What should I Look out for?

[tekman]

Greetings all,

I've been reading the the forums the last couple of days and you guys are making me a bit nervous. I am about to buy a used 2007 X5 4.8i with around 40K miles on it, Certified Pre-owned, but some of these threads are making me nervous about all the repairs mentioned on the X5.

How are the 2007-2010 models in comparison to the pre 2007?

Also, is there really that much of a power difference between the 3.0 SI and the 4.8i? Is the 3.0Si stout enough with some power? I've only driven the 4.8i and I loved driving it.

I would never tow or haul anything with this, only drive it with myself and wife and kid in the car around town and on the highway.

Thanks,

Troy

[soldmystang]

i have a '08 4.8. i have close to 60K miles and nothing major wrong. mostly quirky electronics issues. i personally did not like the 3.0 when i test drove it. it felt too light in the nose to me.

2007 is the first year of the new model. 'nuff said.

[m5james]

Just get a thourough buyers inspection done by a BMW indy, but with that low of mileage, I highly doubt you're going to have any issues. Since you drove the 4.8 already, you'd hate the 3.0...night and day. If the price is right, get it...you'll grow to love it overtime and come here whenever you might have an issue, questions, etc as pretty much anything that ever has or could go wrong with it has probably been discussed here. ALL cars have an issue, one way or another, so if this one makes you happy, run with it.

[aeggroup]

I bought 2007 4.8i about 1 month ago...and it's not certified, but still on warranty....39K miles...great car.. and if yours even CPO - don't even think twice..if the price is right. You will enjoy it.

[Sarge]

I have an '07 4.8i with about 47k on it, and can warn you of the following issues (from experience):

- If it has the sport package with the sport suspension (active front sway bar) make sure it isn't rattly over bumps (try to find a dirt washboard road or someplace with lots of potholes to test it). (I've also heard others complain of needing other front suspension bushings and tie rods being replaced due to similar rattles, so be sure and have it all checked out real well.)

- Check to be sure all the transmission software updates/TSB's have been done, that will help shifting, and it's quite a bit of labor time if it's not under warranty.

- Check to make sure the auto up and down is working on all the switches, particularly the drivers door switch panel - it's not unusual for these to go bad, and the first sign is the auto-up/down features will quit working.

- Check to be sure the interior tailgate plastic isn't loose - it's a crappy design and the tabs break off, resulting in rattles. BMW says the tailgate isn't designed to take the weight of a person sitting on it, which is absurd, and a lot of them brake.

- Listen for wind noise at higher speeds - on my car the window subframes weren't installed properly at the factory on one side and they had to rip the whole door apart, send it out to be repaired, and then reinstalled.

- Check wood trim on door panels for cracking/delaminating. Mine had problems and was replaced under warranty.

- You'll probably need brakes before 50k miles, they're not cheap, so check where they are on the 'wear scale'

That's about it as far as things I've encountered that seem to be 'things to look out for' across the board. Mine was an early '07, so later cars may have some of those kinks worked out.

[tekman]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll definately have to get the vehicle checked out by a BMW shop.

[aeggroup]

Originally Posted by tekman

Thanks for the input guys. I'll definately have to get the vehicle checked out by a BMW shop.

Why do you need to go to BMW shop if this is CPO ? I assume CPO can be bought only at BMW dealership ? Did I miss something ?
Make sure this car was not in accident before. Go to BMW service center and ask them to run a service history for you. Make sure this car have not had any major issues. Any Service Advisor for $20 tip will tell you everything about this car from the BMW service computer. If this is CPO - you covered another 2,5-3 years till 100K miles. It is a lot of time not to worry about what's going to happen tomorrow.

Good Luck.

[tekman]

It's not a CPO, or at least the one I test drove is at a GMC dealer, was a trade in. The local BMW dealers don't have any CPO ones in stock. I've seen a few CPO's online, but none that are near enough to do a test drive, so if I bought one over the internet at a BMW dealer, I'd have to fly there and pick it up and drive it back, or pay for delivery without having driven it before I get it.

[aeggroup]

Originally Posted by tekman

It's not a CPO, or at least the one I test drove is at a GMC dealer, was a trade in. The local BMW dealers don't have any CPO ones in stock. I've seen a few CPO's online, but none that are near enough to do a test drive, so if I bought one over the internet at a BMW dealer, I'd have to fly there and pick it up and drive it back, or pay for delivery without having driven it before I get it.

Make sure this car is still on factory warranty for at least another 10-12 months. Whatever you will find wrong with this car - you always can go to your local BMW dealer and they will do it for free. BMW is very good with that. My dealer changes everything that I tell them, that seems wrong....they charge BMW factory for this kind of job and it's the best job dealers like. I bought mine a little more than 1 month ago and they change all brakes and rotors, both front headlights, battery, updated transmission software, climate control vent motor....and my warranty expiries only in August 2011...so more to come. Why not...it's free

[jmiller427]

I bought an 07 4.8 with 45k miles and had the following repaired/fixed under the factory warranty:
Steering wheel cover, it was peeling off.
Outside Door handles, they'd stick open when it was wet out.
Brakes/rotors
Wind noise in driver door window, realigned and fixed.

Then at 55k I took it in because NAV only worked sometimes, turned out to be the DVD drive and NAV computer, they replaced it free of charge even out of warranty.

Passenger heated seat stopped working, they replaced the module and the entire seat, both the bottom and seat back. Again, no charge at 55k miles because they said it shouldn't have happened.

One thing I'd check out that I forgot to was the automatic wipers. Mine didn't work but I didn't realize it until a month later because we had no rain. Without the automatic, you have no intermittent wipers. I know, wahhhh Reason was the windshield had been replaced with the wrong glass. Once it cracked, I had it replaced with the right kind and now all works well.

A year later and 80k miles, all is good.