Potential new owner, with questions!

[AdrianIreland]

Hi there,

I have a 2006 Toyota Hilux Vigo crew cab at present and am all but decided on sellin it to buy a 01 or a 02 X5 3.0D. Pics at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/AdriansAccount/Hilux

However, I have a few questions I would LOVE answered.

1) How reliabe at the 01 and 02 3.0d X5s. I mean, from a day to day, month to month point of view.

2)I am used to driving manual transmission, but have driven auto before. I had, however some trouble with an auto box and found it more expensive to fix then the manual. I have heard that the BMW X5 auto box is "sealed for life" and can give trouble at around 130k miles. Is there any truth in this. So most X5 folk prefer auto box?

Oh, and are ALL the auto boxes also tiptronic?

3) Some 01 X5's look amazing, and some look.. wel, not so amazing. Are there certain facelifts available for the 01/02 model and how can some look so good and others so bland.

4) In your experience is there a MASSIVE difference in the >2004 model from a spec, power, reliability, look and feel, drive etc and the 01/02 model

5) Anything else you can tell me to look out for would be great!


Thanks for having me here!

Adrian (Dublin, Ireland)

[Tomaz]

Hi Adrian,

To answer your questions in order.
1. BMW's are very reliable vehicles, I can not speak to the diesel. The X5's in general are tough trucks.
2. The automatic is sealed but some owners do change the fluid. As for reliability of the automatic. It is true that some fail "early" while some continue to last beyond 150K miles. All the auto's are tiptronic.
3. The amazing looking X5's show their owners pride in ownership while the bland ones are owned by bland owners. If you love your ride it will look amazing. I personally think the X5 is the best looking SUV, bar none.
4. There is not a massive difference in the 04 upgrade. The 04+ is improved and fractionally quicker. 04" owners will quickly point out the vast improvements, but in reality, any year X5 is a great ride.
5. Search this web site for other potential problems, CV boots, water pumps, window regulators. etc.

The X5 is an excellent road SUV with limited off road capabilities. The reliability of your X5 is as much a reflection of your attention to detail and maintenance as the inherent quality.

Welcome and enjoy.

[trueX5er]

Welcome Adrian-

1. As Tomaz said, the X5 is certainly a tough truck, but with all luxury vehicles, there are certain problems and issues that you need to be aware of. (like CV boots and window regulators).

2. The transmission is tough, but the point where it may become an issue is on X5's with more than 100,000 miles. All of them have a manual shift feature built into the automatic gearbox (tiptronic), but it can be delayed at times and I get the same results by shifting the lever into "Sport" mode. Most US owners get the auto, but there are some manual 3.0 models out there.

3. Depending on the owner, the X5 can be well cared for, or not. Look for damage to the wheels, excessive wear to the interior, etc. Throughout the beginning years, there were minor changes to the exterior, like painted door handles, and such. There is also an exterior difference in sport pack and non-sport pack models. (the clear, instead of amber, indicators). Of the '00-'03 models, the '03 was the most significantly updated model, with more features including nicer leather.

4. Besides the refreshed exterior, there are only minor changes in the car itself, mainly little details like a larger sunroof, etc.

5. I echo Tomaz, look out for potential issues.

Good luck!
(nice Hilux, btw)

[alpac]

Dia duit Adrian and :xoutpost:
There is not much more to add to the very good summary from Tomaz and trueX5er. The X5 is indeed an amazing truck. It the best combination of SUV and sport car I have driven to date. Like with all used cars though you have to expect that some things will need to be fixed at a some time. When it happens then you will get all the help you need from this site.
Welcome

[rodberg007]

Hi Adrian - Welcome to the X5 world.

With regards to your initial questions - 'Tomaz' and 'trueX5er' have pretty much given you a good understanding about owning an X5. I just bought an 05 X5 3.0i Sport about 2 months ago with all the toys on it and it's a fantastic 4X4 to drive. Great driving position, very comfortable ride, excellent road handling and fun to drive. There's really no comparison between the Hilux and an X5 - the automatic is great for around town and in traffic, as I'm sure you've experienced especially the M50 car park!!

It's a good time to buy because there's some great deals on the forecourts and alot of the dealers are anxious to do a deal because of the level of stock in the used car market at the moment - it's a buyers market.

Check out www.carzone.ie there's plenty of 02/03 X5s for sale there - try and buy one with a service history - at least you know it's been looked after and serviced by a main dealer.

Hope that helps - any more questions post them here!!

[Aimster]

I got my 2001 X5 Sport-Premium with 88k miles. I have 103k miles now.

Problems?
Exhaust Camshaft Sensor/Intake Camshaft Sensor

Heated seat doesn't work - gets too hot (it didn't work when I got the car, but I found out afterwards).

PDC - It comes on and off.

I don't even use heated seats or pdc, but I thought maybe you'd like to know all my complaints.

Winter the rear door gets stuck sometimes. The cables freezes. Not my problem, but my passnegers. LOL

Overall I'd give the car a 9.5/10.

[You might have seen several threads on here saying transmission problems, etc. I created a lot. It might be just my paranoia because everyone else who has driven my car says it is all in my head]

[Aimster]

I got my 2001 X5 Sport-Premium with 88k miles. I have 103k miles now.

Problems?
Exhaust Camshaft Sensor/Intake Camshaft Sensor

Heated seat doesn't work - gets too hot (it didn't work when I got the car, but I found out afterwards).

PDC - It comes on and off.

I don't even use heated seats or pdc, but I thought maybe you'd like to know all my complaints.

Winter the rear door gets stuck sometimes. The cables freezes. Not my problem, but my passnegers. LOL

Overall I'd give the car a 9.5/10.

[You might have seen several threads on here saying transmission problems, etc. I created a lot. It might be just my paranoia because everyone else who has driven my car says it is all in my head]

[AdrianIreland]

Hey all. Thanks so much for taking the time to write. I think it is now officially time to start test driving. Nice to see another Irish owner in here too!

Cheers and I'll be back!

A

[fangbosun]

I'm more than happy to stand corrected - but I don't think the diesel option was available till '03, so you may have no luck in finding a '01-02. My '03 has been trouble-free.

The '04 does have a more powerful engine and a different 4WD system.