How long do you want to keep your X5?

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by yupetc

If you haven't encountered, out of nowhere / all of a sudden / in the middle of the road, a dashboard full of lights and warnings and within seconds going into a limp mode; then yea, you've been lucky with what you got. I've owned 3 N55's so far:

E70 X535iXdrive
ECU bricked, turns out there are oxidations on electrical pins related to the circuit that controls the gas pedal, Ecc Shaft Motor, Throttle POS, etc. Had to get another ECU cloned to get her back to life again. Then All sorts of issues related to the water pump and thermostat controller loop. At 97k miles, I basically gave up and traded her in for the F15. This car left me stranded on the road three times. Had to tow back home on all, one of them being 150+miles.

F10 535iXdriveExec
Had all sorts of EVAP and ghost air leaks that I couldn't find. I've gone through upgrading my smoke detector systems twice, each time more expensive than the previous, just to get more confident on the detection.
Coolant leak (sweats through the return loop rubber hoses (after the Mickey-Mouse Flange). I couldn't detect it until I use the dye and a blacklight to detect it. This car left me stranded on the road once due to battery crapping out, and towed to local Autozone to get new battery (uncoded), then drove 4 hours all the way home along with all sorts of weird electronic festivities. After I got home, whipped out ISTA and plugged it in to appropriate the battery registry. The car never acted the same again. The head-up display would sometimes come off, and remains locked in the off-mode in drive until a [...]

Wow! Were these all bought new? Amazing you have stuck with the brand after all that!

[Variante Alta]

I have a loaded 2015 35d which I love - 183,000 kms and drives beautifully. I hope to take it to 400,000 kms with good maintenance (I do a lot myself). Repairs are affordable that way...can't imagine having to go to the dealer for everything.

It's aged well and still looks quite new (I get comments from people who can't believe it's a 2015). I know we like what we have (human nature) but the F15 was a real design score for BMW - few designs in my eye have aged as well.

I too am not a fan of the newer BMW design direction (one I saw recently just screams Camry - why, BMW??). And no diesels in NA - what a shame (thanks VW ).

Time will tell but I'm confident that this car is solid enough to make it 20 years and still be a good car. Maintenance is key - if you're unable or unwilling to put in the time / effort, it'll die like any other vehicle.

[50iXman]

Thanks for all of the input.

i plan on keeping mine for a very long time - these things hold their value

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by 50iXman

Thanks for all of the input.

i plan on keeping mine for a very long time - these things hold their value

Have you looked at depreciation? It depends what point you buy in at, but generally the depreciation is quite steap. If you keep and use it the nice thing is that doesn’t matter.

[50iXman]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Have you looked at depreciation? It depends what point you buy in at, but generally the depreciation is quite steap. If you keep and use it the nice thing is that doesn’t matter.

Paid 35K for my 2014 50i with 150,000 Kms.

[yupetc]

Originally Posted by FCX5

Wow! Were these all bought new? Amazing you have stuck with the brand after all that!

E90/N52 - brand new
E70/N55 - brand new
F10/N55 - brand new
F15/N55 - Used, paid $15k in 2020 through Copart Auction, clean title, 150k miles, when I received the car, it's riddled with all sorts of oil and coolant leaks, and the engine bay smelled like burnt plastic and oil. Drove like that for about 40k miles patching up all the leaking issues in between. Then at 189k miles, decided to cherry pick the motor out and build it on an engine stand. And here we are today.
G30/B58 - Bought CPO at local dealership last year. Started at 53k miles and today's at 61k miles. No major issues at all, car runs strong, but the DDC is too soft on comfort mode. So I pretty much drive it in sport mode all the time. That explains why I'm a big BMW guy driving all these BMW's the whole time. LOL.

[yupetc]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Loved my n52 e91! It was the least troublesome BMW I’ve owned yet. Still going strong with my sister.

I feel like you got the unlucky stick with the n55 as it’s mostly a peach compared to the n54 from a Reliability standpoint. Anyway, enjoy the max’d out n55 - sounds like a beast!

It does finally drive well and pretty strong; but with all this weight and size, I wouldn't call it a beast. I think those X550's or X5M's are easily considered a beast than this mere 35i. Even with FBO's, without upgrading the HPFP and the Turbo, it's only hanging on at 380hp/425tq ish according to the sport displays. Still far from ideal. But I think I'll likely stop right here considering that more mods = more headache if things go south.

[XxBBVTMxX]

The only BMW I like is the X5 SAV… Im not a fan of any other BMW model.

I will keep my F15 until it dies. lol

I service it myself and have gotten very familiar with every aspect of my N57. Very happy with this model.

[kanvas]

'14 50i here with 105k miles. Still a solid car! Planning to keep another 5 years or so/up til 150k-ish miles

[F15_SGM]

I wanted to keep mine until 300K Odo. Unfortunately I dumped over $13K+ into maintenance just last year and now this year car was totaled. Lost all the money I put in it and got low balled from the insurance company.

[///d]

Anytime anyone comes to me asking about buying a BMW and if they are reliable I tell them this;

New BMWs are expensive because you typically HAVE to bring it to BMW to get work done on it.

Used BMWs are a gamble, because "most" buyers that purchase a new BMW have no clue about maintenance, they just drive it on a lease until they trade it in for a new one. The lease vehicle then gets sold to another person that likely doesn't know much about maintenance but wants a cheaper BMW. They drive the piss out of it with minimum maintenance outside of typical oil changes. Then they sell it because they don't want to pay the preventative maintenance prices. Now you get the buyers who see a cheap BMW and think they struck the lottery, not realizing they just bought a luxury vehicle thats likely been neglected because its reaching that time for high preventative maintenance costs. They then get mad and blame BMW for being unreliable and expensive to fix because it costs more to fix it then they paid for it.

You may have paid $15k for that X5, but it still comes with a $80k luxury SUV maintenance schedule.

Both my BMW's have been great to me. I drove my E90 for 100k miles and the only issue I had was a stuck rear caliper and the TPMS module took a shit. My X5 for the past 70k has been issue free minus a bad ride height sensor. It's time for preventative items which is going to be spendy, but thats part of the game. I plan to keep my X5 until it dies. I really don't want another car payment (unless it's for something special).

[Variante Alta]

You hit the nail on the head…preventive maintenance - it’s critical to happy long term BMW ownership. They are very well built but will succumb to mistreatment with costly repairs if not maintained. If you want maintenance free, buy a Toyota (and be blanded to death ). It helps so much if you’re somewhat handy and can follow reliable internet instructions. So many people just aren’t handy that way (and that’s okay), but don’t expect a worry free experience with a 2nd or 3rd hand BMW. Treat it well and it’ll be amazing; neglect it and it’ll slap ya!!

[HolyWayne]

Mine is a 2018 with ~30k miles on it. I'm not the original owner, but it has a full BMW service history and at the moment is running really well. No leaks or other issues.

I'm a big fan of the look of the F15, I think they did a great job with the aesthetics. I still enjoy looking at it, especially when it is nice and clean.

I don't currently do a high annual mileage, it fits the whole family and it's all paid for. So I plan to stay on top of the maintenance and keep it for as long as possible while it remains reliable etc. I'm hoping to get several more years out of it, but time will tell I guess.