Buying a 4.8 is

[Here4bizness]

Hey everyone

I'm interested in buying a 04-06 x5 4.8is. Upon my research everyone is telling me to stay away from these vehicles , because they are nothing but trouble. I mean besides drinking a lot of gas and oil leaks, what are the real the real "SERERIOUS costly problems

[wonkabx4.8]

The valve seals and air suspension.

[Chucklez]

Originally Posted by Here4bizness

Hey everyone

I'm interested in buying a 04-06 x5 4.8is. Upon my research everyone is telling me to stay away from these vehicles , because they are nothing but trouble. I mean besides drinking a lot of gas and oil leaks, what are the real the real "SERERIOUS costly problems

Ive owned mine for almost two years now. I bought it with about 160K miles on it for around ~$10K. SO far these are the problems I have had.

1) Battery needed replaced $160~
2) Ball Join/Control Arm Ball join on each side of front ~$82
3) LCM (Light Control Module) needed replace ~$55 + $400~(Park+Diagnosis from BMW + part was used)
4) Rear hatch trunk assembly replaced ~$184 (used but this was my fault in breaking it not the car so I cant really fault this but I still technically spent the money for the car)
5) Alternator Gasket replaced $1200~ ($5 part rest was just labor)
6) Air bag height sensors adjusted and re-calibrated $80~ (labor from mechanic).

So in total over two years I've spent a little over $2000 or so ($1800 if you don't count the rear hatch assembly). Now mind you my car also had 160K miles on it so the damage may very depending on miles and how the old owner has treated the car. Most of the damage done to mine is literally normal wear and tear that would happen eventually anyway it just so happened since I had it. The above repairs were also all done by me unless stated so if you cant work on a car yourself add labor charges to all of those you factor in. Also not included in the above cost is a valve cover gasket replacement which currently is leaking a little oil in my engine but not enough to where I can put the giant labor hours of money in replacing ($2000+).

All that said? I LOVE my 4.8is I really do but you do have to be prepared if anything goes wrong it is a little more expensive than other cars to fix.

[BMW_TUNER]

Air suspension module went out on my wife's 4.8is it was $750 for the part and if I hadn't been able to code it myself it would have been a lot more. The Valve guide seals were shot on her car so that was 5k in parts and labor that I would have had to do if we didn't trade it in it had the alternator bracket seal leak that we never fixed so that $1500 more we never shelled out do to trade in. All and all for her car we spent about 3 k in misc. repairs and dodged spending $6500 more by trading it in.

If I remember correctly here is what I replaced
Front air struts
Air suspension module
Navigation unit
Wheel bearings
Brakes
Cooling system
Fuel pump
Fuel filter
Valve cover gaskets
Trans seal
Vacuum pump
Belt

[Here4bizness]

Hey bro

Thanks for your reply. I'm really glad I was introduced to this forum.
Now I have a few more questions about the vehicle. The one I want to purchase, has about 136k on it and is sitting on coilovers. I was told these vehicles don't really last too long with the mileage(may not even reach 200-250k). Is this true or false? What are the steps to ensure it reaches a long life? My other question is...I've heard of softwares or tuners that can regulate gas mileage for these vehicles(meaning not making them burn so much fuel) but obviously less horse power. Is this true or false? Any feed back is gladly appreciated!!

[Chucklez]

Originally Posted by Here4bizness

Hey bro

Thanks for your reply. I'm really glad I was introduced to this forum.
Now I have a few more questions about the vehicle. The one I want to purchase, has about 136k on it and is sitting on coilovers. I was told these vehicles don't really last too long with the mileage(may not even reach 200-250k). Is this true or false? What are the steps to ensure it reaches a long life? My other question is...I've heard of softwares or tuners that can regulate gas mileage for these vehicles(meaning not making them burn so much fuel) but obviously less horse power. Is this true or false? Any feed back is gladly appreciated!!

As per millage honestly from what I have heard as long as you take care of the car they last a long time. Mines got 30K+ more miles than yours and besides the issues above (which again are really just normal wear and tear) there hasn't been any MAJOR issues (tranny or engine issues). Now since yours had the conversion kit done to it you wont have to worry about the air ride suspensions which is nice. Personally? Before buying it take it to a indy shop and have it just quickly looked at preferably one that has a BMW code reader who can read any weird codes coming off the vehicle.

On the gas millage thing, I honestly have no idea but to be honest if you're worried about gas millage you're looking at the wrong car. Go with the 3.0 haha.

[Here4bizness]

Thanks BMW tuner

This is really a rough decision for me. Some people say I'm better off with the 4.4( which has the same engine as the 4.8 but the intake is different)
I even thought about getting the e70 chassis 4.8 2007-2013 x5 which I'm not to sure if that's a bold move or not but, basically don't want my x5 to be a money pit!! Any suggestions on which is the safest route besides the 3.0 which has good fuel economy but very limited on power.

[Here4bizness]

Yea I figured I was going to hear the 3.0 topic again, funny thing is I went through 3 of them lol but just wanted to step in another realm with a V8. Btw How is the 04-06 e53 4.4 as far as common problems and etc?

[Chucklez]

Originally Posted by Here4bizness

Thanks BMW tuner

This is really a rough decision for me. Some people say I'm better off with the 4.4( which has the same engine as the 4.8 but the intake is different)
I even thought about getting the e70 chassis 4.8 2007-2013 x5 which I'm not to sure if that's a bold move or not but, basically don't want my x5 to be a money pit!! Any suggestions on which is the safest route besides the 3.0 which has good fuel economy but very limited on power.

Best advice? Buy as low millage as you can so less wear and tear on the car (obvious I know), and check the CarFax or any kind of vehicle history you can get your hands on to make sure/see if it was maintained/taken care of properly. I also still highly recommend taking it to either a independent mechanic or a personal mechanic you know of to look the car once over if you're not too savvy mechanically, hell take it to BMW if you want or ask the seller if he could.

Good luck with whichever you choose! If you do end up getting the 4.8is, its one HELL of a car.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by Here4bizness

Yea I figured I was going to hear the 3.0 topic again, funny thing is I went through 3 of them lol but just wanted to step in another realm with a V8. Btw How is the 04-06 e53 4.4 as far as common problems and etc?

Without owning one I really don't know but as you said they have the same engine and share probably a lot of parts so mostly the same problems you find on the 4.8 you'd find on the 4.4.

[Here4bizness]

Thanks everyone in this forum for your feed back I'm very satisfied with your responses. Has any ones experienced the e70 07-13 4.8 x5? I've seen some on Craigslist for a decent price and was also looking in that direction but was, told that they're most likely slower and heavier than the e53 ones plus the suspension(ball joints) are made of plastic and even the valve cover gaskets smh