are E53 really as unreliable as people say? I'm interested in one of the 6 cylinder models
>>28892131My dad's first BMW was a stick shift E53 X5 he bought used with 117,000 on the clock. It was reliable enough, although it developed problems with the thrust arm bushings. I don't think he had cooling system problems because the last owner did the cooling system. It was a good car for the five years we owned it.
slow as fuckthe SUV format neutered the enginesdrove the 540, drove the X5 4.4, it was like all the joy was gone, SO much slowerget a 540 don't bother with the 6, its even sloweralso, there's no way these even exist anymore and if they do they are beat to shit
>>28892177if im getting a beamer it's either the E53 or the E38>>28892176any idea what engine was it?
>>28892183it depends what you wantthe e36 was very sporty, imho best handling bmw ever but kinda crude and cheap insidee39 is goldilocks, only consider the v8, I found it rather anodyne and clinical but certainly fast and great steering and handling and more luxury than a 3 seriese38 is heavier and kinda neuters the engine a bit (tho I suppose the 750 exists never tried that!), but obviously more comfy and more luxury but these cars are probably worn to shit by now
>>28892183M54B30. I have a Z3 with the same engine so it wasn't a fluke. They're all pretty reliable engines. Only caveat is that the M54s have two-piece rings, which means you need to change the oil frequently, and if it starts burning it, you need to keep oil with you.
>>28892200DO NOT BUY THE Z3it has the fucked up trailing arm rear suspension
>>28892204I already have it and have driven it for 14 years and counting. You clearly don't know what you're talking about.
>>28892131You don't need a car like that, brother, take me at my word. But seriously, there is no reason to have that car unless you want to pretend to be something you are not, and nobody knows what you are even trying to be outside of aged slav millenials.
>>28892251it's my favorite X5 gen and i love cars from that era, i guess the other alternatives are the W163, Grand Cherokee ZJ somewhat and a sedan like an E38
>>28892131>I'm interested in one of the 6 cylinder modelsThose are the ones to get, BMW I6s are in a whole other league of reliability compared to their V8s which always seem to have drastic and expensive 'achilles heels'. An M54 equipped X5 is going to be bulletproof, once you do the typical BMW stuff of replacing plastic cooling system parts and the DISA valve (easy and cheap compared to something major like timing chain guides with the V8s). Be prepared to replace window regulators regularly, too, though you won't get away from that with any BMW model unless you find an ancient one with crank windows.You can only get the manual transmission with the 6 cylinder model as well.
>>28892131wtf is that guy doing it looks like he got lost on the way to a gay sex orgy lmao
I had a 4.6is. All the petrol engines are dogshit unreliable except for the six, which has underwhelming performance for the size of the vehicle. The best option is the turbo diesel in the series 2.The thing is that ALL of these cars have rear end camber issues now unless you fit special adjustable bars. The factory adjustment simply doesnt go far enough as the bushings sag.Do yourself a favour and buy a W163 or W164. Early model W164 you can get with the M113 (best engine they ever made) and 7 speed transmission, superior car all round. Or you can get the M273 and fix the crank cog at the front of the engine, at least the engine won't fall to bits around you.I also had a W163 ML55 and it was a vastly superior car to the E53 4.6is. The engine had 300,000KM but still pulled factory 0-100 times. The same can't be said for the 4.6is, over a second slower and probably due to VANOS.
