Shopping for an E70

[slowlanemcvane]

Hey all!

Shopping for an E70 to replace the E53 that my wife drives. We've got the growing family thing going, and she's hooked on BMW, so I can't convince her to get anything other than an E70 with the 3rd row...

Anyway, her E53 is a great car, we both love it, but it isn't equipped with the seating that we really need at this point, and we're tired of taking the E53 and the E46 out wherever we go.

We're shopping for preowned cars, I have no real preferences for powerplant. My E46 and her E53 both have the tried and true M54 powerplant. For all of its faults, I like the M54. It's relatively easy to work on, as a DIYer, parts are plentiful, and fairly inexpensive.

Is there anything that I should be aware of when it comes to the E70? I understand that the N62 4.8 V8 can be a little maintenance-intensive, and I should be prepared for timing chain issues and valve seal issues, but is the N52 3.0 better? I don't have a preference for either, but my wife really likes the aesthetics of the V8 exhaust tips

Thanks, everyone! Great to be on a dedicated X Forum, since the ones on Bimmerforums have a tendency to be a little...unattended.