Considering X5 purchase - help appreciated
 

Howdy. I am considering replacing my '03 Nissan Pathfinder and buying an X5. I am plenty familiar with BMWs. I've owned an E36, an E46, and I currently own an E38 ('98 740iL) and E39 ('03 ///M5). I'm looking to add an E53 to the mix but I'm not that familiar with them. I've read some of the FAQs and sticky posts and the like but was hoping I could get some feedback from you all.

I'm interested in this Toledo Blue '05 with 70K miles (Used 2005 BMW X5 4.4i For Sale | Baltimore Owings Mills, Towson, Bel Air, MD)

In spite of the price on the page, the car is stickered for $26,990. It's pretty loaded but has some minor cosmetic issues. The worst, for me, are the front seats are worn and discolored. Mostly on the thigh bolsters. The dealer is re-dying them tonight in hopes of convincing me to buy it. Also, all four interior door handles (the fixed part) are peeling. They say they can be painted or colored. Very minor door dings on driver's side rear door that I could probably live with. Other annoyance is a chunk of passenger side front bumper grill mesh (#9 pictured here: RealOEM.com BMW E53 X5 4.4i Front bumper trim panel (from 10/03)) is missing. Supposedly the previous owner had a radar detector or laser jammer installed there. It looks like an oval was cut out.

I would appreciate anyone's feedback on this potential purchase - good, bad, or indifferent.

TIA,
Greg

January a year ago, I paid $24,500 for a 2004 X5 4.4i with premium, cold, and most other options except sport and panoramic roof. It had 30k on it, and had another 18 months of CPO protection, or 100k. Silver over black. It had one spot on the rear seat where the leather had been damaged (superglue on it or something). There was one small door ding on the passenger side. Rest of the car was mint. I flew up and drove it home. Purchased from Habberstad BMW in NY, and it was a smooth transaction. I'd recommend them.

For my money, that's waaaaayyyy too many miles, for that price. Habberstad only has one 4.4i in right now, at $29k, but a lot less miles. It appears prices have risen since I last checked values. Odd.

Kind of my thoughts. I like the car. It drives real well; smooth and strong. I guess I should add that, while not CPO'ed by this dealer, it supposedly has CPO coverage through March of 2011 or, of course, 100K miles.

They don't seem willing to move on the price even after I walked out on Saturday...

Thanks for the feedback. Anyone else?

Unfortunately my feedback would be extremely bad. I have not owned BMW's previously so this is my first one . . . E53 X5. This is by far the worst vehicle I have owned in regards to reliability. This vehicle is loaded with poorly designed and poorly built "prone to failure" parts (even compared to other BMWs) and the replacement parts are not cheap by any means . . . not to mention the labor. Also, BMW has failed to redisigning several of the parts I am referreing to. So when you purchase a part (that has been known to fail) to replace the prematurely failed part, it is the same exact part that is destined to fail again. I only have 65K miles and I have had a rediculous number of parts failures. The funny thing is when I search this forum for issues I have with my X, I learn that it has happened to several E53 X5 owners besides myself. Enough for it to be considered a quality problem in my opinion.

There are some X5 owners who love their X despite all the reliability issues and also some diehard BMW fans who will say their X5 has always run great. But in the same sentence they will advise you to not to purchase unless you have with extended warranty . . . and for good reason. I would not even consider the purchase unless you are getting the best warranty you can get your hands on. Not doing so is like writing a blank check.

I can't wait to get rid of mine. But don't take my word for it . . . all you have to do is spend a few hours searching posts on this site and that should do it. Just do a search for the words "prone to failure" and you should get more than enough reading material. Whatever you decide, I wish you nothing but the best of luck!

My x5 (2006 3.0) is fabulous. No major issues at all. approaching 60k and still no major repairs.

u could get a better car for that price. may be even a cpo.

BTW, just rolled the window down and heard that oh so familiar pop and you guessed it . . . window won't roll back up again. Broke my 5th window actuator. Now I will purchase and install another poorly made window actuator that will break again in the near future. Isn't that the definition of insanity? What a POS from bumper to bumper!

OP, keep searching, you'll find a better deal.

Still searching. Thanks for all the feedback. It reinforced what I was feeling.

Good idea. Way to much money for the miles and condition. It seems as if this one has had a rough life and not cared for as well. Who knows how the previous owners drove it? We picked up a fully loaded, one owner X5 4.4 with 51k miles and all the service records last November for $22k. It was an early '04 so it doesn't have the pano roof (not an issue) but was was a great buy. The owner took excellent care of it and it really showed. Most X's have all the general BMW problems. Some people complain and some people just go with the flow, they just fix the problem and move on and enjoy their X. Good Luck with your search.