[Efthreeoh]

Well, I have a few comments. Very good info regarding the packages and availability. Kudos.

I'm not sure what the difference is between "reliable" and "dependable", you probably need to explain that.

I disagree with your comment regarding salvage title cars. With an older E9X car with adaptive xenons, replacement of just one of the head lights at over $1,000 a pop will total the car. I just hit a deer in my '06 325i. It was totaled by the insurance company. I bought it back and it just is finishing up in the shop today. Have a small front-end collision that bends the hood and breaks the plastic core support and takes out a light or two, and an older 3 series (say the coveted 330i) will get totaled, but is a perfectly fine car if rebuilt. In my state the re-title process for a rebuilt is pretty extensive and costs $125 for a state inspection and review of the rebuild work.

The E9X takes very little maintenance and tells the owner when to change the oil and service the spark plugs, I'm not sure why anyone would not keep up with the maintenance, since it's even less than most Japanese cars require. The service book that comes with the manual set says to change the automatic trans fluid at 100,000 mile intervals. If the car has been dealer maintained, I'd not worry about the maintenance aspect. The internet "lifetime" crap is a myth. I'm sure your one that believes the BMW CBS service plan is a ruse by BMW set to lower its cost of providing the "free maintenance", and that the extended oil service interval is detrimental to long-term ownership. I have proof it's perfectly adequate in maintaining an E9X into high mileages. So if your advice about maintenance abuse is to not buy a E9X that didn't see 5,000 - 7,500 mile oil changes, then I'd disagree with you. Clarification would help.

I do agree with your position regarding a correctly repaired BMW from a certified BMW shop. If the records are available, then no need to worry about longevity.

My opinion is E9X are frickin' tanks at least with the N52. Even driven hard and put away wet and following the CBS schedule, the E9X will last a very long time. One part a lot of people who think they know the E90 pretty well overlook is the driveshaft. I think the driveshaft is a weak link in the drivetrain in high mile situations. The oil leaks you mention are more time related than miles related. My car had none of the common leaks until double or triple the miles you stated. You left out the dual-mass flywheel. For manual trans cars, the dual-mass flywheel can fail after high miles and cause driveline vibrations that are hard to diagnose; same with a worn driveshaft.

And NEVER buy a BMW from CarMax. CarMax is the biggest used car sham going.

My 2 cents.