Hi Scotty,
I am being offered a low mileage (80k miles) 2012 BMW X5 3.0. The car comes with perfect service records and is being offered with a three-year dealer warranty. I work from home and will not be doing too much city driving. I don't anticipate more than 10k miles a month, entirely highway.
The speed limit here (Bulgaria) is around 88 mph. It can be assumed safely that this car must have been driven mostly at 90-100 mph in its lifetime. There were few speed cams around before 2018.
I don't plan to keep the car forever. Do you think it makes sense to buy this vehicle if the price is good and if it passes a mechanic's test? I just need a weekend and vacation car that can take me to my summer home (a 20-mile trip) in reasonable comfort.
Thanks,
Ivan
The X5's are notorious for falling apart as they age. I would personally not buy it as it is a 9 year old BMW and they cost a small fortune to repair. Sure the dealer has a warranty, but trust me me when I say they will go above and beyond not to cover expensive repairs on that thing.
I would look for something that holds up better like a Sequoia or Land Cruiser.
Pass on it.
I owned a 2007 BMW X5, from 2016-2020. From 160K miles to 200K miles.
They are amazing vehicles. But they are also expensive to maintain. Here are some of the things I had to do in the 4 years of ownership. Granted, I had a high mileage one.
- Electronic Brake got stuck, Emergency Pull wire wouldn’t detach.
- Catalytic Converter replacement
- AC Compressor replacement
- Thermostat replacement
- VANOS replacement
- Valve Cover gasket replacement (oil leak)
- PCV replacement which meant replacing the entire Valve Cover
- Misfires: Coils replacement
- And that’s not counting the regular oil changes which are double that of a regular car.
Granted, many of these things may break or need repair on any other car. It just cost so much more on a BMW.
Long story short, I spent more on those 4 years on repairs and maintenance than I did on my 1999 Honda Accord in 21 years.
