Time to change? What would you do?

[entropy]

I have a 2001 4.4 and I'm in a similar mindset to you.

Don't know how you finance your cars but they have some cracking PCP and lease deals available at the moment. Plus the smaller engine cars have improved so much they are as fast or faster than my 4.4.

I'm starting to lean towards these options and have trouble free motoring!

This saying pops in my head "If it flies, floats, or fornicates, it’s cheaper to rent "

[CondorX5]

I do such high mileages -over 20,000 miles a year - that PCP isn't a viable option.  I have always used HP or cash to finance cars, probably a bit old fashioned in these days of lease deals etc.

There is a nice M50d in the dealer network with a great spec but I don't really want to pay £35K for a 2011 car......... :blink:

Just fetched the old girl from the dealers, one of their delightful staff pinched the micro SD card out the dash cam, delightful - I know they are only a tenner, but really??? I couldn't be bothered to go back and argue about it, just emailed the customer service person who dealt with the car to let them know.  Local garage has quoted around £400 for the rear brake pipes and £170 for the front air strut, quite a difference from the £2000+ quoted by BMW..........

Warranty had to cough up the craziest prices though,  sat nav replaced (second time in the past 18 months) and the entire head unit.......BMW do not do lcd screen replacements!  Apparently completely insane money - nearly £5k for that and a few parking sensors (again, replaced several times under warranty since I bought the car in 2010).    How completely ridiculous! 

Driving home felt like jumping on a bouncy castle, so hopefully once the air strut has been replaced it will be back to normal again.  Booked in for the work next week - earliest opportunity the garage had.

[Reusch]

That's crazy money for the head unit but the theft of the micro card that would really piss me off.

[CondorX5]

It annoys me too........far more than anything else, but its not worth getting too het up over it.......sorry little git that had to nick a little card worth less than a tenner! 
Car is definitely not much fun to drive until the suspension /air strut is sorted, feels like driving a bouncy castle - its dropped right down in front, will just slowly go to the garage with it on Saturday.    Annoying when I think the bag had not leaked until they had it........but at 11 years old it was on borrowed time, so not much I could do - even so, over £600 for a job which can be done for under £200 for the airstrut was just too much of a ripoff, so a £150 part and half an hour labour (at £50/ph, not £150!) it was worth the horrible drive home.  Luckily we have a second car I can use in the meantime.

[X5Sport]

Mechanic probably took the car out for a thrashing and nicked the card to keep the evidence!  Would not be the first time such a thing has happened  >:(

[CondorX5]

Yes, the thought did occur to me.......but he then had the worst drive of his life as the front air suspension has dropped from the leaky airbag and the drive is like crashing along the waves in a tiny boat ............[emoji12]

[VolvoT5]

Warranty companies always use 'wear and tear' as a get out clause.... but I do have some sympathy with that argument on a higher mileage 11 year old car.

As nice as these E53s are they are total money pits. Not only is there so much to go wrong but it all costs an absolute bomb to fix it when compared to a 'normal' car. 

I think the only way to run one is to find a trusted local mechanic for servicing and just replace essential & safety items when they break.  I wouldn't be throwing money at further sat nav and screen repairs and so on.

Then again I wouldn't change it just after paying out for repairs either.  I find it really strange the number of people that get a load of work done on an older car and then part-exchange the car because it was 'unreliable'. 

Plus there is a lot to be said for owning your car outright and not having monthly payments to meet.

[entropy]

[quote="VolvoT5"]

Then again I wouldn't change it just after paying out for repairs either.  I find it really strange the number of people that get a load of work done on an older car and then part-exchange the car because it was 'unreliable'. 

Plus there is a lot to be said for owning your car outright and not having monthly payments to meet.
[/quote]

I agree with regards to the fixing the car for someone else mentality its crazy but then I find thats what gets you into the trap of keeping it, as before you know it something else has gone wrong.

The next door neighbour has just bought a C1 (tiny car) on £99 a month PCP and it makes me think why have we just spent under £900 on the X5 it in the last 3 months!

The X5 is my wifes and she does 5 miles a day in it.. I would like to persuade her into one of these cheap hatchbacks but she said she's become accustomed to the X5!

[Greydog]

I brought the X5 as a tow car a job it does really well, when looking we viewed Merc ML (don't like the shape), RR, Landcruiser, Porsche in fact just about everything with a 2 ton plus towing capacity. The X5 was by far the best value on paper and inside our budget. Well equipped good road manners and reasonably quick.
The Dealer I brought from advised a warranty, best bit of advice ever with a BMW. Like Condor my warranty has been battered, yes they put on restrictions but my recent engine rebuild cost me 50% of parts and as the bill is mostly labour my contribution was just under £1k of a £5.5k bill. So my view is don't have a BMW without a warranty. I look after my cars well using a respected BMW specialist for servicing and repairs.
I find it so disappointing that a so called "Quality" car manufacturer renowned for it;s engineering produces such fragile cars.
By comparison my last 2 E class Mercs (both AMG and yes one of them had the supercharger faults twice) my CLS AMG and the Volvo Estates we had on the business were paragons of reliability with mostly only genuine service items needed. My wifes 3.0 Outback Estate brought new in 2004 has covered 110k and has just gone through its annual service and MOT with no advisories yet again.

So I will keep the X5 a little longer but would I buy another? Simple answer NO. Sorry BMW you make a good car poorly engineered is my experience, they seem built and aimed at the fleet market where they are changed and floated into the general market at the end of "BMW" manufacturer warranty and responsibility.

[VolvoT5]

[quote="entropy"]
I agree with regards to the fixing the car for someone else mentality its crazy but then I find thats what gets you into the trap of keeping it, as before you know it something else has gone wrong.

The next door neighbour has just bought a C1 (tiny car) on £99 a month PCP and it makes me think why have we just spent under £900 on the X5 it in the last 3 months!

The X5 is my wifes and she does 5 miles a day in it.. I would like to persuade her into one of these cheap hatchbacks but she said she's become accustomed to the X5!
[/quote]
I get you there.  I barely use mine which is why I'm selling it and getting something cheaper to run.  I will free up some cash because I will buy a £1500 banger. Plus I will not have to worry about what enormous bills are looming every time I hear a funny noise or clunk. 

Paying out ££££ to run an X5 for 5 miles a day is bonkers.  IMO the only way to run older cars in general is to address safety concerns and otherwise run the car into the ground - once you start replacing parts you can end up rebuilding the car around you in a 'Trigger's old broom' situation. 

The problem with an old X5 is they still have considerable resale value so you can't just treat it as a disposable asset.  Basically it is the worst of both worlds -  you get new car expense with old car reliability.

[CondorX5]

I use mine a lot and pile on the mileage - I know it would make more sense to drive some eco diesel thing but I have loved driving the 4.8 .......nothing to beat a big V8!
I know what you mean about getting rid after a big repair before something else goes wrong, its a difficult one to call. I don't like the seats in the other SUVs /4x4s much, the BMW recaro-type seats are more or less essential for my other half (mobility issues ). 
I wouldn't have bothered with the satnav etc but as it was covered by warranty, why not?  What insane prices though. Would much rather have traded them the £5k they spent on that ancient tech for a repair of the brake pipes and the front air strut!  Much cheaper too! 
Like greydog, I think a warranty is essential with these cars unless you can do a lot of the work or have very deep pockets. Most electronic gizmos on mine have been replaced now, its just the gearbox and the engine. Am limping mine off to a local garage tomorrow for the repairs BMW wanted over £2k for.   

[CondorX5]

Bit of an update.......so, having declined the replacement of rear brake pipes at £1350 and then £950 ish as a "special" price, and the single front air spring at £700 and window winder /regulator at £595......I went off to a local garage I can actually trust but who have never had the X5 except for MOTs as the X has always been to the main dealers. 
Got a call yesterday -mechanic (yes, a real, old style proper one, not a parts fitter) was under the car when he phoned - he said he could see no corrosion at all on the rear pipes and the suspension arms seemed to be in good order as well (asked him to look while he was there).  So what a waste of £1350 /950 that would have been - absolutely disgraceful from a main dealer or indeed anyone, to rip customers off like that. 

Have managed to source two Arnott air springs from p38 parts dealer - they keep the X5 ones as well, so am changing the fronts.  Price a tad under £500 for both and £50 fitting.  So I get both sides done for substantially less than main dealer wanted for just one side. 

A new window regulator and motor is around £70 - plus some labour. Also far less than the quoted £595.

I will stick to warranty repairs only from BMW and their value servicing as its quite well priced for older cars - never any repairs again.  Must just take care not to wait till the last minute for MOTs as they then always seem to find something which needs doing so you just let them go ahead to get the car back quickly, MOT'ed......... :'( :'(

[Greydog]

Seems as though your BMW Garage is trying for the "Stealer" of the year award!! Sadly I don't think BMW main dealers are alone in their "money no object" approach to service and repair, as long as it is yours and not theirs of course.

[VolvoT5]

[quote="CondorX5"]
Got a call yesterday -mechanic (yes, a real, old style proper one, not a parts fitter) was under the car when he phoned - he said he could see no corrosion at all on the rear pipes and the suspension arms seemed to be in good order as well (asked him to look while he was there).  So what a waste of £1350 /950 that would have been - absolutely disgraceful from a main dealer or indeed anyone, to rip customers off like that. 
[/quote]
I'm surprised that anyone would be surprised that main dealers are hugely more expensive than smaller independents. Why do you think dealers attract the nickname 'stealers'!  Even you acknowledge they are mainly staffed with fitters rather than mechanics.  The dealership has to pay for the big fancy glass showroom and brand new courtesy cars somehow.  Hence the outrageous labour rates and willingness  blindly fling parts on the car at the customer's expense.

I'm amazed that you say you will still use them for servicing after they have been trying to rip you off. 

Not only will you save a fortune using a good small indy but the guy actually carrying out the work will probably earn more too.... and you support a local business too.... so a win all round IMO.

[CondorX5]

The hugely more expensive I can understand to some degree, but not the unnecessary work. 

The servicing has always been reasonable value for older cars and cheaper than local garages - the local garage I use is not a BMW indy and is happy to admit they know little about X5s, but happy to do straightforward stuff, trouble is they are not very conveniently placed to home / commutes for me, as I work far from home.  Agree with supporting local, but the warranty stuff had to be done via BMW, not a local garage.
its an 11 year old car, not necessary to bother about where the service stamps come from any more, but while the extended warranty is in place, it is better to keep it main dealer. Will probably stop warranty sometime soon though.