Welp, I picked up my 09 X5 4.8 today.

Runs and drives great! I always loved the way this thing rides and drives, and it feels practically like new on the road. Certainly drives better than the 428i I drove recently, which is really a sad comment on the 428i.

$2800 out the door with a $200 discount for being "such a good customer". I was obliged to comment "I really wish I wasn't such a good customer...".

I hopped in the X5 and took off from the shop for Milwaukee from Chicago to pick up my daughter and bring her back to Chicago for the weekend. On the way back, I noticed I didn't have any heat out the driver's vents. No matter how far I spun the controls toward heat, the fan wouldn't kick up and the driver's side was always cold. There was heat coming from the passenger vents but the fan wouldn't spin up. Came back home and within about 5 minutes of Googling figured out that it's most likely the heater control valve, something that often fails shortly after coolant flush on this car. Ugh. Back to the shop it goes Monday! The repair expense with this thing is positively insane!

V8 BMW’s are not for the front of heart. They usually don’t pencil out unless you DIY everything, because the parts are relatively cheap. Sorry to hear about the heater valve.

As I mentioned in my original post above I traded the 08 4.8i in with 96k miles on the clock in March of 2017.

The 2011 X5m had 40k miles on it when I purchased it. It was fully, like every option loaded (soft close doors, rear entertainment, etc.), 1 owner car in perfect condition with no accidents. New rft tires, engine partition, turbo coolant lines, new oem brake pads and rotors included in deal. I purchased the x5m for 32k, March 2017 and purchased an autonation gold 3yr/36k mile warranty for $3299. Which covers everything except navigation, and stereo. Already used it for an alternator replacement and oil leak, I also put 5000 down in addition to the trade. It’s owned by my company on a 5yr loan, plan to keep it 3. Also added a trailer hitch, tint, etc. since it’s financed under my corporation, interest rates are a bit higher than a personal loan.

Ok, that makes more sense on the math-- you put an additional $5K down. So, you're spending $30K between payments + $9K trade + $5K down over the 3 years you plan on keeping it.

Probably close to a bit high depending on resale, and maintenance.

I’ve removed my comments about my 4.8i costs as this is a new purchase thread. But by my calculations the 4.8i would be nearly 20k more over the same period. I have a spreadsheet with all of my expenses and was averaging over 1300 a month in repairs and maintenance

I liked my 4.8i a lot, enjoyed driving it and learned I couldn’t live without adaptive drive and the active multi countour seats. Which is why when I replaced it I went with an m as thse were standard features. I couldn’t find a diesel with the features and miles I wanted.

Sorry about the heater control valve. I replaced mine myself it’s actually fairly easy to do with hand tools and the valve is about 80 on eBay.

Thanks. Yeah, I saw them on eBay and other places for anywhere from $50-$100 for aftermarket. BMW one is like $250. Looks like something I could fix myself as well. Certainly a bit easier than replacing the coolant pipe!

My thought at the moment is to drop the X5 off at the indy and see if they'll replace it without charging me any labor, so I'd be just out the cost of the valve only. If not, I may attempt to repair it myself.

At least it's drivable with the broken heater control valve!

True.

Although, I have also owned several M62 engines in a couple of E39s and never had these kind of repair bills, taking both my E39s to nearly 170k miles. The N62 is just not a good engine when it comes to reliability and repair costs in my experience, and I certainly would never recommend anyone get one.

Hoping the heater valve repair costs me little or no $ after all the other work I've had done lately.

So I dropped the X5 back at the indy this morning. Sure enough, it's the heater control valve. $383 for the repair with a new BMW part.

I honestly think I'm done with this thing. I've completely lost faith in it. I can't even drive it 200 miles without something new failing.

Anyone want to buy a well maintained X5?

Don't give up now--you are on the downward slide of the cost curve ha.