About to pull the trigger - 2004 6 Speed MT - High Miles

[tonycajjo]

Originally Posted by upallnight

They maybe hard to find but there are fewer people looking for them or who could afford them. People who never learned to drive a stick will not be in the market for them.

People that are buying the Xs these day are in a different financial group. The Xs has dropped in price that kids working at McDonald are able to buy them. Most bank will not finance a car that is over 10 years old, especially to kids working at McDonald. So in order to buy an old car you need to do the immigrant payment plan, 100% down, no monthly payment.

Let him sit on the car. The fact that he has only one key is a signal to me that he is kinda cheap. If he's cheap with buying a spare key, he may had cheap out on maintaining the Xs.

Cars are like city buses, miss one, there's always another one right behind it.

well said, yea the key thing took me for a loop, i was surprised. If he decides to keep it then fine. with all the little things wrong it doesn't add up to an 8K vehicle. if i get it for 6K i can spend a couple bucks to get it to that point.

thanks.

[jdstrickland]

Originally Posted by tonycajjo

About to pull the trigger - 2004 6 Speed MT - High Miles

Been looking for one and this one kinda fell in my lap. I've been wanting to get back into a e53 for some time. The roads around here in CT are not good for my e46.

The vehicle has 150K, its Black, grey interior. Drivers seat is worn, not torn just really worn.

has tint's but they are turning purple.

looks like a little oil leak at the pan. (the front jack mount was a little, shall i say, moist.

The front shock tower mounts were replaced not too long ago it seems, but shocks look original.

Looks like a lot of the Hoses have been replaced at one time. (not recently, but they are not from 2004)

the bushings looked OK but it's had to tell by looking. It drove well. A little shimmy at the wheel under hard braking once... I only felt it when i first applied the brakes hard. (may need tie rods)

Brakes are on their way out.

Shifted very well.
Tires are in decent shape but kinda cheap
Manual Air Con (odd, but i kinda liked it)
No sun roof.
Base Hi-Fi Audio S676A (best for upgrading i guess.)
BMW style 131 Rims (the 5 starts with the Y at the end)

Few dings on the drivers side, ugh.

lower front bumper was replaced and when put back not lined up correctly. (easy fix)


Nervous about the high miles, i know i can keep her going for much longer even if i have to swap an engine.

It felt a little slow. I'm coming from an 330Ci ZHP 6 speed so my butt dyno may be way off but it felt sluggish, like nobody has opened her up in awhile.

Thoughts? I'll post the vin decode in my next post.

They are asking over 8K which is high but how high?

I bought a year newer with 35,000 fewer miles for what you are paying.

I get that the manual trans is appealing to you, it appeals to me as well, but it is a DEDUCT from value. My X has the panoramic roof, Nav, and Premium Package, and not much else, and I got it in Feb. 2015 for $8000.

Offer $6500, then negotiate back to the middle.

Run the car through KBB.com, and do it once with the trans as an auto, and again as a manual. The manual trans should lower the value by about $500 to $1000. You can get a Private Party Value in Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor condition.

[tonycajjo]

the manual is a deduct in price according to KBB, Nada and all other pricing guides but i think we all know in the case of an X5 that it works in the opposite direction due to supply / demand.

[tonycajjo]

wanted to update you. (Ricky Bobby) I did get a call back from the owner of the vehicle i started this thread about... I stuck to my guns and on what I thought was fair and did not buy the vehicle but continued my search. I think this vehicle was taken off the market... I don't think it sold cause there are a few within driving distance of my area that have more options for the same price. I bet they decided to keep it after getting multiple offers like mine. I'll keep an eye out and maybe see up for sale after our first snow up here. (yea i said it... SNOW! ugh.)

I drove a couple others and would have to say that this first one I drove was definitely a little sluggish as i mentioned. My daily is an '06 330 e46 with the performance package (ZHP) so I thought that maybe my butt dyno was improperly calibrated.

Anyhow, I found one. Found a 2006 this past weekend, went to see it yesterday, and bought it. I'll post a little thread about it soon. It's loaded, attached are a few pics from the add... I got it home late last night and this morning I already removed the pin stripes. I like pin stripes but the metallic shinny silver is not the right color for this X. maybe a flat silver that matches the rims or a subtle black. regardless i took them off an couldn't be happier. (I had a silver 4.4 X5 with black pinstripes and loved them)


LB09991 for you vin decoder fans... About 150K Miles, great cosmetic shape, reassuring service records, 1 owner, $7700 including delivery from 120+ miles away. I slept like a baby last night.

[Joshdub]

Congrats! Sports package is the best package.

[StephenVA]

Congrats. It was a long search. Here to hoping it is the right one with a long life left!

[Riggodeaux]

Sportsitze, very nice. Congrats! Sounds like a reasonable price, given the mileage, if well maintained and documented. No, these don't perform like an E46 ZHP, but very nice ride/performance with the benefits of an SUV/SAV .......

[Ricky Bobby]

Sports Package, excellent! Did you get OEM Nav as well?

So glad to hear you found one, and at 150k it honestly is just broken in! I see it could use lower mesh grilles (holes in them) and I'm sure a few other cosmetic odds and ends, and a good detailing job, but other than that she looks great!

The sluggishness could be from not doing a CDV delete, or at your mileage you may be getting due for VANOS seals as well.

[Riggodeaux]

I hadn't noticed the lower grill holes. I have them, to, and that's on my list for when I pull the bumper cover to replace bulbs, mount the 'to be painted' front trim pan, etc.

[tmv]

Looking good. Congrats!