Glad to have the extended warranty..
 

I initially had a hard time justifying the cost of an extended warranty for the X5. But, after just 8 month of ownership, I think it has paid for itself.

-Front air struts replaced $700 each plus labor ($1400)
-Nav Screen replaced- $2000
-Valley Pan Gasket, CV Boots, Thermostat replaced- $1500

If your on the fence, it might be well worth the investment.

Yeah, the BMW extended warranties are a must have. They will almost always pay for themselves.

However, those after market warranties, the ones that are sold to you after your factory AND extended warranties expire, are BS. I have one of those from Direct Choice and they haven't covered anything yet.

You'd be a fool NOT to buy the extended warrantee. Just ask me.
Signed: Fool

Mines is paying for itself already.
2 torn cv boots.
Trani problems
Broken heating system
I still can't find a reason to want another car I love x5's

N/M

The BMW warranty worked very well for me. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I didn't use it for a transmission or anything too big to get my money's worth but it was worth it just for when my AC compressor went out.

The BMW extended warranty is marked up and you can negotiate a lower price. There have been some discussions of this here so you can search for more info.

Repair Bills
 

I bought mine used (only two and a half years old with 70K miles). I don't know about the prior owner, but I had fairly good luck until right around 100K. However, every window mechanism broke way before 100K ($380 each). That is a common failure. I had an A/C issue first year ($400). I don't know if any non-BMW warrantees are worth the paper they're printed on. I always assumed they were a rip off, but really don't have any data on that. Let me just say this first, "I really love this vehicle when it's running." However, I am convinced that, eventually every component on this car will fail at least once. Lately, seems like every month or so it's another $700 or $800 repair bill. Can you tell I'm a bit frustrated. The $9000 that I spoke of did include a set of tires, so actually there were (ONLY!) $8000 in repairs, and none of those were major, and none at the dealer. It has 119K now. Conversely, the 2003 GMC 2500HD diesel truck that I bought in 2005 with 106K on it now has 124K on it and the only problem with it is the passenger side window does not work. Other repairs:none. Oil changes were the only maintenance required. My next car will be another reliable GM product.

Good luck with your car. You have a few years to really enjoy your X5. I really enjoyed mine, until recently. Before it hits 100K, dump it for what ever you can get.