I'm in a very similar situation myself also 19. Had the X for over a year and put in a lot of time and work into it. It has cost me more than it worth. All belts and pulleys, water pump, heated ccv, k&n, oil filter gasket, new brakes, tires, ball joints, tension struts, elbow intake....etc
3.0 get 14 mpg and thats if i drive it like a granny.
decided to sell it... very hard to find a buyer right now in the summer time.
I'm already loosing money if I sell it, but atleast I wont need to worry about the transmission if it starts causing problems after, almost 100k and the cluster has dead pixels...

e30 is hard to find in my area... how's e36 or e39 in terms of reliability?

I'm in a very similar situation myself also 19. Had the X for over a year and put in a lot of time and work into it. It has cost me more than it worth. All belts and pulleys, water pump, heated ccv, k&n, oil filter gasket, new brakes, tires, ball joints, tension struts, elbow intake....etc
3.0 get 14 mpg and thats if i drive it like a granny.
decided to sell it... very hard to find a buyer right now in the summer time.
I'm already loosing money if I sell it, but atleast I wont need to worry about the transmission if it starts causing problems after, almost 100k and the cluster has dead pixels...

e30 is hard to find in my area... how's e36 or e39 in terms of reliability?

^E36 and E39 are pretty much the same as your E53. Of course, you would save on gas since they are smaller and lighter.
The engine is the same, even with the smaller displacement M54B25. They share lots of components --> same ups and downs. Still need the suspension overhaul, cooling system overhaul. Same maintenance on Vanos seals, DISA valve....
If you have your E53 in good maintained condition, I'd say keep it.

Well how is the e30? What should i look for and how are the engines?

On a side note, I don't know why an X5 would be used for anything other than daily driver duties. People who have other cars for daily use and pull the X out for weekends confuse me.

19 year olds with an X5. LOL

I had an E46 323i. Good car. I changed oil and control arm bushings - that's it. Decently sporty.

Dump the X5. It's stupid to even consider keeping that truck if you don't have finances to back it up. It will break and it will cost you considerable money sooner or later. In the meantime, it will drain your gas fund.

Buy anything Honda if you have little money for gas or repairs. I've owned three Civics, great cars and run forever.

Neither do I. It's not like a collector or sport/fun weekend car.

My 16 yrs-old daughter drives an X5 :yikes: And I know at least another member whose teenaged daughter drives an X5 too. Are we in trouble? :D

My guess is the 19 year old is paying for his X5, paying insurance, gas and all repairs. At least that's what the post implies. That's probably not the case with a teenager at home and dad has probably done the maintenace thus far and will continue to do the maintenance as long this 'fleet vehicle' stays in the family, taking all burden from the teenager. When I look for a first vehicle for my teenager, it will not be a 13 year old X5 based on my experience and what I read here. Maybe the 19 year old will continue to run his 4.4 and never have an issue. That would be awesome.

Its great all these teenagers can drive such fancy cars! In london you cant get your license until 17 and even then its very difficult and then the insurance will screw you HARD.
I would say never buy a car on its purchase value, but rather its maintenence value. If you cant afford to maintain it, you cant afford to buy it period.