Goodbye E70 :(
 

Gentlemen, and Michelle and others of female variety ;)

I am sad to announce that I am trading in my 2007 Space Grey/Camel E70 3.0si .......
I have been deliberating over this decision over that last few weeks which is why I have not been active in the forums.
Why you ask?....well here goes:

1. Build quality of this E70 is way better than the original E53 which I also had....tight fit and finish BUT........its made in USA and it shows....I have had rattles everywhere, gaps between door panels have been horribly off ( despite there being so called Quality Assurance after production ) and electronics which have a mind of their own...I refer to IDRIVE of course...e.g Nav freezes and whole system restarts itself on the move, backup camera works intermittently.......yes I could take it back to dealer , but after paying almost $81k ...should I really have to??
When BMW spends millions on R&D, how can they miss such things??? Do the vehicles they test MAGICALLY have no issues till a NON BMW employee drives one??? Im disappointed at the lack of advance in the electronics field......yes i know its a DRIVERS car and electronics are secondary, and they have come up with lots of newer tech that other manufacturers dont have and copy, but come on BMW...even the CD player looks like its never been touched in R&D.
This all sounds negative but there has to be constructive criticism to improve any product.

2. I bought the vehicle right after I traded in my 2006 E90 330i.....what a car that was....and I bought the X5 because I commute a lot in the winter and needed a safe, and luxurious SUV.....X5...perfect....but I miss the power...I realise that is what I was missing despite all the luxury and styke of the E70......I could have gone with the 4.8i but transmission issues, all the above point 1 and knowing it was a US built car in the back of my head drove me away....not to mention that gas guzzling 4.8.
Also I find myself even as a family man, driving this thing alone....waste of space...guests we have very few of, family in UK and my wife and son and I are the only ones who sit in X5.....to use it as a daily run around is I think not a common occurrence and we dont do it either and use our '06 accord, so I also found it not being used as much esp due to gas consumption too.

3. I also felt the 3.0si engine underpowered for such a big SUV....the same engine in the X3 felt just right and was a rocket !

Overall the X5 excited me to start but reliability down the line, US built, eletronic issues, fuel economy and build quality were the reasons I let go of "Big Bertha" ( our name for our E70 ).

Whats more...the vehicle I am trading it in for is reason enough to change....

E92 335i COUPE + winter tire package.......! What a car that is.....I have an accord as mentioned ( family car ) so I can afford to have a 2 door ( 4 seater ) coupe......so today I signed the papers and get my GERMAN MADE baby at end of July !

I honestly hope you guys get chance to drive an X5 that is rumoured to have the 335i engine in it for MY 2008....its a rocket and beast !

Plus the 335i engine has just won "Engine of the Year" award.....cant remember where but nice going Germany !

It will be sad to see her go, but the car to arrive will clean those tears right up !

I wish all you current and future E70 owners success and prosperity in your SUV's and hope that my little rant does not in anyway spoil the enjoyment of your vehicles.

I would be interested to know however how many on this forum have also honestly thought about changing to something else....many will say not at all, but I have a feeling that some of the perfectionists out here who are particular having spent $60k + will have at some time thought about the quality of the vehicle.

I would say sorry to hear it but I'm never sorry to hear that someone has made a positive move. Actually i begin to think about it a week ago. Not for the same reasons just toying around with a change but i'm not sure what that change will be. Just might be a 3 series as well I don't know. Even considered a 7 series but i haven't done the research.

I hope you will be happy with the choice and i look forward to your comments on your new ride and pictures too. Be safe.

I agree with the quality issues. I don't own an E70 (have an E53) but have already 'broken' two rear hatches on ones I have looked at in dealers (ie: the soft close stopped working on one and on another the hatch latch got jammed! I also think the plastics are not up to E53 standards. All that said I would still upgrade if I had the chance!

Luke Jenner

Well good luck in the future! I guess I was a lucky one with the E53 because I have only had a handful of issues.

i understand what u mean.. ive been waiting for this new X5
 

for last 2 years and i decide not to pull the trigger. i own a 01 x5 3.0 and love it but after seeing the new one i wasnt as excited as i thought i would be.... i ask myself should i blow $62k for a new one or just keep mine. i hate reading all this negative stuff about the new one but i know no car or truck is perfect.. just to many issues so far.. i love the x5 cause i know no other sav drives like it and thats the part thats killing me in buying another brand..i'll wait for 08 for now and see if anything changes for the better.. i wont hold my breath...

that's too bad man....my build quality on my E70 vs. my E53 is much better, way above average. You do know that the X5 will be getting the 335i engine in '08, right? Maybe quality will improve by then (but I think you just got a bad one).
Good Luck.

Wow, what a shame you have had such a bad experience. You must have taken a nasty hit to make this trade, I hope it is worth it.
Personally, I have not experienced any of these issues (4,000 miles 3.0si) and feel I have a solid vehicle, that I look forward to driving every day.
If the dealer offered me my full purchase price back to trade this in, I would decline...I am that satisfied.

Very sorry you have had such a bad experience, but it sounds like you have a lemon....hopefully someone else does not buy this back from the dealer and have the same experiences. But, then I guess that is exactly what is going to happen...shame your X cant go back to the factory.

Sorry to hear about your problems, you must have taken a beating on the trade in!!

Sorry to hear about the problems that you have had. I have had mine for two months and the only QC problem that I had is a scratched windshield - did not notice it for 3 weeks. It was replaced without question.

That said, the 335 is a beast. I would see no reason to wait for the M3, I could get enough demerit points with the linear power of that E92. My brother-in-law who sells Mercedes cries every time I mention the 335 - they have nothing like it. In fact my wife is talking about trading her 5er for one.

Enjoy the 335.

Interesting. Two questions:

1.) Where do you think your Accord was made?
2.) What exactly does Canada produce?

Thanks..