[Chili Palmer]

I've loved my jet black 2011 550i with the M Sport package, I've lowered it with ACS springs, installed M5 343 wheels with the 255/285 tire set-up, installed M5 grilles, the M5 exhaust with the M5 diffuser. The car is beautiful, but it burns oil.

It's gone through a quart every 800-1200 miles and BMW says that this is normal and within normal tolerances. Then it started to go through a quart of oil at about every 500 miles, again BMW said that it was within normal operating parameters.

Fast forward to 103,000 miles, out of warranty. On a Saturday my wife comes home from shopping and says the oil light came on again so I go to put oil in her car. As I pull the oil fill cap off I notice that there is a reddish brown residue on the inside of the oil filler tube, so I wipe my finger in it. Looks rusty. I look over and slowly open the coolant recovery bottle, almost empty. I go to BMW and get a gallon of their antifreeze concentrate and mix up a gallon and put about a quart in the recovery bottle. Shit! a blown head gasket. I've never noticed this before because my wife always tells me about the oil at night when she gets home. And of course, BMW will never tell me anything when it's in for service, especially when it was so close to being out of warranty.

Since there is no oil dipstick I can't check to see if the oil is creamy looking. All I'm seeing is dollar signs - lots of them. I call my service guy at BMW and and leave a message of what I've found and ask how much to fix and will I get any goodwill from BMW since I've been taking it there for service since I bought the car.

In the meantime I go online to see what the value of the car is. Holy crap! F me! A beautiful technological masterpiece like this, 6 years old with 103,000 miles has trade-in value of $10,000! That's it?! A $50,000 hit in 5 years? My 2011 Duramax diesel truck with almost 200,000 miles is worth over $25,000!

On Monday I get a call from my service guy at BMW - to do one head gasket it's $8800, to do both sides it's $10,800. That's more than the car is worth! I asked if BMW would help out, he said they may offer a discount on the parts, but that's it.

Well, screw BMW!

I had the oil changed at an independent BMW mechanic and he said that there was a little bit of water in the oil, but not enough to warrant immediate work. He said if I change the oil that will give me time to get rid of the car, but don't wait too long. He said for him to do the work would be about $7000-$9000 depending if I want the heads rebuilt too, he says leaky valve guides are what causes the oil consumption. If it was only $5000 I'd do it, but if the trans craps out within then next 20,000 mile, that's another $8,000-$10,000. I can't take that gamble.

As much as I wanted another 550, I just couldn't muster up losing over $50,000 in 5 years for another car. I want something to last me up to 200,000 miles with just basic maintenance. I can understand a water pump or alternator (that was replaced already), a head gasket should not cost more than the car is worth.

The car is gone and white 2016 Cadillac CTS-V has taken it's place. This thing is a beast and I love it, but it doesn't have the finesse that BMW had.

Oh, and I already checked, a head gasket repair on this is only $3700.

It's been a fun ride here at the forum, I've got my M5 wheels and tires listed for sale in the classified section. I've learned a lot and and hopefully I've passed some of my knowledge through my experiences to a few of you.

Good luck all.

Chili Palmer signing off.

[ezaircon4jc]

Don't feel too bad about a car's depreciation. Pickup trucks hold their value very, very well. A friend bought a new truck as it was just a smidgen more expensive than getting a used truck! The price difference wasn't enough to justify not buying the new truck!

[Stück]

Originally Posted by Chili Palmer

I want something to last me up to 200,000 miles with just basic maintenance.

A Toyota Camry will fit that life style perfectly and is exactly what you are looking for.

[Bossman535]

Originally Posted by Chili Palmer

I've loved my jet black 2011 550i with the M Sport package, I've lowered it with ACS springs, installed M5 343 wheels with the 255/285 tire set-up, installed M5 grilles, the M5 exhaust with the M5 diffuser. The car is beautiful, but it burns oil.

It's gone through a quart every 800-1200 miles and BMW says that this is normal and within normal tolerances. Then it started to go through a quart of oil at about every 500 miles, again BMW said that it was within normal operating parameters.

Fast forward to 103,000 miles, out of warranty. On a Saturday my wife comes home from shopping and says the oil light came on again so I go to put oil in her car. As I pull the oil fill cap off I notice that there is a reddish brown residue on the inside of the oil filler tube, so I wipe my finger in it. Looks rusty. I look over and slowly open the coolant recovery bottle, almost empty. I go to BMW and get a gallon of their antifreeze concentrate and mix up a gallon and put about a quart in the recovery bottle. Shit! a blown head gasket. I've never noticed this before because my wife always tells me about the oil at night when she gets home. And of course, BMW will never tell me anything when it's in for service, especially when it was so close to being out of warranty.

Since there is no oil dipstick I can't check to see if the oil is creamy looking. All I'm seeing is dollar signs - lots of them. I call my service guy at BMW and and leave a message of what I've found and ask how much to fix and will I get any goodwill from BMW since I've been taking it there for service since I bought the car.

In the meantime I go online to see what the value of the car is. Holy crap! F me! A beautiful technological masterpiece like this, 6 years old with 103,000 miles has trade-in value of $10,000! That's it?! A $50,000 hit in 5 years? My 2011 Duramax diesel truck with almost 200,000 miles is worth over $25,000!

On Monday I get a call from my service guy at BMW - to do one head gasket it's $8800, to do both sides it's $10,800. That's more than the car is worth! I asked if BMW would help out, he said they may offer a discount on the parts, but that's it.

Well, screw BMW!

I had the oil changed at an independent BMW mechanic and he said that there was a little bit of water in the oil, but not enough to warrant immediate work. He said if I change the oil that will give me time to get rid of the car, but don't wait too long. He said for him to do the work would be about $7000-$9000 depending if I want the heads rebuilt too, he says leaky valve guides are what causes the oil consumption. If it was only $5000 I'd do it, but if the trans craps out within then next 20,000 mile, that's another $8,000-$10,000. I can't take that gamble.

As much as I wanted another 550, I just couldn't muster up losing over $50,000 in 5 years for another car. I want something to last me up to 200,000 miles with just basic maintenance. I can understand a water pump or alternator (that was replaced already), a head gasket should not cost more than the car is worth.

The car is gone and white 2016 Cadillac CTS-V has taken it's place. This thing is a beast and I love it, but it doesn't have the finesse that BMW had.

Oh, and I already checked, a head gasket repair on this is only $3700.

It's been a fun ride here at the forum, I've got my M5 wheels and tires listed for sale in the classified section. I've learned a lot and and hopefully I've passed some of my knowledge through my experiences to a few of you.

Good luck all.

Chili Palmer signing off.

Yup I'm in the same boat as well. At 80k miles, no warranty, 2011 550i. Valve seals and turbo lines are gona need replace soon and that's like a 10k plus job.

Not sure if I want to get rid of it now while it's somewhat healthy. Or just hold on to it.

[535MSport]

Which is why it is way better to buy a 1-2 year old CPO!!!!!!!!!!!! AND, buy a Route 66 warranty.

[Chili Palmer]

Originally Posted by 535MSport

Which is why it is way better to buy a 1-2 year old CPO!!!!!!!!!!!! AND, buy a Route 66 warranty.

I did buy CPO and all the extended warranties ended at 5 years or 100,000 miles, so I was SOL.

[IancoleTX]

I just bought a loaded 2014 550 for 33.5k. Sticker was like 75k, 4 years ago. Holy depreciation indeed.

When it goes out of warranty this month, I will pick one up through Route 66 (PenFed) for $50/mo. That's how you own these beasts for cheap.

[BigKutta]

I looked up my 2012' 528i's value a few weeks ago for kicks, and I couldn't get a stripped down Civic for it. I was shocked. And she has 55k miles and is pristine...LOL. I think the F10 platform in general has depreciated a lot. Lucky for me I'm going to drive it to the ground

[mjr24]

Sounds right to me.....that's what, $800 bucks a month in depreciation? If you leased or anything...you would pay a lot more than that per month.

Depreciation is high for the very reasons you are selling....not a lot of people want to risk buying a car with over 100k miles that might have a $10k repair bill.

[Chili Palmer]

Originally Posted by BigKutta

I looked up my 2012' 528i's value a few weeks ago for kicks, and I couldn't get a stripped down Civic for it. I was shocked. And she has 55k miles and is pristine...LOL. I think the F10 platform in general has depreciated a lot. Lucky for me I'm going to drive it to the ground

My plan was to drive my car into the ground, unfortunately my car didn't have the same plan as me.

[535_BiTurbo]

Originally Posted by Chili Palmer

I've loved my jet black 2011 550i with the M Sport package, I've lowered it with ACS springs, installed M5 343 wheels with the 255/285 tire set-up, installed M5 grilles, the M5 exhaust with the M5 diffuser. The car is beautiful, but it burns oil.

It's gone through a quart every 800-1200 miles and BMW says that this is normal and within normal tolerances. Then it started to go through a quart of oil at about every 500 miles, again BMW said that it was within normal operating parameters.

Fast forward to 103,000 miles, out of warranty. On a Saturday my wife comes home from shopping and says the oil light came on again so I go to put oil in her car. As I pull the oil fill cap off I notice that there is a reddish brown residue on the inside of the oil filler tube, so I wipe my finger in it. Looks rusty. I look over and slowly open the coolant recovery bottle, almost empty. I go to BMW and get a gallon of their antifreeze concentrate and mix up a gallon and put about a quart in the recovery bottle. Shit! a blown head gasket. I've never noticed this before because my wife always tells me about the oil at night when she gets home. And of course, BMW will never tell me anything when it's in for service, especially when it was so close to being out of warranty.

Since there is no oil dipstick I can't check to see if the oil is creamy looking. All I'm seeing is dollar signs - lots of them. I call my service guy at BMW and and leave a message of what I've found and ask how much to fix and will I get any goodwill from BMW since I've been taking it there for service since I bought the car.

In the meantime I go online to see what the value of the car is. Holy crap! F me! A beautiful technological masterpiece like this, 6 years old with 103,000 miles has trade-in value of $10,000! That's it?! A $50,000 hit in 5 years? My 2011 Duramax diesel truck with almost 200,000 miles is worth over $25,000!

On Monday I get a call from my service guy at BMW - to do one head gasket it's $8800, to do both sides it's $10,800. That's more than the car is worth! I asked if BMW would help out, he said they may offer a discount on the parts, but that's it.

Well, screw BMW!

I had the oil changed at an independent BMW mechanic and he said that there was a little bit of water in the oil, but not enough to warrant immediate work. He said if I change the oil that will give me time to get rid of the car, but don't wait too long. He said for him to do the work would be about $7000-$9000 depending if I want the heads rebuilt too, he says leaky valve guides are what causes the oil consumption. If it was only $5000 I'd do it, but if the trans craps out within then next 20,000 mile, that's another $8,000-$10,000. I can't take that gamble.

As much as I wanted another 550, I just couldn't muster up losing over $50,000 in 5 years for another car. I want something to last me up to 200,000 miles with just basic maintenance. I can understand a water pump or alternator (that was replaced already), a head gasket should not cost more than the car is worth.

The car is gone and white 2016 Cadillac CTS-V has taken it's place. This thing is a beast and I love it, but it doesn't have the finesse that BMW had.

Oh, and I already checked, a head gasket repair on this is only $3700.

It's been a fun ride here at the forum, I've got my M5 wheels and tires listed for sale in the classified section. I've learned a lot and and hopefully I've passed some of my knowledge through my experiences to a few of you.

Good luck all.

Chili Palmer signing off.

Nice trade!

[ItBloo]

Unfortunately, mass produced BMWs hold no value. ever. unless you really have a gem, like a 2002tii or something special like that.

[TheUtahX5M]

The answer to all of this was found in my 535d...

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by ItBloo

Unfortunately, mass produced BMWs hold no value. ever. unless you really have a gem, like a 2002tii or something special like that.

Other than trucks, mass produced anything doesn't hold value.

[Kyngofpop]

I. Can. Relate. As much as I love mine, ownership without warranty has been heartbreaking. The 550 is truly a dream to view from someone else's eyes....and I just turned 112k. I can only imagine what's to break next. Good luck on your new ride, and as much as I hate American cars, I can only imagine that the CTS-V will be heaps more reliable. Good luck gentleman

[wrickem]

We all know a car is not a good investment, and I'm also at the other end thinking "why would a 7 year old car with 100k plus miles be worth anything?"

[Kyngofpop]

Originally Posted by wrickem

We all know a car is not a good investment, and I'm also at the other end thinking "why would a 7 year old car with 100k plus miles be worth anything?"

Judging it that way, I guess it's true what many told me. A bmw is only good up until 100k, after they're trash. And to think I didn't believe when I heard that. Guess these cars are truly meant to sit in the driveway and be looked at instead of driven, It's a mistake I won't make again. Who'd have thought a $75k car only has the potential to reach 100k *shrugs*

[ItBloo]

I can buy a 20 year old honda for more than a 20 year old bmw

[Pierre Louis]

Who knows what our cars will be worth when EV's "take over" the landscape.

I don't look at what others think anyway. If its worth it to me, I'll spend good money on a rebuilt transmission or engine, realizing getting a new one is much more expensive. Its usually less expensive to fix older cars than buying new every 100,000 miles or less.

I'll just take care of it best I can and keep a car if it fits my desires and needs.

PL

[Pierre Louis]

Originally Posted by wrickem

We all know a car is not a good investment, and I'm also at the other end thinking "why would a 7 year old car with 100k plus miles be worth anything?"

I suspect with newer technology and material science, 200,000 miles is the new 100,000 miles. My old E320 CDI is running strong at 350,000 miles and the mechanic's wife won't sell it....

Its also a cliche that after going to about half MSRP, cars like Mercedes keep their value about the same for 10 more years, given lower mileage I guess.

PL

[TTG]

Just imagine the poor person who is going to get a "great deal" on the 550 you traded in.

I wont keep any BMW past its basic warranty or buy a used one for that matter.

Unless you are a skilled mechanic or know one real well, these cars are not your basic 200K cars with regular maintenance.......especially the V8s.

[Quicksilv3r]

Originally Posted by TTG

Just imagine the poor person who is going to get a "great deal" on the 550 you traded in.

This.