New Guy looking at a used x5

[Dark5yde]

Well I had zero help over at xbimmers. Hopefully somebody can help me out here. 2003 BMW X5 3.0 AWD Automatic Black with Leather Thats the x5 i am looking at. It had a brand new 3.0 installed by the local BMW dealership in january and has less than 3500 miles on it at this point. Everything else appears to be pretty solid on it. They just replaced the front control arm bushings as well. My question is this, does this appear to be a good deal based one what you guys can see? The only info I know about these are the research I have done in the past cpl weeks. I have read that the 3.0 x5's are typically the most reliable. I've also heard horror stories with short front drive shafts and bad transfer cases. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[Phr3d]

what does the carfax say?
I've not heard of blowing the engine in a 3.0 (the reliability you reference) so I would be worried what the previous owner did to lose it under 125k mi, just my opinion.
Depending on the circumstance, and what all towne bmw did when the replacement occurred, it could be nice to have gobs of new parts, you'd hafta' see if you can get a list of the work done.
But blowing the engine? ouch.

[Dark5yde]

holy crap a response!! lol I'm stopping by the dealer tonight, he does have the carfax and it does state Towne did a engine swap. He says he has a ton of previous paperwork as well. The way I looked at it was that for 125k+ the body and inside looks decent and with a fresh motor this was a steal at 10k. Hopefully I can get some needed answers tonight and be approved by the morning. Again thanks for the response, i had a post over at xbimmers for 5 days and after 98 views nobody had posted. That was when I found this site which is already far more informative.

[bagpype]

These cars age very gracefully. Keep that in mind. Just because it looks clean and well kept doesnt mean that it was. I personally would be weary of a 3.0 that had to be replaced and while the price seems decent id keep looking if theres anything you dont like about that particular one.

[SlickGT1]

I would be a bit nervous as well about a blown engine, what the previous owner was doing to get it that way. Either way, check carfax for any accidents. No matter what they tell you, even if they say it was a bumper, tell them you don't give a shit, because when you go to sell the next person won't believe you.

Then go through the service history. If all looks good, and engine is really new, go for it.

[Dark5yde]

I wish I still had a carfax left. I had 1 left and I used it 2 weeks ago on a Audi A4 I was looking at. Get the info myself before I even step foot there. The dealership is a heavy sponsor to a WNY Auto forum I am also on. They have sold crazy amounts of cars on the forum all with stellar reviews. That's another reason i'm siding on the side of his word for right now.

[weekend camper]

Demand a PPI by at least one neutral indie BMW shop.

[motordavid]

Agree with all above, and if he blew the engine, what kind of shape can that orig auto trans be in? A PPI, from a non-dlr is a good rec'd, though even a genius trans shop may have difficulty assessing/guessing the future life of that auto trans...

That 2 yr 'warranty' is also worth perusing with a fine tooth comb, imo.
That '03 is a non-sport, and the wheels are style 57 17s; great for snow with dedicated snow tires, up there in north NY, but you may get the Jones for 18s or 19s for summer.
GL, mD

[skeetjunkie]

My bet would be it was a coolant system failure (exp tank or rad) followed by engine overheating resulted in cracked head - not uncommon in the M54 powerplant. (Ask me how I know having done it already with a '00 528i).

[Dark5yde]

Looking at the last pic in the listing, the expansion tank looks awfully white and unstained for a 9yr old vehicle. Maybe your on to something there.