Unfortunately my feedback would be extremely bad. I have not owned BMW's previously so this is my first one . . . E53 X5. This is by far the worst vehicle I have owned in regards to reliability. This vehicle is loaded with poorly designed and poorly built "prone to failure" parts (even compared to other BMWs) and the replacement parts are not cheap by any means . . . not to mention the labor. Also, BMW has failed to redisigning several of the parts I am referreing to. So when you purchase a part (that has been known to fail) to replace the prematurely failed part, it is the same exact part that is destined to fail again. I only have 65K miles and I have had a rediculous number of parts failures. The funny thing is when I search this forum for issues I have with my X, I learn that it has happened to several E53 X5 owners besides myself. Enough for it to be considered a quality problem in my opinion.

There are some X5 owners who love their X despite all the reliability issues and also some diehard BMW fans who will say their X5 has always run great. But in the same sentence they will advise you to not to purchase unless you have with extended warranty . . . and for good reason. I would not even consider the purchase unless you are getting the best warranty you can get your hands on. Not doing so is like writing a blank check.

I can't wait to get rid of mine. But don't take my word for it . . . all you have to do is spend a few hours searching posts on this site and that should do it. Just do a search for the words "prone to failure" and you should get more than enough reading material. Whatever you decide, I wish you nothing but the best of luck!

__________________
2010 Lexus RX350 still new
2003 BMW X5 3.0i w/sport package w/68K miles. (gone Thank God!)
2002 Dodge Ram 2500 4X4 cummins diesel w/198K miles, custom repo truck
2009 Scion tC w/46K miles
2007 Suzuki SV650 custom streetfighter
2000 Lexus GS400 w/165K miles