> A great, well-done essay. I agree with the approach, and did a lot of DIY
> repairs in my younger days, and it is educational and rewarding. I even
> managed to inspire a couple of my sons to do likewise. But, I never could
> afford a BMW for a patient!
>
> The final shot is a tribute to a beautiful machine. Congratulations!
Thank you. As far as affording a BMW, what is interesting is that when
I was looking for vehicles at the time, the cost of a well-equipped
Jeep Grand Cherokee was much more than the comparable BMW. It turns
out that the operating cost of the BMW has been vastly less expensive
than the Jeep Grand Cherokees too. I would have had multiple major
repairs to the Jeep by this point, including water pumps, shocks,
brakes, differential fluids, headlights and most of the front end
suspension and steering bushings. Not to mention the differential in
gas mileage! This beast gets up to 28 MPG!!! Between the two X5s, I've
done over 90,000 miles with "high mileage and old" vehicles, and all
I've done is replace one battery, one axle boot, two sway bar links,
one water pump and had one wheel alignment. There might be something
else minor in there that I'm not thinking of, but it's been the best
vehicle ownership experience I've ever had. Even my 1981 Toyota truck
didn't do that good. I am replacing the power steering reservoir as
that contains the filter and is starting to leak. No biggy.
Inexpensive part. Unscrew a couple of bolts, drain, unclip two hoses,
replace unit, reattach two hoses and bolt it back in place. Then
fill-and-flush a few times to replace the rest of the fluid in the
system. I'm sure it will be a little more complex than I described,
but not much more.
Not related to maintenance, but I did have to replace the kidney
grills when that pheasant must have lost a fortune in the stock market
or something and decided to commit suicide by vehicle. Ordered a new
set off of Ebay for something like $70.
For me, the most important thing, and why I'll probably stick with
BMWs for a while, is the comfort aspect. Very few vehicles and leg
room like Mercedes and BMWs. And with my back pain, few vehicles have
seats as comfortable for me. My limit for most vehicles is about an
hour and I'm ready for a medieval torture rack.
AG
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