:thumbup: Good luck.

Mileage - low mpg & regular gas before vs marginally better mpg & premium after - might be a wash in terms of cost. Driving style has more of an effect than most think.

For passive safety, the E53 is one of the best ever tested by IIHS. The big difference you'll notice is active safety - the X will handle better and certainly stop shorter than the Denali. I miss my Tahoe until I remember how wallowy and out-of-control it felt on the highway, and how laughably pitiful the brakes were. The X, in contrast, is rock solid at super-legal speeds :thumbup:

The X5 4.4 drinks like a fish, I don't know about the 3.0.

Dependability is HIGHLY dependent on climate. Down south X5's seem to last twice as long. Notably cold climates are going to require a lot of preventative maintenance to the X5 to keep it alive.

BMW's have always been hit or miss cars. I'd almost rather buy a high mileage BMW than a low mileage just because I know it is one of the good ones. If you have a BMW that comfortably made it to 100k without the tranny falling out or major engine service you can bet it'll be a 200k car easily.

I say do it, but thats because I am bias. One thing is for sure you will love the way the X5 drives and handles over the Denali, and the 3.0 has plenty of power. You can expect to get 17-21mpg depending on you drive habits. Plus the one you are looking at is a 04 which is a "facelifted" X5 which look a little bit better than the original.

Welcome to the board, you will enjoy all the help you find here.

I'd say go for it, you will love the ride! Our 2002 3.0i has 112K miles now and never had any major problems contrary to some of the horror stories we've seen on this forum. Routine maintenance, oil, belts, hoses, brakes, battery and a couple of minor repairs to CV joint/axle replacement, sway bar end links, nothing that broke the bank so far! Welcome to the forum! Post pics if you decide to jump in! :thumbup:

What types of things should I keep special attention to?

One of the main things I love about this forum is people want to help. If you ask a question it is going to get answered. I see on a lot of sites people won't necessarily answer the question but bash the question asker. Except the really obvious questions that could be answered by a quick thread search. Which my above question may be one of those but I'm on my phone right now and hate using it for quality searching. What can you expect it's a BB. Ha ha ha.

In terms of MPG the 3.0 is not all that better than the 4.4. The difference in HP is however. Before buying the 3.0 i would drive the 4.4, you dont want buyers remorse. I regret not getting the 4.8is but those are MUCH harder to find..

I'll second this.

Thank you for all of the feedback! I appreciate it and I love the honesty. At this point in our lives (@24) I am extremely content with the 3.0i mainly because if this is a great experience I expect this to be the first of many BMWs. And after owning the 6.0 V8 Denali with custom suspension, I will look forward to a 4.8is in the future. Ha ha ha.

We currently live in Oregon but most likely will be headed to Denver, CO by June. And I love the idea of this E53 in denver.

The idea of Premium sucks, BUT we currently fill up every 6 days @ $70 a pop. So $55-70 every 12-16 days appeals to me very very very much.

I look forward to posting pictures of this beauty once we get it into our possession!

Please be warned; BMW's can be extremely addictive!