Thinking and need some advice..
 

There are currently 2 x5s that I'm thinking about buying. The first is a 2006 4.4 with sport, premium, and cold weather packages (according to the owner) and fully optioned. It is a 3 owner car and has 102,000 miles on it. Apparently the "first owner put most of the miles on it". It is in pristine shape with black leather interior and no blemishes that I can see in the myriad of pictures sent to me. (Its 8 hours away so I can't pop in to see it). He will let it go for $16000.

The next is an 05 4.8 with roughly about the same miles on it and it is black on black. He will take $18000 for it. He bought it at auction (he's a wholesaler) and reportedly was a 1 owner car when he bought it from a dealer auction for his wife.

I will look into maintenance records tomorrow when the dealers open and will have a PPI done by an indy if I decide to go with one. I am trepidatious with these cars for 2 reasons; 1 being the most obvious is that they are high mileage cars and I don't know either of their history. 2, I do most of the work on all of my cars and have had Porsche, Mercedes, and many VW's but have never had a BMW.
My questions:
Armed with the knowledge that I have provided in this post, are either of these cars worth the price? Which one seems like a better deal (if at all)?
With regular maintenance and the wherewithal to wrench on my own cars, can I reasonably expect these to last another 50 or 60k miles without some catastrophic problem? Before you say it, I know that some cars are better than others and that some people just get unlucky but I am asking about the general nature of these particular x5's.
Thanks for any constructive responses.
Adam

Let's see.

I got my car , 2006 4.8is, 77k miles from Florida. Out of BMW dealer, my but, who is an exporter negotiated everythin on my behalf. He made the car go for a PPI. Then made it go to Manheim auction for post sale inspection, I paid for the one where they put the car under UV light, that gave me some more protection just in case. Then I paid for transport from Florida to NYC. I paid a total of $26,011, after all that, including taxes and registration. So figure out from that if your prices are good.

I paid $500 for my dealer. But he worked his ass off, negotiating and getting stuff taken care of.
$200 PPI
$200 post sale inspection.
$350 transport
I don't know all other fees individually.

Ok my preference would be to always get the newest year I can. Then look at service history. Don't listen to 90% of shit a sales person tells you. Go there and be ready. Bring pros to inspect car.

This is a BMW, shit is going to fail. So like most ther German cars. If you can wrench, you are ahead of the game.

Thanks for the response. Seeing your price definately makes me feel good about the prices but yours has lower mileage and we are in different areas. The good thing about the 4.8 besides the fact that it is a 4.8 is that it is in my area so i dont have to buy blind. That priviledge will cost me a grand. The other one is so far away that i will be paying an extra 500 to 600 extra to get transported. The obvious advantage being that it is an 06. But seeing that these guys are so close in years and mileage should i spring for the more powerful 4.8? Given full maintenance records of course and a satisfactory PPI. Or get the newer and less powerful 4.4 for a savings of around $1000? Are there many differences between the 05 and 06 model years?? Is there a huge difference between the 4.4 and 4.8? I havent driven a 4.8 but have driven some 4.4s and they drive entirely better than the porsche cayennes i have tested save for the twin turbo, oh my. Im also concerned about resale value of a 10 year old x5 with 160000 miles on it in the future. Id think the 4.8 may be easier to sell in the future.

I am also quite confident that the 4.8is will sell better and faster if it's in great shape at the time of sale. Power wise the 4.8 is noticeably quicker.

4.8 will also be more loaded.

I don't know what to suggest in your case. Because in my situation, I knew I wanted the 4.8is, only in black, only 06, and under 80k miles. Highway preferred.

I still believe hat getting the newest car will be better. Not sure if I would get the 4.4 over the 4.8 though. 4.8 is a complete package in my eyes.

Well, the owner of the 2006 just made my decision a lot easier. We agreed on a 15k price tag so Im going to pick it up this week. 3 thousand dollars less and a year newer than the 05 4.8. Thanks for your replies my friend. Ill get to become acclimated to it with an 8 hour drive!

i am an owner of a 06 4.8. In my opinion the 4.8 is in a class of its own. The power and the ride alone can not even be compared to a 4.4, as for looks the 4.8 is a very distinct look that is much different than any 4.4 or less. The wheels alone set it apart as does the body kit. That being said the next point of interest is how rare they are a 4.8 is far less common thus it will hold its value and will get you much more attention around town which i assume would be a bonus. Drive a 4.8 ,listen to that engine feel the power and it will al make sense, my opinion its a no brainer 4.8 all the way.

my 2 cents

Well I checked both carfaxes and the one for the 06 is alarming to say the least. The only record for it is when it was purchased. No maintenance, no registration, nothing. The 05 on the other hand has a carfax the size of a small book. It has been serviced at a BMW dealer since new and boy has it been serviced. It looks like I may just have to spend the extra money to try and avoid an expensive headache in the future.

The 4.4i seems expensive. do a search on cars.com for 2004-2006 4.4i with less than 60k. You can find something with way less miles for close to the money you want to spend. take your time and be ready to fly to some obscure city and drive home your E53! Good luck.

I'm going to go look at the 4.8 tomorrow. Even at 18 it looks like a good deal. It has been maintained we'll and is equally as nice. Also I'm noticing the 4.8 is a lot more rare and thus will be easier to sell in the future.

Between you and me. When I was looking for the 4.8. I ran every carfax. Quite a few don't show the service records. I have verified this with actually getting service records from BMW itself. I know most people don't have access to this, but carfax is not the end result.

If the 4.8 is really nicely maintained, go for it. You can't beat full history. Plus it will sell at a much higher price than the 4.4.