Is there a car less reliable then the X5?

[ART-qitec]

I'm shocked over the horrible reliability of this car. I know BMW's are known for their poor reliability but this is ridiculous. Never have we owned a car so unreliable and horribly put together (and we've own a couple BMW's). I don't mind paying for repairs and/or performing the work myself, but when a new issue comes up a day after fixing an existing issue, it really starts wearing me (and my wallet) down.

I bought this car back in July and have had the car towed three times and have spent $1500 in parts and countless hours of my time fixing these issues. Below are the issues with the car in order. Mind you this within less then a year of ownership.

Driver's side door LED burnt out
2 month old Battery died (confirmed with BMWNA that battery was replaced at time of purchase)
Voltage Regulator died
Coolant expansion tank cracked
Throttle body spring broken
Throttle body Harness fried
Accelerator pedal stuck to the floor
Radiator cracked
Rear air springs blew out
AC stopped blowing cold air

[blue dragon]

And you still haven't done the coolant valley pipe which is notorious on the 4.8

[ART-qitec]

Originally Posted by blue dragon

And you still haven't done the coolant valley pipe which is notorious on the 4.8

Yeah I know....Not sure if I want to bother with it though. Lady is forcing me to trade it in for another car when this winter's over because she's tired of picking me up on the side of the road/the dealer. It's so bad that she's been calling me the "street walker"

[JCL]

Looks like some of your issues were related, and perhaps the first repair only addressed the symptom, not the problem. Battery and voltage regulator were likely linked, same with the three throttle issues. Radiator and expansion tank may have been linked as well.

Reliability can be fairly assessed on a new car with respect to design and manufacturing issues. Lack of reliability on six year old used car has more to do with previous maintenance practices than the vehicle design and manufacturing, IMO.

I don't think BMWs are known for poor reliability. But then I've had five BMWs and have never been stranded once. They are known for not responding well to neglect.

[Pierce330]

Originally Posted by JCL

Looks like some of your issues were related, and perhaps the first repair only addressed the symptom, not the problem. Battery and voltage regulator were likely linked, same with the three throttle issues. Radiator and expansion tank may have been linked as well.

Reliability can be fairly assessed on a new car with respect to design and manufacturing issues. Lack of reliability on six year old used car has more to do with previous maintenance practices than the vehicle design and manufacturing, IMO.

I don't think BMWs are known for poor reliability. But then I've had five BMWs and have never been stranded once. They are known for not responding well to neglect.

Good points...I have seen some E39s, E46s, and E36s with well over 400kms on the clocks...full service history as well though...

[m5james]

Originally Posted by JCL

Looks like some of your issues were related, and perhaps the first repair only addressed the symptom, not the problem. Battery and voltage regulator were likely linked, same with the three throttle issues. Radiator and expansion tank may have been linked as well.

Reliability can be fairly assessed on a new car with respect to design and manufacturing issues. Lack of reliability on six year old used car has more to do with previous maintenance practices than the vehicle design and manufacturing, IMO.

I don't think BMWs are known for poor reliability. But then I've had five BMWs and have never been stranded once. They are known for not responding well to neglect.

^ This.

I just drove my X5 from Seattle to Hollywood and back for Bimmerfest, and trust me when I tell you, I wasn't nice to it at all. 136k, fairly maintained by previous BMW owner, etc. Buying off-lease vehicles means that the dealership did as little as possible to keep it on the road, then they do *** check points and sell it for a markup claiming it's the cream of the crop when in reality it's in need of more than little bits here and there. Once these things start passing 100k, we're no longer replacing one control arm here, an expansion tank there...it's an $45-$100k truck that was bought for most likely half the price, so when something goes wrong w/ one suspension part, I replace ALL the suspension, when the expansion tank cracked, I replaced the ENTIRE cooling system. A thousand here and a thousand there is still cheaper than what someone paid full sticker for and I get to enjoy it all the same.

[ART-qitec]

Originally Posted by motordavid

ART-qitec,
Helluva Pair of 'weekend' rides!

The 458 is first on my list, when I hit the lotto!

Better luck with your X; some of us get lucky, some of us have less luck, esp when driving used vs being orig owner, imo.
GL, mD

Thanks MotorDavid! We're extremely envious of your travel photos on Flickr! We might have nice cars, but your travels are way more valuable then any super car.

Originally Posted by 14thbmw

I don't know what the reliability stats overall are for BMW or the X5, but my personal experience is much better than on any of the boards, and I have had a few BMWs over the years. Not Lexus reliability, but certainly fine and low hassle for me.

To the OP's question, there are all of the true British cars (what, Morgan? - are there any others that aren't part of some other car company?) and Alfa is coming back to the USA with what I certainly hope will be better reliability than when they left (Fiat did it).

I know what you mean about British cars, we've had Land Rovers and Aston Martins and they are pretty bad in the reliability department but their components never failed as frequently as my X5...who knows, maybe I just have a dud..

Originally Posted by JCL

Brings back memories. My Morgan was somewhat expensive to run. Worth it to me, but expensive. Lucas electrics. Rover engine. Assembly issues. And a front suspension manually lubricated by pressing a valve and spraying hot oil from the main gallery near the crankshaft, over the sliding pillars. I had a policy with free towing, and used it.

That's a very beautiful car! I hope one day to own a nice vintage car like that!

Originally Posted by m5james

^ This.

I just drove my X5 from Seattle to Hollywood and back for Bimmerfest, and trust me when I tell you, I wasn't nice to it at all. 136k, fairly maintained by previous BMW owner, etc. Buying off-lease vehicles means that the dealership did as little as possible to keep it on the road, then they do *** check points and sell it for a markup claiming it's the cream of the crop when in reality it's in need of more than little bits here and there. Once these things start passing 100k, we're no longer replacing one control arm here, an expansion tank there...it's an $45-$100k truck that was bought for most likely half the price, so when something goes wrong w/ one suspension part, I replace ALL the suspension, when the expansion tank cracked, I replaced the ENTIRE cooling system. A thousand here and a thousand there is still cheaper than what someone paid full sticker for and I get to enjoy it all the same.

I understand what you're talking about and I do expect that from 100k+ mileage cars but my X5 is only nearing 70k miles. Maybe the previous owner was so dense that they didn't know that oil changes were a necessity

[Aquamania]

Originally Posted by m5james

^ This.

I just drove my X5 from Seattle to Hollywood and back for Bimmerfest, and trust me when I tell you, I wasn't nice to it at all. 136k, fairly maintained by previous BMW owner, etc. Buying off-lease vehicles means that the dealership did as little as possible to keep it on the road, then they do *** check points and sell it for a markup claiming it's the cream of the crop when in reality it's in need of more than little bits here and there. Once these things start passing 100k, we're no longer replacing one control arm here, an expansion tank there...it's an $45-$100k truck that was bought for most likely half the price, so when something goes wrong w/ one suspension part, I replace ALL the suspension, when the expansion tank cracked, I replaced the ENTIRE cooling system. A thousand here and a thousand there is still cheaper than what someone paid full sticker for and I get to enjoy it all the same.

I agree with this whole heartedly!!!

[m j b]

Originally Posted by JCL

Lack of reliability on six year old used car has more to do with previous maintenance practices than the vehicle design and manufacturing, IMO.

They are known for not responding well to neglect.

I agree with most of what you wrote; unfortunately with BMW's sad "low maintenance" requirement schedule, you have to far exceed the manufacturer's recommendations in order to properly maintain these cars. And frequent oil changes will never stop these lousy cooling systems from grenading themselves.

BTW, I was in Vancouver last year and was quite impressed with the area.

OP: OT question for you, please. I was considering an R8 last year, but folks that I've talked to said that it draws a lot of attention, and I'd rather be a bit more discrete. What's your experience been with it, and how has it been as far as reliability, service experience, etc.?

[JCL]

I've never had a cooling system failure over the last five BMW vehicles. On our X3, I changed coolant at four years, and our tap water is very soft, with no dissolved minerals. Oil and filter changes at 22,000 - 24,000 km, no oil consumption. Oldest of the five is now 7 years old. Runs like new. Oil and filter; coolant; wiper blades; a battery at seven years; plus one electric rearview mirror (didn't hold adjustment any longer). Original brakes. I do have one broken rear coil spring that I will change out this year or next. Corrosion right at the end of the spring, common X3 issue. It has been amazingly cheap to run, so much so that I am reluctant to trade it for a newer model X5.