It’s common knowledge that enthusiast owners of older, high-mileage BMWs and other vehicles tend to avoid their local dealership when it comes to repairs and maintenance. The reasons why are obvious; many of these cars typically have a higher value in the enthusiast community than they do on the open market, and to the general public, are not worth the cost of upkeep. Local independent shops cost less to begin with, tend to be more focused on these kinds of vehicles because that’s what they see in the real world, and can also employ creative solutions to otherwise cost-prohibitive problems.
Nonetheless, it’s still interesting to see what a full inspection report from a dealership looks like. This is exactly what Alex Palmeri of the LegitStreetCars channel on YouTube did with his recently-purchased 400,000-mile E39 M5. In a recent video published to the channel, Palmeri brings his Carbon Black M5 to an area dealership for an inspection. While the final dollar amount of the estimate for all of the for the repairs is large, and nearly double the purchase price of the car itself, it shouldn’t necessarily shock anyone.
Palmeri doesn’t name the specific dealership he went to, and it’s not a particularly important detail anyway. Brand dealerships have a responsibility to report the accurate condition of the car, especially if there are any problems, and the repair costs and calculated using book time, while parts are typically priced on the expensive side. With these things in mind, it’s not hard to understand why a high mileage car with a host of minor problems and laundry list items, but no truly major issues, was estimated to be so expensive to be brought up to spec at the dealership.
To provide a baseline, Palmeri had already inspected his car with an experienced technician at an independent shop, and proceeded to order all of the various parts he needed to address everything found. Check out the latest installment for all of the details, and what CarMax offered for the car.—Alex Tock
[Video via LegitStreetCars on YouTube.]
