F15 X5: Good Choice?

[nando]

The N55 is relatively good but I dunno about owning a used, turbo X5 for 10 years. It's going to need something, and it will probably be expensive.

[dmjensen]

I’d say stick to a CPO’d car. BMW’s CPO warranty is pretty good. It covers 90% of mechanical faults. You’ll still have to pay for maintenance items unless it has a maintenance plan. Once the CPO runs it I highly recommend getting easy care or any other type of extended warranty. Mainly because it WILL break at some point and if they maintain it at a dealer or any reputable shop the warranty will pay for itself within two repairs.

I’d look for and ask for the maintenance history. Make sure all the oil changes were done on time and or early. When they take ownership have them cut the oil change interval in half ( about 7,000 miles ). This will drastically reduce the chance of oil leaks and internal engine damage. I’m a technician at BMW of Nashville and we see N55 cars leaking or show internal damage to components all the time because of BMW’s long oil service intervals.

Other then that just do your normal inspection of your own. Make sure EVERYTHING works, drive it in all conditions ( like you stole it and like you have a newborn in the back seat ). I’d even recommend gettin a pre-sale inspection at a reputable shop.

Let me know if you’d like more info then that but honestly they’re a great car when taken care of.

[freeride53]

yea i was not impressed with the 2000s volvos they pretty much had a permanently defective transmission issue with the autos and the VIDA system makes every DIY job a PITA i mean if you have to clear your computer through VIDA to change a rear view mirror thats BS. beautiful cars tho.

P2's XC's look great but were built like trash. When the motor/tranny blow again, I want to park it somewhere then when $/time come along, refresh the suspension, interior, and swap in another motor with a manual tranny. Have done some research and a few people in the US have had successful manual swaps.

I don’t know much about the n55 or the x5.

I do think it would be wise to find out the warranty details though. How long is the warranty? What does it cover? Would the warranty give your folks 5 years of carefree ownership if anything does go wrong?

My wife has a CPO Ford Escape and the warranty actually has better terms than the new cars get.

The BMW CPO warranty sadly isn't as good as it used to be. Think it's something like 1-year/unlimited miles now. If we go Carmax, I think the optional add-on warranty packages may be better.

[325e '87]

I don’t know much about the n55 or the x5.

I do think it would be wise to find out the warranty details though. How long is the warranty? What does it cover? Would the warranty give your folks 5 years of carefree ownership if anything does go wrong?

My wife has a CPO Ford Escape and the warranty actually has better terms than the new cars get.

[kickinindian]

yea i was not impressed with the 2000s volvos they pretty much had a permanently defective transmission issue with the autos and the VIDA system makes every DIY job a PITA i mean if you have to clear your computer through VIDA to change a rear view mirror thats BS. beautiful cars tho.

[freeride53]

My folks (almost retired), are looking to pick up a 2016-17 X5 X-Drive 3.5i. This would be the 6-cylinder N55 motor with AWD. We've done a lot of reading up on the forums / etc. about these and it looks like the N55 has a pretty good track-record (at least in other models).

Have any of you guys/gals owned one before? Or for you BMW techs, have you worked on them before? My parents have a relatively firm budget (all in under $40K), and are looking primarily at CPO cars with their specific color combo of preference (which is pretty hard to come by). This will be replacing a plagued 2002 Volvo XC70 that they bought new ($48K new, worth ~$2K at most now), which has gone through 4 transmissions, and is now finally about to blow a HG (also a total POS with overall build quality). They're hoping to find something that they can own for ~10 years without too many worries. Good choice?

Photo of what these look like, for reference.