The Elusive Manual E53

[mcurcio1989]

I purchased my MT x5 last November. I got pretty lucky to find almost exactly what I wanted for the price I wanted in less than a month and 12 hours away. As mentioned you need to look for the shifter in the pictures because more often than not they are mis-identified. It is very true that many owners have no idea of what they have. People like us research a vehicle, know everything about it and then go look for it. I have realized that there are some people that just go to a dealer and buy something they like. What I am saying is that there are more out there than we think but those ones are hard to find.

I can say that if you have come this far than it is worth the wait. These are extremely unique and fun vehicles to own. Since I have owned mine (close to a year and way more miles than I care to admit) she has been very reliable. BMW's are meant to have inline 6's and manual transmissions and I think that makes our x5's a totally different animal than those with an AT and v8. . . In a good way. It just is and does everything you want. I really enjoy peoples surprise when they find out it is a manual.

[Riggodeaux]

Roger that, MCurcio. I have yet to pick up my X5 from a restaurant valet [common in parts of ATL w/limited parking] that the driver didn't come back with a big smile on his face and a comment about the stick shift. If the OP or others lurking here are seriously interested in either of the two I id'd on the ATL craigslist, check on their availability and I can perhaps take a look or point you to a good shop for a thorough PPI ......

[Joshdub]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

This might help Xoutpost.com - Xoutpost.com x5tips.htm

That is a great resource that I hadn't found yet. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

First of all, I love Archer! So handsome!

There is a manual transmission registry thread I started in late 2011 in case you do get to join "the club", but as you've found, finding the "right one" will take time, in my case it took me 6 months and I was lucky to find it within an hour.

My wish list at the time was no Silver, under 80-90k miles, Sport Package, and under 17k. I would have preffered a facelift so I could have the 6th cog on the freeway, and the updated front end, but it wasn't required.

I ended up with an '03 Topaz, 59k miles with Sport Package and EHCII, for just over 15k. Little more than I wanted to pay at the time but as you'll find, these aren't the type of X's that you can just "go find another one", so the pricing is in the hands of the seller for the most part.

You most likely will not find one locally (unless you are extremely lucky like me) so plan on a 1 way plane ticket, an out of state PPI done, or a decent road trip with Archer and your significant other to find the right one.

Keep your search nationwide, cars.com/autotrader, search the key word "manual" and be aware that you actually have to physically see the stick in the pictures, most of these idiots putting listings up put it in the description that it is a Manual but it is not correct.

If you're lucky you may have 5-10 choices at any given time on those websites, could be less. But us manual X5 guys tend to have spent a while to find ours, and most of us tend to keep them, so that's why its not as easy to find.


Good luck, as a manual owner I'm here to help

Thanks! he is a total blast and is growing into a pretty well mannered dog (6 months now).

That is really cool that you setup that registry. I did find it before and was trying to get a rough estimate on how many enthusiast owners had a stick, the total tally left me a bit worried about the availability of one of these with a 3rd pedal.

I am used to the hunt, and mine ended roughly the same way for the E30. It took me ~3 years to find the right one after looking all over the country, and it ended up being in Portland (2 hours away) and had it held after 30 minutes of the ad being posted.

It sounds like (and looks like) you got a nice one. What is funny is most of the ones I have seen so far are silver, with only one being white, and one being black. Luckily for me I do not mind a silver one. And you are right about not being able to walk away over the price. Comps are almost non existent for negotiation, and it isn't like I can just turn around and pick a different one.

I am keeping my search most of the nation wide. I haven't looked too much on the east coast yet as that adds a considerable amount of time and cost to the whole deal and I have never purchased something like this from so far away. Shoot, I haven't been anywhere on that side of the country other than Florida. But PPI's are a must for me, and I see a 1way plane ticket in my future.

And by far the most annoying thing of this entire process is seeing the "manual" box ticked on ads that are autos. Having to find a good center console picture is a real time suck when you are looking through so many X5 ads. At least I am able to eliminate anything other than a 3.0.

Originally Posted by upallnight

There was a manual one forsale here recently from a used car dealer. He dropped the price because most soccer moms didn't want a manual X.

Was that in the SAV for sale section? I am still not sure whether to expect them to sit due to the typical SUV driver not expecting/wanting a manual or for them to go fast due to rarity.

Originally Posted by cn90

Go to autotrader dot com and do the advance search for "Manual".
There are some for sales now in the US, but as Ricky Bobby said, you have to see the stick in the photo!

2001-2003: search for transfer case issues
2004-2006: X-drive system

Make sure you know how to wrench lol...

It is beyond annoying having to look through the pictures to find the truth. Not to mention you can't help but get a little excited when you see an ad with "manual", only to be let down when it's an auto.

Thanks for the info on the problems. I knew the AWDs were different, I was not aware that the pre face lift had Tcase problems. And luckily I do know my way around a wrench, and I'd much prefer the simplicity of the manual and M54 over the auto and V8. I'd also love to have that 6th gear, but I think it'll push the car out of my budget. But I do not know for sure as I have yet to see one for sale.

Originally Posted by Riggodeaux

Joshdub, I second Ricky Bobby's advice. I looked for a couple of months last year, and paid for a remote PPI on one in Colorado, before mine popped up in Cincinnati. You will likely have to travel and, at this stage, up your maximum mileage and/or price point. Aside from the big internet sites [kbb, cars, etc.], I suggest checking the craigslists in a few big fair weather cities, including SoCal, and be prepared to travel/inspect on short notice. On the internet sites: it is amazing how ofter autos are described as 'manual'. You really do have to look at interior pictures to eliminate all those PRNDLs out there!

I will absolutely get a PPI, especially if I am driving it home over any distance. You are right on probably having to up my price/milage. It is just something I would like to stick roughly around. Luckily I don't need this, I just want it. So I don't want to spend much more than I am totally comfortable with. And time is on my side so hopefully I can find something around what I am looking for.

I am lucky in that I am usually able to travel with little notice. That should help with swooping the right one. Thanks for the Cars suggestion, I haven't used them yet.

Also thank you for the links and the offer of potentially checking out those two. I may end up having to take you up on that. The silver one looks very clean, but it would be higher up in my budget after factoring in air fare, lodging, and the whole trip home. It is also higher in miles than I would like for the price, but it isn't too bad. The white one looks a little rougher, but good photos and a nice detail can go a long way. The miles are high, but not significantly more than the silver one and for the price it is a lot easier to work with. Ill look further into those two for sure, thanks.

Originally Posted by mcurcio1989

I purchased my MT x5 last November. I got pretty lucky to find almost exactly what I wanted for the price I wanted in less than a month and 12 hours away. As mentioned you need to look for the shifter in the pictures because more often than not they are mis-identified. It is very true that many owners have no idea of what they have. People like us research a vehicle, know everything about it and then go look for it. I have realized that there are some people that just go to a dealer and buy something they like. What I am saying is that there are more out there than we think but those ones are hard to find.

I can say that if you have come this far than it is worth the wait. These are extremely unique and fun vehicles to own. Since I have owned mine (close to a year and way more miles than I care to admit) she has been very reliable. BMW's are meant to have inline 6's and manual transmissions and I think that makes our x5's a totally different animal than those with an AT and v8. . . In a good way. It just is and does everything you want. I really enjoy peoples surprise when they find out it is a manual.

It does sound like you got lucky with yours. And I think you are right about it being worth the wait. I haven't had the pleasure of driving one with a stick, but I can't see myself really being that engaged with the auto. I do love the BMW stick/6cyl combo. Thats why I drive an E30. I love the noise BMWs I6's make. I feel much more connected with the car when it has 3 pedals. Not to mention I have never really had good luck with higher milage autos.

[Riggodeaux]

kbb shows an 06, manual, blue/truffle brown sportseats at a Toyo dealer in Mamaroneck, NY for $10k, might be worth a look - telephone 855-572-7902

[Ricky Bobby]

I just looked it up on the dealer website.

CONFIRMED 6-speed, Toledo Blue, SPORT package, 127k miles.

You better jump on it for 10k and get out to the East Coast!

[Riggodeaux]

Agree with you, RB. Maybe the OP can convince you to drive across the Tappan Zee and check it out! I think a late-summer cross country drive from NY to Seattle if it checks out would be nice - stop in Cleveland for baseball, maybe Chicago, hike in the Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore, Little Big Horn, Missoula ..... I could dig it!

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by Joshdub

...My only requirements really are:

• that it has less than 100k miles,
• clean title,
• be asking roughly around 10k
• sport package
• prefer the pre-face lift as it is more in my budget

I'd prefer to not have:

• SLS,
• nav
• panoramic sunroof (did the 3.0 even have those as options?)
• no gold, but any other color is okay.

The pano sunroof won't be an issue if you find a pre-face lift X5...they didn't arrive until a few months into the face lift models.

The SLS may be hard to find especially with the optional sport pkg...most 3.0 X5s with the sport pkg probably came with either the EHC I (rear axle SLS) or EHC II (dual axle SLS).

Here's some more information to put under your hat (in case you weren't aware of the various changes from 2000-2006):

[Joshdub]

And I was excited when I found this last night

Cars for Sale: 2002 BMW X5 3.0i in Mooresville, NC 28117: Sport Utility Details - 375209196 - AutoTrader.com



That Teldo blue one is awesome. Thank you guys. I am talking with the significant other right now.

Are the panoramic sunroofs thats hard to deal with? I have read that they leak and when they do the entire assembly has to be replaced. I will do some more digging.

Also, there is one accident on that carfax right after it was purchased in 06, so I'd like to try to figure out what that was, but it may even be too small to find.

Is there anything to really look for when buying a car from that area? I know there is rust on the east coast, but how bad are these impacted?

I have never dealt with a dealer before when buying something not CPOed, do you guys think it'll be possible to have a local shop do a PPI is is it SOP for dealers to tell you to jog on?

Now I am just too excited

[Riggodeaux]

You can certainly have it PPI'd elsewhere, I have when looking at dealer cars, and you should, and get the details on the reported accident. NE cars do face salt issues - RB can explain to you how that effected his install of a UUC short shift kit. These puppies are rare, worth a closer look when you see one like this. My pano has had no problems, but search here for the usual problems and fixes. The pano is very nice to have on a sunny day [when its not too hot].

[Riggodeaux]

The Mooresville [Charlotte] one looks nice, too. Locating these suggests that relatively low mileage ones are out there, if you look hard enough. I expect one of our NY/NJ area members can help you identify a shop for a PPI, same in Charlotte. From my own experience [2 E53s, one for me, one for the stepson in law] buying long distance last year, you can find a good local indy bimmer shop to give it a thorough inspection for a reasonable price [$125-200?] and report back before you make a flight/offer. Just educate yourself to ask the right questions: CV boots, leaky steering column, oil leaks, doors/regulators, suspension/control arms, pano roof, etc.