If You Want To Buy A Used Luxury Car.....Don't

Let me admit my prejudice right up front: I owned a BMW 750il (2000 model...before the Bangle butt) until 3 weeks ago. I sold it to a used car dealer because no one else would buy it. I never hated a car that I loved so much. If you're thinking about picking up a 10 year old luxury sedan like this one, let me share my story. First, I'll have another drink.

It was listed for $51,000. I got it for $45,000 but added a warranty and financed it and paid tax and license and by the time it was put on the carrier to ship to California (it lived in Chicago), I paid $55,000. Three years before the car sold for almost $100,000. Elation is too mild a word.

I waited for the truck, and it finally showed one night after the driver couldn't find my house. Once he did, he literally unwrapped it, taking off the clear plastic that kept it protected. It was black alright. And shiny. And the inside was even nicer than the pictures. Everything was covered in leather or wood. Except the door locks. They were made of chrome. It was by far the nicest car I ever owned. Elation was too mild a word.

Everything was fine for two or three years. Then things started to fall apart. A window motor broke so the only way to repair it was to take the door off and then the paneling, replace the motor and then put it all together again. My warranty didn't cover that. In fact, the warranty only paid for one repair for the 3 years I had it. My mechanic refused to call them after a while.

Then the battery died. Sensors stopped sensing, ones that monitored the cam shaft, the air to fuel ratio. other high performance, absolute musts. And here's what's special about the 12 cylinder engine: it's not really one engine. It's 2 six cylinder engines and requires 2 of everything. So every time one sensor would go out, you just waited for the other to follow. Oh, and it has 2 catalytic converters. When the first one went out, it cost $3000 to repair. And my mechanic gave me a break on the labor. He said the other one would go soon. Depression is too mild a word.

By the eighth year of ownership, I became totally paranoid, afraid to drive the car, afraid that a window that rolled down wouldn't go up again, or that the sliding moon roof would open but never close. And there always seemed to be a light going off in the front panel, usually the yellow one that said Check Engine. I became a prisoner in my own home, unable to rely on the car for any length of time, knowing that a large bill was about to hit my wallet one at any moment. Depression is too mild a word.

So I decided to sell that beautiful beast. But no one would buy it, no matter how low the price got. I did get a bid that equalled the auction price for the car, but I couldn't sell it for an auction price. It had very low miles and looked almost new with only the most minor scratches. So I went to the car dealer to trade it. He offered me the auction value.

Fortunately, a used car dealer had contacted me after seeing my original ad, offered me an almost fair price and I took it. But before I sold it, I totaled up what the maintenance was to keep the car for 8 years. It came to $35,000, or over $300 a month to keep the car rolling. Of course, it didn't come in nice even increments. It came in huge, hurtful blasts that could be $4,000 to $5,000 at a pop.

That number doesn't include gas or insurance which would add at least another $20,000. So for a $55,000 car, I spent another $55,000 on maintenance, insurance and gas. I work at home.

Sure they sparkle on the lots, those big beatiful, politically incorrect luxobarges. And they ride like no others. But to keep them on the road takes a lot of coin. More than you think. I've decided that if I buy another one, it will be after I discovered oil on my property and can have a live-in mechanic. Then it would make sense.

Ted Allrich