New Member, New to X5's but 4 other BMW's in the stable.. Purchase ?'s

[bmwman528e]

Im looking at a one owner 2001 BMW X5 Alpine/Tan. 220,000 miles!!!!!!!!! The fact that it is one owner, all dealer serviced vehicle with all documentation will help me sleep better at night but wondering your guys opinion on what the vehicle is worth. It has Heated Steering Wheel, Seats. Business CD player, New Tires etc. Asking price is $7,500. My main question is how long do these last? It still has its original Transmissions and Transfer Case. Ive seen the Sig on one of the members here with 300,000 + miles but is that becoming a regular occurence now that these vehicles are getting older.

Any help would be appreciated. Also a buyer checklist of some sort would be nice if there are any links to that so I know what to look for when I test drive it this evening.

I have 2 E39 BMW 540i's E31 840ci and a E36 328ic so farmiliar with the brand just not this body.

Thanks
Madison

[Matyoka]

You are thinking of buying this vehicle for a project car? Personally I would not touch an X5 with 220k miles... a Honda Civic, maybe.

[TriX5]

Originally Posted by Matyoka

You are thinking of buying this vehicle for a project car? Personally I would not touch an X5 with 220k miles... a Honda Civic, maybe.

Amen!

BTW, not even a civic at 220k.

[meltdown325]

Is it a 3.0 or 4.4?

[bmwman528e]

Originally Posted by Matyoka

You are thinking of buying this vehicle for a project car? Personally I would not touch an X5 with 220k miles... a Honda Civic, maybe.

If the gauges read 100,000 miles on it you wouldnt know the difference. Do you think low balling the guy at $5500-6000 would make it an easier pill to swallow to have some padding room for any major repairs. I have money to put into the car..... Not 911, Vantage Money . But a couple thousand a year is not a problem.

[bmwman528e]

3.0...... I would never be interested in a 4.4 with that many miles. The 3.0s are bulletproof as far as Im concerned. The X5 is solid with no suspension issues. Recent Control Arms, assorted bushings done at the dealer as well. A/C blows cold. Pixels are all there.

[Matyoka]

It appears that you know the vehicle and owner? Use the high mileage as leverage in your negotiation. LOL to the 911 and vantage comment, I also have a Ford Escort that is my daily driver

[meltdown325]

Sounds decent, especially if you DIY maint/repairs. In my experience, the X5 is on par with all other BMWs I've had concerning reliablity. Most of the common X5 problems are common BMW problems (window regs, dash pixels, leaking PS hoses, cooling sys, etc...).

The trans is probably as reliable as any other automatic with 220k on it. In my opinion, the X5 transmission/transfer case failures get blown out of proportion on this forum, but any automatic with 220k miles is likely moving towards the end of its career.

A lot about the X5 is very similar to the E39, such as build quality, interior trim, etc...

[bmwman528e]

Being a DIY with lots of access to specific bmw tool, computers etc... Later down the road is it even possible to do a 5/6 speed swap on these vehicles? I realize the E46 ZHP/M3 6 Speed would bolt up and there would be other electrical/driveshaft work.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by bmwman528e

Being a DIY with lots of access to specific bmw tool, computers etc... Later down the road is it even possible to do a 5/6 speed swap on these vehicles? I realize the E46 ZHP/M3 6 Speed would bolt up and there would be other electrical/driveshaft work.

It was available from the factory with a five speed manual that year. Different gearing, but you wouldn't need to change that if you didn't want to. Everything else would be bolt in. You need the X5 transmission (or at least the output end) as it bolts directly up to the transfer case.