before shutting it off. Am I misinformed?

I plan to start changing my oil every 5k miles instead of their recommended 15k, which seems more like a cost-savings move on their end as a result of their "free" maintenance in the first 50k. Am I misinformed on this as well?

Since I've gotten the car back, it has driven like a dream. Maybe it's just in my head, but it is smooth as silk. I love this car but so conflicted about its long-term reliability. The way it is driving now, it feels like it could be trouble free for 200k. *Sigh*
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      10-07-2015, 11:42 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Drewcati View Post
I read that turbo engines should be warmed up and cooled down so I've started idling my engine for 3-5 minutes when it is completely cold, 1-2 minutes when it is somewhat warm, and then about 1 min before shutting it off. Am I misinformed?

I plan to start changing my oil every 5k miles instead of their recommended 15k, which seems more like a cost-savings move on their end as a result of their "free" maintenance in the first 50k. Am I misinformed on this as well?

Since I've gotten the car back, it has driven like a dream. Maybe it's just in my head, but it is smooth as silk. I love this car but so conflicted about its long-term reliability. The way it is driving now, it feels like it could be trouble free for 200k. *Sigh*
The turbo-cool-off procedure is, as far as I've read, a good thing. IMHO, your times are a little long. I drive easy until the oil temp gauge comes alive and let the car idle for a little less than a minute or drive easily the last couple of miles before shutting down the engine.
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      10-08-2015, 08:44 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Drewcati View Post
I read that turbo engines should be warmed up and cooled down so I've started idling my engine for 3-5 minutes when it is completely cold, 1-2 minutes when it is somewhat warm, and then about 1 min before shutting it off. Am I misinformed?

I plan to start changing my oil every 5k miles instead of their recommended 15k, which seems more like a cost-savings move on their end as a result of their "free" maintenance in the first 50k.
That's 5 min "per start" you can use to spend with your family or become an expert in something in your field... who has that kind of time these days.
I'd say just don't drive it to hard when it's cold, and you should be fine.

As for oil change, I change mine every 10K km (about 7K miles), but even that I think is too excessive, I just sleep a bit better knowing I'm doing my best. Things will go on your car before anything related to oil change goes, I wouldn't be too worried about that.
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      10-08-2015, 01:15 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Drewcati View Post
Thanks for the reply, Trian. To answer your questions:

1. 90% of my driving is easy highway, 10% easy city. I don't drive this car hard and drive about 60-90 miles per day.

2. I was given a 2015 535i loaner while my turbo was being replaced. It was nice but not sure I would want to purchase another BMW

3. What kind of wear and tear items have made your list?
I'm confused then as to why you're asking whether or not to keep your car?
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      10-08-2015, 02:15 PM   #10
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You should look at it as if you were considering buying the car for the amount you can expect to get in a reasonably quick sale. Would you buy it for that much?

Personally, the idea of owning one of these cars out of warranty is a no-go. My old E46 beat the crap out of me with window regulators, suspension bushings, brake jobs, trim repairs and a bunch of other stuff. Nothing big ever went wrong but the little stuff costs at least twice as much as it should, even through an independent shop. And if you have to replace something like a tranny or a wiring harness, God help you.
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      10-09-2015, 05:36 AM   #11
Trian
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Every car is going to have wear and tear items as the miles pile up. How quick they fail is dependent on how many miles you drive and how hard you drive those miles. The difference here is it usually costs more to do the repair on a BMW versus a Hyundai. Decide what you want to drive every day for the next 3-10 years, and decide whether you can afford the repairs.
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      10-09-2015, 10:38 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Drewcati View Post
I read that turbo engines should be warmed up and cooled down so I've started idling my engine for 3-5 minutes when it is completely cold, 1-2 minutes when it is somewhat warm, and then about 1 min before shutting it off. Am I misinformed?

I plan to start changing my oil every 5k miles instead of their recommended 15k, which seems more like a cost-savings move on their end as a result of their "free" maintenance in the first 50k. Am I misinformed on this as well?

Since I've gotten the car back, it has driven like a dream. Maybe it's just in my head, but it is smooth as silk. I love this car but so conflicted about its long-term reliability. The way it is driving now, it feels like it could be trouble free for 200k. *Sigh*
I wouldn't worry so much about idling for 3-5 minutes. It is sound advice for older turbo engines or high performance engines. However, the N20 is built for daily driving and they've already taken that into account. As long as you don't mash the gas out of the parking lot, you're fine. Besides, the stock map does not let you have full boost anyways.

As far as letting idle after a drive, it's also not necessary. As long as you don't red line it the whole drive, then just stop suddenly, there's no need for that.

Your BMW should last over 200k miles if you just do the recommended maintenance and pay attention to any weird noise or vibrations. BMW parts are relatively cheaper and easier to find today than what it used to be.
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      10-09-2015, 04:07 PM   #13
Drewcati
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bbb34 View Post
As for oil change, I change mine every 10K km (about 7K miles), but even that I think is too excessive, I just sleep a bit better knowing I'm doing my best. Things will go on your car before anything related to oil change goes, I wouldn't be too worried about that.
Advice taken thanks Bbb34

Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasSpartan View Post
I'm confused then as to why you're asking whether or not to keep your car?
Trian made a comment that “2015 has some nice improvements both powertrain and toys” which I took to mean he recommended trading up.

Quote:
Originally Posted by numbersguy View Post
Personally, the idea of owning one of these cars out of warranty is a no-go. My old E46 beat the crap out of me with window regulators, suspension bushings, brake jobs, trim repairs and a bunch of other stuff. Nothing big ever went wrong but the little stuff costs at least twice as much as it should, even through an independent shop. And if you have to replace something like a tranny or a wiring harness, God help you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trian View Post
Every car is going to have wear and tear items as the miles pile up. How quick they fail is dependent on how many miles you drive and how hard you drive those miles. The difference here is it usually costs more to do the repair on a BMW versus a Hyundai. Decide what you want to drive every day for the next 3-10 years, and decide whether you can afford the repairs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 493263 View Post
As far as letting idle after a drive, it's also not necessary. As long as you don't red line it the whole drive, then just stop suddenly, there's no need for that. Your BMW should last over 200k miles if you just do the recommended maintenance and pay attention to any weird noise or vibrations. BMW parts are relatively cheaper and easier to find today than what it used to be.
All good advice, I really appreciate it guys. If I decide to keep the car, I will:

1. Go easy when starting and ending each drive
2. Change my oil around 7,500-10,000 miles
3. Follow recommended maintenance intervals
4. Look and listen for signs of wear to try and catch problems before they become bigger

Thank you all for taking the time to post your thoughts =)
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