• theangryseal@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Less shit to work on with the 1991. I have a 2003 BMW X5 and holy shit it blows my mind how many crazy computer parts it has. It’s the base model with the manual transmission too.

      It just recently started falling apart on me after many years of driving it. All at once the heat and AC stopped working, the windows fell down into the doors (no shit, all of them in just a few weeks).

      It’s been a damn good car though, and I might get 10 more good years out of it once I fix all of this stuff.

      I don’t know what they do differently at BMW, but that car is parked on the grass (for at least 5 years this coming February) and still has the original exhaust. Isn’t that crazy?

      • Koike@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        Always wanted to ask, why did you buy this monstrosity of a “car”, what were your motivations ?

        • theangryseal@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          I didn’t. It was a gift. It has been an amazing car though.

          I had nothing but bad luck all if my life, buying beaters that barely moved, weren’t safe, and left me stranded constantly. I walked to work and begged for rides constantly. I had to walk 4 hours down a mountain on the way, 4 hours up a mountain on the way back. Most of the time I’d get lucky and someone would pick me up once I got around the 2 hour mark and walked into civilization.

          I’m dirt poor. I’ve spent a lot of years in that struggle.

          Would you believe that I haven’t paid a penny for any of the vehicles I own right now? I just had a pile of good luck. Some of it was good luck that came from bad things, like a friend of mine passing away and leaving me his car.

          I will say though. I absolutely love the X5. It has been the most reliable and most comfortable car I’ve ever owned.

          • Koike@sh.itjust.works
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            2 months ago

            Aight, seems like you’ve been through a lot, I was going to say how unecological and pathetic it is to buy big 4x4 to drive in cities, but you’re probably one of the few people that has a real use for it, plus you didn’t buy it. Glad it served you well. I still hate most bmw drivers… Toxic pieces of trash that believe their time is more valuable than everyone else

            • theangryseal@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              Yeah that ain’t me. I live deep in the Appalachian mountains and driving anything but a 4x4 here would 100% result in being trapped in the winter.

              Well, not so bad these days I guess with the lack of snow compared to the years before.

              Still though, I can’t imagine crossing these mountains in the winter with anything but a 4x4. As a matter of fact, I was stuck multiple times back before I got one. I slept crashed against a guardrail in a 2001 Grand AM one night in 2008. Fortunately I had filled the car up at the bottom of the mountain and I was able to keep warm.

              My stepdad came looking for me around 5 AM when my ex woke up and realized I wasn’t home. He pulled me out and I slowly took the car back down the mountain and parked it at that store.

              I didn’t have a cell phone back the man. Wouldn’t matter today though. There’s still no cell service from the top of that mountain to 40 miles out from it.