I am on my second X5 and I can tell you this. It is one of the best everyday cars I have ever driven but it also requires trips to the dealer.
The newer ones are much better than the 00, 01's.
But that's the price we pay for the X5. Having said that, inbetween my ownership of my two X5's, I owned a Infiniti FX45. That car had every toy and gadget you could think of, never broke, no trips to service EVER, was fast and handled great. -- I couldn't wait to sell it to get back into my X5.


Also, don't believe the above posts.. (Sorry Guys)

The X5 is a problematic vehicle. More so than it's Japanese equivalents. Germans are not known for making problem free cars.. The X5 will require trips to the service station even if it is a "good" one. But it is worth it.

However, if you are the type of person that does not have the time to drop off, pick up, etc. go with the boring, bullet proof, japanese car.

The reason I sold my 01 4.4 for the FX45 is because of all the problems I was having with the 01 4.4. I was starting a very intense grad school and didn't have time to go to the dealer. So I went japanese and was bored out of my mind with the vehicle.. Came right back to the X5.

Since getting my 4.8is, I have had to make about 3 trips to the dealer, even lost the car for a week while they fixed my suspension module. (This is in the past year..) Even now, my Check Engine Soon light has come on, It was just reset about a month ago. And my car is not a lemon. It runs great. It's just finikey..

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"When two people agree on everything, one of them is not necessary" - Arliss