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Looking at 3.0 powered X5's for my wife. Any advise on what year to get her?

Depends a lot on your DIY abilities.


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My $.02

I think that is a good choice. I went thru this a year ago.
I would suggest a relatively low mile (<140k mi) '04 - '06 automatic, although reliability and build quality is roughly the same throughout the model run. I just think newer is better.

Prefer a low-owner, dealer-serviced car in stock condition (hard to find)
I would avoid cars with DSP, the Panoramic sunroof, & air suspension
I would much prefer an X5 from a salt free state & would travel to get it.
I think black interior ages better than tan or gray
watch out for any signs of an overheat.
Plan on spending $1000-$1500 sorting it out and catching up on deferred maintenance (Cooling system)
Find somebody who will sell you a carfax for $7-$8 Get a PPI from a BMW-specific independent mechanic of not comfy yourself
- Find one on BIMRS.org

The key to buying a used X5, and for that matter any used vehicle, is to find one that has 50-60 thousand miles, one or two owners, a complete maintenance and repair history and passes a pre purchase inspection with flying colors. I would not recommend buying any used vehicle that is ten plus years old unless you can DiY.

Since there are not that many out there that are lesser risk vehicles I suggest you are also open to a V8 that is a great find. Mileage won't be all that different depending on how it is driven. Regardless of what you find there is enough risk that one should budget for repairs.

Welcome and good luck!

You can check mine out.

Here is my link. Feel free to ask any questions. All of the repair records since my ownership are in the links. Also a summary of work done is on the spreadsheet.

Drop box link has a bunch of HD pictures.

https://xoutpost.com/classifieds/bmw...85k-miles.html

https://xoutpost.com/classifieds/bmw...85k-miles.html

I would stick with something in the '05 or '06 range. We're talking 13 years old with an '06. Low mileage is going to be a "unicorn". The 3.0 is an engine that is practically "bullet proof" if it has had even a modicum of maintenance. So, maintenance records are going to be key as is the need to DIY. If you will be having a mechanic work on it, forget it. When all is said and done you'll spend far too much money on your truck if you pay a mechanic for the work. I have over 230,000 miles on my '06 and if I didn't do almost all of my own wrenching, forget it, I couldn't afford it and it wouldn't be worth it. Look at the Blue Book on these vehicles. They are DIY vehicles.

My suggestion is keep looking and be ready to instantly look then buy if you find one you like that meets some of the above excellent suggestions.

When I found one I instantly left a deposit and picked it up the next day.

Already the seller had many inquiries and could have sold it many times for his asking or maybe even higher.

Drove over 10k miles in a year with no major issues.

The good ones are out there but you have to look all the time and be ready.

Brad

Thank you for your help. Im a DIY guy and live in Southern California. Prices for 2000-2004 X5 3.0 are $2k to 4K most with hi miles 200k plus. Some with 100k. Looking for the 100k to 130k car with 3.0 will find it not in a rush.

We bought a pair of e53 in 2015 with 113 and 128k miles. Very happy with the purchase. We now have like 172 and 176k miles. The car with 113 averaging about $70-80/mo in parts. The 128 one averaging about $40-50. (younger one needed control arms and CV axle first year).

The 128 has sport suspension and air springs in the back and night and day difference I personally wouldn't buy a spring only but very happy with spring fronts.

If you find something in the low 100s it should be ok. The problem is now the e53 is getting old enough that age alone is starting to be a problem. Plastics wear out from time especially with the moronic thinking of EU imposing rubber that decomposes. Not sure if that asinine situation infected the USA yet. We usually get about ten years before any of that sort of insanity leaks over here.

Prepare for $800-1200 injection of parts and $80-100/mo and you should be able to find a great car. I'm done looking I only plan to drive X5 for the rest of my life. I'll stepping stone into a newer model with about 100,000 miles each time and hoping to get one more e53 before I have to jump to the e70.

I've pre-approved wife can switch to the second generation X3 vs X5 when her time comes to upgrade.

We should get about 3 more years out of our cars which is amazing. they were 14 years old when we got them and they are doing ok after four years and should last 3-4 more.

There is merit to also considering advances in technology, safety and performance. If one does so it is likely a vehicle over say 5-7 years old will be lacking something you would like to have and cannot be upgraded to get it. Since it is far easier to find a vehicle that is 50,000 miles away from major replacement costs paying more for a newer vehicle contains less risk, delivering more and costing less for another 50,000 miles.

I prefer well-maintained higher mileage cars to cars just coming out of warranty or leases that were neglected by original owners. But everyone has their own buying philosophy and risk propositions. Most older (well cared for) examples have had the "gotcha" type repairs addressed or were maintained to a standard that mitigates the risk of said repair.

And all of that is a generality. You can obviously buy a brand new car with problems right off the lot. Owning BMW's, in general, requires having a certain level of acceptance when it comes to maintenance costs. I spend at least a couple thousand bucks a year on parts between 2 or 3 BMW's every year. But that's WAY less than I would spend on any 1 new BMW, or even CPO'd. So again, every enthusiast has their particular "right" way to buy a BMW.

Only thing my X lacks that I want is an up to date head unit. I'll get one soon I hope.

I got lucky, mine has the cassette option with the 6 disk in the back. I use my LTE iPad or my phone depending on what media I am playing. It’s also nice because navigation plays through sound system.