My 4.4i Sport - possibly heading for salvage

[AW8]

Thanks again folks....

Genuinely keeping an open mind as to a 4x4 replacement.

Range Rover L322 & RRS briefly considered......Cayenne not ruled out. Audi Q7 ruled out due to sheer size, Q3 & Q5 dont inspire me. 2nd gen M Class all ridiculous VED rates. More serious considerations have included Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 120 series & Lexus RX400h.

I have also considered non 4x4 replacements thinking as wide as Legacy R Spec-B estate & E91 330i touring. Jaguar XF tourer out of reach......even Golf GTI has been considered.

If needs be I will have to borrow a car from trade contacts or maybe source  a stepping stone car so that I dont end up buying wrong keeper car in haste.

As much as I have adored my E53, it has consistently year on year kept my hand reaching for my wallet. On the flip side my BMW knowledge, this community & various trade contacts mean X series ownership is familiar territory.

Mogsy - I will call or PM when I have the chance

[CondorX5]

Oh dear......so sorry to hear  there is never a good time for this, doesn't matter when it happens.
I geninely hunted through nearly every make of 4x4 before buying an X, I had owned Range Rovers, Japanese, Land Rovers over many years.  After BMW ownership, in my opinion a RR will disappoint quality/build wise as they do leave a bit to be desired compared to the german options.  Volvo XC90 might be of interest, if a bit boring. Another overlooked vehicle with a good pedigree is the VW Touareg.  I admit to considering the Lexus as well, due to exceptionally high build standards but in the end, the manufacturer does NOT support towing of any kind with a Lexus and its looks are perhaps a bit Marmite even "old geezer" so the X won, not once but now the third time, with the current E70.  Overpriced but simply not beaten in a number of critical areas for me.

[grumpywurzel]

sorry to hear about the car, gutting.

When I got mine it was a toss up between the X5, Lexus 400h or the XC90. Land Rover was discounted as they seem to be a tad fragile.

Lexus, lovely cars but plenty of issues with the batteries (aux, not main) draining due to multiple issues. Believe they have sorted that out on the 450h, not sure if that's in your price bracket or not.

I found the XC90 a little boring and woefully under powered in standard diesel form. But plenty of them around

Was very tempted by the VW Toureg 5 litre V10 that was available at the same time as I bought the X5. Sure the MPG figures were barely in the teens >:D

[Raj]

Gutted for you buddy truly.

It's not great being forced into the decision. I think if the plan is to change eventually anyway then it's probably better to let her go as is and try and find the little extra to get the new one with. A couple of thousand extra now could save future money out when needing to try and retrofit bits or feeling a little underwhelmed by the lack of spec you end up with.

Good luck with whichever avenue you take though.

[AW8]

Cheers Raj,

It is somewhat ironic that at time of failure I was proactively looking out for a newer car at.....I had been hoping that the "couple of grand" or so  would have come from the E53 sale.

Quite a bit of recent content on here from me weighing up used E70's. One minute I am weighing these up, the next looking at F25 X3's & the next giving real consideration to stepping away for a bit & just sourcing something does the job, has residua!ly bottomed, can be fixed without me feeling compelled to use dealer or specialists or simply thrown away.

 

[Steamyrotter]

Know how you feel mate

[AW8]

.  Like sound of that ......so wrong in many ways but right in others

A lot to be said for stepping stone cars  - ironic they can sometimes be less problematic than our target keepers & win & often end up kept longer than 1st planned.

With flooded roads there can be a lot to be said for having such a car.