Newer model X5's made to throw away?

[ard]

^^ Agreed. First, this mechanic has a skewed view given that he only sees cars with issues. Also, he loses all credibility when he says "throw away"... the E70 may be expensive to maintain or have a high failure rate, but it is NOT 'throw away'. (I do not think it is going to be clearly less reliable or more expensive than the e53, in the ling run- but time will tell.) If a mechanic told me this, I'd have a very negative opinion of him (or her).

The 4 year warranty is a great tool during which many issues get 'shaken out'.. using issues that arise in this period as a predictor of long term cost is not necessairly accurate.