Good evening! Can I ask for some advice?
 

Good evening everyone.

It has been a while since I have been on this site and it has reminded me once again on the risks you take purchasing an X5! Unfortunately my love of BMWs (owned an E36 325i coupe for a few years, was an awesome car and reliable too) is pushing me back to my idea from a year or so ago of wanting an E53 (family you see)! However reading the international section again has started to make me doubt my decision. (There appears to be more complaints etc from US owners than pretty much anywhere else, maybe we Aussies don't expect as much?)

The reason is I have been able to find an 04 3.0d Sport with around 90k with a full BMW service history and pretty much all of the options that I like/want. I am seriously considering having a look at it as over the period I have been looking (quite a while) it is one of a small handful with the main options I wanted in a nice colour/trim combination that the wife likes, less than 100k on the clock and at a reasonable price compared to others I have seen ie too good NOT to look at least look at it.

If I do decide to have a look/consider purchase, is there anything specific that I should concentrate on? I know about the things like window regulators and tyre wear along with ensuring the transmission changes gears smoothly, however are there any other 'gotchas' I should look for that could end up with an expensive repair/replacement bill? I am reasonably mechanically minded and am not scared/afraid on doing DIY repairs/preventative maintenance etc. However I am still a bit hesitant to spend a reasonable amount of money on what is a 9 year old car, even if the kms are well below average. I still don't know whether to keep looking or just move on to something else ie different type of car/brand.

Any advice will be appreciated to put my mind at ease either way! I like my BMWs and had a great experience with my last one, but I don't want to get something that will turn into a money pit and make me hate the brand!

Kind Regards.

hi there... welcome aboard!!!

making a recommendation on a used (or even a new car) car purchase is a very risky business...

There are over a million X5s on the road, the E53 and the E70, and there are a few thousand users of this board with only so many actively talking about the issues that they have with their cars... It is like being a brain doctor - it seems all patients are nut cases... people that have no issues either do not come to this board, or do not voice their opinions...

When you look at the car, look at the suspension components, as they are wear and tear items, like the bushings, look at the cooling system, as the BMW cooling systems are very sensitive... at 90 K kms/60K miles, the might have been underdriven, so drive it to see if performs well...

connect a diagnostic software, see if it pulls any codes (remember, they may have been erased prior to sale), check the electronics, as they are very finicky...

Other than that, go for it... lol... of course, if your heart desires it...

Thank you for that information, that is exactly the type of stuff I was after. I agree with what you are getting at as people who have a bad experience of something are much more likely to say something than someone who has no real issues. The internet also doesn't help as it can be the same person on many different forums etc making it look like more are having problems. Then you get the people who don't have one at all but are just trolling!

I am not expecting it to be perfect, far from it and I understand that keeping it on the road will take effort! I am also willing to spend the time on weekends tinkering on it if required. It is more the risk of things like transmissions/turbos etc. Having previously owned a BMW I know that whilst they are brilliant to drive and well engineered, they are not what you call the most reliable/durable cars, especially if not looked after. As long as they are not a total lemon that spends more time getting fixed than on the road, the driving experience makes you ignore some of the faults!
Whilst not wishing to offend, the fact that they are built in the US also adds an extra black mark just like if they were built here as our respective automotive manufacturing industries don't have what you call the best quality control! Patriotism aside when we look into it, we all know this to be true! All I am after is a solid example that has no big ticket items ready to go pop. I don't really care if it has a few little niggly things that require some time/tinkering to rectify.

Unfortunately I don't have easy access to a scanguage/diagnostic tool so that one may be a bit more difficult!

the diag tools are available on the ebay, once you get a bmw, you can start looking for a set... as far as being made in the US, i understand your sentiment... at least, they are not made in russia - when i was eyeing up an E70 while in russia, i noticed on the documents, that they were made inkaliningrad, russian province on the far west, to minimize the taxes, from the Knock-down-Kits, KDKs... luckily, the diplomatic X5s were still made inthe US... not that i bought anyways, but, everything is in comparison... lol... chinese make the 3-series too, from KDKs...

just check the car out well, before commiting...

good luck

Have a look on Xdrivers in the UK who will give you a broad view on the diesels too. We have more oil burners than petrol E53s because of our ridiculously expensive fuel.

Thanks X5Sport, will do.

Now I have gone and done it. I checked it out and was better than I expected so I decided to get it. A couple of scratches on the inside here and there (from people wearing rings on the gear leaver plastic trim and door grips) but it is a second hand car and should not be difficult to rectify or even just left. Luckily for me it had receipts for a recent castor bush replacement as well as CV boots/coolant/pads etc etc by a reputable Euro/BMW mechanic. Tyres were very even in wear and it pulled up rock solid without any pulling to either side. Transmission was VERY smooth in changes with no clunks anywhere, even when coming to a stop/on/off the power and much better than our current car. There were also no rattles and clunks from either end over bumps etc and everything felt rock solid with no obvious movement etc. The engine was an absolute peach, smooth, quiet and very strong. All electrics worked as advertised except the TV screen has a few dead pixels in the middle which I have seen on many before. May need some suggestions for that one! It didn't effect the operation of it though. Outside, other than a scratch on the outside of the LH mirror it was very straight with no obvious blemishes. Will see when I go to wax it how many it has! Will see how it goes and hopefully it won't make me regret my decision. I was impressed how it drove and was one of the best I had driven in the time I had been looking by a long shot. Time will tell if it was a sound purchase I guess, but it gave me the right feeling and I also had an impartial friend with me who is not afraid to call a spade a spade and play Devil's Advocate and make sure my heart didn't over-rule my head! So now I may frequent this site even more and hopefully for a good reason. Thanks to those who replied above.

Regards.

:worthless:




congrats on the purchase!!

Hope this works. When I finally get it delivered etc I will take a couple more. :D

Attachment 58056

nice... :thumbup:
sport... running boards... clear corners... adaptive xenons... are the tires staggered in size? :thumbup:

now is good time to mod... reverse camera... delete front parking lights...

but i don't think you can fix the steering wheel - it will stay on the wrong side of the car!!!!:nanana::nanana:

LOL, nice one. I will forgive you for spelling "tire" wrong if you forgive the fact the steering wheel is on the wrong side! TIC
Yep, the tyres are staggered in size so I am NOT looking forward to when I have to replace them. I will be tinting the windows first up and then I will fit a reversing camera after I sort out the problem with the display. I am sure I would be able to find something on-line if people have some suggestions re the screen?! I have seen quite a few 'plug and play' camera kits for them so it shouldn't be that hard to spend a day on the weekend fitting it, I just have to find a good quality one! I was lucky with the Xenons because they aren't that common on the diesels over here. It is one of the options many people don't tick which is strange because it would be one of the first that I would! I don't know what you mean about the front parker delete. I am considering upgrading the angel eyes to LED though so they are white like the headlights. But all that is down the track when things settle down a little. I was just lucky to find it as it is basically the combination I was after in a colour both my wife and I like. In fact it is the first one I have found in many months etc of looking that hasn't done close to 200,000km! I can't wait to get it home!

it took me 6 months to find my first E53 in 2006, only couple of weeks for 2nd E53, 4 months for the E90... before that - 2 years to find that perfect E39 - we had it for about 10 years, and then traded in at 210,000 miles (about 300K km).

you got a very nice specimen, a lot of "retrofits' are already done... check this board when you are ready for mods, i have a couple pointers for reverse camera... when you upgrade the AEs to LEDs, turning off corner parking (amber) lights will enhance the look of the halos... if you have those corners illuminated in Oz - we, yankis, must have front corners lit in yellow... lol...

Got ya. Good news is Australia doesn't have the amber parking lights. The AEs are the only parking lights here. The lights on the corner are indicators only so only flash amber when needed, lucky us!

Funnily enough we have been looking even longer than that as the market is not as big so there are less to choose from. Will keep that in mind when it comes time to UG. Thanks for your help!

Hi Mafian, although I don't own an X5 any longer ( traded ) I still find myself gravitating back to this site frequently, if only to lend some advise where I can. So my suggestion as a must would be to check the cranckcase breather as on your year model it has the old version which is prone to clogging and can cause seal problems due to excessive crankcase pressure. the updated version does not contain a filter. Congrats bye the way.

Thanks for that, I'm up for any advice! Will check it out. What year did they upgrade it and how much did it change?

Mafian

There is a post in the navigation section re the changeout of the LED screen,I am about to order one for mine,from memory they are about $200 delivered.

I know 05 back had the old type as I replaced mine ( 05 ) the only change was the redesign with no filter, so it acts like a collection cannister which drips the oil back into the engine. Check the air filter as they don't often get changed at service time, due to the difficulty to remove the ridiculous designed air box, same with the fuel filter, BMW do so many brilliant things and some dumb things also, much the same as the rest of them. Like my new set of wheels, I just shake my head.

I have seen the video of the air filter change. Could they have made it any more difficult??!!! Having owned a BMW before I know what you mean. Will have to check out it it is the vortex type. Luckily it doesn't look like an overly difficult/expensive fix to DIY.

Thanks Skier1, do you mean LCD screen? All of the LED screens (instrument binnacle, I did the instrument test to check) in mine are fine, it is just the LCD monitor that has a few patches that don't display any more in the middle. If the screen only replacement is not too difficult for $200 it sounds like it may be the way to go as I am not sure if I would go down the dynavin type system as I don't think the sound quality would be as good as the factory Alpine based system. The main thing is I have time on my side as it is more annoying than anything else and doesn't effect the way the system operates.

Hi Mafian,I am referring to the LED screen for the monitor which includes the Nav,reverse camera etc .Have a look at this link http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...v-monitor.html
Some really good info on them including a step by step guide on how to replace it .You can order them through ebay for $185 delivered.
Another thing to look out for is the exhaust manifolds crack , which leaves a sooty stain around the AC pipes etc.you will notice some soot on the air filter when you change it if it is cracked.Hopefully not .Another item is the drive gear in the all wheel drive actuator strips out.You can get a replacement gear from the states for about $150 instead of replacing the complete actuator which BMW sells for a few $$$$$;)

Sorry Skier1, you just confused me by saying "LED" screen when it is an LCD screen as both are completely different. I don't think it had LED backlight technology back then and it uses a Fluro tube! I have seen some of these pages and they have been great. I am thinking of just getting the screen from Eurotech and giving it a crack myself! There are too many toys for them on Evilbay and it is getting dangerous starting to make a shopping list!!!

Sorry ,I got tounge tied with my LED's and LCD's :sorry:

hey mate and welcome

im in qld and have a 2005 diesel, bought it 3 years ago with 60k on it, and now have 160k, its an awesome car and been super reliable, i didnt even know about these X5 forums, and bought based on the experience of work mates, it was only after surfing web sites that i began to worry, and i have had to replace the drivers door handle carrier, and front drive shaft boots,

i think that in Australia due to our milder climate we dont see the problems other countries experience, that said you do have to keep on top of the service.

i also dont treat my cars hard, the BM is my daily driver and its all freeway KM so fairly easy on it.

i have to say early in the piece i got to be very concerned about the reliability, based on forums as i said, however after 3 years and now owning the car ive relaxed and am enjoying it, safe in the knowledge that if something does break i,ll pay the bill, and still cheaper than a new car

look after it and it will look after you

Thanks Bigwave. Luckily mine has only recently had the castor bushes, brake fluid and outer CVs replaced and new front rotors fitted as part of the deal. Unfortunately not long after I picked it up the 4th gear solenoid in the mechatronics decided to lunch itself. It gave no warning as the transmission was smooth as silk through all of the gears when the "Trans Failsafe Prog" reared it ugly head. Fortunately for me a brand new mechatronics unit was fitted under warranty so one of the weakest links shouldn't be a problem for me for quite a while, touch wood!

I changed the oil today as Supercheap had the Nulon fully synthetic long life 5W-30 diesel oil on special in the 10L container. When I went for a drive afterwards the car seemed to like it with the oil pressure light extinguishing even before it fully fires and even though it may be the placebo effect it seemed to run a bit quieter and smoother. I was also surprised how reasonable the genuine oil filter was, much cheaper than I expected. I also changed the coolant so I have a base line of fluids and nearly fell over when I found out how much the genuine coolant from the stealership was. WAY cheaper than expected and even cheaper than most of the brand name coolants at Supercheap etc. Also thanks to the internet there is a huge range of parts available when/if things go wrong. Having once been an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer I am confident in doing general service items/replacements myself.

I ended up going for a drive over Easter from Toowoomba to my folks near Bundaberg and it ran faultlessly with effortless overtaking of the idiots who drive too slow/follow too closely to the slow driver in front of them without passing. With the car loaded and A/C on not even trying to be economical (ensuring I was on the 'wrong side' of the road as little as possible) I still managed 7.6L/100km over the whole trip. Impressive for such a big car. It also managed it in extreme comfort and quietness, even though it is the sport with the firmer suspension. It is good to be back in a BMW again!

Over the next few months I intend to 'bling' it up a bit with tinted windows, new tv screen (some dead pixels), alloy gauge rings and maybe even an LED upgrade of the AEs to go with the HIDs. Whilst it wasn't a good start with the transmission I am still very happy with it. I know BMWs can be reliable as I had an E36 325i coupe that was faultless for the 5-6 years I had it for.