In the market for a used BMW X5 35d

[bfeng]

I think these are pretty unreliable due to the diesel emissions system and then a host of well known other weaknesses. In addition to the mentioned weak areas, my steering rack is starting to seize ($2500), the air bags failed ($350) hvac blower failed ($250), the wood trim all crazed/cracked in the first winter out of warranty ($800), and it's full of buzzes and rattles. I've had mine going on 5 years and am averaging $2000 a year in repairs (in addition to maintenance work). My towing mpg is about 13 at 65mph pulling a 6000lbs encoded car hauler, and it runs out of power going up steep hills at 75mph. I think a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT might tow better. I'm sure if I did a delete and tune it would tow better. But I'm a tree hugger so no emissions delete for me. Overall a nice SUV, but not at all reliable. Our Mercedes W166 has simular miles and no repairs. Our previous W164 Mercedes went 175k without any major repairs and went to a new owner running strong.

[spyro235]

Originally Posted by bfeng

I think these are pretty unreliable due to the diesel emissions system and then a host of well known other weaknesses. In addition to the mentioned weak areas, my steering rack is starting to seize ($2500), the air bags failed ($350) hvac blower failed ($250), the wood trim all crazed/cracked in the first winter out of warranty ($800), and it's full of buzzes and rattles. I've had mine going on 5 years and am averaging $2000 a year in repairs (in addition to maintenance work). My towing mpg is about 13 at 65mph pulling a 6000lbs encoded car hauler, and it runs out of power going up steep hills at 75mph. I think a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT might tow better. I'm sure if I did a delete and tune it would tow better. But I'm a tree hugger so no emissions delete for me. Overall a nice SUV, but not at all reliable. Our Mercedes W166 has simular miles and no repairs. Our previous W164 Mercedes went 175k without any major repairs and went to a new owner running strong.

$250 to replace a blower motor? It’s a $90 part, and 15 minutes of work... if you lost your screwdriver and had to spend 5 minutes looking for it.
Arnott bags with lifetime warranty should’ve been $120 a side, so $240 total... but those of us with coil springs don’t have to worry. Admitted I could probably use new front springs, they’re rustier than they should be.

I’ve personally never heard of steering rack problems, I don’t think that’s common at all. And I got 20mpg average towing long distance with 7k lbs Of open car hauler behind me- pulling an (enclosed) wall is hard!
In my experience, fixes on this vehicle are no more expensive than my Acura TL was. With the exception of emissions, of course. I would say that it’s very advantageous to have another car and be willing to DIY things, but that’s true for any luxury vehicle.

And towing, I could accelerated up the steepest highway hills I could find, up to 85. My trailer tires are only rated to 80 so I’m not really willing to go much higher, or stay there for any more than a few seconds. If I’m willing to torture it, I really feel I could’ve pulled 7k uphill at 75+ until my fuel ran out.

[bfeng]

Reliability of BMWs is and order of magnitude worse than a Honda andToyota products. I’ve been driving BMW’s for nearly 45 years and reliability has been poor since the late 1980’s.

Maybe repair costs on Honda’s are similar but my experience with them is they break less often.


All that said, my next vehicle will be a diesel X5 (F15).
After that I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay with BMW because no more diesels. Maybe that’ll be when I get an F250 for race transport and a Tesla for DD.

[spyro235]

My next tow vehicle would be a 350 probably. Something that I didn’t need to daily, potentially drw. The only reason I can see getting rid of the x5d is that my towing needs out grow it.

[BMWX5CHI]

Pulled the trigger on a super clean 2011 X5 35D. California car, zero rust, always serviced at BMW dealer. Got her delivered last week. I was searching and saw this one in CA. Loaded with goodies. I got the 3rd row option and my 8 year old loves it. Love the power and the diesel sound. Wife says she sounds like a semi. It didn't come with the tow hitch, but says "Trailer Coupling Preparation" Would any one know what parts I would need? Got to say i'm excited to join the 35D club.

[ard]

Wow. That is a dedicated shopper! 6-7 months?


Miles?



You need a hitch and a connector harness/adapter. And something to code it to turn on towing.


TBH, unless you have immediate towing needs, Id spend some $ on maintenance that BMW dealers dont do. Like ATF, diffs.

[BMWX5CHI]

Originally Posted by ard

Wow. That is a dedicated shopper! 6-7 months?


Miles?



You need a hitch and a connector harness/adapter. And something to code it to turn on towing.


TBH, unless you have immediate towing needs, Id spend some $ on maintenance that BMW dealers dont do. Like ATF, diffs.

Hahahaha, no. I was thinking about buying one in October then had to change plans. In April I had the fortunate opportunity to start searching again and found this one. Currently has 125,005 miles.

[jwalker87]

lol - were you looking in November/December? I just bought a nearly identical car ... in Chicago! 2011 blue diesel with sport package, 3rd row, cold weather package, etc.


I just installed the trailer hitch (buy the hitch and wiring harness combo, search ECS Tuning for the part number) and it wasn't too bad at all, though I'm still figuring out the coding.


Definitely plan on deleting the alphabet soup and tuning, but it's low on my priority list.

[BMWX5CHI]

Originally Posted by jwalker87

lol - were you looking in November/December? I just bought a nearly identical car ... in Chicago! 2011 blue diesel with sport package, 3rd row, cold weather package, etc.


I just installed the trailer hitch (buy the hitch and wiring harness combo, search ECS Tuning for the part number) and it wasn't too bad at all, though I'm still figuring out the coding.


Definitely plan on deleting the alphabet soup and tuning, but it's low on my priority list.

Hahahaha, the ones I saw here in Chicago were out of my price range. Going to do the delete as well once I save up some extra cash.

[BMWX5CHI]

What do you guys think? Doesn't look bad, should it stay is the question. . . .