 So basically this car is my favorite material possession.  AND I am not a car nut. I really like this car.  We bought ours used in Colorado for $16K. It had 92,000 miles on it. I had it inspected by a BMW dealership for about $300. They tore through it and found some issues. The electronic cable sleeve between the computer and the transmission. It typically leaks every 100K. It was leaking.  The shocks were bad. And the coolant system had a leak. I bought the car after some further negotiations.  It was in the shop quickly for a radiator replacement, a lower radiator supply hose, a worn out wheel bearing, shocks, and new tires.  That was about $3000.  We had about $19k into this car with 105,000 miles on it.  Regret started to sink into our minds.  But since then the car has just had maintenance visits.  I replaced the coil over ignition plugs at 180,000(they lasted 80k more than BMW says they should). I changed the oil every 7k, it does eat 1 qt of oil every 7000 miles. I just deal with that.  I put continental contipro contact tires on it. This car powers through corners now. It drives through 12" of snow and heavy rains with NO problems.  Folks this car is reliable if you take care of it. The car must go to a great mechanic who knows BMW's.  Don't skimp on non-OEM parts.  Go to Bavarian autosport for parts if you want to DYI the repairs.  The car may the basic 6 buts fast. So fast.  Faster than our 2009 BMW X5 with the turbo diesel. I am at 196,000 miles now and I have no intention of selling it. In fact I might just buy another 06-08 BMW 530xi.  New technology be damned.