Thanks all who have replied. Yall got me smiling on this end, sort of~

TTGTR, so sorry, I mean miles, not kilometers, my bad.

Upallnight: an AAA card? Yea and an AA card wouldn't hurt either!!

I know that I have to pay now or pay later. Perhaps better said....pay now & pay later.

There was one 2002 on the lot w/ manual transmission & 3.0L I6, but a mechanic bought it. Nada says that the average trade in value is $3500. I'd still be interested IF I could get them to do some service for a decent price. The dealer here in Bryan Texas has treated me very well regarding a project that included some service added on to the purchase price of my '01 530i Sport, stuff they would of done if it were even close to being "certified". They charged me their price on parts. So maybe I still have a chance if somehow I could finagle a couple of thousand worth of service included. This X5 has been theirs throughout it's lifetime and not an auction car as I was told upfront. They did at least provide a 4 page service history (BMW), + the CarFax report, which did show the hood, fender, trim, headlight being replaced. Thinking I will simply talk to the sales manager like I did when he sold me my 1st E39, tell him I need something for 4 years, another 100,000 miles & see if he'll agree to something w/ a maintenance agreement possible.

Well guys, I'm just rambeling at this point.

I think I'll keep looking, but also will show good faith towards the dealership & let them know what I'm thinking. Maybe not on this exact X5. Darn, it's looks nice, tires must be 16" wide, w/ the nice rims.

Coding everything I have been lucky to avoid. Not such a fan of giving them much of my $$ except for the entire propeller shaft replacement. That, I was glad to pay for.

I guess my E39 has been pretty nice to me. I need to re-assure myself that the 2nd front end going on will be new OEM parts, like I was told. I'll tell them that I want to see the parts as soon as they arrive before they install them. I'd like to keep it off the roadkill highway & in town for the wifey to bend heads with (I'm a lucky man in that regard, but higher maintenance though).

I'll let 'yall know what the entertainment value of any of this could be. Extended warranty cost, -vs- post purchase maintenance, preventative included, & maintenance financed up front with parts at their cost. The'll likely call the security guards on me. We'll see.

Thanks again everyone. I'll be back here soon hopefully with a clearer picture.

Doug