1 year on

[Greydog]

Well I have now owned my X5 4.4 for a whole year, and the following is what has happened and how we feel after a year of BMW ownership.

Just over a year ago we sold our Horse lorry and brought a horse box so a decent tow car was needed. We looked at many possibilities Range Rover, Landrover Disco, Merc ML, Landcruiser and the X5's. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a car that would have limited use so we set a budget of £6k.

The search threw up some anomalies, (1) A Landcruiser with more miles than the Starship Enterprise was on average £2 to £3k above our budget??? and they are not well equipped. (2) Range Rover and Disco's again were about £2 to £3k more expensive for a comparable year/mileage.
The car we chose was on a local forecourt an 02 X5 4.4 with LPG and full BMWSH (my wife loves the sound of a V8) I checked forums (including here) and websites for information and horror stories. The most common seemed to be around the suspension bushes and as the car was at what seemed to be the critical 80k and creaked a bit part of the deal was the rear suspension bushes were changed. Deal done and the car came home to it's first test, off to a horse show not exactly arduous for the X5 with only a snotty gateway and wet grass to cope with. So test 2 I load up 2 dogs and my guns and off we go to Derbyshire for some grouse shooting. For the last few years a trip done as a passenger in a friends TD6 Disco. The trip went without a hitch the X going everywhere the Landrovers and Disco's went without any problems at all I was chuffed with my BMW. The big plus filling up with LPG £40 while my mate is at the next pump putting £140 diseasel into his Disco, I used a tank of LPG going up and a tank coming back so cheaper to run than a Disco, brilliant.
I started to use the X everyday and eventually sold my daily drive AMG CLS. Throughout the shooting season the car performed faultlessly in mud, snow and ice and continues to do so.

1 year on what has it cost and what issues have come up, well having had the rear suspension re-bushed I decided the front would need doing as well. By recommendation I found a BMW specialist not far from us and after talking to him booked the car in for a full service, front bush replacement and Fluid change for the gearbox, transfer box and diffs.
I got fed up with having to put a divert code into my mobile every time I got in the car (or forgetting closer to the truth) and after exploring a blue-tooth upgrade (BMW cost just silly) I changed the headunit for an after market one and gained Bluetooth, Digital TV, Ipod connection, DVD player and easily upgraded full European sat nav for less than the cost of a secondhand BMW blue-tooth unit.

So I have spent around £1600 including a set of Grabber UHP tyres, my personal view is most of this was preventative maintenance and personal choice, I could have reduced my spend by just having a basic service but possibly would have spent the money in the long run anyway.
To put it in perspective it's about the same as a service on the AMG. The car sailed through it's MOT with no advisories and after a summer of dragging a horse box around is ready for another seasons shooting (Off to Yorkshire tomorrow).

This has to be one of the best cars I have ever owned for a number of reasons, firstly it does its job with ease, second it's reasonably economical to run and thirdly all up we are still inside our original budget.

Is there are down side? Well after 11760 miles its ride isn't as refined as a Range Rover or Disco and I do miss the shattering power of the AMG that's about it though.

Looking forward to another year.

[Rob5]

Well thats excellent news. I have just bought pretty much the same vehicle, 2002 4.4, about the same mileage and LPG so hearing this is very encouraging. Thanks for the review.

Can I ask which head unit you chose for the upgrade as mine has the standard unit and is looking very dated, plus the analogue TV no longer works!

[Horizon]

Good review, it makes a change hearing the positive side of ownership, as many posts are what problems people are having with their cars.
I've had a trouble free ownership, one oil change service and a battery, which I changed as a preventative measure due to the age of the original one.
I fitted HIDS and front markers to freshen up the dated lights. I also got a set of 19" winter tyres , the same staggered width as my summers. It will go anywhere  you point it in 12" of snow now.
I would say its the best all rounder I have ever owned.
I usually get bored with cars and change them every 2 years, but I can't think of a single car that ticks all the boxes that the X5 does.

[Raj]

Good review and glad you've enjoyed your first year of ownership.

[Greydog]

[quote="Rob5"]
Well thats excellent news. I have just bought pretty much the same vehicle, 2002 4.4, about the same mileage and LPG so hearing this is very encouraging. Thanks for the review.

Can I ask which head unit you chose for the upgrade as mine has the standard unit and is looking very dated, plus the analogue TV no longer works!
[/quote]

Hi Rob I brought Hualigan Head Unit looks very similar to the OEM but has all the bells and whistles I wanted plus more. Digital TV is about as much use as a Tit on a Bull unless your stationary. Same applies to the digital radio stations. The same applied to the Merc, the higher the transmission frequency the less interference. The down side transmission distances are pathetic.

[Greydog]

Thanks Horizon and Raj
This is the cheapest car I have brought for 30 years and I fully expected some issues happily so far none have reared their heads.
Trip up to Yorkshire went without a hitch and I am looking forward to trundling around the moors next week.

[jaynana]

good review mate and glad you're enjoying it!

when i saw the subject was expecting a load of complaints  - like said, that's what we always hear because that's when ppl write to get some help.

good to see the positive!

i've personally had a great couple of years so far but then my car spends most of its life having a relaxing snooze in  my driveway , compared to what yours seems to be up against!