XSeries-forum

Hi folks, new prospective owner here looking to start pestering you folks with questions I have. Over the next few months I will be starting to look at tracking down a 4.8is or possibly a 4.6is, depending on whatever comes up. My budget is @ £14000.

Anyway, I've read through the various posts here and got loads of good new info inc AW8's excellent Sticky thread. Tons of info in there.

One thing that I'm not too clear about is the cost of road tax / VED - call it what you will. Some folk I see advertising 4.8's saying that the tax cost is lower if the car was registered before March 2006 i.e. £245 per 12 mnths. But checking various guides online it would seem the 4.8 is Band M as the emissions are over 255 which would mean a tax of £435?. Then I found the following on the Parkers website :-

Please note: All cars registered between March 2001 and March 2006 that produce more than 225g/km CO2, will temporarily join Band K in 2009 and 2010.

What does that mean, the "temporarily" bit??.

You guys who are running 4.6 and 4.8is X5's, what are you paying for VED?.

£245 on my 4.8 2004

This should help.....the official DirectGov link for VED.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Ow ... DG_4022118

The 'temporary' statrment came from the 2008 Budget where one A. Darling threatened to retrospectively clobber all those who bought a car after 2001. He was forced to back down and the 2006 date came in. As yet there has been no change in the moving of >225g/km cars into higher VED brackets. We will have to await the next budget to see if the new lot make any changes.

Hi,


4.8 Is.............yes .............Take it all day every day over a 4.6 Is.

The 4.8 has a valvetronic engine which is much better on fuel......................with the 4.6 make sure if you get one it has a tow bar for the tanker youll have to tow behind you if you drive it like you stole it.

To be hoonest you dont buy a 4.4/4.6/4.8 if you are going to worry about fuel costs and road tax. My tax is £ 245 ( 54 plate )

All that said, I prefer the look of the 4.6 and if its cheap enough then its worth it over a 4.8 I guess.

I have a 4.8 Is and the list of things that went wrong with it is no joke......really tested my patience, but it was under warranty and it seems to be behaving now.
Brilliand car when its running well which it is....................

Regards

Nat.

Cheers for clearing that one up guys, appreciate it.

I've just ran an online insurance quote via Tesco Compare for a 2004 4.8is and got quite a pleasant surprise as far as cost goes. £480 fully comp. In fact, I then ran another quote but for a 3.0d 2004 and it was about £90 higher than the V8??!!!.

I'm not too fussed about fuel cost, I envisage doing about 4000 miles per annum in the X5. I generally cycle my commute to work every week and its only a 36 mile round trip. We have a second car and I own a superbike ( Aprilia RSV ) so the X5 will be mostly a weekend / family car that will get used a few times during the week by either myself or my other half to go to work. I notice a lot of prospective new X5 owners look into the full range of engines available when buying one so I'm really just trying to get a bigger picture of all the pro's and con's of the 6 cylinders and the V8's before deciding. Running costs as in fuel and tax don't concern me, but looking through the forums here there seems to be a fair bit that can go wrong with these cars which is more paramount in my mind than petrol costs. Obviously not buying a Lemon is a good start!!. So I'll be having any prospective purchase independently inspected first.

[quote=""Red44""]there seems to be a fair bit that can go wrong with these cars[/quote]

It always seems this way when looking on forums, but if everybody wrote drove my X5 today and it drove really well we would have millions of posts, people only write on forums when they have a problem.

Phill



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I agree with Phil, if you really want to see a car with a lot of problems look at the RANGE ROVER forums especially the P38

Good luck. You are absolutely right not to be obsessed with mpg. I swapped a 3.0d for a 4.8iS of the same year and have been delighted. Being wholly objective, the diesel is a great engine and it is probably a better all-rounder but I adore the 4.8iS. You will get far more for your money. I paid precisely £1.5k to swap my 2004 46k diesel for an immaculate 2004 27k 4.8iS at a BMW Dealer (with a warranty worth the best part of the price difference). My diesel new cost £46k, the 4.8iS was over £70k - depreciation is the killer, not mpg. For the record, my like-for-like has been just over 20 mpg vs 27 mpg (generally a bad mix of London and motorway). The 4.8iS is surprisingly efficient. Also there is no turbo to blow, the engine is less stressed generally and no diesel smoke on start-up. And the noise is fantastic!
My advice would be look for a cherished one-owner car with warranty (BMW dealer is best). Keep searching on the BMW website which is straightforward as the dealers often get them as part exchange for the new model. Don't be put off by prices as most dealers are keen to get rid of them (with fuel prices) although be prepared to travel and avoid Hexagon in London which seems to charge a premium of £5k over glass's guide as policy. The BMW warranty is good and will protect you from any obvious nasties. If you keep looking you should find one traded in well outside London for reasonable money.

Any 4.8iS registered before the 23rd March 2006 will cost £245 year to tax. If its after this date then you pay top wack £435 IIRC. as X5sport stated this could change at any budget but that is how it is at the moment and yes you will love the V8

Glad guide some use - Posts above are good info too

Big fan of the "i.s." models myself & having missed out on ownership due to dealer sales guy foul play..........Not bitter- honest

Cheers folks.

I know what you mean Phil, about the forums and folk posting on them when they actually come across problems and issues. The Aprilia forums I'm a member of are the same. No one really ever posts to say "Hi, just wondering if everyone elses bikes are running ok, because mine has been no trouble at all since I got it?".

Got a wee short list of some more questions for you guys, it's obvious that there is a ton of knowledgeable folk on here so I think I'm right in saying I'm in the right place to start asking!.And yeah, agree with the Range Rover forums and loads of issues with those vehicles. I had considered, albeit briefly, a Vogue 4.4 in and around the same budget of @£14k but when I read some of the stuff on FullFatRR I was slightly put off to say the least.

I was wondering if there are any other Scottish members here, particularly from the point of view of where in Scotland to take an "iS" for servicing at a good indy?. Thanks for all the helpful posts and advice so far guys, appreciate it.

Red44
try this thread "Hi from Aberdeen" two members their
http://www.xdrivers.co.uk/forum/viewtop ... 7290#p7290

Thanks, Powercat.

[quote=""Powercat""]I agree with Phil, if you really want to see a car with a lot of problems look at the RANGE ROVER forums especially the P38 [/quote]

I sold my P38 after 6+ years when I bought my 4.8is - the P38 was pricey to keep in good repair, but I did and it was extremely reliable over the 6+ years I owned it. I love my 4.8is but I wouldn't have it if it didn't have a BMW warranty - mine is a beauty with high spec and low mileage, and drives like a dream, but has had 3 BMW emergency rescues already and a few grands worth of pricey warranty repairs - oil cooler, bluetooth kit, parki ng sensors and more. To be fair to the P38 Range Rovers - they are ancient now, even the youngest ones are over 10 years old!!! They were very complex electronically and of course, that only gets worse with age and lack of dealer support as RR dealers are remarkably dreadful (worse than BMW !!)

In my view, this is where you should be looking daily -

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/bmwauc/resul ... xx,00.html

Ignore the Hexagon cars (always overpriced and in my experience often finance repossessions) and look for the ones out at regional dealers. You should find a one owner well looked after car with FSH used as trade-in there where the garage will be prepared to do a good deal.
Critically it will come with a BMW warranty which is worth well over £1k and can be renewed after a year if you want to. You will pay a little more than private but in my view worth it. Frankly the non-BMW dealers often just "price up" to the cars here.
Although everyone goes for diesels, I did find that there is a small core of knowledgeable folk who recognise the value in these cars so you need to move fast when good ones come up. I was in competitive situations twice.

Good luck