S2E19 - Which BMW X5 Should You Buy? With Sean Troy, Owner of 103 X5s

Which BMW X5 should you actually buy? Sean Troy has owned 103 E53 X5s, still keeps 28 of them, and runs Alpine Rennsport, a BMW and Porsche shop in Cleveland, Georgia. In this episode, he walks through every X5 generation from the perspective of someone who fixes them for a living.

You'll hear why the E70 35d is his pick at $15,000, why he'd stay away from the twin-turbo V8s, which E53 engine is best for DIY owners, what's starting to fail on the G05, and his picks at $10k, $25k and $50k. Then Sean shares how his mom's X5 started a 103-car obsession, the crashes that convinced his family these SUVs are worth it, his rare Neiman Marcus X5, and the V10, six-speed manual "LM-ish" tribute he's building in honor of the X5 Le Mans. Plus: the ALPINA X5 that BMW should have built.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:45 The best X5 for $15,000

01:40 E70 35d vs F15 diesel

03:27 E53: which engine to buy

05:15 E53 big-ticket failures

09:30 Pre-facelift vs facelift E53

11:53 E70: why to avoid the twin-turbo V8s

13:30 35i vs 35d and a diesel X5 M swap

15:50 Is the F15 underrated?

17:53 Best X5 for an off-road build

19:52 Most reliable F15 engine

21:28 G05: why the M50i

26:04 G05 common problems

27:49 Most reliable X5 of all time

28:17 Best X5 at $10k, $25k and $50k

30:01 Are plug-in hybrid X5s worth it?

32:19 What to check before buying any used X5

33:52 Sean's first X5

35:53 103 X5s and how the obsession started

40:03 The rarest one: Neiman Marcus X5

40:55 Where he keeps 28 X5s

42:48 X5 #100 and why he keeps saving them

46:46 The X5 BMW should have built

55:00 SAV vs SUV: what's the difference?

57:26 X5 or Range Rover?

59:32 X5 Le Mans and Sean's V10 "LM-ish" build

1:04:47 Strangest X5 spec

1:06:25 Rapid fire

1:09:03 Where to find Sean

1:09:36 Nate's favorite X5

Find Sean on Instagram: @makee53sgreatagain

tWatch the full video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JAaWIkcnX_U

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