If you knew what you know now, Will you buy a X5..!?!?

[Johnny_5]

No matter what car you get Import or European used you are going to have to put money into it to keep it running good. Of course European will be more expensive to upkeep but you get what you pay for. I just picked up a X5 and I was shopping around for a while and was looking at Acura MDX's, Lexus RX330, Mercedes ML's and they all have transmission issues. I think the only Import that was comfortable and felt luxury was the MDX but even that its no comparison to the ride and feel of a X5 and ML. Now between just those two it was a no brainer for the X5 as Im into sporty luxury vehicles. Handling of the X5 is far more superior than the ML and from what Ive seen and read the X5 has stronger transmissions than the ML.

Im not saying that the X5 are not problematic and don't have issues but as the years go by theres more electronics involved. Compared to the older cars I also own a 95 M3 they are very well built and I rarely have any issues with it.

[Quickid]

It's definitely a love-hate relationship with my E53. Damn, I love how it looks and how it rides but there's always something broken. I'm amazed when a month or two passes by without an issue.

If I knew what I was getting into, I probably won't buy an E53 but now I can't get myself to trade it in.

[ny x5 guy]

So I've had my manny tranny 3.0 2003 model for 2 months. The other day my doorman in my apartment building says to me: this lady saw you getting out of your car and wanted to know who you were, said I just saw this man getting out of this incredible new top of the line bmw, does he work in the movies? No joke this really happened to me. I said I used to drive a '98 subaru all beat up clearly the worst looking car in front of my building and now to this, I didn't even pay that much money for it. My doorman said you went from zero to hero.

So - Yes - I would definitely buy my X5 again, it's wunderbar!

[TiAgX5]

I picked mine up (6yrs old and 100k miles) while going thru my divorce.

Soon to be ex-wife and her lawyer saw me getting out of it in the parking garage at courthouse, they went before the judge (with pics of the X) and insisted I had just bought a new + $70k BMW and wanted to see the purchase docs/title. Provided requested docs, Ex/lawyers/judge could not believe the docs showed under $13k for vehicle.

Judge joked he wanted me to go car shopping with him!

[Ricky Bobby]

Ex-wife and ex-wife's lawyer obviously not too smart on used car market pricing LMAO. Epic story for sure.

[TiAgX5]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

Ex-wife and ex-wife's lawyer obviously not too smart on used car market pricing LMAO. Epic story for sure.

Yeah, they think looks new, IS new.

[thrillcat]

Originally Posted by TiAgX5

Yeah, they think looks new, IS new.

Tell them I've got a 4.8is that looks like new and I'll sacrifice it for $15K below the original sticker!

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by TiAgX5

I guess the OP got scared off of buying a BMW. This thread was started over 3 yrs ago and OP has a total of THREE posts!

FWIW, I would purchase a used BMW again, because I knew prior to my first used BMW purchase.....

1) 1 or 2 owners MAX, no owner "quick flips" (less then 3 yrs of ownership, unless lease vehicle).

2) FULL service history!

3) No "rust belt" vehicles.

4) Dealer PPI

5) Clean Carfax

6) No paint/body repairs (excluding plastic bumpers).

7 ) OE glass (if a prior owner thinks crap glass is OK, who knows what else is non-OEM/OEM+ crap)

8) 90 day powertrain warranty (got my X at Sanford Acura, knew 1st owner had traded it for an MDX for his wife). Salesman told me there was NO WAY the dealer would do a warranty, got up to walk, salesman went and got manager OK for warranty. Did a few 140+ mph runs during the warranty period, if it had broken, the dealer would have had to repair.

The X has left me stranded once, waterpump bearing failure.

I DIY everything to keep operation cost low (in 4.5 yrs/85k miles all repairs have been done in my garage, BMW dealer for alignments & tire mount/road force balance ONLY).

[crystalworks]

Guess I'll weigh in here... just purchased my 2005 4.4i sport in June. Have put ~2500 miles on it since purchase. Bought it with 109,500 miles on it for $10000 out the door at one of those smaller dealerships. Had $$$ in order so no haggling about financing. Had it priced at $11000 + TT&L.

So I thought (and still think) I got a decent deal. Good body, few nicks and scratches, but nothing out of the ordinary. One quarter-sized ding on the car and no scratches longer than an inch. Had a completely new cooling system (rad, water pump, expansion tank, etc). Looked like it had been hit in the front because some parts still had BMW parts labels on them... but the work was done with OEM parts and looked good. So I was cool with that. Had clean carfax though. Needed tires bad... bald all the way around. Rear alignment was out ~1.5 degrees on both sides. Nav screen has spots, one regulator is out, one door panel was not re-installed correctly (assumed and confirmed later because of regulator replacement), etc. Nothing out of the ordinary for a used BMW. I buy a lot of them.

No big deal. Get it home (200 mile drive to San Antonio from Houston) to have a good look at it on the ramps. I had already replaced the wheels and tires in Houston before driving the thing home. Had a local shop order them to have them in stock before I went up to pick the vehicle up. Has pretty good oil leak. Needs upper timing gaskets (possibly lowers), valve cover gaskets, various seals for sensors or adjustment units. Needs front suspension component (not id'd yet). Needs rear window regulator, new homelink button due (I'm OCD about this type of stuff) to worn number. Pass folding mirror is wonky.

Ok, bear with me... I know this post is getting long. Including the 20" wheels, tires, parts to repair everything mentioned (minus un-id'd suspension component, and folding mirror parts), mods, and alignment I've spent about $2200. This is TOTALLY normal for almost any used BMW that you don't pay a huge premium for with full service records. I budget that extra coin into any used bimmer purchase. I've had 13 of them now I think, and currently own 4 with a 5th on the horizon for the wife.

Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat... because I know how to work on BMW's, though admittedly this is my first X5. If I had to pay someone to fix everything I would definitely steer clear. But this thing handles really well for any vehicle, let alone something this heavy. The torque from the N62 is addictive. And the thing still looks really good.

[mgbmwx5]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

Guess I'll weigh in here... just purchased my 2005 4.4i sport in June. Have put ~2500 miles on it since purchase. Bought it with 109,500 miles on it for $10000 out the door at one of those smaller dealerships. Had $$$ in order so no haggling about financing. Had it priced at $11000 + TT&L.

So I thought (and still think) I got a decent deal. Good body, few nicks and scratches, but nothing out of the ordinary. One quarter-sized ding on the car and no scratches longer than an inch. Had a completely new cooling system (rad, water pump, expansion tank, etc). Looked like it had been hit in the front because some parts still had BMW parts labels on them... but the work was done with OEM parts and looked good. So I was cool with that. Had clean carfax though. Needed tires bad... bald all the way around. Rear alignment was out ~1.5 degrees on both sides. Nav screen has spots, one regulator is out, one door panel was not re-installed correctly (assumed and confirmed later because of regulator replacement), etc. Nothing out of the ordinary for a used BMW. I buy a lot of them.

No big deal. Get it home (200 mile drive to San Antonio from Houston) to have a good look at it on the ramps. I had already replaced the wheels and tires in Houston before driving the thing home. Had a local shop order them to have them in stock before I went up to pick the vehicle up. Has pretty good oil leak. Needs upper timing gaskets (possibly lowers), valve cover gaskets, various seals for sensors or adjustment units. Needs front suspension component (not id'd yet). Needs rear window regulator, new homelink button due (I'm OCD about this type of stuff) to worn number. Pass folding mirror is wonky.

Ok, bear with me... I know this post is getting long. Including the 20" wheels, tires, parts to repair everything mentioned (minus un-id'd suspension component, and folding mirror parts), mods, and alignment I've spent about $2200. This is TOTALLY normal for almost any used BMW that you don't pay a huge premium for with full service records. I budget that extra coin into any used bimmer purchase. I've had 13 of them now I think, and currently own 4 with a 5th on the horizon for the wife.

Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat... because I know how to work on BMW's, though admittedly this is my first X5. If I had to pay someone to fix everything I would definitely steer clear. But this thing handles really well for any vehicle, let alone something this heavy. The torque from the N62 is addictive. And the thing still looks really good.

Sounds like you have everything under control.
Any pics of the X5?