Today I drove it home after buying it. 2001 M54 5MT Oxford green, black leather. Cosmetics aren't great but mechanically everything has been done and it drives nice. 188Kmiles, no smoke/rattles/ticky from smooth and grunty M54. Been driving a 2014 F30 N55 6MT since new and hoooboy is this thing different, like the gearing made for a farm tractor (why am I in third @ 20mph?) but it handles much better than I expected. Two pages of replacement parts installed by seller who's a BMW lunatic.

So far, everything works. So far. Shakedown trip this weekend.

Needs a head unit with Carplay or at least bluetooth. It's got the DSP and CD changer in the back, but I don't own CDs anymore and I'm already tired of radio yapping. Suggestions? Don't care about CD/DVD compatibility. Already looked at https://www.bluebus.dev which would be OK, but the dash screen needs replacement anyway and I'd really like Carplay.

VIN starts with W which means Germany but I thought all E53s were built in Spartanburg. My F30 was built in Munich and both VINs start with WBA. Assorted VIN decoders say it was built in SC, not der vaterland.

New to this board. Hi. I'm also over on Bpost in the F30 forums.

I went with Grom audio (replaced my 12-disc changer with Bluetooth input) but others have good things to say about other things too. I have been more than happy with my Grom. I think it cost around $250-300 total but was plug and play.



Welcome to the club! Hope you know what you got yourself into!! :p

Feel like posting the VIN?

My '05 X5 Vin starts with "5"...US made

Also I believe all E53s were built in the USA.

Welcome! I have an Avin Avant4 and love it. I would recommend that. You'll need the Resler module and IBUS app for DSP and to get all the Board Computer info. You can load all your tunes into a mini flash drive and plug it and you're good to go. I have over 400 CD's ripped to mine. Never at a loss for tunes. I don't use the Nav it has as I find Waze to be more functional. Carplay is available with it as well.

According to this link, WBA X5's are still made in US...and signifies BMW SAV's.
The 11 digit will identify factory, with L being Spartanburg.

https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1759444

It's WBAFA53501LH79265

Wonder how they got away with "W" for US-built cars... the VIN of the 2021 X5 rental I had last month also started with 5.

So how do I transplant a B58 into my E53? :D

Heh. The seller replaced a lot of things and knows his stuff, plus he's not some craigslist rando and is a friend of a co-worker I trust. He's the one who turned me on to it and has know this car for a long time.

AC, locks, cruise, wipers front n back including rain sensor, seat motors, steering wheel adjust and heat, all the electrical things work. So far!

I'm not new to old cars; X5 is replacing a '91 Volvo I totaled a few months ago and I've had a number of old domestics. Done with Volvo, moving on.

Really needs a 6th gear!

This looks (so far) like the best option. Thx! Expensive tho. I installed a BimmerTech box in my F30 to get Carplay and have gotten a little spoiled with that, so this will go on my list.

Replaced the valve cover gasket and plugs to remedy an oily spark plug well on cylinder 1.