Bmw x5

[Halm]

Originally Posted by 89911

. . . Thanks to G Bush and the SUV tax write off, I was able to deduct half of the price off the car that year. Ahh, the good old days.

Pretty sure that the same accellerated depreciation write off is still available. You just cant take as much off in the first year.

Love that color blue, BTW.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Halm

Pretty sure that the same accellerated depreciation write off is still available. You just cant take as much off in the first year.

It still exists.

If over 6000 lbs, you can deduct up to $25000

If it has a rear bed that is 6 foot or longer, you can deduct the entire thing.

This as extended in October...

I used this for my Pickup Truck. And it was the reason I picked an F250, since the bed length is always at least 6 foot. Finding an F150 with a crew cab and the 6 foot bed is tough.

[89911]

Yes the color was really nice, Estoril Blue. I have seen that credits are still availble, but the large SUV is a thing of the past for me and I now prefer sedans.

[Garp]

My wife drives a 2001, one of the early models and despite the poor rep they have, it has been remarkably reliable and pleasant to drive.

Originally Posted by speeder

I just can't even imagine the cost of driving a large, powerful vehicle in Europe. Any V-8 SUV or big sedan, (MB S-class), would be $1k per month in fuel for moderate usage.

Not exactly but it's getting really expensive.

Originally Posted by red-beard

Hmmmm. I'm on my second one...

How many miles before the first one went? I've heard it's a matter of when not if. Our X5 is a 3.0 with currently 80,000 miles on the clock.

[red-beard]

Over 100K and we have the 4.4 V8. Ours is a 2000. I bought a good used unit and had it installed. I don't think the V6 has the issue. The Transmission is the same, AFAIK.

[Carrerax]

I have had mine for many years and it is awesome. It now has 110k miles on it and we love it. It has been a really good SUV. I did have to do a waterpump and a few more things but it is well worth it. Especially not having a car payment. I would highly suggest getting one but do your homework. Here is a pic of it with my new 3.2ss motor (with myself and the engine builder) in the back. The motor is worth more than twice what the X5 is worth. We are keeping this until it dies. Hopefully that will be a long time.

[LeRoux Strydom]

I drive a 2007 4.8i with the 7-seater option. The power is addictive, and for such a large, powerful car, the fuel consumption is high, as expected, but not a killer. Driven gently, especially on longing trips, I get 13 l/100km (don't know what that is in mpg).

Being of the first new model year (2007), there were a few minor niggles that were taken care of under the maintenance plan. Some issues with the a/c, mostly, nothing mechanical at all.

I love the car, and my only complaint is that the ride can be stiff over bad roads, due to it having run-flat tyres. My wife's X3 has a more compliant ride than the X5. OTOH, the first set of tyres lasted 75000 km (47k miles). My advice, avoid the very low profile 20" rims and the sports pack. The 4.8i comes standard with self-levelling rear suspension, so the car can swallow tons of passengers and other load without complaint. The 3-rd row seats are only good for smaller children, maybe up to 10 yrs of age. Although the middle seats can slide forwards, there is limited legroom for the 3-rd row seats. The regular rear passenger space is huge, though. This is a very comfortable car for 5 adults.

It is a lovely towing vehicle as well.

You should also look at the new X3 just released (don't know about the US market). It comes in the 35i version, with the 3 liter twin turbo 6 cylinder. Wicked power with surprisingly large interior.

[Garp]

Originally Posted by Carrerax

I have had mine for many years and it is awesome. It now has 110k miles on it and we love it. It has been a really good SUV. I did have to do a waterpump and a few more things but it is well worth it. Especially not having a car payment. I would highly suggest getting one but do your homework. Here is a pic of it with my new 3.2ss motor (with myself and the engine builder) in the back. The motor is worth more than twice what the X5 is worth. We are keeping this until it dies. Hopefully that will be a long time.

I forgot to take a picture when we were putting the complete 3.2 engine in the back of ours. It fits to the mm. We also intend to keep it till it falls apart.

[mattdavis11]

How many of the X5's had water cooled alternators?

[Carrerax]

All of the v8's had the water cooled alternator. I also had to replace that. Just like with Porsche, watercooling is bad

[island911]

I looked at quite a few, and was ready to buy an X5 . . . until I drove a Cayenne.

[Oracle]

My buddy had a 8-cyl and told me it was possibly the worst MPG car he'd ever owned (to be fair he has a heavy foot)
But what he really-really hated was the latency due to the drive-by-wire, I remember him saying that it was borderline dangerous.

When the lease was up he was super happy!

[silverwhaletail]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Remember, it's not the up-front costs you need to concern yourself with. It's the recurring ones.

My wife is a stay at home mom and had a 4.4 sport until she got broadsided by a Honda. The Honda was destroyed. my daughter was riding in a carseat in the middle of the back seat and was not even scratched.

X5's are built like tanks. I was really happy that they were hit while in an X5.

Safety is an important consideration when buying a vehicle for your family.

I prefer small sports cars and carry mega-life insurance on myself. If I get killed being stupid (and fast), then at least she will be able to buy fuel for her gas guzzlers.

[speeder]

Just got some horrible news from back in Minnesota that a guy I've known since HS lost his 14 y.o. daughter in an accident like the one above but with the vehicles reversed. He was driving a small compact car, slid on the highway after the big blizzard into oncoming traffic and got drilled right in the passenger-side door by a large SUV coming in the other direction. No reckless or intoxicated driving involved, just a tragic and senseless accident. Since he was driving, I cannot even imagine what he's going through. If he did not have a wife and other kids, we would be sure that he'd kill himself.

Sorry for the semi-hijack but the only thing I came away from this tragedy with is the importance of driving a safe car, especially as a family-hauler.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Oracle

My buddy had a 8-cyl and told me it was possibly the worst MPG car he'd ever owned (to be fair he has a heavy foot)

With heavy and powerful vehicles, the affect on MPG from a lead foot really gets magnified. If someone is too stupid to understand this, they deserve to pay through the nose for fuel.

[speeder]

I want to add something I forgot to post #34. A safe family-hauler does not need to be a large SUV, or an SUV period. That's more a matter of personal taste.

[krichard]

Had a 2000 4.4 for several years. Loved driving it. Got rid of it because if annoying reoccurring problems. The most annoying was every window regulator failed as well as the replacements. When they failed the window dropped in the door which really sucks in the rain.....my wife was not happy about that one......

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by krichard

Had a 2000 4.4 for several years. Loved driving it. Got rid of it because if annoying reoccurring problems. The most annoying was every window regulator failed as well as the replacements. When they failed the window dropped in the door which really sucks in the rain.....my wife was not happy about that one......

I forgot about those. They use a nylon runner with reel/unreel cables. It should be greased periodically and most people don't! The replacements are cheap on E-bay, but taking the door apart is kind of a pain.

Let's see, I also recently replaced the tailgate spring flap. Mine also seems to have trouble with the battery. Leaving one of the interior lights on for a day (one of the small map readers) is enough to kill the battery and prevent starting.

[cairns]

We have two X5s. One is a 2001 4.4 w/sprt all options with 105,000 miles that I use as a daily driver. The other is a 2008 4.8 sprt/all options that the wife uses (maybe 20,000 miles). While the older one had some teething issues when new (a leaking rear tail light cover that was shorting the right rear tail light and left front fog light was finally found and fixed it) it has been an incredibly reliable, wonderful beast that has towed the track car all over and seen very hard use as well as loving care. Same for the new one but no teething issues.

The newer one is much more luxurious, while it still handles very well it has much more suspension compliance and a softer ride. The older one is more like a truck, stiffer sport suspension.

The old one supposedly needed a new transmission about 10K or 15K ago but a new solenoid and transmission fluid and all is well. Be careful who diagnoses the problem. I've never had to replace window regulators or parts like that maybe we're just lucky don't know.

My wife loves the things and I have to admit while I initially didn't want one I really like them too. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one or recommend them. Parts are expensive but you get what you pay for. Mine gets serviced by me or a friend who is a BMW tech. The car runs, drives and looks like new- everything works perfectly. I have separate snow tires for the Winter and it'll get through just about anything with those on. For the Summer I got the 4.6 20 inchers which stick very well.

I was thinking of getting a new Cayenne to replace the old one but it runs so well that would be really stupid. The new X5 and X6 are faster and a much better value anyway. For the price of a similarly loaded Cayenne S you could buy an X5M.

[Oracle]

Originally Posted by speeder

With heavy and powerful vehicles, the affect on MPG from a lead foot really gets magnified. If someone is too stupid to understand this, they deserve to pay through the nose for fuel.

Whoa.. you jump into conclusions pretty quick!


He told me he misses it when visiting Home Depot as he replaced it with 996 C4S.

Last time I talked to him he had no plans to get into anything different