realistic reliability of an x5 - coming from 325xi

[bcredliner]

Now that dar is a guud questin. How lon IS dis gonna go on? Wats all dis semble, kit, ina cart, opchins ya goin dancin round bout? I bougt sum shoos. All I am a needin to now frum dat guy a sellin dem if da is fur me, all da stuff I kneedid to kep dem on was dare, day fits guud, an day ain't gonna fall off.

[Matyoka]

Bought my 2005 X5 in 2008, changed oil every 5k miles and still kicking hard at 80k miles

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

Now that dar is a guud questin. How lon IS dis gonna go on? Wats all dis semble, kit, ina cart, opchins ya goin dancin round bout? I bougt sum shoos. All I am a needin to now frum dat guy a sellin dem if da is fur me, all da stuff I kneedid to kep dem on was dare, day fits guud, an day ain't gonna fall off.

Originally Posted by JCL

Is this all going to end soon? Just wondering.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

Me an my bruthers, 5 and 6, been talkin all day long bout how long this a gonna go on. We got no mor dan a idear what we we gonna do taday so can hardlee say but we agreein, ya'll don need to git yer cows a runnin

Billy bob 7

[mcurcio1989]

Well it may be to soon to speak but it appears my 122k well maintained auto trans on the 325xi died on the way to work this morning. One second I'm driving along fine and the next it felt like somebody had popped it into neutral. Aside from being a stupid expenditure this has gotten me not so excited about the thought of an x5 which as everyone says is less relaible.

[srmmmm]

That's exactly what happened when the splines on my front driveshaft gave out at 136,000 miles. Front driveshaft from BMW $900. Used transfer case with 76,000 miles on it $1680. Labor to "freshen up" the transfer case and perform installation $1620. Mine happened in August of 2009. Since then, you can get rebuilt transfer cases for $1000 with a warranty, and I believe there are sources for driveshafts that have a longer spline length for better engagement in the transfer case. Good luck!

2002 X5 3.0 236,0000 miles
2004 325i 105,000 miles

[bcredliner]

Not everyone says an X5 is less reliable, The problems I have experienced with over 108,000 are normal wear items. We had a 325. My wife drove it for 115,000mi. and it was very reliable also--she drives normally, I drive very hard.

The difference in the two for us was that the normal wear items, like suspension, as an example, have come sooner for the X5. That's logical with extra weight and higher center of gravity. If I had had to rebuild a transmission on either North of 80,000 mi. I would not have been surprised and would be OK with it.

My guess is that forum folks would be more spirited drivers but I have nothing to base that on. If you haven't, you might want to sample some the 3 series forums, especially those that are on the high performance side as a comparison to X5 reliability. Or compare the cost of ownership of the X3 with the 325.

My experience with forums has been no different than if you go around a room, of say 20 people, and ask them each for the +/- of making a change. When the +/- points are exhausted the minus side will be several pages and the + side might fill one page. Point is, if you ask a question like--what do you think of these wheels, what is your experience with eBay parts or I am thinking of buying an X5 and would like your input there will be more negatives--that's how the world normally work

IMO, what is significant is, for whatever reasons, whatever the cost has been, we all have still have an X. That says to me that the positives out weigh the negatives. I don't know your budget for associated cost of ownership or others participating in the forum but since there are so many DIYers, I would bet the vast majority don't have an unlimited budget.

My wife now drives a 335. I intend to keep the X5 I have and plan to buy another X5 when I get tired of the this one, if I ever do. or when it looks old.

[mcurcio1989]

^^I am guessing your referring to an x5 right? I am familiar with the front driveshaft spline issue on the x5 and I immediately thought of that when this happened and then after talking to people around here I convinced myself of the worst. From the e46 forum it sounds like my GM trans is not likely in the least to fail like that but for some reason on the e46's cv shafts have a tendency to go out like that. I have never heard of the short spline issue on those. I had just swapped out my passenger side about 2 weeks ago so I am really suspect that something came loose or whatever and cause it to spin and dump all the unused power over there.

^Interesting, that is the way I feel much of the time. Like I said when I bought my 3 series I got all that talk and so far so good but then today kinda changed that for me, making me think maybe they just really are that unreliable of cars. It is sounding like it may just be a cv and could even been my fault installing it so I won't hold that against anything if that is the case.

[DTMdan]

Financially, it's a bad move. The E53's are as bad as the internet makes them out to be. You won't believe it until you've owned one though.

[upallnight]

If it's not a car with a factory warranty or a CPO car and you are not a DIYer, a use X5 is not the car to own. Parts are expensive because it's a BMW and labor is expensive because it's a BMW.