x5 for the wife. Bad idea? too late now.

[gasayers]

Originally Posted by meltdown325

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Reading this forum will make you paranoid about your X5.

Thats an understatement. Pity more people with good experiances don't post.
Thanks for all the comments.
It sure is a great car to drive. Hopefully I won't have to start posting of troubles other than accepted wear and tear.
Cheers

[SlowRider]

I totally understand how you feel gasayers, my previous two vehicles were indestructible Toyotas. After two months of owning my X5 (bought at 65,000 miles), I spotted a coolant leak that ultimately required a new radiator. A bad radiator can leave you stranded, so now I'm a little paranoid. After reading xoutpost and talking to a few indy mechanics, I felt compelled to pay a lot of money for some preventative maintenance - new water pump, expansion tank, hoses, etc. Then I realized.... THIS is what it means to be a BMW owner.

I decided to simply replace the radiator, the only part that was actually broken.

[PMS]

I have had my 2002 x5 for 4 years now and it has been a nightmare.

2 keys
door lock
alternator
pdc sensor
memory seat unit
cast bracket for drivers door
Electric mirror motor
fan controller
the list and the repair bills go on and on!!

This site has been a life saver, it allows you to diagnose problems and repair them yourself. my X5 BLOWS!!!

But I still love it

[X5Sport]

We have a 2005 E53 Diesel which has had its share of little niggles, none of which were serious until a premature tranny failure - and even then it still got us home.

The only time we've been stuck was last weekend when the fuel pump relay failed 400km from home. Breakdown recovery gave my wife a loan car to get home and trailered the car to the dealer the next day. So I guess you can't really say she was stranded even then.

We do have a 3rd party warranty too which has saved some nasty expensive surprises.

It doesn't have Japanese reliability, but then you can look at what has happened to Toyota in the last 12 months and their recalls. BMW have never had anything that major. I suspect BMW's problems are the cars are hugely complex (same as Merc, Jaguar, Audi etc) and therefore tricky to fix without clever support technology. In my experience the costs have been higher to find the problem rather than fixing it. The fuel relay took 4 hours to find ($500) and $13 to fix as no fault codes were thrown.

In all honesty I wouldn't worry about it. If she's that concerned get her a good breakdown support cover.

[gasayers]

Sooo your saying to own a BMW is to be a megalomaniac masochist?
and that a BMW is a really expensive car that breaks down a lot so is better than a cheap Toyota that runs forever?
Actually my wife’s corona, if I'm honest, is leaking oil, has just had a new radiator fitted, needs the timing belt replaced every 100000km, the central locking works but is dodgy, radio is dodgy, tape deck dead, new battery, had work done on the overhead cam, cv cover, air conditioner fixed twice and has had suspension issues fixed. All minor but nonetheless. And I classify that as reliable?
Need to win lotto so we can drive new cars.
Love my Surf though and it tows the boat easily.
My only real concern with the X5 is the transmission.
Cheers

[X5Sport]

Not necessarily. Given the mileage on yours it's a good un. There must be many more perfectly servieable BMWs out there that never appear on any of these Forums because they've never broken. Let's face it, not many of us come up and say that our cars are stunningly good and have been great every day we've owned them - most people come on these Forums because they're stuck and have a problem they need help with...

Auto trannies are always going to be an issue, regardless of manufacturer and car they're used in, because they are much more complex than a manual and a clutch. But then again, some manuals are dreadful. I can remember running a fleet of LandRovers that we had no end of troubles with, particularly the gearboxes and transfer boxes and they were all manuals.

Using a BMW dealer is always more expensive, but often no more than many other premium car dealerships. We now use an indy who's hourly rate is less than 1/3rd of main dealer costs. Luxury car ownership comes with luxury car costs of ownership - you would think that the quality would be far better, but also not always is this true. I've accepted this and just bought a brand new E71 X6 40d and the technology on that is another order of magnitude up on the X5. It's got 8-speeds in the auto for goodness sake!!

[gasayers]

oooppss, just read my original post. It's 160000km not 260000km.

[Boston X5 4.4]

"x5 for the wife. Bad idea?"

....dunno, haven't seen your wife


Welcome and enjoy the new ride.

[Z3inSC]

Originally Posted by gasayers

Sooo your saying to own a BMW is to be a megalomaniac masochist?
and that a BMW is a really expensive car that breaks down a lot so is better than a cheap Toyota that runs forever?
Actually my wife’s corona, if I'm honest, is leaking oil, has just had a new radiator fitted, needs the timing belt replaced every 100000km, the central locking works but is dodgy, radio is dodgy, tape deck dead, new battery, had work done on the overhead cam, cv cover, air conditioner fixed twice and has had suspension issues fixed. All minor but nonetheless. And I classify that as reliable?
Need to win lotto so we can drive new cars.
Love my Surf though and it tows the boat easily.
My only real concern with the X5 is the transmission.
Cheers

I had to laugh when I read this!

I would say that owning a Land Rover (as I have--2 no less) with an Alfa on the side and my teen/college years in an MG & Triumph, would definitely place me in the megalomaniac masochist grouping.

Honestly, the LR's and the Alfa were good cars in their own right, but what it comes down to is just staying on top of the maintenance and routines of checking the fluids, etc... A BMW is no different--parts are definitely cheaper than the LR at least here in the US.

Just drive it, enjoy it and pay some attention to the maintenance and you should be fine. As others mentioned, forums naturally will have more stories of break downs or 'issues' for either gaining knowledge on how to fix said 'issues' (DIY or to a mechanic), make some upgrades or to maybe vent some frustrations.

Thanks for your welcome to me for the forum as well. And a welcome back to you.

[isis]

Hi gasayers,
Hi from NZ, Auckland!
I just put a deposit on an 05 and awaiting collection.
I got my mechanic - bmw workshop to do a pre purchase inspection for me.
The first thing he asked me was - are you ready for an X5 ownership?
i currently have an e30 & e36!
Basically he said, keep aside up to 4k a year in maintenance at min, considering i spend half that on both cars!
Brakes cost about $500 a side just to get an estimate of what somethings can cost.
needless to say, i've picked up a warranty as well.

nice to see another kiwi member here.