Looking at a couple of X5s
 

But only looking to buy just one ;)

My wife and I are looking for a 3rd car. We just traded in my wifes complete POS Jeep Commander on a ROUSH 427R Mustang (only thing that would carry the negative equity on the POS Commander...but hey, I'm not argueing) and I have a paid for 94 Bronco. The Bronco was my "Toy" but I sold my F-150 about 6 months ago, shortly before our first child was born, so it has moved up to my daily driver.

Well, needless to say, The Stang is NOT a baby hauler. I thought I'd drive the Bronco for a year or so untill we could swing getting into another new truck.

I definately dont miss the truck payments, but from driving to mother in laws' for daycare and then to work and back every day, I'm putting way too many miles on my Bronco.

So we need a good, inexpensive 3rd vehicle.

I'm looking for something nice...hence the X5, and not a Chevy, Dodge, Honda, run of the mill, blah blah etc.

Since I'll be toting around my young daughter, I love the safety of the X5s and I love the all wheel drive capability.

I'm also looking for daily reliability....which means I might have to go to something blah blah depending on what your comments are.
I will be towing a 4,000lb boat/trailer combo on occasion.

Heres what I've found. I realy am thinking of getting one of the two, but I'd like your opinions.

2002 X5 4.6is with 120K miles. In great shape, serviced religously at the LOCAL BMW dealership. Price is $15,900
(its a pretty good average as far as the miles per year..but stil, 120K miles?)

2003 X5 3.0i with 88K miles..Also in great shape, not locally owned..so I have no idea about the history..Price is 13,900.

So what do you think?
Are the prices right?
Will the cars hold up with the "advanced" milage?(I'll be driving about 50 miles a day at least when I do drive it..it will share time with the other 2 cars.)
Will maintenance kick my butt?

I guess I'm just wondering if you think either would make a good daily driver and 3rd car and pros/cons on each.
I'm new to BMW, so anything you can tell me would be great.
:stickpoke

Thank you all!!

Larry

Maintenance will kick your butt! Wonderful vehicles, if you have a maintenance budget. Spend a few hours on the forum, when you're finished...spend a few more hours. If you have the money to get it fixed the X5 is wonderful.

My opinion
Good luck
Mike

Thanks Mike!....I was affraid of that. I was hoping that was a bit of an unwarranted fear on my part.

Both of the X5s I am looking at are great looking, great driving vehicles... but I dont want to be saddled with a high maint budget.

Its looking like I might go with the good old tried and true, reliable Ford Expedition....all my Fords have always been great even with high miles, it doesnt usually cost a fortune to fix them if needed.

I'd love to hear a few more opinions. Honest ones, like above.

Unfortunately, although this is an amazing vehicle to drive, it is not kind to you in regards to maintenance. A few years ago I spent around $12K in repairs including a new transmission ($4200 rebulid), new cats ($2200 - no aftermarket option for a 3.0), multiple suspension components and then routine stuff (water pump, t-stat, etc.). Of course my X is paid for, so that is how I justified paying for all of this.

Just curious, what were the issues you had with the Commander??

Wow, that is a beautiful 3.0! Never seen the white/black combo. These cars will keep going forever (if they are not rusted out) as long as you maintain them. The strange thing is that they still drive almost like new with high mileage on them. But they are maintenance whores to be sure. I can't tell you how many suspension components I went through on my 01 3.0. Every 40K or so it seemed to need control arms and other stuff. One alternative is to find a really good independent shop that will maintain your X5. I have one here in Boston. They do great work and they don't charge dealer prices. Never owned a ford truck but i imagine it would be much less costly to maintain. The trade off is it won't be nearly as fun to drive.

Its an ironic story actually. We had an 06 Commander Limited. For the most part it was an extremely capable yet pretty luxurious truck. It had all the bells and whistles with awesome power and capability.

WE had our choice narrowed down to a Land Rover LR3 and the Commander. The Commander was about $7 Gs less than the LR3. It was a better bang for the buck and had that monster HEMI. But we really liked the LR3...heres the ironic part...we ultimately chose the Commander because we were concerned about the RELIABILITY issues with the Land Rover LOL!!!!:rofl:

I dont know if it was because we got the first model year of a completely new model or if this this was just built on a Friday....it had a laundry list of stuff that went wrong with it.

Heres a few things off the top of my head..
Passenger side mirror was constantly loose....never fixed.
Window water leak..fixed
Window whistle noise...fixed
Auto highbeams stopped working after 3 months...never fixed
Vehicle would stall while going down the road..fixed after a few times
Various dash lights would go out...never fixed completely
Body moulding was seperating from and/or falling off vehicle...partially fixed
Severe rattling in the rear area...never fixed
Foam falling into heat/cool fan..fixed
Transfer case switch went out..fixed
Transfer case motor went out...fixed
Head unit malfunctioned..fixed
The last straw was went it sprung a gasoline leak in the engine compartment..this happened while my wife was pregnant, luckily I was driving and was able to recognize it quickly.
I shudder to think what migh have happened if I wasnt there..

The lemon laws in my state are not very consumer friendly, plus I was not willing to have Chrysler buy it back only to replace it with another Chrysler product. I feel sorry for whoever buys that POS in the used market.

I've had lots of Ford products, mostly trucks, and just have not had many problems and the probs I've had have been at a minor cost and I know them well enough to do alot of stuff myself. Do the regular maintenance and they just go and go. I've put well over 100K on a couple of my past F-150s.

This is all kind of breaking my heart, I drive by BOTH X5s every damn day!! They are both sexy honeys for sure. :wow:

If I cant shake this X5 fever, I may take some advice and take them by a good indy shop to have them checked out and try to find some history from the SN. I'm damn near ready to pll the trigger. I think I'm going out this weekend and see if there are any decently priced, good condition Expeditions out there that will make the X5 fever go away.

Like the others have said, the maintenance is a killer. I have an 02 4.6 that I acquired with 68,000 miles and have put about 10,000 over the course of about a year. I love how my X drives and its dual personality. Sporty and Versatile. I paid 20k and have sunk a lot of dough it to it, some was optional like Dinan upgrades.

Here are a few things I have had to have done.

Tranny rebuild $3200

Valve cover replacement around $600

Radiator, water pump, hoses, thermostat around $1,800

New battery $150

Rear Tires $280 (Need new ones again after 10,000)

Couple of bad coils $120

Thats what I can remember off the top of my head. Buying used I expected some repairs, but the tranny is the one that had me steaming. I bought what I thought was a low mileage X.

Anyway, if you go with the 4.6 you will love driving it, just be prepared for some repairs.

GL

As others have said - an X5 is not an inexpesive vehicle. The cost of purchase is fairly low on a higher mileage example, but the reason for that is the high maint costs. Which is true of most all BMW's and really German sport / lux cars in general and is not limited by any means to the X5. It can be an excellent purchase at 20-50% of MSRP depending on age / mileage and they are fundamentally sound vehicles. But if you do not have the capability and time to perform the maint and some repairs, this may not be the best choice for you. The ML Benzes have an even worse track record.

If you are looking for AWD purely for snow driving, not off-roading, and you do not need to tow, I would suggest looking for an AWD wagon instead. I think the best one out there is the W210 E320 4MATIC, which has much more cargo space vs. the X5 and similar passenger space. These are very reliable vehicles and relatively simple to maintain, yet provide excellent luxury and build quality that you would expect in a premium german car that ran $50K+ new. They are priced quite attractively right now.

If you really need an SUV for towing or off-road capability (although seems you have the Bronco avail for that) - then you might be better off looking at a 4Runner. I have a buddy with a late 90's era example that has well over 200K miles and it has been very reliable. Hard to go wrong there in terms of cost of ownership since you are looking for something cheap.

The first 3-4 years I owned my X5, I hardly did anything other than routine maintenance. Then around 70k it's been constantly and I mean constantly needing things replaced. It started with the cooling system (over $1k), then the MAF and cam sensors and other emissions stuff ($1k), then window regulators and sticking door locks ($$), then CV boots/axles, then control arms and sway bar links, then the pixel issue with the radio and info display, and then and then and then... Can you tell it gets REALLY old to have to drop thousands of dollars into a vehicle just to keep it running right and safely? I'm all about dropping coin on a vehicle to make it perform better, but just trying to keep up with the next thing that goes wrong just to keep it at status quo is frustrating. I'm single and have no kids, but if I had a wife and/or children, I would honestly get something newer (maybe just a newer X5) or more reliable because I wouldn't want to be worrying all the time.

Not to be dissuade you, but please do not just get so enamored with the vehicle that you make a decision you regret later. I have a "travel fund" that I was using to save for some trips to Australia and Thailand - it's not fun to use that money to keep my aging X5 on the road to get me to and from work. Every wonder why you can buy a Rolls Royce from the 1980's for +/- $15k when that's a fraction of what they cost new? Because you'll spend that money +/- $15k every year you own it if you want to drive it :D

I thought Rolls Royce built things to last! :D :rofl:

X5 2000
 

I have an X5 with 115000 miles, fully loaded. I'll take 10,500.00 for it. It's a 4.4 with the sports package. let me know what you think.

Well, while you guys were posting some very helpfull info, I went back and looked at the 3.0i...

From your replies, its not looking good, but heres one last ditch effort.

I have definately nixed the 4.6is.
I've turned my attention to the 3.0i. I was mistaken on the year of that vehicle..
The 3.0i is an 2001 with 88k miles. I found out its a local car. I talked to a BMW enthusiast friend of mine. He's a bit more optimistic about the vehicle, not sure if he's got his BMW homer hat on but between him and his dad, they have owned several older, high milage BMWs. There is only one BMW delaership in my town and because of this, my friend says that there are 2 or 3 very good indy's around.
I got the VIN off the 3.0i and called the local dealership. Sure enough, it had been serviced there. They had all the records. The service guy ran down the list and said all the regular maintenance was done to the letter and that it had been well maintained. The #1 inspection was done and checked out. Hoses and elts replaced, bushings replaced, some kind of seal was replaced, air bag sensor module replaced. He basically said that everything that normally goes wrong with these vehicles has been replaced and all service bulletins and recalls had been done...a few other things but I cant recall. The last time he saw it was Seept 09 with 85K on the clock. The guy said it due for #2 inspection at 90K mikes and that I might wanna change the plugs at 100K.
My next step is to drive it over to the Indy shop my friend suggested and have it checked out and see if I'm in for anything major.
What do you guys think so far?

I love my 3.0 X5 5M Sport:thumbup:

You can have a reliable x5 but it will cost you money (not maintenance-free)

Also consider a MDX or an older LX470/gx470 if reliability really matters. Nothing else will drive like a x5 though.

Stuff that should break soon if it hasnt
- water pump
- CV joints
- tranny (if you're unlucky)
- cam angle sensors

I think you're right on target. If you have a good indy shop that does reliable work and won't try to sell you on things you don't absolutely need, that will help you out a lot. If I were you, I'd have your indy mechanic go over the car with a fine tooth comb and pick out anything that might need replacing, focusing especially on suspension (control arms, cv joints etc). Also Brakes - they're expensive. If the engine has been maintained as well as you say, it'll go for 300K miles. The other thing is that you'll never find another SUV that drives like an X5 and it will drive tight and solid for a very, very long time. I have a friend with a Nissan Xterrra and its been a maintenance nightmare. You never know but if this 3.0 has been well maintained and driven well, you should be in good shape. Worst case scenario is that you're unhappy with it and sell it in 2 years. If it's had the maintenance done on schedule, with a little luck you should be able to get a few years out of it without anything major. Keep us posted....

Damn, the way this thread is going you'd think that every X5 is a time bomb incapable of driving 5 miles without breaking. While they do need maintenance and repairs, as do most used cars that are 7-9 years old, X5s are uber solid and feel like they're carved out of a block of solid steel.

I think that one primary consideration is whether you can DIY your maintenance and repairs. The insane costs you see on here for maintenance and repairs are drastically reduced/mitigated if you can spin wrenches. I do all of my own work on all of my vehicles, and like you I also have a third car that can be used in an emergency if the X goes out of service for a few days. Those two factors let me save money (likely thousands of dollars by now) on maintenance and repairs.

The 3.0 you are looking at sounds well maintained to this point, which is a huge. There is a risk buying any used car, and Consumer Reports (which I think sucks in most auto advice) does show the X5 3.0 as "average" for used car reliability, so it can't be that bad. Yes, I have also had to do maintenance and repairs on my X, but it was nothing unusual (radiator, alternator, belts, etc...), and the X is so sweet to drive on a daily basis it is worth it. If you can do your own work, or have the resources to pay someone to do it, then I say go ahead.

They are great vehicles - I love driving mine. I also have no issue doing almost any repair job and all maint myself, plus I own several other vehicles so it makes everything work well for me. While I didn't own mine the entire time, I have all the records on mine through BMW since it was a CPO car up until last year.

Here is what went wrong:
- water pump
- alternator
- coolant expansion tank
- valve cover leak
- oil pan leak

the suspension is all origional and still in good shape. Wear on those items depends alot more on use than strictly on miles. Seems mine was mostly a highway driver.

Anyway - nothing too major or unexpected for a vehicle that has now travelled over 100K miles. And currently it is as solid as could be and runs and drives like a new car. I would take it anywhere. In fact, it was driven 4K miles from KY to CA last year when I bought it and had over 90K miles on it at the time. Zero issues with the trip.

Best driving SUV out there including the much more problematic Cayenne. I have a buddy with a new 09 GTS that has been having so many issues with it already he is thinking about selling it already.

Anyway - it's a great vehicle, but I just wanted to give the OP some perspective on what it takes to own one going up into the mileage range he is considering.

I also love my X!

Its incredible but my car feels like a 50grand+ car, everybody thinks so and compliments me on it... And "I" am also impressed... If you drove it, you know what we mean.. there isnt any other like it on the road...

I just got it like 3 weeks ago, and its been a blast (at least for now knock on wood), but I also kept in mind that what everybody has said on here - i have budgeted for those things when they do come up (and I try to do preventive maintenance as well).. I bought mine for $18.5k, 2004 X5 triple black on black on black, with 59,000 miles.

However, I did have to replace my drivers door carrier, I did it myself for $88 dollars (the second day I owned it).

They are great trucks. Fun to drive and great features. The maintenance is pretty steep, I would image the middle 50% pay around 1000 annually after 55k miles on the odometer for basic repairs like brakes, CV boots and others on the boards. Good luck, I am looking at an E83 under CPO. The warranty has saved me thousands.

I love my 3.0 but I would take the 4.6 any day of the week. Because it suits my driving style better. You are going to have repairs bills on both vehicles regardless of which one you pick or for that matter any car period. I would get the 4.6 just for the exhaust note.:D

As was pretty much the consensus, maintenance isn't cheap on a BMW. That is one of the reasons BMW instituted paid maintenance a few years back. Great when the run, sucks when they don't. There is no particular X5 better than others, per say. However, if you can swing a 2004+ you get different front end, lights, trans/X-Drive, etc....

Prior to owning my X I had a 325Xi Sportwagon which I purchased used. It had no prior history to locate but I kept it 3 years. When I sold it it had close to 170,000 miles. the 2.5 did not use a much oil,maybe a quart in 5k miles. Same with my X.

Furthermore the party I sold it to metioned that it has over 200k now,and the only thing they had to do maintenance wise was a left front axle due to a failed cv boot (drove too long before repair), thermostat and sensor, and a trans service which is routine. I changed the oil/filter every 5k with Valvoline 5w30 Synthetic for the 3 years I had it. I still miss it, but my X is more comfy for my family,and gives a similar sporty feel on the road.:thumbup:

Compared to owning a newer one still under warrantee the total cost of ownership will most likely be much less on a used example. That that 2004 with 59K miles mention above purchased for $18,500. Over the next 3 years say you put another 40-50K miles taking it up over 100K. It will need some maint and perhaps some repairs along the way. You might spend somewhere in the $2-6K range depending on luck and if you can DIY or not. And the vehicle will drop maybe $8K in value over that time. So cost of ownership is $10-15K.

Compare that to owning a 1 year old BMW that will be under warrantee and maint for the entire 3 years. You are going to pay $40K for it and it will be worth $18K when you are done, so you are spending $22K over those 3 years to own it plus finance costs if you are not a cash buyer. Yet you have the "piece of mind" that anything goes wrong won't cost you money. Either way you pay the money, and IMHO you end up paying a lot more for the newer car.

I realize the OP was not comparing to a newer BMW. And if you ran the numbers comparing an X5 to a 4Runner it wouldn't even be close in terms of cost of ownership. But only you can decide if driving a BMW vs. a Toyota is worth the additional cost. No brainer decision for me btw - you don't see a Toyota in my driveway...

Thanks all so much!!! What a great forum.

After much thought and comparison, and consultation with the better half, we opted for an Expedition. We got an 04 EB 4x4 hard loaded with 85k miles for $15k, in great condition.

In the end, I know what to expect out of a Ford....from years of ownership. Maintenance is not a $$$$ deal with this vehicle, it should be a fine daily driver and an excellent tow rig.

I think you made a wise choice. X5 maintenance is $2k+/year from what I have seen, and the severity of the problematic issues really are ridiculous when you take off the BMW-tinted glasses. IMO, if someone wants a BMW, the best option is to stick with what they are good at: cars ... unless you simply have plenty of time and money to keep the X5 running right.

For me, the X5 is fun to drive, but in the long run it simply isn't reliable enough to justify the cost/headaches especially when you could have a 2001 100 series Toyota LC PLUS a '97 540i-manual, and get the best of both worlds for less.