Need some advice from the E53 owners...
 

Comical indeed! :rofl:


E53 RiPPeR
XOuTPoST jUNkiE
ReVELaTiON 22:21

Not too bad out here, weather-wise. We've been lucky to live near (about 10 miles away from) the Pacific Ocean...so it only got up to the high 80s to low 90s.

mD, good to see/hear from OG members like yourself are still holding onto their beloved e53! $4Gs is a decent offer, but I think it's worth more, especially with your 5spd and condition. But ultimately like you said, there's really nothing out there in SUV land (or anything, really) that peaks my interest...at least nothing short of $80Gs+. Who knows, maybe I may pony up one of these days for my "last hurrah" ICE before I'm forced into one of those iPhone mobile :(

Stay safe!

I'm keeping my X5 forever...
 

Weather-related: Lucky is right...high 80's to low 90's? That's mid-March or last week of September weather, here in N.Texas. Humid, too, without an ocean breeze, though. Spring and summer are just plain hot, mostly.

Vehicle-related: I'll never forsake my ICE vehicles for any E-cars, ever. Nor do I like to see self-driving cars beside me on the road (though they might be better/safer than a texting while driving teen) https://www.thezebra.com/resources/r...ng-statistics/.

At my age, almost 73, I doubt that I'll still be driving after all ICE vehicles are unavailable (no new ones)/undriveable (no parts, no gas)/unlawful (banned from the road). As is, I intend to keep and maintain my current fleet, with my "last project car", the 22 year-old '01 X5, @ 211000 miles, as my favorite, and probably in the best condition (with drivetrain and suspension components almost all renewed in the last 5 years), while the other 4 vehicles:

• 1) '09 HHR Panel LS, the newest at 14 years, with 182000 miles, needs front struts
• 2) '08 Cobalt Coupe LS, at 15 years and 110000 miles, needs ABS work??
• 3) '04 Chevy 2500HD, at 19 years and 135000 miles, needs transmission work (just barely slipping in first gear, but not in tow/haul mode), and
• 4) '98 GMC Sierra 1500, at 25 years and 185000 miles, needs tires (it's on 14 year-old Daytons!)

are all in fairly good & repairable shape. All run & drive, and will last me as long as I foresee, and I'll make sure at least two (we found out that one vehicle is never enough, as a back-up is a necessity) will be there for my much-younger wife, after I stop driving.

Craigslist to the rescue, for me at least. A local seller had an OEM X5 cover for sale. While waiting for an oil pan and front driveline repairs, it was covered for almost 2 months. Occasionally, I use the cover to protect it from hot weather. Look for a good cover when you have to keep yours outside for a bit. I hate not moving it and it's dirty when I drive it again.

Lots or rain/T Storms, but that is normal here in the mtns of western NC, in Summer...

At our almost a mile high elevation, it has been 50s at night/low and low to mid 70s for our daytime 'high'. :)

Higher elevation has some benefits.

CEO & I have managed to still dodge the Covid Cooties, though I do not understand 'how'. We both have had 2 shots and a boost, but I am done with them: the booster kicked my azz for a week and I don't need anymore meds that might set off aonther cytokine storm in me, with my already oddball immune system of berserk T and B cells...my Transverse Myelitis situ erodes me enough every year, here in my mid 70s.

No complaints, I just grin and bear it and keep on going as vigorously as I can. :thumbup:

Car stuff: dkl and workingonit I hear you on ICE cars. We idly looked at EVs and Hybrids, but my CEO wanted a 2023 X3 ICE to replace her 2017 X1 ICE.

The X3, though it sells like cold beer in summer is an OK at best car, imo: several niggling ergonomic bits, trunk isn't much bigger than her X1 was, came with a slightly distorted windshield, (dlr sez it's fine), and has had two CELs in the first two months, which require a 3/4ths day of over/wait/diagnose/'fix' and drive back from our 'local' BMW dlr.

X3 Gizmos and tech system crap: We are about in '9th grade' in terms of learning the step in step in step in cell phone like crap to do what a fookin dash button would do in 3 seconds. WTF?!

And, the quirks and wrong steps occur frequently for us Geezers/user error old bastards. :rolleyes:

I think BMW uses Windows Vista or Windows 8, the way these things work...

NEway, back to perusal. Hope all are well and getting through life in good stead. It goes very quickly and is not for the weak or weary once one gets into middle freakin 70s.

Average sunrise from our Mtn home deck:

Spectacular view! I definitely don't mind giving up the beach life if I can wake up to that picturesque view every morning :thumbup:

If your E53 has the DSP option, and a working cassette player, I'd suggest a bluetooth cassette adapter (about $15-20 on the hamazon). It sounds really good tho I am no audiophile; I'm sure an audio snob would not approve. Just remember to remove it and charge it once in awhile. The battery has lasted through the entire 400-mile slogs to my camper, about 7 hours. There will be a wire with a pinchy switch on it to turn it on and off sticking out from behind the motorized faceplate which does not seem to bother anything. I think it is supposed to work for phone calls but never tried it. I control the phone with my watch while driving to skip tracks.

From everything I've read, installing a 3rd-party head unit requires disconnecting the DSP.

I'm sure given its age that the cassette drive mechanism will die at some point. I'll deal with that when it happens.