anyone considered moving to the new X5 3.5d?

[JCL]

Originally Posted by HPIA4v2

For some unfounded reason I am leary buying diesel engine that needs urea injector. If Audi and Benz can do w/o, BMW should.

Audi and Mercedes both use urea injection. Daimler calls theirs Blu Tec, and Audi licensed the system from them.

[HPIA4v2]

Originally Posted by JCL

Audi and Mercedes both use urea injection. Daimler calls theirs Blu Tec, and Audi licensed the system from them.

Learn new things everyday

For some reason I always thought Benz and Audi have more knowledge in diesel technology than any car mfg since I've seen alot of them on the road; give them the benefit of the doubt too much.

[sunny5280]

Originally Posted by c4racer

The BMW lease rates are relatively attractive right now. Actually what makes it work well is the $4500 eco credit. That gives you effectively a zero down deal and $579 / month for 36 months for the BMW national deal, and I bet you could do 10% better with some negotiation.

The 3.0L twin turbo diesel looks to be an interesting engine - 425lb-ft of torque is a nice number. runs 0-60 in 6.9sec, so is nearly a second slower than my 4.6is there, but I would bet passing power with the turbos and all that tq is pretty similar. And at 12K miles per year assuming a 22mpg average vs my 16 or so nets $50-60 / month at current gas prices too.

I don't really need a new SUV, but thoughts of tranny failure or something else that would cost me big $$ has me a bit worried about the old E53. Mine has been relatively trouble-free so far with over 100K miles on the clock, which I realize is not a big deal with a BMW.

Has anyone made the switch, considered it? driven one?

Buy the 3.5d because you want a new/different X5 and not because you want better fuel economy over your current X5. Given the lease information you provided you'll spend $20,844 for lease payments to net $2,160 in fuel savings over your current vehicle. From a finacial perspective buying it solely for better fuel economy makes no sense.

[c4racer]

Originally Posted by sunny5280

Buy the 3.5d because you want a new/different X5 and not because you want better fuel economy over your current X5. Given the lease information you provided you'll spend $20,844 for lease payments to net $2,160 in fuel savings over your current vehicle. From a finacial perspective buying it solely for better fuel economy makes no sense.

I would come out basically even after selling my X5, but at the end of 3 years I would have nothing vs. keeping my 4.6is it is still worth something in 3 years, although will have 140K miles on it by then. Factoring in repair and maint costs of the older vehicle it might still be a wash financially - depends what breaks on the older one. I also write off a lease on taxes which helps too.

Anyway - pretty much decided not to pursue it. The specific unit I was considering is priced at least $5-6K higher than what I would need to make it more enticing. and at this point I guess I'd rather put more $$ into a fun car like a 135i or M3 or vette.