New guy in town

[rickgram]

Hey guys, just wanted to take a second to introduce myself. I've been toying with the idea of a diesel E70 for a little and am pretty sure I've decided to pull the trigger. I've found a 2012 in New Jersey I'm calling about tomorrow, and hopefully going to look at sometime next weekend.

A little bit of car history. Started off in Hondas. First car was an Accord, I was young and stupid when the whole "stance" thing was blowing up. So it was stanced. Actually pretty mean looking on the ground with 17" gold BBS RS'. After that I had a Prelude with a JDM engine and trans that tried to kill me numerous times.

I got hooked on BMWs when my friend bought an Audi and was selling his E36 M3. Jokingly I told him to let me test drive it when I was over his place, and the next week I was buying it off him. While I had the M3 I picked up a 2002 Land Rover Discovery off my old office manager. It needed head gaskets, so I threw them on in the driveway and haven't had a problem for 3 years and 40,000 miles with it. She currently has 170,xxx on the clock. I sold my M3 in fear of losing my license because it was a good car to get in trouble in.

Missing having a car, I bought a 2000 E39 M5, which I will be giving up to by the X5, but truth be told, 22 year old me, is pretty much just an old man at this point. I'm looking to consolidate and jus have one vehicle. I think the X5 should fit that bill perfectly. I got a 2012 3 series as a loaner one time I took the M5 in for some diagnostics, and was pretty much hooked on the newer BMWs. They honestly don't feel as nice as the E39, but you can't beat all the tech you get in them.

It's funny, because for a while I never thought I'd have an SUV that wasn't a Rover again. We bought my mother a 2005 Range Rover, and that thing is beautiful, but it's fuel economy is absolutely horrendous.

All that said, what are the diesel X5s like to work on? I'm pretty mechanically inclined. Not a whole lot scares me working on cars, but I know BMW likes to use special tools and stuff. And I'm also slowly becoming not the biggest fan of fixing things. But I'll break out the tools before I break out the wallet to pay someone else to do it.

[gregg3gs]

Welcome, but don't expect the x5 not to get you in trouble.
This car is fast.

[josiahg52]

I just purchased my 2011 X5 xDrive35d and love it so far. I also have a 2001 M5 which I love dearly and, fortunately, still have. I needed a winter vehicle and after renting a 2013 328i xDrive Sedan for a few weeks in the beginning of last year I decided to give the E70 a chance. I was pretty set on getting a diesel one and found one in Maryland.

I don't know what color you are looking for but I was looking for black X5s in/around New England and the ones I found in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, etc. that seemed like good deals all had accident history. Mostly frontal impacts. Now I'm not saying they ALL were or that I checked every single one but I was surprised that the five I pursued all had accident history. I'm just recommending you get a Carfax/Autocheck/whatever before the purchase. It's not a guarantee but it's better than nothing.

Good luck!