Advice on buying low-mileage 2006 3.0i

[nikolai]

Hi all, I currently have an '05 3.0 with 232,000 miles on it, which I have had for just over 8 years, purchased with 58,000 miles. Needless to say, I have done a LOT of driving and performed a LOT of maintenance on it (both at my indy and DIY).

It's still going strong, but I've been thinking about shopping around for another X5. I was originally looking for a 2013 or 2014 because I like the newer styling, but my unfamiliarity and (I believe) higher maintenance/part costs on the newer models is kind of scaring me.

Today I noticed a local dealer has a very clean 2006 E53 with only 37,000 miles on it - the price is a bit steep at $16,000, but was thinking I could get them down if I was serious about buying it. My peace of mind would be (a) very low miles (b) DIY familiarity and (c) worst case, in a pinch, I can swap parts from my '05 to it, since I'll probably still hang onto that (worthless to anyone else but me )

Anyway, my question would be what should I look out for on a vehicle that is 10 years old with relatively few miles? What items are more prone to time-degradation as opposed to mileage degradation on our vehicles? Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

Nick

[tmv]

Rubber seals will need attention as they are time degraded.
If the tires are original, they might need to be replaced if dry rotted.
Check the battery too.

[Ricky Bobby]

Yep its all going to be about age at this point - fluids sitting etc - I'd be looking at all rubber/bushings, and age related items that might be brittle or cracked -

Do a couple hot oil changes, as you should be changing oil yearly if you aren't driving enough miles -

[CleanIsFast]

Great looking X, nice find

[weaponrx]

Wow what's a great find. I purchased an '06 4.4 in august with only 24k miles for a bit less than their asking price. It's well above kbb but mine was so clean and low mileage I wouldn't pass up on it. Good luck with your search and purchase

[nikolai]

Thanks all - yeah I was thinking along the same lines as the rubber/seals/fluids with this puppy. I think it's a pretty good find as well, though I'd be compromising with no cold weather package, pano roof, seat heaters, or (most importantly ) steering wheel heater!

I'll take a closer look at it on the lot this evening and maybe even set up a test drive/my own closer visual inspection later this week.

[Ricky Bobby]

Probably the oddest combination I've ever seen - No cold weather package but yet Multi-Contour seats and Navigation and Xenons-

Go for it!

Pano roof is just another item that breaks - get a nice 3 spoke steering wheel!

[nikolai]

For some reason I'm skeptical about the Xenon listing who knows

Yeah, I have a pano now and had to permanently disable the rear vane because it would get stuck in the open position...maybe I swap over my existing heated steering wheel?

[Ricky Bobby]

The steering wheel will bolt up I'm sure you can wire up the heated function somehow - there is prob a DIY on these boards -

VIN decoded:

You also have the 2-axle air suspension! And Xenon lights

https://www.bmwdecoder.com/decode/ly17557

[nikolai]

Thank you! I don't know how crazy I am about the air suspension though