E70 X5 - Terrible Idea?

Associate
Joined
1 Feb 2006
Posts
1,868
Location
Reading
Living in Vancouver BC now and need an SUV for a mountain/camping mule for the next ~2 years, no commute, probably doing no more than 8k-10k miles a year, but a lot of that will be in long drives.

Budget around the $10-12k CAD mark so I was looking at various 6-8 year old Japanese SUVs when I came across early E70s around the same price. Example on autotrader.ca

So my question, is that a terrible idea?

My pros and cons, of which some are theoretical as I haven't driven an E70, or seen the condition of them at this price point yet.

Pros
1 - Much nicer drive than equivalent NA/JP/KR SUV at this price point
2 - Petrol is cheap here so don't care about consumption (not that it's terrible in the first place)
3 - VED is trivial here
4 - Vehicle doesn't have much bearing on insurance costs here

Cons
1 - Tyres much more expensive
2 - Services more expensive
3 - Higher risk of large bill?

So with many of the extra expenses it would incur were I buying this in UK not being an issue here (Tax, Petrol, Insurance), that leaves the higher price of tyres and servicing which I'm happy to soak the cost of to enjoy a more premium vehicle. Leaving my only concern being if something goes pop that costs $$$$ which is less likely on something from NA/JP/JR.

So, thoughts? What could go pop that I should check before buying? Is the risk of something big going pop such that I should just avoid this idea? Any SUVs you think I should be considering?
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Sep 2012
Posts
3,860
Location
Monterrey, Mexico
It all depends on your appetite for risk, your willingness to put in a bit more effort researching repair options if / when it breaks, and the availability of decent independent workshops near you.

I've no idea on the reliability of the 3.0 engine, but I'd assume it has the ZF 6 speed gearbox which is a solid unit if looked after. As long as you're happy doing research online in terms of possible repairs instead of taking it to the main dealer and saying "fix it", you could well be able to run it without too much expense. As an example, a main dealer replacement for the two front shocks on my car is around $2200: I bought aftermarket parts for $400 and spent about $60 getting them fitted. Extrapolate that to every repair / general maintenance item during the car's life with you, and it adds up to a considerable saving.

I had a similar quandary to you when buying my last car: I could have gone for a Toyota Sequoia which is generally extremely reliable and cheap to fix, but I just found it totally uninspiring to look at and drive. I ended up going for a Range Rover Sport instead, which is in a similar league running cost wise to the E70 X5, and so far it's been trouble free, only requiring standard maintenance.
 
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