Help!! Should I buy or not?
 

I am looking to buy a pre owned 2004 BMW X5 4.4i with 120,000 miles on it for a little under $13k from a local car lot. Despite all the wealth of knowledge online, one may never know the true meaning behind owning a pre owned vehicle such as this unless speaking with someone (or a group of people) that know a thing or two about this particular vehicle, or having owned one themselves.

I've read a lot of negative and positive things online, of course, the negative outweighing the postive but if there are so many problems with this car, why are there so many owners out there??? Should I ask for a 'peace of mind' warranty when I do sign on the dotted line?

Any insight or advice on purchasing this particular vehicle would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance :)

I am not sure if everyone would agree or not, but if I were purchasing used whether from a dealer or private I would insist on a 3rd party inspection ( you pay for it). You will want it done by a good Indy mechanic who knows the car. If the dealer refuses to allow you to have it inspected walk away. There are plenty of other cars out there for purchase. If you do a search or post on the local bmw club boston chapter you'll get some good replies as to who to use. As for the car, with the year and the mileage you can expect the usual in the coming months / weeks and that's why you want the 3rd party opinion. It'll be the best $200 you spend.

^Good advice. OP, use the pre-purchase inspection for negotiation on price.

too many miles for that year and a price...keep looking good luck i got mine 2001 x5 96,000 miles for $12,000 perfect condition.

Pure Curiosity- Denis0331
 

Congrats on the car you have but how did you know it was in perfect condition? Did you have it inspected beforehand, or are you mechanically inclined enough (or a friend) to know what the typical faults would be at the mileage you purchased. Or, like some, did you just get lucky?

Are you mechanically inclined, a lot of folks, myself included try do as much of our own work as we can to save money. These are not like a Japanese suv or even most American trucks where you can just drive them month in month out without problems, some will disagree of course. And please don't say you're buying this for your wife for a daily driver, just my opinion, but no way would I have my wife and kids in a X5 this old, 2009 is as far back as I would go, again others will disagree, just my opinion. If it's for you and you can work on it yourself, you have a good stock of tools, go for it, although I'm not sure about the price, good luck.

+1 on the pre-purchase inspection. I do this for any car I buy and its worth the $200.

I just bought my X5 last Monday so I can't speek to reliability yet but I'm expecting it will be like my old 540 or my current M5.

First thing is it is not as reliable as a Honda or a Toyota. Just accept that.

Second thing, don't expect the repair bill of a $12k car. When it was new I think these cars were around $50k. The parts are really no cheaper and chances are hourly bill rates at your local BMW shop have only gone up since then. if you are used to a Honda or Toyota expect more frequent repairs and double what you wod expect to pay.

Why do we buy them then?
- Awesome to drive (my M5 is and my wife seems to love the X5 so far but she came from a Buick so...)
- Safety.
- Sensors for EVERYTHING (great for knowing what is wrong, you no longer have to go to the mechanic and have to sound out strange noises to try to explain what is going on)
- Online community. This is huge if you want to save some money and do some of the wrenching in your own garage.
- Style this is very subjective but I love the look of my cars.

Im going to have to agree spend the $200 dollors. I have a 2001 X5 and I have had to spend some money here and there on it but always seems to be the little things...it's never been anything major. YET. But with any ca you can be driving and the wheel fall off do to a loose bolt, it's a gamble.....but still theres nothing like hitting 125 to 130 and feel like your on cloud nine......thats why we buy the bimmers....nothing like them

Welcome to the forum

Take some time to find a better one.

There are many cars out there, some will be problem cars other will not.

Allways try to get 1 or 2 owner cars with full BMW service history (with invoices), it doesn't guarantee a trouble free car, but you will know anything that needed done was most likely done correctly.

IMO it better to pay a slight premium say 1000-2500$ extra to get a good one, as opposed to a car with higher mileage / less history as you will likely pay this premium fixing stuff.

Just my 2c worth. & good hunting.

I agree. Sometimes its harder to find one like that but knowing the service history is very important. Single owner is nice too.

When I bought mine it was a one-owner, 33K mile vehicle, and bought from a BMW only dealer. IIRC, the original owner bought it from the same dealer too. I got lucky I guess.

If the suspension hasn't been replaced (shocks, struts, arms, bushings, tie rods, ball joints) and the brakes don't have much wear on them, that stuff could run you $2-5k depending on where you get your parts and who does the work.

The particular parts that have short lives like CCV, tstat housing, FSR, recovery tank, blah blah blah could cost you a grand if they haven't been done and you aren't doing it yourself.

Unless they are warranting it, I would not buy a gen1 X5 without some serious research on maintenance history, or I would discount the price heavily and make a counteroffer because if none of that stuff has been done, you could pay 50% of the ask in maintenance and repair in the next 15k miles.

Particularly check and ask a lot of questions about:

the transmission - gen1 autos died at a high rate
the axleshafts- they should not make clicking noises and the boots should be intact. They are expensive to have replaced, but easy to do yourself.

Drive the car when the owner has not had time to detail the engine. Let it warm up and put a few miles on it. You want to see if oil leaks out of it somewhere. Get under it and put your hand in the metal pan under the engine. If your hand comes back covered in oil...walk away.

Sidebar:
BMWs are not unreliable. They are engineered with parts that are expected to perform at a high level for a short life, and those parts are expected to be replaced beyond a ~65k mile span, or the entire car is expected to be turned into the dealer well before factory warranty runs out so it can be re-certified, warranted and sold again.

If you pay 50k for a new one, you don't have to worry about any of that. Everything is covered, even wear parts.

It is a different business model than Japan or US auto manufacturers use.

All my opinion, of course.

I had to do a lot of work at 68k, and my suspension needs complete replacement, but it is at 144k. It runs fine.

Definitely have an inspection by someone you trust, not someone the seller uses.

Simple things you can check are A/C Heat all power windows, locks etc. basically anywhere there is a button, push it and be sure it works. If the car was dealer maintained locally or wherever it came from, you can supply the VIN number to a dealer and get the service history.

The price seems high too. Maybe offer them 11500 all taxes and fees included. They always try to add on a bunch of BS.

Depending on service performed or not performed its ready for spark plugs, fuel filter, belts, valve cover gaskets, power steering lines, perhaps front axles, and last but not least brake rotors and pads.
Have all of that stuff checked out! (These are all things they wear out on just about every vehicle, btw)

If I were closer, I'd try to help you out. Maybe another member is in your area.

I think its sounds pricey for $13k even if its a V8.

As for reliability, I've had ZERO issues with my 2006. I'm at 107k and plan to run this one for a long time to come.

Hope you find one you like.

I purchased a one owner, full service record FLA delivered/registered '03 4.4 X5 spt pkg with 100k miles last spring for 15k including tax, tag, title fees. At over 140k it has only needed a waterpump, coolant expansion tank and FSR, DIY for about $350.

I wouldn't. Too many miles unless you can plan to spend potentially thousands of dollars on repairs. Try to find an example with less than 80k miles on the clock, confirm the service history AND GET A PPI!!! Always spend a little more on a better car now rather than a cheap one that you'll have to through a lot of money into. Good luck!