Worst car I've ever had!
 

I've had my 2002 X5 3.0d sport for 12 months now, having changed from a Merc ML270. Whilst the Beemer might be better to drive I thought the Merc was more comfortable. I never had any problems with the Merc. However the X5 has needed new front anti-roll bar, 2 new batteries, new rear hatch control, new cd player, new drivers seat motor and now that it is out of warranty it's telling me the self-leveling suspension is faulty. The last BMW emergency repair man told me that I should buy a battery charger to stop the battery going flat!
What a pile of s**t! As soon as I can afford a new ML the X5 is history

Not the worst I have ever owned but a close second. BMW NA don't even care about our complaints. Just keep smiling and taking your money to fix all the stupid little problems. Joy to drive, PAIN to own!

Sorry to hear about all your problems.
I have owed 2 with minimal to no problems.
Could not pay me to own a MB (IMHO):)

Sorry to hear about your woes. Hopefully you are happier with your next vehicle, whatever it may be.

For me, you can't top the smiles per mile that the X5 delivers.

We've had two flawless ones. Because of their flawlessness, two of our neighbors switched from ML's to X5's. We ended up having to buy our second due to the costs associated with bringing a european X5 to the U.S...

You seem to be in a rare paradox. One of the few to get a troublefree ML and a troubleprone X5...

Oh well, if you can move back to an ML (driving a boring mundane truck), then power to you, and best of luck!

Sorry to hear about those crappy things happening to your X5, i have a 2002 but it still drives like brand new, .......I think your x5 was never taken cared of by the previous owner, IMO

Hi there,
I know its a bit off the topic, but was just interested in your comments about importing a european X5 to the states.Did you have a Left or right hand drive and what was the issue that cost so much.Just wondering !!!:) :)

weird no problem ever... idk why you are having trouble probably the owner b4 you didnt take care of it or it couldve been a lemon or something.... idk

-amit

lemon maybe?

i mean my 2001 4.4 with 86K miles has had tons and tons of electrical glitches and faulty computer codes lol ... ok ok and just recently i needed new head gaskets and a few other things totalling about $2200, anywya but i haven't realy had anything major go wrong. is it as reliable as a lexus lol?? no of course not ... no idea why, but ... oh well :)

but in terms of smiles per mile, seriously: it's a joy just to drive to the local supermarket not one mile away lol =)

Sounds like you drive a lemon car. There's laws which protect the customer from lemon cars. You may want to ask around what's your options and complain. :google: is a good start...
In my personal opinion X is -=WAY=- better that any ML (even the new body style). ML feels like Chevy or Dodge to me. Of course, that's my personal opinion...
Good luck!

........ oh, AND the fact that first my rear and driver's left windows fell inside the door within a month of one another :D

AND that i basically had an electrical stroke on the left half of my car lol

I start to think germans drink lots of beer at work :tgif:

Sorry to hear about all of this. But as I'm sure you realize nothings perfect and that includes the people who put these trucks together.

I am sorry to hear that. I had a 2003 ML 350 before X5. I have to say X5 is way better than ML 350. I have never had a chance to drive new ML so I can't say about new model. I am also one of people who complained about X5. Yes people include myself think that X5 should be perfect since we paid good amount of money. But nothing is perfect. Good luck. I am sure you can find something will help you out.

Sorry to hear you had more than your fair share of problems. The used '01 I bought last June, I've come to love. Being used and over 4yrs old, I knew I would have to put something into it. As my father is fond of saying "buying used is just buying someone else's headache".

I had my dealer give it a good going over when I got it in town. That snipped off some problems before they bloomed, (replaced some hoses and a sway arm that was starting to loosen). The Dinan S2 mod then eliminated some other problems that may have cropped up. Replacing a 5yr old battery with winter coming up was a no-brainer. When I hit 60K, the water pump will be replaced. Everytime it goes in for an oil change (7500), I tell them to spend the time to look it over in an attempt to try to catch things before they go completely bad. BMW does not have a reputation of being perfect and my reasons for buying an X5 are different from yours, as well as our expectations are probably different. I hope your new ride. whatever it may be, is all you hope it to be.

My wife still loves the X5 and she doesn't really want to change. We went to look at a new ML last night - but haven't had a chance to drive it yet. It does look like a big improvement on the old one.
I maybe over reacted by saying it was the worst car I've ever had - I just expected more from BMW (considering how much it cost). My daily drive is a Z3 with 85,000 miles on the clock and that has never let me down!

no problems here with my 2002 x5

I have a MY02 and nothing major has gone wrong yet (knock on wood).

I think you over-reacted. I am on my second X5(4.8is). My first one was a 2001 4.4i and had no major issues and I put 43k miles on it when I sold. Keep in mind that ML has no free maintenence for 50k and it does have it own share of problems and issues. Not to mention the quality issues MB is having these days.

you want fun to drive get bmw you want reliability and old man luxury get lexus you want an american POS with a german sticker on it get MB, i used to be in love with MB until that is they merged with chrystler IMHO even with the issues bmw and X5s in particular have its still an awesome car puts a smile on my face every time i see it. btw i did have enough issues ie: had a major leak taken care of under factory warranty after 4 visits as well as some radio issues and then some but mechanically knock on wood its a joy

No kidding. All of my Mercedes' driving friends complain about the problems they've had. Although they never really complain about MB in front of me. I wonder why? :)

sounds like you got lemon.

can't be happier with other cars than what I'm driving now.
I've had 5 different BMWs in my life yet, but didn't even think to go with MBZ

It sounds like you have more than just car problems. May i suggest some Prozac.

On another note, ive had both and my 1st X5 had no problems. This one has given me minor complaints such as sqeaks and rattles. No big deal.

T

:rofl:

I have to agree there. BMW NA will never get between the dealer and customer, and they claim to have no power of persuasion with the dealer. They're only hurting themselves and someday they might wake up and smell the pilsner.

Related thought: My buddy has a CPO Lexus he bought at a dealer 40 miles away. When it's time for service they come to his house with a loaner, take his car and return it when it's done. And no, he doesn't have any special deal with them either. Hmm. Wolfgang, call your office. . .

I'm still being offered a Toyota Camry as a loaner. I suggested they arrange a test drive in a new X.... Fell on deaf ears.

I keep getting this Jeep Liberty. Maybe I should just buy one to have on hand.

We had a left hand drive (Switzerland). The U.S. we dealer consulted with said emissions and U.S. certifications wouldn't be worth the money (the car would have to be tested by emissions people, gauges would have to be changed, reprogramming (not sure if the dealer was B.S.ing about this?)). Plus we had to consider the shipping costs and I think taxes would also have to be paid.

We ended up selling it to our BMW dealer's salesman's wife in Switzerland for a price we couldn't refuse. Came to the states and bought our 04' X5. (As well as an 04' X3, I could drive by then :) :thumbup: , and a 330Ci Convertible.)

I would also like to use this opportunity to point out how good BMW le Cedre was in Switzerland. So courteous, polite and helpful. They were a small dealer, but definitively an excellent one. Not that Stevens Creek BMW is a bad dealer, but its certainly different going from a small dealer where everyone knows your family to the largest dealer in Northern California...

Interestingly enough my family brought over their 89' 535i from the U.S. to Switzerland back in 92'. I'm not sure how the process went then (I was only 3), but I remember them changing gauges and gluing plastic piece over the 3rd brake lamp (they were illegal in Switz. back then!!). I also remember the shipping people having a huge issue emptying gas from the BMW gas tank - which didn't allow traditional siphoning (it took them a while to figure that out... hehehehe :)). The car still runs to this day over there, with my father, whom we have left behind...

Anyway too much family history... (maybe I should start my own thread!)

*back on topic*

Sorry to hear about your problems. My X5 has been perfect and is a pleasure to drive. I'd driven the old and new ML 500's and they are inferior SUV's, in my opinion. I suggest getting a brand new X5. The ML's were generally uninspiring, especially when compared to the BMW.

Sorry to hear you've had problems with a USED vehicle. There should be a lemon law that does take a preceedence for you. Run your vin and see if it was a wreck or a repaired vehicle. Sounds like you have voltage leak and other problems. I dont know about your roll bar, maybe bushings are hosed.

where the hell is that? i'd love that kind of service, on the other hand i have convinced my service mgr to get me into an X5 4.4i as a loaner however its a pain to get to the dealer being that they are about 60 miles which sucks and ive spent more time there than in my garage but they are accomodating

:bustingup

Why arey you driving 60 miles from NYC to get to a BMW dealer when you live in NYC? :confused:

well used to be on SI now in brooklyn and dealer is in morristown... hence the 60 miles from brooklyn 40 from SI