X5 petrol or diesel

[Mirinjawbro]

Hello

as it appears my car has been written off i will need a new car.

rather than make it a complete loss i've been looking at x5 for the big boot etc.

i really would like a V8 before we have no choice but everyone says steer clear of them.

is it really a super bad move to go for a 2012-2015 V8 50i?

cant really find many videos on youtube

thanks

[E63eeeeee...]

Mirinjawbro said:

Hello

as it appears my car has been written off i will need a new car.

rather than make it a complete loss i've been looking at x5 for the big boot etc.

i really would like a V8 before we have no choice but everyone says steer clear of them.

is it really a super bad move to go for a 2012-2015 V8 50i?

cant really find many videos on youtube

thanks

The 4.4 v8 (i had in a 550i) was the most problematic engine I've ever owned by some distance. Apparently the later ones are more reliable, but I'd say have a look at warranties if you're going down that path. Mine must have cost BMW thousands in recoveries and courtesy cars, never mind actually fixing the thing. This was five years ago now. I've recently put the same number of miles on an 640d N57 that I got with double the mileage without it leaving me stranded once, although it's taken a bit of maintenance.

The V8 is great when it works though.

[danb79]

Mirinjawbro said:

Hello

as it appears my car has been written off i will need a new car.

rather than make it a complete loss i've been looking at x5 for the big boot etc.

i really would like a V8 before we have no choice but everyone says steer clear of them.

is it really a super bad move to go for a 2012-2015 V8 50i?

cant really find many videos on youtube

thanks

The N62 loves to have valve stem oil seal issues... But decent engines when they work.

Watch Sreten's rebuild of the 4.8i X5 he has on his M539 Restorations channel to give you an idea of what goes wrong and how to fix etc

[Mirinjawbro]

E63eeeeee... said:

The 4.4 v8 (i had in a 550i) was the most problematic engine I've ever owned by some distance. Apparently the later ones are more reliable, but I'd say have a look at warranties if you're going down that path. Mine must have cost BMW thousands in recoveries and courtesy cars, never mind actually fixing the thing. This was five years ago now. I've recently put the same number of miles on an 640d N57 that I got with double the mileage without it leaving me stranded once, although it's taken a bit of maintenance.

The V8 is great when it works though.

sadly stories like this instantly put me off. i assume an overall average of 20mpg is probably the case aswell.

hmmmm

[Uncle Meat]

You haven't said budget, but go and test drive an F85. They're hilarious, loved my old one.

[E63eeeeee...]

Mirinjawbro said:

E63eeeeee... said:

The 4.4 v8 (i had in a 550i) was the most problematic engine I've ever owned by some distance. Apparently the later ones are more reliable, but I'd say have a look at warranties if you're going down that path. Mine must have cost BMW thousands in recoveries and courtesy cars, never mind actually fixing the thing. This was five years ago now. I've recently put the same number of miles on an 640d N57 that I got with double the mileage without it leaving me stranded once, although it's taken a bit of maintenance.

The V8 is great when it works though.

sadly stories like this instantly put me off. i assume an overall average of 20mpg is probably the case aswell.

hmmmm

IIRC ~24mpg in a 5 series saloon body, mostly on long journeys, so yeah, 20 might even be optimistic. I suspect road tax might be brutal too.

[Mirinjawbro]

sorry yes budget.

12-15k as car has just been written off.

is the sound worth 20mpg. hmmmm

[The Conflated Outlier]

Mirinjawbro said:

is it really a super bad move to go for a 2012-2015 V8 50i?

Yes.

They're bad news.

[The Conflated Outlier]

danb79 said:

Mirinjawbro said:

Hello

as it appears my car has been written off i will need a new car.

rather than make it a complete loss i've been looking at x5 for the big boot etc.

i really would like a V8 before we have no choice but everyone says steer clear of them.

is it really a super bad move to go for a 2012-2015 V8 50i?

cant really find many videos on youtube

thanks

The N62 loves to have valve stem oil seal issues... But decent engines when they work.

Watch Sreten's rebuild of the 4.8i X5 he has on his M539 Restorations channel to give you an idea of what goes wrong and how to fix etc

5.0 E70's use the N63.

Think of an N62 that is even less reliable and costs even more to repair. Two turbos in the engine V that cook everything alive, valve guides, rings, gaskets, cooling system. They're a disaster.

[Mirinjawbro]

The Conflated Outlier said:

5.0 E70's use the N63.

Think of an N62 that is even less reliable and costs even more to repair. Two turbos in the engine V that cook everything alive, valve guides, rings, gaskets, cooling system. They're a disaster.

i assume a 6 month "warranty" after buying would be useless?

[The Conflated Outlier]

Absolutely useless.


The only warranty that might cover the relentless problems would be the BMW warranty. I bet that's getting on for £2500 a year and you'll need a bullet proof BMW service history both in place and going forward.


Do.

Not.

Go.

There.

[The Conflated Outlier]

They put the N63 in the 750i as well. You don't want one of those either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9F_UBb3-N4

[Uncle Meat]

Both my V8s have been bomb proof.
What problems have you had?

[Mirinjawbro]

Uncle Meat said:

Both my V8s have been bomb proof.
What problems have you had?

what do you have?

[Uncle Meat]

I had an F85 for 4 years and now have an F95.

[E63eeeeee...]

Uncle Meat said:

I had an F85 for 4 years and now have an F95.

They both seem to have the 2TU version which is meant to have resolved at least some of the reliability issues, the OP is looking at the previous generation of the V8.

The other thing that just came back to me about the 550i was having to think about oil consumption as part of your running costs, because it used a litre every 1,800 miles. Apparently BMW thought this was normal, but the best part of 20 quid in oil every month didn't do any favours to the ownership experience.

[Uncle Meat]

E63eeeeee... said:

Uncle Meat said:

I had an F85 for 4 years and now have an F95.

They both seem to have the 2TU version which is meant to have resolved at least some of the reliability issues, the OP is looking at the previous generation of the V8.

The other thing that just came back to me about the 550i was having to think about oil consumption as part of your running costs, because it used a litre every 1,800 miles. Apparently BMW thought this was normal, but the best part of 20 quid in oil every month didn't do any favours to the ownership experience.

True, although they're all hot vee variants which doesn't mean they'll implode like a poster above states.
I seem to remember putting only 1 litre of oil in between services in my F85 in all the time I had it.

[E63eeeeee...]

Uncle Meat said:

E63eeeeee... said:

Uncle Meat said:

I had an F85 for 4 years and now have an F95.

They both seem to have the 2TU version which is meant to have resolved at least some of the reliability issues, the OP is looking at the previous generation of the V8.

The other thing that just came back to me about the 550i was having to think about oil consumption as part of your running costs, because it used a litre every 1,800 miles. Apparently BMW thought this was normal, but the best part of 20 quid in oil every month didn't do any favours to the ownership experience.

True, although they're all hot vee variants which doesn't mean they'll implode like a poster above states.
I seem to remember putting only 1 litre of oil in between services in my F85 in all the time I had it.

Like I said, different generation of the engine. Anything with the 2TU in is probably going to be double the OP's budget.

[drmotorsport]

Mirinjawbro said:

Hello

as it appears my car has been written off i will need a new car.

rather than make it a complete loss i've been looking at x5 for the big boot etc.

i really would like a V8 before we have no choice but everyone says steer clear of them.

is it really a super bad move to go for a 2012-2015 V8 50i?

cant really find many videos on youtube

thanks

Yes, the early 4.4 turbo engines are legendary for unreliability, seeing so many 50i's for sale as spare or repairs or with new engines got me researching... I'd suggest the older 4.8 v8 if you can find one X5 48i , at least the coolant pipe issues are now easier to deal with.

[lemonslap]

E63eeeeee... said:

Uncle Meat said:

I had an F85 for 4 years and now have an F95.

They both seem to have the 2TU version which is meant to have resolved at least some of the reliability issues, the OP is looking at the previous generation of the V8.

The other thing that just came back to me about the 550i was having to think about oil consumption as part of your running costs, because it used a litre every 1,800 miles. Apparently BMW thought this was normal, but the best part of 20 quid in oil every month didn't do any favours to the ownership experience.

Owned our F85 since July 2022 and has been fine engine wise, only exception being a one off Vanos cold start issue that has never come back after BMW assist came out. I do keep the BMW extended warranty going though, this costs £92 per month, lots of people with spun big end bearings on various forums and if this happens £45k fix apparently… Also regarding the BMW warranty, it will only cover a claim to the value of the purchased price of the vehicle…