Newer model X5's made to throw away?
 

I currently have a 2005 X5. My mechanic, who only works on imports claims that the newer model X5's are basically being made to "throw away"... He says that he sees way too many in the shop before their time.

What do you all hav to say to that?

My husband and I were hoping to replace our X5 with a newer model when the time comes. Need your help on this one.

Uhh, well mine is definately not throw away. This model does have its issues and I would say more than its previous models and possibly more than other BMW models in the line but they are all warranty covered for the most part with the exception of the battery issue which is covered but a PITA to address.

I like my ride quite a bit and plan to hold on to it for some time.

From just an anecdotal reading, via the small pool of X owners on this Board, and B'fest, it would seem to me that the older E53 models have suffered fewer problems compared to the E70. I suspect some of that is due to there being less 'gizmos' and electronic systems on the older E53 vs the newer E70s. BMW's reluctance to offer any manual transmissions on their X series, in the US, is not helpful either. Auto trans related problems are significant; manual trans problems are minute.

Our '01, and your '05 have run very well. If I was in mkt for new suv type car, the E70 might be on my list, but not at the top, but that is just a personal feeling about the QPR of the new models. Otoh, if you buy new, you have the 4 year safety net, and have time to see how your new car performs over time, and can always toss it before the expiration date. GL, mD

First of all you are looking at the opinion of just ONE person, secondly I would like to say that my 35i has been mostly problem free. A few small things here and there the past 2 years but that's expected. You cannot have a trouble free car, even Toyota don't make those.

:trustme:

^^ Agreed. First, this mechanic has a skewed view given that he only sees cars with issues. Also, he loses all credibility when he says "throw away"... the E70 may be expensive to maintain or have a high failure rate, but it is NOT 'throw away'. (I do not think it is going to be clearly less reliable or more expensive than the e53, in the ling run- but time will tell.) If a mechanic told me this, I'd have a very negative opinion of him (or her).

The 4 year warranty is a great tool during which many issues get 'shaken out'.. using issues that arise in this period as a predictor of long term cost is not necessairly accurate.

I agree w most if what you all are saying and the comment did leave a sour taste in my mouth, however it still deserves consideration.
I appreciate all of your responses.
What issues have you all encountered? I'm curious if the same problems occur for all.

Thanks again,
Amdrea

Seems to be all based on experiences I guess...I have an E53 that has caused me lots of issues since I've owned it (all paid by Coverage One thankfully). I am upgrading to an e70 and have been told by my own shop AND the BMW service shop that they do way less warranty work on e70 compared to e53. Maybe it's just the age difference of the vehilces, who knows.

What I do know is that I'm excited to upgrade no matter what people tell me. It's like a movie, some people tell me a movie sucks before I see it, and sometimes I walk out of the theatre pleasantly surprised!

Hmm, I'm only 9 months into my E70 but only had a light bulb issues and an oil change under warranty.

I can say that in the 4.5 years I owned my 2004 E53 that there was about $15,000 in repairs and nearly all of that covered by my 3rd party warranty save for the $100 deductible (bought the car when it was 3 years old). That car's last 2 years were particularly painful with how much time it was in the shop. Had I not had that warranty I'd have driven it off a cliff.

We've had such good experience with our 3 Series BMW's and ready to replace the 2006 now and will go with another 3 series without question. I hope my confidence is as high 6 years down the road with the E70.

we drove our 2002 X5 4.4 for 155k miles before trading it in.

had to replace all the usual suspects. valley pan, alt, wp, rad, etc.etc.

that's funny... i had an 08 X5 3.0 for a few years before trading her for a newer model...



never had a real problem with her and i was heavy footed and put in a ton of miles in such a short time..



the only problem was with the NAV dvd unit which stuck a few times and was replaced under warranty with no questions asked...



my neighbor has an 06 Nissan Maxima and has had nothing but problems with it since getting it new... turns out there is a known tranny issue with that particular year model. Not sure if he's taking it to court but it now sits in the lot unused because it is too expensive to repair...



my friend's 2010 Acura MDX has lot's of NAV issues as well... said the thing wouldn't stay focussed and would drift across the highway or off road while enroute to its destination... weird...



he calibrated it a number of times but was never able to fix it... Dealer also couldn't replicate the problem so they ignored it as well..



no one is immune... as someone said earlier, the more technologically advanced the car is the more likely it is to have technical issues...



as long as it is covered under warranty i'm fine with it... when it expires and i can't get coverage elswhere then i will consider trading up again...



life goes on....

other than a recalled alternator, my '95 Isuzu Rodeo was trouble free for over 10 years. Then its GM transmission failed it. Way to go Isuzu. RIP.

E70 issues were mostly gizmo related for me, plus a moonroof that has had its share of issues. Recently, a critter has made my car its winter home and chewed my O2 sensor once, and my gas lines twice.

I am totally happy with my 05 X5 4.4l. I bought it 2 yrs old w 35k on it. The only real prob Ive had was the "transmission glitch" that's what the dealership called it. It took it in every month for a computer reset until they got so sick of me they finally replaced the tranny for free, and that was under a cert preowned warranty. Ha ha

When my 05 dies, since its paid for, I'm pretty sure I'm trading in for new X5, because I just love the stinking car so much. I just thought I'd ask the forum what they thought of my mechanics silly comment. I am using another mechanic by the way.

Hee hee

Thanks to all for the great response.

Given how fast technology is progressing, I wouldn't keep one of the newer BMWs forever. Not only are the complex computer systems hard for most indys to fix, but engines are rapidly becoming more efficient.

Prior to the MOST-BUS system (E46, E83, E53 etc...) stuff was pretty easy to diagnose and most BMW independent shops have the resources and tools. Since then, a LOT more computer-dependent diagnostics and parts came into play and the operating software is horrendously expensive. Hence why the E9x depreciates like a piano off a building once the warranty runs out. E70 will probably do the same, if not worse given its greater complexity.

Combine that with rapid improvements in efficiency and reduced emissions, it'll only be 5-6 years before a vehicle is completely obsolete. My X3 isn't even 10 years old and the new X3 xDrive20d makes the same power, more torque, better acceleration, yet consumes half has much fuel and emissions. From a 4 cylinder............diesel! Makes my X3 seem like a caveman.

so i guess "yes" is the ultimate answer, but for all makes and models..

all of the newer vehicles will continue to have more advanced technology features each year... (NAV, backup camera, bluetooth, touch screen, advanced monitoring systems and maintenance reminders, google, internet access, wifi, digital this and digital that...)

plus they are making them lighter, faster and with smaller engines and cheaper materials to accomplish that...

it will never end and we will continue to pay more for it each year...

don't forget this world is also brainwashed into believing we must always upgrade to the latest and greatest version of everything we purchase...

phones, laptops, software, etc... now cars...

the manufacturers know this and they play into it just as well...

My first X5 in '99 (first year out) did have alot of nickle and dime service issues, except with BMW it costs alot more to fix. But I loved the car and traded it in on a 4.8is X5 which was problem free until 105,000 miles, needed transmission work so I traded it in on a Lexus SUV for my daughter. I was already driving a X5M. BMWs are quality machines, find a food shade tree mechanic to use when out of warranty. Their reliability is quite good, but parts are expensive. Makes you think about how long you want to keep the vehicle, not wether you want one or not.

technically all BMW's are getting to the point where they are "throw away" vehicles. The premise is pretty simple and with the current computer cars, this is becoming more evident. More electronics and BMW's drive to keep any duplication of the software to truly fix these cars is making the long term feasibility harder and harder. The parts don't get cheaper the older the car gets, the car just gets cheaper and the parts cost the same. The globalization of parts to reduce the price of cars continues replace parts which should never wear out (say made out of aluminum) with parts which are made of plastic which will ultimately fail. The .10-1.00 per part savings adds up to a great deal of money for the manufacture but not for the consumer when you need to replace or fix. Perfect example. BMW has plastic radiators, plastic water pump impellers ect which fail constantly and it is recommended by most experts to replace these items around 70k. Please tell me how much more a metal impeller which will most likely not fail cost compared to a plastic one which will eventually fail. Now you have to spend hundreds on a water pump instead of $1 on the initial cost of the part if made from metal........ This list goes on and on.

Fixed it for you. I just don't see it as being in any way limited to BMW.

As to the plastic water pump impellor, a BMW tech has previously posted on here that as of 2010, no BMW X5 has a plastic water pump impellor, and that BMW stopped using plastic impellors in 1998, two years before the E53 was introduced, let alone the E70. I don't have a second source for that, but I don't see any diference between the plastic impellor, metal impellor, and composite impellor, they can all fail. It is an internet myth that plastic impellors are a problem these days, IMO. When the original does fail, however, if you buy an OE water pump you get a lifetime warranty on it. That should last.

I am not going to debate if the water pumps have plastic impellers or not. If you read roundel or bimmer, there are times of articles referencing the plastic impeller failures. Maybe the x5 is metal. BMW has repeatedly replaced parts which used to never and replaced th with partsade of materials which do. Ask anyone who wanted to replace the bogus lifetime trans fluid on a 5 series. The trans pan is plastic which cannot be reused because it is plastic. The list can go on forever

I think you will find modern OE impellers to be composite, not plastic. Trouble is that the Internet has as long memory

I'm guessing you will not be a fan of the new plastic engine oil pans under development, complete with a lifetime built-in oil filter

I think all of you have missed the point...

All BMWs are made to be disposable vehicles now due to EU rules on vehicles being biodegradable...

If you do a bit of research you will find that BMW has been designing their vehicles to degrade over time for quite a while.

European Law about cars being Biodegradable - BMW M3 Forum.com (E30 M3 | E36 M3 | E46 M3 | E92 M3)

Instead of a debate over how BMW is making their cars plastic/non plastic, can you all respod witht the types of issues you've had with your X5's (2006-2012)? If I hear back with very common issues then I will know whether I shoud "got there" again.

Obviously all cars have issues. But if issues are constanly coming up with a vehicle thats starts at $60k then it would behoove me, or anyone reading this thread to consider another vehicle. This is the reason I originally posted the thread about what my mechanic said about X5's being "made to throw away".

Seriously?!?!?!

YOU want people to respond to you with 'all their issues', for 6 years worth of cars, so YOU can do some sort of analysis on buying one?

http://www.xoutpost.com/images/smilies/bustingup.gif

Ummm, yes ARD, I do. If people are willing. This is an X5 forum, is it not? What else shall we be discussing here, politics?

Grill'em for calling you A R D.

:rofl:

You have EXACTLY what you need to make your decision:

You have contemporaneous posts from thousands of X5 owners regarding issues with their various model years- posted over the past 6 years.

Yet YOU think you can just say "dont discuss plastic impellers, but DO post your problems and if I can see any repetitive issues I can decide"

I submit that this entire forum is what you seek- but the vastness of the experience has thrown you and you cannot reduce that data in a way that makes sense (god forbid I tell you to "search")...so instead you think that a tersely worded request to readers will give you some meaningful dataset.

Sometimes there are no shortcuts.

A

PS I see no need to call out the lowercase policehttp://www.xoutpost.com/images/smilies/rofl.gif

Thousands? You're telling me thousands of owners post here? I feel like I see the same few people...I certainly don't see "thousands" or even hundreds of people posting here...

Edit to add: supposedly there are 44189 accounts as of this writing. However, it sure seems like, on the E70 board at least, that there are less than a hundred people who actually partake in regular posting activities.

Wow, angry much? If you don't like what I'm asking feel free to dismiss yourself from the thread.

Gotta love Internet message board tough guys!

He's not a tough guy. He's ard. He's like that. You'll learn to ignore him when needed. Don't let one dude drive you away from a community of pretty laid back people.

Edit to add: what, in any of his posts in this thread, caused you to call him a tough guy? Never did he threaten you or anything like that...just curious. Not sticking up for him, by any means.

I'm on my second E70 now and feel they have been the most reliable cars I have had. Only issue with the new one was to replace the battery.

this is really not even about BMW... all vehicles whether cars, trucks, minivans, jap, american, euro, italian, etc will have problems after a certain time or mileage... and the more technically advanced they are (and they have to be to remain competitive) the more they are prone to issues and ultimately breakdowns...

we all get this... surely you don't expect to purchase a bimmer and expect it to run the same 20 years and 500k miles later? those days are truly gone...

yes, someone will state they have a car sitting in their garage that is over 1million miles and still runs like new... of course it will, it has no computer, NAV, dvd, bluetooth, comfort access, fuel injection, electronic suspension, electronic brakes, power mirrors, heated seats, speed sensitive steering, and all of the other techno gizmos that help manage and control everything else...

a vehicle like that would have been traded in long ago once you were no longer able to extend or purchase warranty... these things are extremely expensive to fix regardless of make or model period.

my friend has a 2006 Nissan Maxima... loves the car but it has a tranny issue that he found out was a known issue for that model year... it no longer runs and too expensive to repair...

another neighbor has many issues with his 2010 Acura MDX to the point he is trading it in for something else...

and don't get me started on the american cars....

forget holding on to any car for 10 years... the new game is to enjoy the ride when it's new with no problems then trade it once you notice you're not having anymore fun... ;)

If everyone made cars to last a lifetime they would all be out of business today.