Considering a 4.8i or 35d E70

[the_ulf]

You have to weigh up the savings in buying a reasonably well preserved N62 with low mileage vs the fuel savings you'd see in an N54/N55 or M57. N62s aren't exactly the crown jewel in BMW's history but you can be just as unlucky with any of the others. I'd have preferred to buy a 35i instead of the 4.8i but spending the extra $20k to buy (used) I'd probably never make that money back in fuel savings, bearing in mind that on a recent 2500km trip through BC & Alberta I achieved about 10l/100km, which isn't bad at all for a nearly 2.5t behemoth. 35i owners, I'm guessing N54 specifically, also complain about lag, which you won't get with the V8. valley pipe seal leak hasn't happened for me (yet) at almost 140,000km and all in all the car is very enjoyable to drive and absolutely crammed with options you often won't get in the "budget" 35d. It really depends on your priorities. I wouldn't want to swap mine for any of the others.

[Jyohay]

Originally Posted by the_ulf

You have to weigh up the savings in buying a reasonably well preserved N62 with low mileage vs the fuel savings you'd see in an N54/N55 or M57. N62s aren't exactly the crown jewel in BMW's history but you can be just as unlucky with any of the others. I'd have preferred to buy a 35i instead of the 4.8i but spending the extra $20k to buy (used) I'd probably never make that money back in fuel savings, bearing in mind that on a recent 2500km trip through BC & Alberta I achieved about 10l/100km, which isn't bad at all for a nearly 2.5t behemoth. 35i owners, I'm guessing N54 specifically, also complain about lag, which you won't get with the V8. valley pipe seal leak hasn't happened for me (yet) at almost 140,000km and all in all the car is very enjoyable to drive and absolutely crammed with options you often won't get in the "budget" 35d. It really depends on your priorities. I wouldn't want to swap mine for any of the others.

all x5s are n55. only 1 year, the first of the x6 was n54.
n55 lag really isnt bad, if you hit the kickdown, full boost comes on almost instantly, its really all about how you apply throttle to get the most consistent boost. i drive exclusively in D/S mode. pushing 20lbs of boost on stage 2 cobb is quite different from the 6-8 it gets stock though

[brian5]

No regrets with my 2008 X5 4.8i. I would buy it again. Yes, not cheap to maintain but I think it's worth it.

Best advice that I can give you is look for low mileage. Mine has only done 56,000 miles and everything is in great shape.

[Duc Hunter]

Love my X35D. Have a dog, paddle board, its my daily driver....It replaced a 2011 Audi A4 Avant (that was setup very nice) AND a 2004 Toyota 4Runner V8 (that is lifted and sweet as well). It does it all better than those two (ok except MAYBE twisty mountain roads vs the lowered Audi). Averaging 22mpg since I bought it, mostly drive around town. On road trips I have it 28mpg+. So far (3,133 miles) I love it. It is surprisingly quick too with al of its torque!

[jfoj]

I have a 2008 4.8l X5 with 78k mile on it that I picked up with 64k in Feb and for those worried about the coolant transfer pipe problems, suggest you look into this option - Bimmer Fix | Coolant Pipe Repair System

$200 kit and all that is needed is to remove/replace the water pump.

My water pump started making noise just before a 2300 mile road trip. Did not have time to replace the pump before the trip. Crossed my fingers and hoped I would have the luck of the Irish. Luckily the water pump survived the trip.

So when planning on the pump replacement, I decided to proactively install the Bimmerfix stent kit. Not so hard, slight PITA with having to sand the front engine housing slightly to get the stent to slide in without too much resistance.

Ended up using a 1/2" drive socket that happened to be exactly 1 1/2" long to tap the stent in the final depth.

Do not have much time on the modification at this point, but hope and expect this to head off any coolant pipe problem in the future.

Water pump replacement was not too bad, I was able to do it without removing the front engine pulley, which makes things a bit trickier. Suggest replacing the later stub coolant pipe and the plastic water pump pulley when doing the water pump job.

I am also running the 90C thermostat in the engine as well and so far no MAP thermostat codes (will have to see what happens this Winter), but it is an easy swap back to the stock thermostat if needed for the Winter. Engine clearly runs cooler, right around the 90C range even in the high Summer temps.

Overall I really like the 4.8l, I am able to get 23 MPG pushing the thing hard on long trips. I averaged 23 MPG for 1100 miles at a 72 MPH speed for the 1100 miles. I am sure if I slowed down I would have been able to get closer to 25 MPG. Again, this is with the 90C thermostat.

No oil usage at this time, if it becomes and issue, there are people that will do the job for around $2000 if you shop it or you can buy the tools, then resell them if you want to try the DIY route.