Need some advice from the E53 owners...

[Kam850]

Hi all,

Im all over the place with keeping my E53 3.0. I owned about 12+ BMWs at this point, so owning BMWs isnt anything new to me.

My question is more related to "what makes sense to do?" not really related to anything to do with money.

I got the X5 for pretty cheap, I dumped a bunch of money into it (maybe around 10k with the purchase of the car) and its pretty much bulletproofed, everything has been taken care of on it (mechanically). It only has 73.5k miles. The car is in really nice shape. Its pretty loaded. That being said from a reliability/cost/practically the X5 is worth keeping.

On the flip side iv been itching for a station wagon or for a coupe since I do not need a SUV anymore. While under 100k miles, I think that's a another factor to try to at least recoup more of my money that I have in this car.

I dont have any real issues with the X5. If I had to pick one, it would be fuel economy. I get around 17.5-18 MPG feathering the gas pedal around the city/highway (about a 50/50 split). I know its a brick on wheels. Iv yet to do a fuel filter on it and I was going to add some injector cleaner to possibly "help". And my "fun car" gets about 15-16 on a good day. I towed U-haul motorcycle trailer with it, and it was a unique experience. I felt every jerk of the trailer in my seat lol. I never towed a car with it, although I had that on my mind. I figured It would be able to tow a car, not like the V8, but it would do the job.

Iv only did a few upgrades like better bulbs outside and inside the car, and I installed a complete OEM hitch assembly. The mod bug is itching bad still.

Future mods id like to do is a M-sport interior (seats, steering wheel, headliner (mine started to sag) etc), nicer wheels, maybe the msport appearance package and a better headunit.

So what do you guys think? Keep it? Sell it while its "in its prime"? I dont really have a car picked out to replace the X5, so im in no rush. Hence I figured maybe some X5 veterans could sway me in either direction.

Here are some noteworthy features of my X5:
-black interior/grey exterior (i forget the paint code/color)
-74.5k miles currently
-OEM Nav, non-DSP.
-full moon roof
-window shades (I guess all X5s have that?)
-Xenon headlights with washers
-Everything works on the interior, no major wear and tear, no dead pixels anywhere.


P.S. - Been trying to find new head unit. Iv been told to go AVIN AVANT 4 or Xtrons or Dynavin. But I hear mixed things about each. Not a huge fan that these are like $500-$800 range. But I get it, good ol can-bus system. Mainly looking for apple car play and being able to charge my phone through the unit as well (if im doing wired car play). I got spoiled with apple car play before I got the X5. I installed a Alpine unit in my Subaru, and that was the best $400 iv spent for that car. Looking forward to any advice on this. I am doing my own research as well, looking on the forum.