This has got me seriously thinking-should i sell or keep the E53 X5 ???

[zaw]

Hello.

As long as you service your car regularly why not get AA Breakdown Repair, if you get it first time off top cashback you save 70 quid. My first year cost me about 160 with cashback, I bought my X5 very cheap back then only £5000 . I made two back to back claims within days of each other for £900 pounds and they paid out.  Of course if I source the parts and got the work done it would have been half the price but if its an AA approved garage and parts supplier recommended who am I to quibble?

Even though the car has 120,000 on it now 3.5 years later I got an offer and got the last two years cover for £230 it includes normal breakdown, its that good cover both my brothers have it now. One made a recent claim for £460 for fuel pump / fuel filter.

If you have that cover for the years you own it then at least if you have a major problem there is a £500 contribution each time up to 5 claims per year, not bad?

Of course they are not super cheap cars to run but there are a lot of parts available at relatively cheap prices providing you have a reasonably priced gararge person to carry out the work

hope that helps

Thank you

[henrym3]

Most think about selling because of problems rather than because it hasn't got problems but might have in the future. I think no matter what you buy if you go on that vehicle forum it will have plenty of people on there with problems. Forums by nature have people on there with problems and hopefully (like this  one) people who are knowledgeable and give up their time to help. Enjoy your BMW.

[X5-D-Sport]

These Fat-Ladies eat parts & need ££$$ lavishing on them.... relentlessly..
However the bills are greatly reduced with good servicing & preventative maintenance.

I expect to spend £500>£1000 a year on repairs & parts mine... 178,000 miles & she drives beautifully.

Fortunately I do most of the fix-its myself & save many hundreds in labour.

Every now and then a few issues happen all at once & it feels like time to chop the car in, but also bear in mind that you could get a replacement vehicle & it soon needs a diff & a gearbox & the computer fails...
At least with the one you got, you know it thoroughly 

[themoog]

If I was in your position I would definitely sell it.

Then go and buy a V8 X5.

[graemeX5]

Hi

Unfortunately life is full of what if's, and I guess if you considered all of them most of us wouldn't get out of bed just in case.

The thing is you have to sometimes take a chance on things if it works out you get some enjoyment, if not you get a headache to sort out, and it's the same with cars.

At least on here you will have people to help guide you on options should a major problem occur, some have a warranty, some put £1000 in the bank, others like me would use an interest free credit card should the need arise.

I had a E53 2004/54 and had it 4.5 years and the only major spend was at the start to rectify the lack of maintenance which was £1500 including brakes, sensors, rear lights, full service etc, but that meant the rest of it was just regular maintenance.

The only extras to this was the improvements such as head unit, arches, wheels, 4.8 front and rear bumpers, etc., but they were my choice as and when I had the money. During my time I had the suspension dropp only and it was fixed by recoding so no real headaches and about £50. Also I had numerous offeres to buy it and it turned heads because it was so clean.

I have since bought an E70 version and although it's faster newer with all the toys etc etc as there is little I can improve on it unlike the E53 it can feel it's less involving for me as a hobby.

All cars have problems at time and usually down to maintenance, or breakage, but these cars aren't cheap and parts can cost and it costs more  if you use a dealer, but it's more reasonable with a good Indy or if you are good with the spanners, and look for other suppliers for the service parts, or spares.

Best advice enjoy the car while you have it and keep it maintained  :drive:

Graeme

[RickUK]

After sleeping on this for a few nights and looking at it from every angle that folks have posted i am going too keep and enjoy driving 'Big Blue' as we call it,must admit i really appreciated all your constructive replies and everyone made alot of sense.

So will be enjoying it and not worrying about it ongoing,must admit during this coming week i  will be taking out this 'AA Breakdown Repair' cover that was suggested,that is massive peace of mind that i dont mind admitting.

Costs related to running a X5 certainly was and never is going to be a issue,it was just the daunting task of having major repair bills looming up over the next few years,of course they well be the odd one.But the reason i bought this specific car was the impeccable service history,and the last service was done just days prior to me buying the car.

So basically i have the full Green Flag recovery get you home service and also this coming week will take that additional 'Breakdown Repair' cover out that then means that i have total peace of mind,and that was the worrying thing,but i have made the decision and as everyone has suggested just enjoy the bloody thing,which i really have done since i have owned it.

So i would like to thank all those that replied and put a wide variety of opinions and everyone one basically suggested just enjoy it and dont look or worry about possible things that may or may not happen,i am great at 'script writing'.

So once again many thanks for all your replies,and yes if a 2017 BMW X5 get together is arranged then i will certainly be coming 

[AW8]

I owned my used 2002 E53 for over 10 years & put 90k on it before saying goodbye with near 150k miles on the odometer. It only physically stopped being drivable once in my entire ownership. I did, however, spend many thousands in maintenance & repairs. The new owner has carried out more work & as far as I know continues to enjoy the car..

Some could argue that suspension & associated underpinnings should be viewed as consumable items on all cars.....the case for this is arguably more so on a relatively large soft roader/4x4 & particularly when some significant miles have ben covered.

By frequenting a forum you see comments from fellow enthusiasts, many of whom sort issues &/or keep on top of things. Make & model aside, some owners of vehicles spend less on sorting issues than might others, indeed for some many issues are irrelevant. Case in point example below....

........I  have a close immediate family relative who drives a 12 year old CRV owned since new. CRV's are widely regarded as being reliable....this car is no exception to that. In the owners eyes the car has needed little work since owned from new & needs nothing.  I fairly recently had kind loan of the car for a couple of months, the car never failed me once. I would go so far as to say that I quite enjoyed driving it once accustomed to proceedings. If I owned it I would probably want to change all belts, all fluids, filters, change two tyres, maybe stick in a new battery, give it some fresh plugs, replace a headlamp, get alignment checked, strip down the NAV unit & clean the disc laser. Cosmetically I would sort a couple of minor niggles too.

My point is that maintenance & in ownership cost of any used vehicle is often relative to fussiness of the owner (excluding critical failures or MOT fail items).

Sure some cars are typically cheaper to maintain than others, but a lot may depend on how maintenance proactive you intend to be in ownership.

Many car owners don't want unexpected bills & either stay with relatively new cars that have manufacturer warranties &/or service plans. Obviously such worry free ownership comes at a cost, whether initial purchase price, monthly finance or perhaps even leasing charges.

[X5-D-Sport]

Hi AW8.. some good points indeed.

For me, the X5 D-sport is a hobby in its self with the tinkering & work needed to keep it in good order.
I enjoy fixing it & fiddling with it.. as it is an ongoing project.

I must also admit to having had new cars in years past... and they bored me silly... noting to take apart & learn about... hated new cars.

I will admit to having had ideas about getting an E70 powered machine, for the power & speed... but they are still ab bit too pricey for my wallet for now.... maybe one day & I will fiddle with an E70  instead of an E53 

[henrym3]

Traitor.

[AW8]

Salisbury,

Thanks......I saw your earlier post in this thread, agree with your comments & likely maths. Sure it can  be possible buy a used E53 needing little or even nothing spending on it initially, however, subsequent owner(s) will have to spend out IF wanting to keep the car in good mechanical condition.

Without wishing to take this thread too far off topic......

I recently gave significant consideration to buying a used diesel E70 but have been reluctant to commit. Current  diesel backlash & looming government report on nitrogen levels make future residuals a little too uncertain for me if spending 14-16k.  DPF another hassle I could do without. Shame the petrol E70 models are in higher tax band. Bringing things back to used E53 ownership....an E53 3.0d is a lower residual risk as most have less to fall than lower taxed (2008 onwards) E70 diesels.

[quote="henrym3"]
Traitor.
[/quote]

Perhaps I am being thick but please clarify......even assuming your comment was tongue in cheek

[X5UK88]

I believe he was referring to going from an E53 to an E70 )

[AW8]

). I wasn't sure if it was Salisburys' E70 thoughts or me bailing out of my E53 that was being referred to.

[henrym3]

Didn't mean to offend anyone, it was a light hearted Jib at X5 D Sport for thinking about going from E53 to E70

[AW8]

No problem..... was confused rather than offended 

[A Blair]

Hi Zaw,
And everyone.
Slightly off topic and I am new here.
That thing about about warranty is an excellent idea. Never thought about it as have always bought new but now bored with  the white goods driving experience and have dumped one car with one car to go so thank you.
The warranty does mean I need a stamp in the book however I do love tinkering and playing with the V8. A little personalisation too. This is not possible with some marques without null and voiding the warranty. This forum is a joy and very helpful when it comes to spanner stuff.

Sometime you do not know what you have until its gone. So happy to see high mileage examples driving well too.