Advise On X5 (E70 I Think) New To Bmw's

[V6Matty]

well the title says it all i expect. I'm looking to buy an X5 4.4 i think (don't see many 4.6's around) for about 7k and then add lpg (about another 2k i guess) or find one already lpg'd for 9k, after low milage sub 60k i think as i do about 20-25k a year.

before many of you say i sould look at diesel, i don't pay for any fuel apart from private mileage (about 5k a year) and pay 17ppm on those private miles. so my thinking on the petrol/lpg front would mean that i can get cheeper tax and cheeper running on personal miles but still have all the fun of a big V8, well thats my thinking anyway lol :)?

i guess my questions are what do i need to be looking out for when buying and is there anything i need to budget for (apart from servicing) that will cost a lot if it goes wrong.

currently run a Mercedes E270 cdi so i'm not put off by specialist servicing costs or slightly higher running costs.

BTW sorry if this is posted in the worng section :D

Thanks in advance

Matt

[V6Matty]

Got it wrong should be an E53 I think but the face lift version. Advise is really appreciated.

[Guest Mr.Beemer]

the 4.4 versions are a healthy block and drive superb on a X5 chassis. there will be the general servicing but don't expect any decent mpgs if not on lpg. its got a great engine purr sound and if you love V8's this wont disappoint you. other than that I have not heard any horror stories either.

so, welcome to the forum Matt B)

[V6Matty]

Thanks for that, quick question around servicing but how much would I be looking at and is there any services that are a lot bigger than others?

[Guest Mr.Beemer]

you got the spark plugs which are long life so depending on the mileage driven these will need changing when due.

oil change is the normal procedure as with diesel versions but I think it takes around 9 litres of engine oil.

the only thing to look out for is they tend to leak oil around the rocker covers, top end of engine but nothing major.

[V6Matty]

ok great, i'm think of something 60k miles as i'll be doing a fair few. oil leeking from the rockers, is that a easy fix or is it and engine strip job, costs wise what would i be looking at?