Help with what to look for in used '02 3.0
 

Hey everyone. Well we(me and my wife) were out car shopping today. Came accross an 2002 X5 3.0i with 90k. The dealer let us take it home for the night. Thought that was great. Ran the carfax, no lease two owners. Since I have it in the garage and consider myself more than an average mechanic(2000 Land Rover DII, engine rebuild and 97 D90) tools include-borecam, scope, fuel, and cylinder psi gauges) Anything I should look for off hand. The vehicle is in outstanding condition and runs/drives like new. I will do all the work myself within reason, so wanted to see what I was getting into on this one before I commit. BTW they want 13k
thanks in advance
jeff:dunno:

Be Prepared to start writing checks.........
 

Price seems good. Your mechanical skills will help......but.........hang onto
to your wallet for parts and expert help.............

I have a 2001 X5 3.0L I bought new. I've run it 195,000 miles.
I replaced (partial list, forgot many of others)
3 CV joints @ $550 each excluding labor
Transverse case - $1300 used with labor, new BMW part only $2200
Valve cover gasket - DIY 4 hours, $90, BMW would have been $500
4 window regulators - all windows broke at least once $250/shot, last time
(for 3rd time on driver I fixed it myself with through bolts)
AC fuse went out twice - $250 a shot
Brakes and rotors twice - somewhat normal considering mileage
Battery once - $120 at Sears, normal
Passenger Visor broke off - $250 to get new one, can't be fixed, forget about it!
Check light came on 5 years ago - black electrical tape..........forget about it!
Airbag light on - big ghosty problem on these cars.....forget about it!
Turn signal lights front and back - BMW tells you to buy harness and bulbs for $25+, I figured out how to repair....forget about it.....I'll give you the secrets for $100! :)
Water Pump - did as pm, good call it was going bad at 100K.
Belts - once, seem to work OK for mileage
Plugs - done twice, pay $7 at Autozone, not $25 at BMW
Oil changes - DIY with Mobil 1 15W50. Buy big socket to get oil filter out. The total cost DIY is about $45, BMW......forget about it.......... Motor does not burn oil, inside looks like an operating room....pm for pics I took doing valve gasket job.
Tires - 3 sets of Michlein OEM's - killer tires, get up to 80,000miles, $1100 set now
Newest issue - ABS lights on, found shorted out sensor, still on.......car brakes work fine without ABS. Only had it come on once in 8 years.....forget about it
Newest issue - Speedo quite working. Came on a couple of times after failure, I think its a speed sensor dirty, that's why I'm on the board now and saw this post............

Couldn't resist replying. I've never run a car this long. Sort of like an experiment. I wouldn't own a BMW out of warranty again. I'm going back to Toyota for cars and trucks next time. I've had all kinds of cars from Lambo Countach's to Chevy pickups......... I like some elements of the BMW line, but the Japanese have 'em beat engineering wise.

Just toured the BMW X5 factory in South Carolina two weeks ago. Fun to see, key tasks were performed by 550 robots. I drooled seeing all the parts there that I've bought and probably could use again.......if only I could take the tour at night with nobody there with a pick up truck..........
Good Luck!!

I wouldn't use your case to claim that if he buys his with 90K he will have the same repairs you have had---you have 200K miles that's almost 30K miles a year--most people don't drive that many miles nor expect a car to not have any repairs at the mileage. I have an '01 that I bought new as well and I have 82K miles and I have only replaced the CV boots, a ball joint, cam sensor and one window regulator. Tires, brakes, etc are all normal wear and tear.

I would shop around for one with lower miles since most prices have fallen a little.

That's true but.....
 

The repair problems started when the car had 20K miles on it. I only listed the ones I paid for after warranty ran out. Some of the running gear issues can definitely be attributed to normal wear and tear. But I can tell you I never ever bought a window regulator for a Toyota vehicle and I've driven the 4 that I owned for over 300K miles. Ditto for the 3 Nissan ZX's I owned.

The poster was asking for advice about buying a car with 90K miles. I think my experience will give some insight on what he might expect.

It is my opinion that BMW sells and markets their cars to people that will not own them after 3 years. Therefore they have a financial incentive to sell parts and provide service revenue to their dealer network for all the cars that pass on to this secondary set of buyers. These buyers are not their direct customers. They want a lesser initial price and figure it costs money to drive a BMW.......they're right!!

Don't get me wrong.........this is for profit biz at its best.......they have made an impression that their cars are some of the best and most sophisticated out there. Their sales numbers prove it. However if you are one that really wants to drive a car for a lot of miles with few problems you should look elsewhere. There is a reason that the Toyota company is now the #1 car company in the world. They got there by building some of the most reliable and long lasting vehicles out there.

Thanks for the replies. It's the info I need. Wow I thought Land Rover's were the only rigs that had a multitude of probs. My greatest fear on this rig is the tranny. Lifetime fluid...I don't buy it....One of the great things about LR(the few that there are) is documentation. Service manuals and the like. Does any of that exist for owners. Can they be bought at the stealership...
Went over the whole car last night and here is what I found:
No engine oil leaks at valve covers or anywhere else. Small leak at output of half shaft right front...looks like oring maybe on half shaft? CV boots livin' on borrowed time. A few pixels out on the display. Would love to pull the valve cover to see the color inside.
Poked around in the glove compartment and found that it was a CPO to a 100k at BMW of Bellevue...would they have maintenance history?
Thanks again for the replies...the wife will be heart broken if I need to take it back to the dealer
One more thing, the drivers side xenon has a slightly different color than the passengers side...like it's not coming up to full brightness...a big deal($$$) or not...

jeff

CV boots should have been replaced by now. That's good that it was CPO--check with the dealer for service records. If there are some lighting issues that is to be expected at 90K miles in some form of fashion. Seems to be in good shape. There are a vast majority of us that have had little issues on the 3.0 (I6 is BMW's bread and butter engine) that aren't going to post on here--it's the ones that have issues that do so keep that in mind. Again, I would shop around some more with lesser miles.

A Toyota is always going to be more reliable. But a Toyota is not a BMW as far as performance and technical engineering. Again, I wouldn't use a 200K mile vehicle as a sample of "normal use".

3.0L motor is a great one
 

The best feature of the car is the motor. Good gas mpg, as
much a 23mpg at 70mph pulling AC. Does about 15/17 around town.

Attached pix are from valve cover gasket replacement at 188K miles.

I have too been concerned about lifetime transmission fluid. I checked
around and the few shops that would do it wanted around $700. It seems
its hard to get it all out anyways. I've sided with BMW on this one and
so far the transmission is working fine at 195K. New transmission is
$4300. The transfer case for the 4wd did die though.

Hey tomgtv! Can that piece circled in green "fall out" of the X5? Sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread - but I am very curious.

To the OP - I bought a '04 X5 with 36K and I have to replace the following:
CV boot - just one
FSR
Aux fan
Power steering fluid cable
And a joint thing (I can't remember)
$2000 at an Indy shop total

no it can't "fall" out..it can crack though...Its secure.