E70 x5

For the past few months I've been getting increasing pressure from 'she who makes the rules' to go 7 seats - I won't get into the in's / out's of this debate suffice to say I've accepted it's probably inevitable. I'm currently driving a 2006 R53 Cooper S, love it and want to keep it. I also promised my kids I'd keep it for them until they are old enough to drive (only another 10 years :D). She has the e90 and until yesterday my intention was to trade this in for something newer with the 7-seats. The mini is a good example (low mileage at 118k kms, factory LSD, good service history, etc) so now I'm thinking of taking the mini off the road and getting myself into a 7-seater E70 X5. Then maybe later next year get her into a new smaller car like an A3. I have a budget which I don't have to spend and I don't really care if it's 2008 or 2012 (assuming within budget). We don't do much in terms of mileage so daily running costs don't bother me but I would like to understand more the annual maintenance costs, basic servicing, etc - I've read they are hard on tyres, bushes, etc but how hard - we'd average 10km per day with the odd longer trips thrown in so I'm struggling to see how costs could be very onerous but clearly I don't know hence this post and hopefully some real feedback based on experience?

Is it a mad idea?

Thanks in advance.

I had one a few years back a E70 7 seater. My wife drove it and did similar milage to what you are suggesting. It was for me a very expensive car to run. Disregarding tax, fuel and insurance.
1. Was hard on tyres - 2000 euro for a set (ours was a m sport with big rubber).
2. Oil leak from the crank shaft - 1500 to fix.
3. Various bits of trim breaking - 500 euro.
4. Brakes all the time, discs rotors and fluid 2500 to change.
5. Had two batteries - 350 each.
6. Front control arms done - 800 euro.
7. Had to change the locks due to keys being robbed - 900 euro.

It was the most expensive car I ever ran. Good jammer mind you, fast and comfortable, but running costs are very high. Maybe an indie would be better, but we have a XC90 at the moment and it costs basically nothing to maintain, and is more practical.

Based on what Moe experienced, that'll adjust some of the future wishes...updated plan below! :D

Plan to own
E39 M5

Eh, scratch that..
E70 X5

Crank seal replaced - max 500€
tires max 2000€
arms today about 400-500€
keys its not item to be mentioned
battery max 200€


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Todays their problems :
front arms and bushes
brakes
oil leak all around engine
gearbox oil leak
glow plugs and relay
DPF problems
hand brake motor , main dealer only nearly grand
other front arms and track rods , pretty same as any E39 , or E60 model would need these days , as most well over 100-130k mls


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I had a 2008 e70 in 2013 for about 6 months.

It only had 25k miles on it but I thought it wasn't a patch on the 100k mile 2006 e53 x5 which we also had.

Like Mor it was the overall build quality which I didn't like, e.g. interior trim bits were loose and rattley. We ended up keeping the e53 for another 3 years instead of the e70.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Moe

I had one a few years back a E70 7 seater. My wife drove it and did similar milage to what you are suggesting. It was for me a very expensive car to run. Disregarding tax, fuel and insurance.
1. Was hard on tyres - 2000 euro for a set (ours was a m sport with big rubber).
2. Oil leak from the crank shaft - 1500 to fix.
3. Various bits of trim breaking - 500 euro.
4. Brakes all the time, discs rotors and fluid 2500 to change.
5. Had two batteries - 350 each.
6. Front control arms done - 800 euro.
7. Had to change the locks due to keys being robbed - 900 euro.

It was the most expensive car I ever ran. Good jammer mind you, fast and comfortable, but running costs are very high. Maybe an indie would be better, but we have a XC90 at the moment and it costs basically nothing to maintain, and is more practical.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Valdelisbmw

Todays their problems :
front arms and bushes
brakes
oil leak all around engine
gearbox oil leak
glow plugs and relay
DPF problems
hand brake motor , main dealer only nearly grand
other front arms and track rods , pretty same as any E39 , or E60 model would need these days , as most well over 100-130k mls

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Other than that they are fine! :D

Thanks for all the replies - I knew they'd be more expensive and would have been willing to go to a point but seems from this feedback like one could have a plethora of expensive problems even for an Indie..... back to the drawing board i guess.

Might be easier for me to go hunting suggestions on alternative 7 seaters :D

The Qashqai +2 must be a fine motor.....they are everywhere! :)

Odd on the tyres...

I'm on 25k+ miles on the rear tyres with still meat left on it. I bought 2 20" Bridgestone dueler rft for about 600 total last year...

It's heavy enough on front pads alright and I've had the control arms replaced too.

I'm lucky in that I took out the BMW comprehensive warranty which apart from covering failures also covers wear and tear up to 100k miles. Downside is I'm paying about the same as the road tax for the year.

I had a headlight fault (wouldn't go on full beam on driver side) - the headlight alone was €1450+vat and fitting it involved taking off the front of the car. Thankfully the warranty covered it as looking around the UK even couldn't source a second had adaptive xenon headlight.

Yeah the road tax is a bit steep but it is an inline 6 diesel so it's smooth with lots of torque. Oh and the fuel economy sucks but I did pick this vehicle over a 4.8S Cayenne for this reason. Expect to spend €100 filling it and get about 400 miles for the privilege.

Mine has been tough enough on maintenance and I reckon I've probably claimed 5-6k in warranty this year (BMW rates of course).

I love it - they are very comfortable.. automatic (only) and plenty of power. I've been toying with getting a 4.0d but at 40k for a 2012 from a dealer (you get 2 year BMW warranty if you it from a main dealer - which is probably worth about 6-7k if you took it out yourself). The issue I have is mine is an ex-demo launch vehicle with a silly spec and I'd end up spending 30k along with it to get something about 4-5 years newer and probably higher mileage (and lower spec) but fundamentally the same vehicle.

Ironically my wife thinks it's cheaper to run that the 911 I drove for 8 years.... Ummmm no....



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Quote:

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Originally Posted by alan996

Odd on the tyres...

I'm on 25k+ miles on the rear tyres with still meat left on it. I bought 2 20" Bridgestone dueler rft for about 600 total last year...

It's heavy enough on front pads alright and I've had the control arms replaced too.

I'm lucky in that I took out the BMW comprehensive warranty which apart from covering failures also covers wear and tear up to 100k miles. Downside is I'm paying about the same as the road tax for the year.

I had a headlight fault (wouldn't go on full beam on driver side) - the headlight alone was €1450+vat and fitting it involved taking off the front of the car. Thankfully the warranty covered it as looking around the UK even couldn't source a second had adaptive xenon headlight.

Yeah the road tax is a bit steep but it is an inline 6 diesel so it's smooth with lots of torque. Oh and the fuel economy sucks but I did pick this vehicle over a 4.8S Cayenne for this reason. Expect to spend €100 filling it and get about 400 miles for the privilege.

Mine has been tough enough on maintenance and I reckon I've probably claimed 5-6k in warranty this year (BMW rates of course).

I love it - they are very comfortable.. automatic (only) and plenty of power. I've been toying with getting a 4.0d but at 40k for a 2012 from a dealer (you get 2 year BMW warranty if you it from a main dealer - which is probably worth about 6-7k if you took it out yourself). The issue I have is mine is an ex-demo launch vehicle with a silly spec and I'd end up spending 30k along with it to get something about 4-5 years newer and probably higher mileage (and lower spec) but fundamentally the same vehicle.

Ironically my wife thinks it's cheaper to run that the 911 I drove for 8 years.... Ummmm no....



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I think that's more expensive to run than an E39 M5.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dave

I think that's more expensive to run than an E39 M5.


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Lol probably... But I'm fussy about things being right..

Plus I did once spend 13.5k on a 911 engine (discounted price) so bill shock isn't new to me.

Modern cars are so full of computers and sensors that I really wouldn't consider one without a warranty. The E70 is a 75k+ car when new and now at 10 years of age and 89k miles stuff is going to wear and tear.... Although yeah it's expensive when (not if) it goes wrong.

I'd rather have a BMW and pay for the warranty than face the same situation with a Merc CL or SL (or similar). Porsche you can warranty up to 10 years of age too and that's why I considered the Cayenne.

The E39 is to me quite old school in that it's very mechanical still.... Something newer would terrify me in terms of upkeep and troubleshooting

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Yeah alan, you sound like me with the X5...costly motors.

On a side note, I think BMW (and a lot of other manufacturers) had a real issue with reliability in the 2004 - 2010ish era. Every car I owned from that eara had all these "know issues" like injector failures, throttle body failures, IMS bearing failures etc. Seems to me F generation BMW is much more reliable. I simply would not put up with all the hassle of the X5 again, even with a warranty, the time to book repairs, go there get a loaner, get back etc is a waste of time.

X5 is a good car to drive, but a Pain in the arse to own.

Thanks for all the feedback on this - in the end decided to put herself in a 2015-2016 Volvo XC60 for which the search is on-going :)