Selling my 02 and buying a 06 questions

[Island 5]

Aside from the engine/transmission being different and the facelift is there any thing I should know or be worried about? Like to here your thoughts.
The 06 has new valve stem seals already done and has 107k kms or just about 62k miles. The trans in my 02 packed it in around 160k kms should the newer 6 speed be the same? I would get the fluid and filter done fairly soon after purchase.

Thanks for any advice you can give.
BTW also looking at a 03 Range Rover with 75k kms from what I read they can be trouble?? anyone here have any personal experience with those?

[Clockwork]

yeah at 160k kms, this 6sp auto tranny COULD give you troubles too. its almost a bit of hit and miss it seems from reading threads here. Some ppl have minor issues, some, never and some have major.
change fluids in tranny and torque converter.
is it a private or car lot sale?

[Island 5]

Thanks for your reply. If its typically 160k miles I can live with that but my 02 failed at 160k kms or 100k miles and my E38 failed at 70k kms but was still under factory warranty. The 06 only has 62k miles or 107k kms. Buying from a dealer and will have a warranty 2500 per claim 36 months or 36k kms but we do drive more than 10k a year closer to 15k and would be hitting the dreaded 160k mark with no coverage..

any other concerns you can think of? my 02 has been pretty dependable and trouble free aside from wear and tear and some gaskets.

[Qsilver7]

An 02 & 06 what? A model nomenclature would be helpful in being able to give some input...but we have no clue to if you're going from a 6 cyl to a 8 cyl...and to which engine displacement...3.0, 4.4, 4.6is, 4.8is.

[Island 5]

Sorry fellas, both are 4.4 M62tu vs N62

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by Island 5

Sorry fellas, both are 4.4 M62tu vs N62

Ah...thanks. .

The biggest change for me with having the m62/m62tu engines...then getting an X5 with the N62 engine...was restocking my toolkit for DIY oil changes.

The n62's oil filter reservoir goes against the multiple decade design of BMW placing the reservoirs up top in the engine bay. So my 36mm socket has been relegated to only being used on the e38 with its m62 engine.

The N62's oil filter reservoir has its own smaller drain plug which requires a 6mm hex socket (torn may be substituted but I forget the torx size)...then once it's drained, you need a 24 mm socket to remove the lid. To drain the oil pan, you need a 8mm hex socket. If you are a top side vac-pump oil changer...you still will have to go under to change the filter.

{N62 oil filter reservoir & oil pan drain bolt info}

The N62 is like having a partial foot-hold on the new generation BMW side...like with the bi-xenon adaptive headlights, Bluetooth telephony compatibility (now on the old tech side of BT), soft close tailgate, special exterior lighting like the puddle lights in the side folding mirrors, etc.

If you are a fan of the e38/e39 BMW generation...then the e53 X5 is the last BMW of that generation that you can hold on to as far as model year...and it tosses in a few of the features many e38/e39 owners want or modify/upgrade to achieve.

But do we ever win? You can take a sigh of relief that there's no timing chain guide failure...but it's replaced with the possibility (or should I say inevitability) of valve stem seals & intermediate levers.

[Island 5]

thanks again for your input. The 06 has had the valve stem seals done but not sure about the levers? wouldn't they be done at the same time? Any way I'll find out.

Best wishes
M

[edogg]

Glad to see that the valve stem seals have already been done. That was a big expense on mine, which the extended warranty thankfully took care of.

As far as transmission goes, you may experience a "clunk" when downshifting from 2nd to 1st gear, especially when it's cold. This is pretty normal and can be resolved with a transmission software update. When I had the update applied to mine, it changed the shift pattern so that the clunk was eliminated and it was a lot snappier off the line. The downside is that I lost 2mpg (18mpg average to 16mpg average).

The indy shops I worked with recommended draining and refilling the transmission fluid before 80k miles. Note that they recommend not flushing the transmission for fear of knocking gunk loose which could clog the system and cause problems. You'll also have a mechatronic sleeve seal to replace, which is a little expensive to do but good preventative maintenance.

If available, I'd consider an extended warranty. Mine cost $5k but covered over $8k in repairs before I traded it in. And since I traded in the X with some time left on the warranty clock, I should be getting a partial refund.