X5 purchase considerations and how to minimize risk

[bcredliner]

I would like to see if we can create a list of considerations and a reasonable process to follow to minimize the purchase risk of an E53-E70. Would be great if it ends up being summarized in one post.

Not sure how to sort bias from constructive contribution, seems impossible but would like to see where this goes.

It may be necessary to do by engine or other declinations but hopefully we can keep it more generalized than that.

At this point please add only one contribution per category so more forum members are alerted if someone has questions about thread info and more members can contribute.

And only one contribution to further clarify input, please.

Example follows:

Considerations

Do It Yourself capability important
Labor cost of most repairs high

Best practice buying process

Pre Purchase Inspection
Minimize risk of surprise repair costs