Looking to buy a X5 but needs some work

[smokeyyank]

Howdy,

As stated looking to buy an X5. Came across this https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/5944250040.html and caught me eye. I haven't had a chance to look at the car yet (damn snow), but wanted to get some advice before going to look at it. In speaking with the owner, BMW says tranny needs to be replaced because they don't service them. Indy shop looked at it and just said it needs to be serviced not replaced. Owner says no codes come up and car will drive but in higher gears will slip. I am extremely handy so not worried about having to tear into the thing and this would be a second car. My thoughts off the bat are low fluid/fluid issue, valve body or TC. Any other ideas or things I should look for? Thanks

[upallnight]

Nav and sport options are a plus. If you can do the work yourself it is a good buy. If you can't do the work yourself, buy another car with a warranty. Too many new BMW owners see these cars at these prices and buys them not realizing the costs to fix them. Most of the new postings on this forum these days are from newbies that just purchase an X5 and now they are having problems. The smart one are the one that will dump the X once they realize the cost to fix it. The dumb ones are the one that tries to fix it as cheaply as possible and continue to throw money and throw parts at it hoping it will fix the problem.

[smokeyyank]

Originally Posted by upallnight

Nav and sport options are a plus. If you can do the work yourself it is a good buy. If you can't do the work yourself, buy another car with a warranty. Too many new BMW owners see these cars at these prices and buys them not realizing the costs to fix them. Most of the new postings on this forum these days are from newbies that just purchase an X5 and now they are having problems. The smart one are the one that will dump the X once they realize the cost to fix it. The dumb ones are the one that tries to fix it as cheaply as possible and continue to throw money and throw parts at it hoping it will fix the problem.

Gothca, yeah not a newb to cars or bimmers. Had an E30 that I wrenched on plus tons of other cars. Already familiar with the issues associated with the 4.4 and plan to tear it down and replace the timing guides and cooling system if I jump on it. Ideally I figure if I can get it for under 2k spend about 1-2k to get going I would be fine with that.

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by smokeyyank

Gothca, yeah not a newb to cars or bimmers. Had an E30 that I wrenched on plus tons of other cars. Already familiar with the issues associated with the 4.4 and plan to tear it down and replace the timing guides and cooling system if I jump on it. Ideally I figure if I can get it for under 2k spend about 1-2k to get going I would be fine with that.

[OrangeFurious]

+1 to upallnight. The E53 is a great car, but it seems almost every new owner on the board (myself included, twice) starts with transmission slip issues. If you can do the work it's a great ride. If not, consider that I spent almost $10k on just the transmission at a reputable but moderately priced indy.

[semcoinc]

For an auto DIY maven this could be a great deal. With that said, listen for rattling timing chains that no longer have their plastic guides intact and that is a mega labor intensive job. See the start of Danny's TC Guide changeout here

https://xoutpost.com/1095737-post47.html

Just curious, what would be your budget for this 2nd vehicle? Reason I ask is because with a higher budget you could get something a lot nicer and likely in more serviceable condition.

Other high mileage things that get tired and can leave you stranded:

Ignition switch
Fuel pump
Fuel Filter
Hoses
Water Pump/Thermostat
Belts
Pulleys/tensioners
Alternator (don't ask me how I know about that one!)
Hedgehog/blower motor resistor (although this won't leave you stranded)

This one you linked to, could however, be a diamond in the rough.

Good Luck with your search.

Mike

[smokeyyank]

Originally Posted by semcoinc

For an auto DIY maven this could be a great deal. With that said, listen for rattling timing chains that no longer have their plastic guides intact and that is a mega labor intensive job. See the start of Danny's TC Guide changeout here

https://xoutpost.com/1095737-post47.html

Just curious, what would be your budget for this 2nd vehicle? Reason I ask is because with a higher budget you could get something a lot nicer and likely in more serviceable condition.

Other high mileage things that get tired and can leave you stranded:

Ignition switch
Fuel pump
Fuel Filter
Hoses
Water Pump/Thermostat
Belts
Pulleys/tensioners
Alternator (don't ask me how I know about that one!)
Hedgehog/blower motor resistor (although this won't leave you stranded)

This one you linked to, could however, be a diamond in the rough.

Good Luck with your search.

Mike

Thanks for the info, really it will be a 4th car. I have a 08 civic Si coupe for DD, Jeep Xj built for camping and wife has a liberty but I need a 4 door family car as we have a baby on the way. Ideally I want to stay below 5k for the budget. I know there are other cars but some right off that bat I will never consider are VW, audi, Fords, jap cars ( I personally hate them, civic was inherited I would never pay for one). I'd prefer SUV type car as the civic plays as the car and if I'm moving a baby seat would rather have the height of the SUV. My thought is if this one is clean and I can do the big ticket items (timing, cooling system, trans, etc) for about 4k. I'll be a head of a X5 that is driveable I buy for 4k that will still need all that work. If that makes sense. Yep have already looked other Dannys guide I followed him on bimmerworld and almost bought his e39.

[semcoinc]

Hi Smokeyyank,

Yeah, the X5 is a very capable SUV (or as they like to say SAV) and the 4.4L engine is very capable.

If it were for me as a baby hauler, I'd want it to have high reliability and uptime, But it's not like you don't have other rides to bail you out of a jam.

At that low of a price and with some good auto DIY sweat equity, you could get that ride very reliable with an all in budget of $4-5K.

I bought my 2003 4.4i at 78K miles and done most of the items in my list (TC guides are fine at 96K now). Took it on a 2200 mile roundtrip, one way pulled about a 4000# trailer with granite, with no issues in the Missouri hill country.

Good Luck

Mike

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by semcoinc

For an auto DIY maven this could be a great deal. With that said, listen for rattling timing chains that no longer have their plastic guides intact and that is a mega labor intensive job. See the start of Danny's TC Guide changeout here

https://xoutpost.com/1095737-post47.html

Just curious, what would be your budget for this 2nd vehicle? Reason I ask is because with a higher budget you could get something a lot nicer and likely in more serviceable condition.

Other high mileage things that get tired and can leave you stranded:

Ignition switch
Fuel pump
Fuel Filter
Hoses
Water Pump/Thermostat
Belts
Pulleys/tensioners
Alternator (don't ask me how I know about that one!)
Hedgehog/blower motor resistor (although this won't leave you stranded)

This one you linked to, could however, be a diamond in the rough.

Good Luck with your search.

Mike

Even with a budget of 4-5K most used cars are in the neighborhood of 120-200k miles. With that type of mileage, there's still going to be a lot of DIY projects on any old car. Better to do DIY on a BMW instead of a KIA.

I would look at having the valve body rebuilt and solenoids tested and maybe replaced depending on what the test tells about the conditions of the solenoids ,and new ATF and filter changed.

[dannyzabolotny]

Originally Posted by smokeyyank

Thanks for the info, really it will be a 4th car. I have a 08 civic Si coupe for DD, Jeep Xj built for camping and wife has a liberty but I need a 4 door family car as we have a baby on the way. Ideally I want to stay below 5k for the budget. I know there are other cars but some right off that bat I will never consider are VW, audi, Fords, jap cars ( I personally hate them, civic was inherited I would never pay for one). I'd prefer SUV type car as the civic plays as the car and if I'm moving a baby seat would rather have the height of the SUV. My thought is if this one is clean and I can do the big ticket items (timing, cooling system, trans, etc) for about 4k. I'll be a head of a X5 that is driveable I buy for 4k that will still need all that work. If that makes sense. Yep have already looked other Dannys guide I followed him on bimmerworld and almost bought his e39.

... which one of my E39's was that? I've lost track at this point haha

And yeah if you can score this one for $2000-2500 and invest like 2k into it you'll have a solid X5 for pretty cheap. I got my 4.6 for $3700 because it needed chain guides but it's pretty solid now that I've rebuilt the engine. I'm still into it for less than $5k and it's a sweet ride. I can't wait to try towing with it— it already has a class III towing hitch installed.