buying a 2005 X5 4.8, major/issues to look out for?

[samer110]

Hi there,

This is my first post and most probably won't be last as long as I purchase the X5 I'm looking at. I am about to close the deal with a guy who has an Imola Red 2005 E53 X5 4.8 but I wanted to know what regular issues appear all the time? Car has around 75000miles on it with full service history. What should I look out for that are major/minor issues with them? I think you guys have an idea what kind of info I am looking for, I need to make sure I check all the known issues and problems with them before I go ahead and close this deal. Your help is very much appreciated...

Thanks
Sam

[motordavid]

My effort at listing the items that could go kaboom, all from memory which is fading:
-window regulators, intermediate levers, coolant reservoir, water pump, battery, alternator,
transmission, (costly), etc. Maintenance items like brake pads, bushings...

Will they go out? No one can predict...rather than waiting for responders to post with
anecdotal info, why not do some reading of very informative threads from this site;
I simply plugged in some terms in the Search Tab and got a couple pages worth of
threads with many of those threads covering your question(s):

Xoutpost.com - Search Results

Xoutpost.com - Search Results

GL, mD

[samer110]

Thanks for your help MD, yeah I will do some search but initially I wanted to get some idea of what are general issues that appear, this way I can do a more detailed search on those specific topics...

Sam

[jst2878]

Look out for your foot always wanting to mash the gas pedal at every start. Lol

[samer110]

hahaha thanks for the advice, will keep that in mind, that's how I feel everytime I jump into my supercharged E46 M3

[jst2878]

keep your mind open to the interrrmediate levers issue. if at cold start the x sputters and ses lights come on then you might need them replaced. airshocks will leak over time, however there is a company that remanufactures them at a fraction of dealer cost with the same reliability. then there is the normal stuff just like all the other x5's....time will show you. good luck that is the same one I drool about

[tomcat]

Since I bought my '05 last summer, it has been to the dealer every 3 months or so (have extended warranty). Mostly just nagging items. Only real driveability issues have been a faulty telephone module killing my battery and a front driver-side air strut leak. Not really things you can check for during prebuy, unless battery is dead and you have the selflevel susp annunciator. Since these are typically the most optioned out X5s, they have more fancy gadgetry to randomly fail 5 years down the road. Don't get me wrong, I love her. Currently have about 54,500 mi. Would definitely recommend some sort of warranty as this will not be the most reliable BMW you will ever have.

Scott

[samer110]

That's exactly what the X5 looks like, I just need to get it detailed to look all nice and shiny
I know these cars are in the workshop quite a few times in the year, my friend had his sitting in the shop and there was an issue with the MAF but we weren't sure and wanted to swap one temporarily with another car, there was none available and it was 3PM and the shop closes at 6, so the SA asked me to be patient cause hes sure one will come by anytime, he had no clue there was one coming but he was serious cause of the amount of issues these cars have, and guess what? an hour later an X5 shows up on a tow truck lol...