Planning to get an X5 - need help
 

Hello All,

It's great to see X5World with its brand new forum. This is my first post to the forum (or any X5 forum for that matter). I am shopping around for a 2002 X5 4.6is and need some advice. I live in the United Arab Emirates and I have been told that most of the natives who own vehicles, do not treat them well. As the story goes, they will run their vehicles with little attention to routine maintenance such as oil changes or the like.

As I'm not all that car savvy, I wondered if you guys could recommend any checks I can perform myself on the X5 before I buy it. I understand from the FAQ that the CV joints are expensive and was wondering if any of you have experienced problems with them. Is there any possibility of inspecting the CV joint boots without jacking the X5

I would like to know of any other important points to look for when inspecting the X5. Is there any way to spot an abused engine? (Constant red lining, high revs before the engine warms up, etc)

I have also noticed some X5's with milky or cloudy looking headlights. It does not appear to be condensation. Is there any way this can be removed or rectified without swapping out the entire headlight assembly?

Go easy on the newbie and thanks in advance for your help.

Bye,
Sheran

Is there a dealer in your area?? If you are looking at a used vehicle, take it to the dealer and have them inspected inside out. Ask for the service history. It's not any different than buying any other used vehicle...same things to look for. I don't know of any problems pertaining to the 4.6is in particular. Just got to make sure it hasn't been abused!

in my experience, bmws are cars that can take A LOT OF ABUSE and they still come running out of the gates like they are champions. if no major cosmetic issue with the car, get it! great decision to buy a 4.6is btw, and good luck with your search. :thumbup:

Welcome to the X5World forums, we're glad to have you with us. I agree with the comments made by both Arvi (King) and Kirk. Good luck with the search and great choice in going for the 4.6is. :thumbup:

Thanks for the welcome and advice. I will keep you guys posted as to how the search and acquisition of the 4.6is goes. I've still got to unload my '02 Chevy Lumina SS before I get the X5.

I love my BMW x5 4.4 i. And, I HATE it too. Frankly, it's a great car when it's running. When it's not, it's a pain in the ass and VERY expensive. If you can afford repairs and that's not a big deal to you financially, go for it, but otherwise, you may want to consider another model. A transmission can cost you $6000 if it goes bad - or more!

I've been looking into buying a '03 4.6is myself. It's got 90K on it so I've been doing my research. Those more knowledgeable please correct or add but this is what I've found so far.

There are many problems with the transmissions. Apparently the place to get new ones are from Level 10 http://www.levelten.com/default.asp or Autosports unlimited http://www.autosportsunlimited.com/index.html

There seem to be several problems with the air suspension leaking or failing. Not sure on the easy fixes for that; however, there are places that rebuild the air shocks for less than OEM.

The window regulators seem to come up as issues on this board quite frequently too.

Other things I've noticed are the valley pan gaskets, valve cover gaskets, the oil separator on the back of the manifold and the aluminum coolant tubes rusting / leaking under the manifold.