X5 Shopping
 

I'm in the market for an E53 4.8L X5. I just test drove a nice one, 2004 with 75K miles. I have a question on a problem I noted. When I braked when on the highway over 65 mph, both front tires displayed a very bad shimmy, shaking the steering wheel almost violently. It is not noticable at lower speeds. But it is very, very evident braking above 65. I'm thinking it could be ball joints or rotors. Any ideas? BTW, any thoughts on buying one with 75K miles?

It could be brakes, but IMO it is more likely to be something loose in the suspension, set off by braking. First thing to check would be the control arm bushings. Lots of posts on this topic if you do a search.

Thanks. Did a search and there is definitely valuable info on the subject. Could be something minor. They'll let me take it to my mechanic, so I'll get a definite answer then.

Do yourself a favor and forget the X5 unless you're prepared to fix something every other week at an extremely high cost.

Hey:stickpoke,your bad experience doesn't necessarily apply to everyone else ;)

:iagree:

My X has been reliable and cheap to run. It's never been near the dealer except for regular services.

:iagree:

Cut me some slack guys! I just got royally screwed! However, in my research now I do read over and over about X5's constantly needing repairs, always costly, not reliable. I guess you're prone to hearing the horror stories before the good ones, but it's a pretty expensive product so you'd expect it to be solid.
God I miss my benz...

I enjoy driving Eleanor but of the Bimmers I have owned this one has been the challenging one.
Window regulators (three out off four door)
Almost entire cooling system
Oil pan or valley pan gasket
This isnt all but things I think went prematurely. My daily is a 97 4runner w/ no issue's or leaks and it has 221k miles

I may be going down the toyota road. :(

Bad assumption. Price doesn't correlate to reliability.

You might get a more reliable car but no Toyota SUV/4WD, or even sedan for matter, drives like an X5.

I think price does correlate to quality across most products, including cars, most of the time. But it certainly doesn't always correlate and is certainly not a sure-fire guide.

Take a look at the 25000+ members of this site then try to
add up how many of them are complaints about constantly
needing repairs, always costly and not reliable. What you will
find is that there are few complaints that fit your description.......

:iagree:

BMW has sold more than a million X5s world wide. If the X was an inherent failure, then the world would know about it. The fact that the E53 has a better resale value (at least here) than just about anything in its class (especially first-generation MLs) is testament to its integrity. It may not be as well built as other BMWs (even those built in South Africa) but it is not a dud. Simple as that. As they say, "you are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts".

Agreed again. I think that the X5 is a great car. With some simple preventative maintenance and knowledge (provided by us) you will be great.

Agreed, price doesn't correlate to reliability, but it should however correlate to major mechanical parts functioning as they should, at the very least beyond 50k miles. A transmission failing is unacceptable and this is not an isolated case. This is something BMW should have addressed.

If an automatic transmission failing was so exceptional, the entire business model of Aamco, Mister Transmission, ATRA, etc, would be invalid. For some reason these shops have been around since the 1950s. Maybe transmissions do fail. It isn't at all nice to have it happen to you, but it certainly isn't unusual.

BMW is an engine company, not a transmission company. I agree with your point to the extent that it applies to engines, but not third party components. ZF are very good transmissions. They can fail, just like all other transmissions can fail. We wish they didn't. But they do.

Quality is not the same as reliability IMO. Reliability is one narrow aspect of quality.

I think price can relate to exclusivity much more than quality. Just ask all those people who bought self-winding automatic Rolex or Omega watches, and then screamed loudly when they found out that their new toys weren't as accurate as a $10 quartz Timex. (And I say that as someone who loves my Rolex GMT Master II.)

It depends how you define quality. A Ferrari has very high quality in terms of performance, but I am not sure I would want one for a daily driver. That is back to reliability.

I think we just got into apples and oranges here. A ferrari as a daily driver is a far cry from a four door, family carrying BMW SUV(SAV). I guess having owned mercedes most of my life I hold these high end german vehicles to a higher standard.

great at what?

I'm sorry, but that entire post is just an X5 lover defending his woman. An engine company? It prides itself on it's service/maintenance and luxurious, high performance vehicles. Maybe you've heard "the ultimate driving machine" thrown around? I'd say that goes way beyond just an engine. I absolutely disagree with you about the transmission. A $75,000 vehicle should not need a transmission at 50k. Period. And BMW chose ZF for the transmission so it falls on BMW, yes the "engine company." This is 100% much too common of a problem with these vehicles. ML550 in my future

i agree with diyanich , go buy cayenne or something else. i bought my 02 4.4 new. ive babied it, it has just 90k on it now and the list of repairs is longer than a pornstar's schlong! $6000 tranny @ 75k miles. window regulators, alternators, front end work, steering colomn motors. ac units, water pumps now the sunroof casette is leaking. ruined the radio, cd changer, nav unit, ride control unit, tow package unit and battery. this is a $5000+ bill. (why put the electronics in the lowest part of the vehicle?) My local bimmer stealer is horrible, (i have to drive 40 miles to the next one)so ask owners around you how yours is. otherwise i love the X5 lol it's like marriage, when it's good its good when it's bad......

You're confused. I sold my X5.

Engine company. What do you think the M stands for in BMW?

BMW does not pride itself on its maintenance. That is why they provide prepaid maintenance on new vehicles, to avoid the discussion of how much maintenance costs at their dealers.

You didn't buy a $75,000 vehicle. You bought a $26,000 used vehicle, with no maintenance, and no warranty. If it cost $75k, it would be new, and it would be under warranty. The transmission would be covered, if in fact it failed. You could also have an extended warranty in that price, so that it would be covered for several more years.

I think you should buy an ML550. Soon.

The post was in response to another poster, and the point under discussion was whether price relates to reliability.

Mercedes is not the same as BMW, they cater to different segments of the market.

the ml550 isnt any better, thats why i bought an X.

thats pretty funny SAV. when i bought mine and called it an suv the dealer corrected me and said it was a SAV (tougher than a suv) hahahahahahahahaha i can only imagine how much id have to spend on it if i ever took it off road.

Yea, I started my own thread about my transmission issues and got mixed up in this thread. There's definitely an ML550 in future. Soon. :D

Maybe. But I've owned many mercedes and never had any major mechanical problems on any of them and that goes for all the honda/acura products I've owned as well. I guess I should just stick with what works for me. Lesson learned about BMW and more so about trusting a car dealer. :dunno:

:bustingup my that's a long list you have sir

im sure there are a few more repairs. i can tell you this though. i've never gotten out of the repair shop for less than $500. i ve owned benz too still do but the "suv" is not as good as the bmw "sav"
i cant buy GM cus they took bail out money. dont really like fords. acuras are whimpy. i bet this is how Tucker got started.

I would have thought that the problem with a Ferrari as a daily driver is more to do with practicality and functionality than reliability.

To all those that bought a "Used X5"...I have two words that will save you alot of money. Are you ready? "Extended Warranty"
Another 2 word advice is "Independent Mechanic".

If you have both those, then you're gold.

i drove a ferrari as a daily back when i was a single "player" . granted the car was brand new so for the most part i had no trouble. just 1 clutch in 20,000 miles. of course the maintenance is brutal $ wise. and it kills the value putting all the miles on.

Dude - you can't flame BMW and you haven't actually driven one yet....