Hello, I just took up delivery of a e53, so greetings!!

[ny x5 guy]

Yep, I just got delivered from California a 2003 e53 with the following traits:

Titanium Silver
3.0 inline 6 cylinder motor
5 speed manual transmission
grey leather
45,000 miles
immaculate condition inside & out
1 owner & dealer maintained with full maintenance history

I just saw her on Saturday after having bought her about 3 weeks ago from a bmw dealer out in California, I'm in New York so had it shipped here. I have to say this car or truck or is it SAV? It took my breath away, it's so nice. It was definitely garaged as has no sun damage or dings/dents exterior is perfect and so is interior. I mean the previous owner drove it about 3,000 miles a year and took it to the dealer regularly to service it, brake fluid flushed every 2 years, oil changes every year, power steering flushed, fuel injection serviced and flushed, control arm bushings renewed, I mean this guy was crazy about over the top servicing of his machine.

Anyway, I'm very excited to own it as I've been driving the car my wife bought new back in 1998, for the last 15 years, a subaru impreza, which has been a good car but is very much been through the mill.

We have a baby 11 months old now, plus 3 pug dogs, so it was getting ridiculously cramped and I kept looking for stick shift bmw 3 series x drive wagons. When they did pop up they sold quickly and for around 30g, plus I knew deep down that wasn't really big enough for us. So one day I was checking the bmwusa site for pre owned and stumbled across the beaut I wound up buying.

Anyway, please to meet you fellas and hoping to come here and gather round the water cooler or hot stove depending on time of year and chew the fat with y'all.

cheers .. from the big apple.

[EH6TunerDaniel]

Congrats, post some pictures.

[X5only]

Welcome aboard! Post some pics of her. First car I ever drove was a manual trans car. Drove stick cars for 10 years but last 14 years been on auto. How I miss stick cars!

[Ricky Bobby]

Pics! Awesome find by the way! (fellow manual driver here)

[Riggodeaux]

Congrats, X5 NY guy. Do post some pix, members here are almost obsessively visual . That is a rare find, low mileage stick shift one owner, with service history. Take a look at the manual transmission owners' thread for tips, and consider doing the CDV delete, especially, and consider a short shift kit. Several here have done the short shift kit; I for one swear by it and the CDV delete. Given the address, I assume this baby will have an indoor crib in the big apple .....

[Riggodeaux]

With the puppies, you might also consider the cargoliner dot com liner for the back. I don't have one, but OEM liners are impossible to find and it looks like a quality aftermarket custom fit liner. I may get one yet!

[oldskool racer]

excellent! would love to see pics

[cn90]

Congrats,

I have a stick as well, 2006 X5 6sp MT.

I am in the process of bringing the car back to Stage Zero, so stay tuned for the coming DIYs...

[ny x5 guy]

Hey guys, thanks for being interested in my find. I have some quick photos I took of it on my phone from the outside, but not sure how to post them. Maybe better if I wash it and wax it and then take some good photos with a digital camera of the exterior and interior. I have a dinosaur Leica Digilux 1, from 2002, which I bought to take pictures on our honeymoon, and like our '98 subaru, just kept using it and never replaced, but it takes surprisingly good pictures. So I'll have a go at it when I go out to the car, it's at my mom's house in her condo complex parking area.

I live in the west 80's in manhattan so it's a decent neighborhood, been parking my subaru on the street the last few years as I'm a stay at home dad and therefore have the flexible schedule to do that. I was going to do the same with the x5, but maybe try to find a bumper protector. There are many pretty nice cars parked on the street, a lot of beaters too, but you see some newer german cars sprinkled in there worth maybe 30-40 thousand, so my car won't stand out as the nicest car parked on the block. Have to do it as the around here monthly parking rate is too much for me to pay.

Thank you riggodeux for mentioning the cargoliner dot com cargoliner, as I just went to look at it on their website and that might be a good solution for us. Our pugs are used to riding all curled up together on the front seat or back seat so might take a while for them to get used to being in the cargo area, but they like private cave like areas where they can hang out so they'll probably wind up liking it. They want $350 for it though which is pretty expensive. It does look really nice quality though.

I really like that the vehicle has non run flat tires so I won't scratch my rims on the curb (they have nice big sidewalls on the tires), plus won't bend the rim if I hit a pothole, plus it has a dipstick which is cool and also a full size spare. I like simple, and this car seems like it's simple in the right ways like those areas plus of course I had to have a manual transmission as every car I've ever driven had one and I like them.

Only thing I need to adjust is the emergency brake needs to be adjusted a bit as it doesn't hold the car well on an incline. I usually use my e-brake when starting off on a hill to hold the car while I ease off the clutch, then when the clutch starts to pull the car away I ease off the e brake and go. So do need to adjust the e-brake I think.

[cn90]

Parking Brake: I posted the DIY in bimmerfest E39, X5 similar.

For uphill start: I use this trick taught to me my a truck driver...
- Right Foot HEEL over Brake Pedal.
- Right Foot Toes on Gas Pedal.

Learn how to balance them in such a way that as you release the brake, the gas pedal is pressed down. Basically heel-to-toe co-ordination.
It is an art but it makes it fun lol...