Official 3.0 Diesel Engine Issues & Comments Thread

[JBF]

Yes I think I'm just going to proceed with caution and make sure I test drive the car well. Like you my last 4-5 cars have been German and I can't see myself buying anything else. American cars like Ford and Vauxhall are 'ok' if you only want a car to get you from A to B but they lack the style of a German car. As you said, Asian cars are a bit plastic inside and they also tend to be a little ugly. People either love them or hate them. Most of the Asian on-road 4x4 look like people carriers withthe suspension raised by an inch or two! I like Lexus saloons but the RX is ugly ugly ugly, I'd rather have a Kia Sorento or even a Shogun.

I'll just have to be careful, look at a few X's and make sure that if there's anything that doesn't seem quite right then just walk away. I'll also investigate aftermarket warranties and will consider BMW Approved Used as I may be able to beat the dealers down a bit given not many people are buying cars right now.

All hinges on me being able to sell the Porsche. That might be quite difficult at the moment. I've had it advertised for a few days and no enquiries.

Edit:

That said I've just had someone call who wants to look at it Tomorrow. Had better get out and wax it while there's a break in the rain!

[omodos]

Yeah that sounds like the best thing to do, since I bough mine a year ago they have dropped a couple of grand, so go for a dealer approved one for peace of mind, the only time I have driven Japanese cars is whilst renting abroad, and had great fun with a shogun off road, but yup they are plastic inside…..good luck with the sale of your Porsche, always been my dream car but only minus is practicality and I suppose service costs, always loved the old 928 but was told despite prices being in reach spare parts are a nightmare to source and so is their price, the 944 is the only easy to maintain ‘old’ Porsche, slightly off the point, the other good looking 4x4 are the new land rovers they look very mean….well take your time keep us posted

[omodos]

forget my last comment, the 'new' land rover I am talking about is a concept car I have found out

[JBF]

Tesco warranty actually looks quite good. It's provided by Car Care Plan who also supply many of the manufacturer's extended warranties. Quoted £419/yr to cover an X5 3.0D.

[omodos]

That is good, no such thing out here in cyprus, I already get ripped off on road tax, it costs 600 euros nearly £600! plus another 500 for insurance! and that was one thing I never checked out before getting the x5 over here, above 2.2litre engines the road tax rockets, very annoying!anyway gave the x5 a wash this weekend and it gleams, love the car but just not the best to drive about this busy town, my moped helmet is coming out soon....

[JBF]

Yes, I've been doing some research and have read the policy document etc. The only concern is that they have a clause specifying that they will not pay out for repairs if the claims inspector thinks the condition is pre-existing to the start of warranty cover.

Last night I read a very long thread of an Audi driver who had his head gasket blow shortly after taking out a Tesco warranty (including wear and tear). Audi stripped down the top end (at his cost, to be repaid by the warranty company if the claim was paid out), confirmed gasket failure and recommended replacement, head skim etc. Cost was about £1300 including the strip down. The warranty inspector said the cylinder was 'too clean' and that he suspected the gasket had failed before the warranty started. Tesco wouldn't pay out and he had to foot the bill himself. This is despite the Audi engineers insisting that the car was just serviced and failure had only just occurred, they disagreed with the inspectors opinion and said it was not unreasonable for the cylinder to be clean that quickly.

Difficult. The owner didn't attempt to get the SMMT or Financial Ombudsman involved which apparently helps a lot in cases like this.

It leaves me wondering if the X5 started to lurch, whether they would reasonably be able to claim it was pre-existing. I'm assuming that before making a claim the issue would be raised with BMW, diagnostics, software updates etc. In cases where software updates haven't stopped lurching the only other option I've seen discussed is tranny replacement which seems to have fixed the problem. You can bet at £4500 any warranty company will try to wriggle out of paying out initially. I wonder how helpful BMW would be in backing up a claim.

Your road tax is expensive! Over here it's based on CO2 output and the top band is £400 (yep my Boxster is in that group). Cars registered before 04/2006 drop down one group, that's why I'm looking at a pre-06 plate X5; the tax is only £200. Insurance isn't cheap here, my car is Group 19 (out of 20) and with 11 years driving and no claims or tickets I paid £900 last year plus £130 compulsory tracker subscription. With 17-mpg on premium unleaded from the Boxster, hopefully a diesel X5 will be a bit cheaper to run!

[omodos]

Tracker not compulsory out here and if it does get stolen and ends up in the north of the island that is it! there is no formal recognition of the north by anyone or any country and so the insurance company cannot pursue it, people have been shot for lowering the flag of the 'other side' and the shooter caught on camera and they still cannot get hold of the killer! so getting back an x5 no chance,Politics.

Anyway if you are going for the petrol there should be no lurch issue eh?like I said twice in a year for me and no idea if it damages the transmission a tad worring but I am going to try and enjoy having the car instead of worrying, and people do envy it alas, got keyed at the garage after I was in a small accident, couldn't make any sort of claim as didn't have photos of all the panles before taken it to the garage! and the damage assessor who checked the car didn't take pics of the whole car , just the damaged part before and after so i didnt have a leg to stand on! so I have had my share of nightmare with the x5...diesel 28-30mpg is a plus though, or just get a toyota rav, one of the old ones that last forever and upgrade the interior

[omodos]

check this link out too, not sure how good he is


Car review: BMW X5 E53 SUV (2000 - 2007)

[JBF]

I have someone coming to put down a deposit on my Porsche tonight

Going to see if I can test drive an X5 (3.0D) this afternoon at the local BMW independent dealer.

[omodos]

Well done fella, the x5 3.0d is good, sod all the rubbish press, at the moment I am driving it and not worrying too much, it made me sick worrying too much, life is too short, good luck, also be aware that if you get the ecu re-map the thing will fly…..will cost ya around 500 pounds, supposedly increases fuel economy etc and horsepower http://www.superchips.co.uk/ , if you were out in Cyprus would gladly let you test drive my 3.0d so you could make a more informed decision, all in all it is great

(p.s I am not a superchip salesman )