Question/Opinion

I am moving and will begin to put substantial miles on my car. We own a '11 X5 35d that my wife currently drives. Our move will put her much closer to her office, but in turn will double my daily commute. Since my car is leased, I was thinking of having my wife drive that and I will take her car. Once we move, I have figured that my commute will equate to approx. 27k miles per year on whatever car I drive. I should add that the commute is 95% highway. Many say I should just get a small commuter car, but I think that since I am in the car so much, why not drive something I am comfortable in, etc. Plus, we owe nothing on the X5.

Here is where my question comes in - do you think I am going to regret putting that kind of wear and tear on the X5 from a repair/maintenance point of view? I know that the value of it will be severely diminished due to the high miles, but aside from that?

We bought it brand new and I will get it certified should I decide to make this my daily driver. I appreciate your thoughts on this.

Also, is anyone doing what I am proposing? Have you experienced any issues with the high miles (from a repair perspective)?

Thanks everyone

I just had a similar situation over the last 18 months. In July of last year, I bought a 2012 Audi Q5 Premium Plus for my 80 mile round trip commute from Northern to middle NJ, and put 17k miles on it in about a year, which would have been more but I have a summer car that I use as well occasionally. My reasoning was if I'm going to be in the car for 2 hours a day I want to be comfortable and have some amenities, also that part of NJ gets hit with bad flooding, winters are a mess, and I have to be able to get to work even if it's snowing etc etc. (I averaged about 24MPG btw). That being said 18 months later I'm trading in the Audi and those miles are killing teh value to the tune of $10k off of MSRP in 1 year ($36k on trade in). If you do the same with your X, you can probably expect similar results. Also, by racking up the miles, you'll blow past warranty and free maintenance prematurely, which will be additional out of pocket expenses.

If I had to do it all over again, I would probably buy a midsize AWD sedan for under $30k like a Subaru and just rack up the miles.

Since you don't owe anything on it, the diesel is perfect for the commute. Drive it until it hits 50k and dump it, so you aren't out of warranty coverage. If you really want to get something new, buy a Jetta diesel or Passat diesel for the MPG and keep the X5d for your wife.

^^ +1.
I would buy a diesel Jetta or Golf - fun and economical.
P.S. My 35d is NOT my daily work commute vehicle (I commute roundtrip is 70 miles in another car). Still, I managed to rack up 23K miles in 10 months.

Made the move and daily commute is 140 round trip. Really leaning towards driving the x5 and just drive it to 150k (or more). It is a '11 and we already have 41k.

Originally Posted by fynride1

Made the move and daily commute is 140 round trip. Really leaning towards driving the x5 and just drive it to 150k (or more). It is a '11 and we already have 41k.

I'm planning the same ill have 20k on mine next month when it turns one. I enjoy the hell out if driving it, and will probably purchase an extended warranty from a board sponsor when I get closer to 50k.

Do some searches CPO is equivalent to gold warrant iirc.

I do my own routine maintenance so minimal cost increase there.

Jay

Agreed, I am not worried about routine maintenance as I will do my own as well. What have you found out about CPO warranty, if anything, regarding pricing?

Not planning on purchasing the warranty for another year or so, so I honestly only run across the myriad of threads asking about it, no specific knowledge. Do a search here.

Jay