We have an appointment to go see a private party's Q5 tomorrow and if it checks out we may pull the trigger but I'm just trying to do some last-minute research here.

Anyone experienced/knowledgeable enough to chime on how the 2009 Q5 compares to the Mercedes ML350 and BMW X3? These are the 3 vehicles that we've been considering. Purchase is for my folks -- both retired, won't be doing a whole lot of driving but I'd like them to be comfortable nonetheless. They also golf so ample cargo space for 2 golf bags is a must.

Thanks in advance!

 

All three will do what you want the vehicle to do. With the rear seats folded down, you can get two golf bags in easily. The ML350 is a little more difficult to fold the seats down. If I remember, the bottom cushion had to be pulled up against the front row seats, then the the back seat could be folded down. The BMW seats are a lot "firmer" than the others. That is what turned me off of the BMW's. The Audi has very comfortable seats. I have seen many Q5's with mileage approaching 200K with proper maintenance. Maintenance wise, they are all comparable. Your folks really should sit in each one and see if they are comfortable, and make sure they are not too high off the ground for them. Another car to consider is an Acura RDX. It's a Honda.......easy to fix and maintain.

 

Thank you rosen39! The Q5 we looked at yesterday didn't pan out. There were a few other minor things, but the PPI revealed an oil leak around the valve cover gaskets and timing covers. The indy quoted a little over $2k for the repair, but the seller was only willing to come down $1k from his original asking price, which was $1k more than market to begin with.

That's the one thing I'm starting to see about the X3s...that they don't seem to be particularly comfortable. I had originally removed the GLK from our consideration as its price point (used) didn't seem to be that much different from the ML considering everything additional the ML has to offer. I might just have to add it back into consideration though, since the ML might be too much car for my folks.

 

My daughter just bought a new Q5 which is nice. I own an Acura RDX with 49K on it so far. It really is a problem free car aside from regular maintenance items. You might find some good low mileage used Q3's around if they are not too small for your folks. It does not ride like a Q5, but it is very peppy on acceleration.

 

Thanks everyone for the very helpful insights and advice! I just wanted to share an update. It was quite a process indeed, but we finally got our car on Saturday -- a 2011 GLK350. The Q5 was originally at the top of our list, but after gathering more information about all the cars we were considering, my conclusion was that the Q5 would be great brand new but not with >60k miles with no warranty. The ML is too big and the X3 is too stiff. The GLK seemed the right mix of safety, ride comfort, and reliability.

We ended up seeing 5 different cars (and getting 4.5 of them inspected) over the course of the last 3 weeks (dealing with both private parties and dealers). I wasn't particularly optimistic about this car going into the inspection, but everything panned out and I am glad the adventure is now over.

 

Thank you everyone for your advice. I have the same problem also. But now I'll try your suggestions.