realistic reliability of an x5 - coming from 325xi

[mcurcio1989]

I have been driving an 02 325xi for the past three years and I love the car but its time to upgrade while it still has some resale value. I have several trailers and I really should have a car that I can tow with. I looked at grand cherokee's and other small - midsize suv's and I just hated the thought of giving up the things I like so much about the 3 series (fit and finish of the interior and its ride). I am a bimmer guy and I don't really want to ever dd anything else. I started looking at x5's and I think the vehicle would be a perfect fit for me but I have concerns with the cost of ownership.

First of all let me say that I have never paid a shop to do anything for me other than alignment. If a job can be done without special tools costing thousands of dollars (which I have yet to encounter) I do it. I expect even a reliable car to require incidental as well as routing maintenance and repairs. Things that concern me are when people talk about things such as transmissions, engines, or axles / difs that are almost certain to fail. I hear a lot of talk about issues with costly repairs on x5's and it is hard to tell if that is just the "people only talk about the bad on forums" phenomena or if it is something I should be scared of.

Right now I am looking at an '05 with 80k on the odo and basically every package their is. I don't really need all the packages but it would be nice unless they are prone to problems (ie. nav failure or a sunroof costly failure). I do really like heated seats as it gets cold here in the winter.

When I bought my xi there were all kinds of people telling me that the trans was basically a ticking time bomb and (knock on wood) shes still going strong. And everyone talked about terrible electrical problems which I have not experienced at all. The E53 has been in production for 14 years now and out of production for 7 so any real issues should be well documented. I have searched and will search more but of course " you cannot search for something that you don't know to look for."

So any advice or links to similar discussion would be great. Are their any years to avoid or options to avoid? how much will the cost of ownership on an x5 differ from my 325xi. (Like I said I expect to have to replace little things like regulators and cooling system components as well as inspection II items).

Also I drive 50 miles each day on my commute to work and I will probably tow an average of about once a week (mostly things under 3-4klbs in flat terrain. I would like the 4.4 for the added power and it seems to not hurt the mpgs much compared to the 3.0. Is that true in experience? any advice on the engine side of things?

[TerminatorX5]

while a 3.0i will tow 3-4klbs just fine, of course a V8 will do it with more confidence, just for the sheer pleasure of more torque. Another key issue in the towing - the tow package. the OE tow package is an elaborate set of parts that replace some of the parts originally included with the car, thus reinforcing the tail end of the car. Make sure that the tow package is the factory OE package (usually installed by a dealer as a aftersale item). the tow package is rated at 6000 lbs.

With the V8 at 80K you should look at the blue smoke phenomenon - while it is not the end of the world, it is something to keep in mind and mitigate...Do your regular due diligince, like the carfax, the PPI... check for the suspension, the rear frame bushings, the leaks... those are maintenance items...

[civdiv99]

What to expect - - - It's all over the map.

I'm like you - nothing that I can conceive going wrong that I won't be able to repair myself, and I have found parts to be priced along the lines of "normal" car parts - provided you don't want to use genuine BMW parts on (in may case) a 12 model year old car. That said............

I have an '02 4.4i. A coworker here has a 2005 E46. Both are our daily drivers. Hers has been just about 100% trouble free. Only issue I know of is some electrical issues whereby the car insisted she had a tail light out, which wasn't. So reliable for her that when they got a new car, she chose to keep the E46.

Mine has, from what I can tell by reading this forum the last several years, less problems than many out there. Still, I had the very common transmission failure of, without getting into details, an axial bearing that fails and results in "slip-bang" as it goes into failsafe. I pulled it apart and replaced the bearing ($40 or so as I recall), and replaced the orings and clutches while I was in there (that kit was under $400). Normal hand tools, righty-tighty, lefty-loosey applies. A few quirky things, and otherwise mostly wear parts - suspension items, water pump, brakes, etc. (again, go aftermarket like rockauto.com and it's no big deal). Let a CV boot go too long so replaced the entire half-shaft, but that was only $60 for the whole axle assy (rockauto, again). My cost of ownership has been extremely low ONLY because I do everything myself.

However, I would not have this E53 as my only car, but I also have options on what I choose to drive, and I choose this, even for road trips.

If you understand by reading through this forum that there are a variety of little odds and ends (and the occasional big one) that WILL occur, and you you can shrug it off, order the part(s), and just roll with it, then you will probably enjoy it as much as others do theirs, as you will also read about on this forum.

Just don't expect an E46 ownership experience in a bigger package.

[mcurcio1989]

I was planning on either finding a vehicle with the tow package on it or purchasing the oem hitch from my local dealer and installing myself. Thank you for pointing out the difference their though I was not aware of that.

Thanks for the other info as well I will look into that blue smoke issue. So judging from your lack of comment on the big ticket item scares would you say that is not a realistic fear? Their seemed to be a lot of people talking about the trans wiring harness and being a dealer only install which makes me nervous.

[civdiv99]

Well, maybe I didn't emphasize it enough, so let me put it this way:

"If I were to buy another 4.4i or an E39 with the ZF 5HP24 trans, I would build into my expectations, up front, that the trans will develop one of the "not uncommon" maladies and will be coming out and apart for repair - just a matter of when."

That doesn't mean the failure will occur. But that does mean that my personal experience, plus years of reading this forum, the E39 forums, and even Range Rover forums is such that I would expect it to fail at some point, and be pleasantly surprised if it does not.

Contrasted with, say, my Toyota Tundra whereby I don't expect it to fail, but understand anything may fail, and will be surprised if it does.

[TerminatorX5]

expectations... lol... everything man-made will break, everything God-made will die... lol... well... maybe it does not apply to pyramids... question is - how long it will last before it breaks...

go with the facelifted version, it has a 6-speed...

[mcurcio1989]

^oops I was commenting on the first response and hadn't refreshed before submitting that reply so I did not see yours.

I am happy to hear that you work on yours and are able to find reasonably priced parts, you sound like you have a similar mindset as I do.

That said I have never pulled a trans that I thought was really that big of a deal. How are the trans on these to remove? I've pulled my fair share of trans, including an 800 lb 10 speed manual on my freightliner toterhome (which I hope to be the most miserable trans I ever have to pull).

It sounds like your failure was relatively straight forward to repair once the trans was out? I have torn apart and rebuilt manuals before but never an automatic and they seem much more complex. I have a friend that can get rebuild kits at cost and provide fairly inexpensive rebuilds so that may be working for me here.

Why do you say you wouldn't have this as your only vehicle ? is it really that unreliable, I have a motorcycle and street legal sand rail but those aren't really great as back ups on account of precipitation.

[JWMich]

My independent guys have always said the e53 is no better and no worse than any other BMW of its vintage. When I ask, they say they don't see them come in for work other than maintenance very often, and they'd be buyers.

The internet BS level is way, way overdone. Don't let it scare you.

Be SURE you buy one that had been cared for and driven reasonably. 2006 is the best year, you will want the sport package and 4.4i. Stay away from the ones that have been beat to hell, and over-maintain while you have it, and you'll be a happy guy. Nothing else on the road compares to an e53.

[mcurcio1989]

^ That is the kind of stats I like to here. It can be so hard to judge reliability from the internet. I think independent shops have a much better gauge.

Why is it that you say to get 06 plus. I was planning on 04-05 mostly because of budget and I think I like the body style a little better.

[mcurcio1989]

Also I read up on the blue smoke deal. Sounds like a variety of minor gaskets and valves than can cause it then the worst case scenario being the valve stems. That sounds like a pretty nasty job as people talk about having to pull the engine to get to the back two. Obviously I am not going to buy something that has blue smoke but in anticipation of what a future repair would look like any idea on the cost for parts to do the job? I would guess you spend more on all the various seals and gaskets that you need to replace to get to the seals than anything else.