Should I buy my dad’s X5 40d (F15), or something else?

[Dramas_T]

My parents are downsizing their car and have offered it to me at the PX offer they have from the dealer, which is sub-25k.

It’s a 1 owner late F15 generation X5 40d MSport around 80k miles. Hard to nail down spec as I’m not sure what’s optional and what’s standard. The car is black when I’d rather a grey one if given the choice, but not a deal killer. Anything spec wise I should be checking specifically?

Is the MSport a decent spec level?

Condition is good (but not perfect). My parents are not really car people so just send it to BMW when needed and pick up the bill but don’t detail it or wash it that often. Is there anything I should be looking for in the paperwork specifically work wise?

It would replace my aging family car which has cost buttons to run since new (free road tax, low maintenance, low insurance, insane MPG) - but is getting a bit creaky and small for a growing family so we were looking to change this year anyway. I’ve made peace with any replacement costing a bit more to keep on the road.

For the money is it worth grabbing this, or are they money pits?

I can’t find a huge amount from X5 owners online but looks to be pretty positive from what I could see. Certainly my parents have no complaints!

I did read about a few recalls potentially but if it’s a last of the line car I would think they are done by now if it’s been in the dealer for servicing.

Running costs would be an increase over a 10yr hatchback for sure, but if long term reliability stays solid I can deal with insurance/tax which are predictable. Tyres presumably eye watering but the ones on there are pretty new I think. Any input from current or previous owners on costs very much welcome here? I would definitely be switching to a local specialist over putting it in to BMW. Happy to pay to keep it in decent condition but don’t want to be in and out of the garage all the time.

Lastly any reasonable alternatives out there? Given the price it looks like the alternatives would all be the class down (like an X3, Kuga) and I’m not seeing a huge decrease in running costs by doing so while the cabins looks more compromised. The mrs prefers new cars usually so getting it from a family member is just about the only way around getting something more than a year or so old so that rules out a lot of the more exciting stuff in this segment.

Personally I would rather a Golf GTi, but the mrs is after a bigger car next…

[Gixer968CS]

So that's probably 6/7 years old?? 80k miles and properly serviced/maintained?? It's probably a nice car if SUVs are your thing. I'd say there's a strong likelihood of that costing you a fair bit of money to run though, especially relative to your current car. It's getting to age and mileage when things will be naturally wearing out or in need of replacing. It sounds like you're not really a massive fan of the car (or cars in general??) and if that's the case I'd be inclined to go with something smaller and newer if you're worried about running costs. The X5 won't be a cheap car to own, even if you get it cheap

[Pit Pony]

This is your dad selling it? Remind him that a) you can't afford it.b) He loves you. c) he can't take his money with him d) He's not offering a warranty e) Mum.said he'd cut you a deal

And then offer £5k up front and the rest in payments of £500 a month over the next 20 months. After 3 months tell him you can only afford £300 a month.

Only joking. My dad tried to sell me a knackered Sierra estate for £1000, years ago, and then six months later gave it to my sister. So I'm just a little bitter.

But a few years later my father in law gave my wife an immaculate 7 year old cavalier with 19k on the clock.
He also gave my son an immaculate 11 year old mk4 astrs with 15k on the clock. (Both probably worth about 5k in today's money)

[Funk]

Chuck the VIN into an online decoder and it'll tell you all the features and options that were fitted when it was manufactured.

[Panamax]

Dramas_T said:

My parents are downsizing their car and have offered it to me at the PX offer they have from the dealer, which is sub-25k.

You know where it's been.
You know the price is right.
Just do it; nothing to lose.

[jonwm]

My uncle had an x40d after a 30d version, both m sport, he didn't get on with the 40d as it went through tyres for fun compared to his other, he also said fuel was considerably worse. He went back to a 30d within 12 months

[Pica-Pica]

Pit Pony said:

This is your dad selling it? Remind him that a) you can't afford it.b) He loves you. c) he can't take his money with him d) He's not offering a warranty e) Mum.said he'd cut you a deal

And then offer £5k up front and the rest in payments of £500 a month over the next 20 months. After 3 months tell him you can only afford £300 a month.

Only joking. My dad tried to sell me a knackered Sierra estate for £1000, years ago, and then six months later gave it to my sister. So I'm just a little bitter.

But a few years later my father in law gave my wife an immaculate 7 year old cavalier with 19k on the clock.
He also gave my son an immaculate 11 year old mk4 astrs with 15k on the clock. (Both probably worth about 5k in today's money)

OP hasn’t played the ‘I saw Mummy kissing Santa Claus’ card yet.

Edited by Pica-Pica on Friday 9th February 16:37

[ZX10R NIN]

Buy it then spend £300-500 on a good detail clean & enjoy the car.

[Dramas_T]

Ha ha yes I would love to get a few extra pounds off of it but that’s not how it will go unfortunately I will try pull the guilt trip as best I can but has never worked before!

I realise it didn’t come across, but I do like cars (and have some minor knowledge!) but diesel SUV’s are far from my usual area of interest unfortunately in this case so I’ve no idea what they are like as an ownership proposition. I thought there would be more information on here about them I could swot up on to be honest but rightfully so it’s more 3&5 series.

At least if it was a 30d at least I could be confident it was a remap away from being the perfect PH car on stilts

It’s either late 2017/early 18 so a few years old now, mileage mostly motorway but did have it in my mind there may be a bit of wear and tear to sort in the future. Any horror stories or just the usual stuff? I’m reasonably handy for the basics & diagnostics but tend to rely on garages for serious stuff.

If things do come up it is not a game changer - we can throw a few quid at it to keep it to a good standard without eating beans on toast - but I would prefer it not to soak up a disproportionate amount of money that could otherwise go on the ‘fun’ car

I’m leaning towards grabbing it as a known quantity as one poster said and running for a few years. As someone said if price is competitive then at least depreciation wouldn’t be as bad as it could be if buying at list from a dealer

[Pit Pony]

Pica-Pica said:

Pit Pony said:

This is your dad selling it? Remind him that a) you can't afford it.b) He loves you. c) he can't take his money with him d) He's not offering a warranty e) Mum.said he'd cut you a deal

And then offer £5k up front and the rest in payments of £500 a month over the next 20 months. After 3 months tell him you can only afford £300 a month.

Only joking. My dad tried to sell me a knackered Sierra estate for £1000, years ago, and then six months later gave it to my sister. So I'm just a little bitter.

But a few years later my father in law gave my wife an immaculate 7 year old cavalier with 19k on the clock.
He also gave my son an immaculate 11 year old mk4 astrs with 15k on the clock. (Both probably worth about 5k in today's money)

You haven’t played the ‘I saw Mummy kissing Santa Claus’ card yet.

I thought emotional blackmail was common place?

£25k is alot of money, but at the other end of the price world, my wife's family have form for giving other members of the family cars. We gave my daughter my wife's car a 2001 mini Cooper (with it seems 3 years no quibble warranty) we gave wife's school friend a 1978 mini (in 1992) which she scrapped 3 years later.
Wife's sister gave wife a suzuki Sc100 flying zit, in 1988.
I have offered cars to various nephews and neices, but they'd rather take out finance than be seen on an "old" car.

[biggbn]

Pit Pony said:

I thought emotional blackmail was common place?

£25k is alot of money, but at the other end of the price world, my wife's family have form for giving other members of the family cars. We gave my daughter my wife's car a 2001 mini Cooper (with it seems 3 years no quibble warranty) we gave wife's school friend a 1978 mini (in 1992) which she scrapped 3 years later.
Wife's sister gave wife a suzuki Sc100 flying zit, in 1988.
I have offered cars to various nephews and neices, but they'd rather take out finance than be seen on an "old" car.

We've always given our daughter cars. Why not? She can spend her money on enjoying life then.

[SFTWend]

You have a growing family and have been offered a nice, big, popular, family car, known to have been reliable, maintained regardless of cost, at trade price.

To my mind it's a no brainer. My caveat is that its use will need to include regular longer trips to avoid dpf problems.

[Dramas_T]

SFTWend said:

You have a growing family and have been offered a nice, big, popular, family car, known to have been reliable, maintained regardless of cost, at trade price.

To my mind it's a no brainer. My caveat is that its use will need to include regular longer trips to avoid dpf problems.

Thanks for the comment, that is what I am thinking just now.

Is the 40d engine reliable enough or any scare stories? I can find plenty of information on the 30d’s but 40’s seem rarer.

[Pit Pony]

biggbn said:

Pit Pony said:

I thought emotional blackmail was common place?

£25k is alot of money, but at the other end of the price world, my wife's family have form for giving other members of the family cars. We gave my daughter my wife's car a 2001 mini Cooper (with it seems 3 years no quibble warranty) we gave wife's school friend a 1978 mini (in 1992) which she scrapped 3 years later.
Wife's sister gave wife a suzuki Sc100 flying zit, in 1988.
I have offered cars to various nephews and neices, but they'd rather take out finance than be seen on an "old" car.

We've always given our daughter cars. Why not? She can spend her money on enjoying life then.

Indeed. Free with a life time no quibble service and warranty plan.

[Martyn76]

Dramas_T said:

Thanks for the comment, that is what I am thinking just now.

Is the 40d engine reliable enough or any scare stories? I can find plenty of information on the 30d’s but 40’s seem rarer.

Same 3.0 derv engine, the 40d just has a different tune, not sure if there any hardware differences.

[EddieSteadyGo]

Dramas_T said:

My parents are downsizing their car and have offered it to me at the PX offer they have from the dealer, which is sub-25k.
…

Personally, I would check to see what webuyanycar are offering on it. Sometimes dealers can inflate their PX offers if they think it will help the client to justify changing their car, rather than say offering a further discount on the new car. If the price you would be paying is similar to WBAC then I think you are probably onto a good thing.

[66HFM]

I think it comes down to whether or not it is the car (or type of car) that you want, do you specifically want an X5 or even something of that size?
If you do, this is a car that you know the first and only owner and all the history of it, if not your type of car then buy something different.

What is your current car, how old is it and how much is it worth? Its a bit different jumping from (eg) 10 year old Ford Fiesta worth £1.5k to a 6 year old X5, the fact you can leave your current car where you want and not be worried about it etc.

For me the first question would be do I want an X5 - yes / no and go from there.

Good luck

[Mabozza]

sounds like a no brainer OP, if it is at trade price, run if for 6 months, if its not for you, you should come out of it without any £loss or even up a few quid, so free motoring!

Do your due dilligence first though - check WBAC, HPI Valuations etc to guage where they are in terms of the trade value, HPI offer private and retail figures as well, and should help establish if you are genuinely getting a bargain that you can keep long term, or if you cut your losses after 6 or 12 months, you wont be out of pocket.

[Collectingbrass]

As an alternative point of view, I belong to the never do business with Friends and Family school of thought. What if there's a major mechanical failure within the first 3 months, where's the warranty or come back? Yes you know the history but if the thing bricks itself being £25k out of pocket will bring an unsavoury flavour to family meal times...

[Roger Irrelevant]

Collectingbrass said:

As an alternative point of view, I belong to the never do business with Friends and Family school of thought. What if there's a major mechanical failure within the first 3 months, where's the warranty or come back? Yes you know the history but if the thing bricks itself being £25k out of pocket will bring an unsavoury flavour to family meal times...

I have to agree to a large extent - to my mind this isn't quite the no-brainer others are making it out to be. If the OP was after that car anyway and would have been happy to pay more for a private sale then yeah, it makes perfect sense. Ditto if he was virtually being given it (unlikely I know!). However if if the OP is not particularly bothered about X5s then just getting it a bit cheaper than he otherwise could doesn't make it an open-and-shut case, especially if it's still more than he would have liked to have spent. If anything goes expensively wrong then is the wife who prefers new cars going to react with zen-like calm? Tbh I think I'd pass on the opportunity in the interests of a quiet life.