Buying x5

[sincityg]

Hello everyone, im new to the forums and I'm looking to buy e53 I'm trying to do some research on the car since I'm looking for a used. If you guys can help me I wanted to know how realible are x5's and any major probs. or issues and things too look for when buying a used one.


Thank you

[Kloogy]

As with any used BMW, it's good to buy from a reputable Bmw dealer. Get a CPO ( Certified Pre Owned ) . This way it will still be warratied

[gitchies]

Should be able to find yourself a nice one in Vegas!!! i've seen some nice 4.8is models there....

[sincityg]

There are alot of them here for sale, and 4.8 is what I'm mainly looking for but I'd settle for a clean 4.4 whats the maintenance on them cause I'll probay get one from a private owner most likely out of warranty.

[gitchies]

i'm sure most people will say they are expensive to maintain, but if you do it properly then you should have a good running vehicle. Good independent shops out there aswell, not always only a dealer type vehicle...hell i wish i lived in america!! Everything is cheaper there....ie, spark plugs here for ngk ones, run me 13-15 for one, plus 13% sales tax....found the same ones at autozone, less then 60 for all 8...?
Gas here is running about 1.29 per litre...roughly 4 litres to 1 gallon...over 5 a gallon!!...11 for a pack of cigarettes....
so think of a fellow canadian next you fill up!!!!

[tomcat]

Sorry to be the crotchety old timer here, but there is a ton of info here easily accessible through the search function (I think there actually is a "What to look for..." type thread). If you do have not already owned a European car out of warranty, then be very careful. These are not like the stereotypical Honda or Toyota. They MUST be maintained ($) or you can have serious i$$ues; you may still have issues even when you maintain. You will find many horror stories here, but most of us satisfied owners have either been problem free or knew what to expect beforehand.
For example, I have a 4.8is with a CPO warranty until August of this year. Without that, I would have spent a couple of thousand in the 1.5 years I've owned it. When the warranty expires, I have an independent BMW mechanic I will take her to that I have been using for the last 10 years. Gas mileage for me in mostly city with a heavy right foot is rarely over 15, but the smile I get burning the dinosaurs is worth it personally to me.
Again, search is your friend.
Good luck!

Scott

[Kloogy]

Originally Posted by tomcat

Sorry to be the crotchety old timer here, but there is a ton of info here easily accessible through the search function (I think there actually is a "What to look for..." type thread). If you do have not already owned a European car out of warranty, then be very careful. These are not like the stereotypical Honda or Toyota. They MUST be maintained ($) or you can have serious i$$ues; you may still have issues even when you maintain. You will find many horror stories here, but most of us satisfied owners have either been problem free or knew what to expect beforehand.
For example, I have a 4.8is with a CPO warranty until August of this month. Without that, I would have spent a couple of thousand in the 1.5 years I've owned it. When the warranty expires, I have an independent BMW mechanic I will take her to that I have been using for the last 10 years. Gas mileage for me in mostly city with a heavy right foot is rarely over 15, but the smile I get burning the dinosaurs is worth it personally to me.
Again, search is your friend.
Good luck!

Scott

Couldn't say it better myself !

[jmweb]

What year? I would suggest avoiding a few years.....some are nothing but problems, others not so much

[gregorio]

I've had my 2004 for 6 months and the bills are piling up. If it was not for the $2500 aftermarket warranty, I would be broke. My most expensive repairs so far have been;

1. Complete trans rebuild - $250 deduct. $4800 total
2. 8 Spark plugs and 3 coils - $540
3. Cracked coolant recovery tank - $240 used
4. Leaking radiator side tanks- $1100

All of this work was done by an idependent shop that has reasonable rates. The dealer wanted $7200 for the transmission. This list also does not account for the tires and brakes which according to the records, mine has had a set of each every 20-25K miles.

HOWEVER, compared to other vehicles in this class, the X5 is a very capable and well built vehicle. Don't get me started on my V8 Touareg that has 30,000 LESS miles than my X5. If I was to do it again, I would certainly buy another X5 but would spend a little more and get one with less than 60,000 miles. I bought mine for $16,000 with 80K miles and it now has over 90K but has cost me over $5,000 in the warranty and non coverved repairs.

[RickM5X3]

Mine is costing $4k a year in maintenance/repairs. 97k miles.