What did I get myself into
 

I was surfing craigslist the other day and saw 04 X5 4.4 loaded with only 99k on it. The ad said doesn't run. I contacted the owner and she said it has been at the dealer for seven months. Back when it was raining the sunroof was leaking and then the whole car shut off. Had it towed to the dealer and they said the ECU along with the stereo is damaged and needed to be replaced. Gave her estimate of 5k. She didn't have the money to fix it. I talked her into letting me tow it home so I could see what I could do for her. I put it on a car charger and after about a hour the car fired right up. The rear suspension is collapsed too. I really like the car so I gave her a offer of $2k and we settled at $2250. After I washed it looks great and the interior looks new.

So after I went though the service records I found that the large pano roof had been replaced by the dealer and I will to bet that they didn't get the drain holes hooked up correctly. I will dig into that later.

Here is what it needs now before I can put it on the road.
Front tires
Get the suspension working
The stereo navigation not working
Drivers Mirror, flopping around
Drivers door trim, someone bent it up after locking the keys in the car

I conclusion: I think the car sat so long that the computer had time to dry out, I hope that it won't come back as long as I get the roof fixed. It's in the garage for now.

So I have a really nice 03 X5 3.0 for sale in California with only 150K on it.

Drive it like you stole it, because that is what you did.:thumbup:

Congrats, Meinhold a Cali 4.4L E53, under 100k miles, for $2250, without [apparently] significant drive train issues? wow .... get that pano roof drain issue and suspension fixed and you are in the money ....

Good find! You got me beat by about $850 and change (if I don't count my labor time for the motor repairs)... I got my 04 with just over 150K loaded for $2K... about a grand in parts and I'm stuck right where you are with suspension issues!

Congrats!

Cheers!

Great catch! At that mileage though, I'd pull the front driveshaft and lube the splines to avoid a future replacement.

2002 X5 3.0 304,600 miles
2014 428i 19,000 miles

2004 325i sold at 123,600 miles
2001 325i sold at 66,000 miles

1970 Firebird - Under restoration

Lucky bastard :D :thumbup: