Buying first non toyata. what 2 xpexct from X5

[spacepanda]

Originally Posted by geauxktm

thanks for looking out seatle but i would be going with 214 wheels or id copy dohoolix4 because that thing is sharp. wow, i would think that any vehicle in the 07-08 range and up would not require the owner to worry about much more than normal maintenece because vehicles have gotten so nice these days and it seems like manufactures would make it a point to be competive in the reliability area. i am not claiming to know what I am talking about I am just surprised to hear this is still the case with German vehicles and the main reason it does not make sense to me is because I have an 04 toyota Sequoia I bought from my dad in 09 and it has 297,000 miles and has never missed a lick. It drives and rides tighter and better than the 2010 tahoe and 2012 suburban that my sister and friend have. I realize this is not the case and there is some luck involved**** So what does nothing today mean? Im still wanting to pose for about a year and a half in a clean X5. Ive ridden and raced dirtbikes, quads, and jet skis all my life so the buffing would be up to someone else and I already work on the RZRs I race to much.

BMWs or ANY luxury car for that matter is not a sensible/rational purchase. Answer these questions.

1. Do you have a daily driver other than the X5 you intend to purchase?
2. Would you be in a pinch if you had to spend $800 to get the car running again? What about $5000?
3. Would it break your heart if the power windows or the sunroof broke and you cannot use it?
4. Are you the type that would want to spend whatever it took to keep the car like it rolled out of the factory?
4. Would you be ok with obsessively listening for noises/hums/creaks etc. so you can identify and fix a problem before it becomes a big expensive mess?
5. Are you observant about how your vehicle performs/behaves? Are you ok with rattles?
6. Are you comfortable letting the car sit on your driveway while you look around to find salvage parts to make your $5000 repair cost $500?
7. Do you like messing with your cars? Or do you like having a ride that you don't care about?
8. Are you ok troubleshooting a problem that requires multiple diagnostic visits? The luxury cars require special computers to perform specific diagnostics and to clear codes.
9. Will you be ok driving the car knowing that it is impossible to find the root cause of some recurring electrical gremlins?
10. Will you be taking car on long road trips or will it be your commuter? Will you be ok if you had to call tow trucks/roadside assistance when you are in the middle of a long trip?

It is not about "Are the German cars, even newer ones not reliable?". Any car will be reliable to drive as long as you put the money, time and maintenance. But the German cars will require more of all 3 compared to the Japanese cars. Your Sequoia probably has less sensors and electrical gizmos that could fail than a 07-08 X5. Heck even a 2010 - 2012 sequoia doesn't have nearly the amount of sensors and gizmos. The more gizmos, the more stuff to fail/replace.

I had an X5 Diesel and answered all these questions and decided that I still wanted to buy the car and was happy for 3 years, until I knew I was going to have a baby. Then my priorities changed and I decided I did not want the car anymore. So it is all about you answering these questions and making peace with your decisions.