Sterling Grey paint w/Black leather

Premium Pkg - 4,100.
Panorama Moonroof, leather, wood trim, adj rear seat back, climate control, computer
Cold Weather Pkg - 750.
heated front seats, headlight washers, ski bag
Rear Climate Pkg - 600.
rear door sun blinds, rear climate control, privacy glass
Heated Steering wheel - 150.

Total suggested retail $47,095


http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...crew/x5new.jpg

134k miles

Nada guide showing clean retail $14,125 - let's minus 3K for head gasket = $11k. Needs tires & front CV boot repair (have replacement axle), would like to get $9,500 or best offer.

not a bad start, with the cv repair and tires though thats a grand off the bat, and we havent tackled the head gasket yet. Honestly you may get more money if you fix the head gasket before selling.

I love my '03 Topaz 5 speed with EHCII and sport package too much at 66k miles, which is rare to have lower mileage on the boards.

Nah, I saw a 4.6 for nearly same price. Too rich for me. Looks good though, good luck whichever way you go though.

or best offer...

If you don't fix it before selling, no one in their right mind will pay you anywhere close to what you are asking. At this point, you can't assume it just needs a head gasket. It could also need a head, or a complete motor. So your worst case repair is about $5,500 or so, and add the tires and CV joint repair. Anyone who buys the car knowing the problems is going to need to subtract that "worst case repair" from an offer price.

"Clean Retail"???? I don't know where you are getting this $14K price, but assuming the car is a 2004, Kelly Blue Book private party price with this mileage is $10,190 in "Excelllent" condition. With no engine problems. So you're going to be lucky to get $4K for this car. Sometimes a mechanic will buy a car for a little more knowing that they don't have to pay themselves labor to fix it, but a good used head or used motor is still not cheap, and either way, even if just a head gasket, it's a very big job, (or a massive job if the motor must come out).

Sorry.

Also, while I think a lot of folks here love the MT cars, I think that reduces marketability in the real world.

It would probably be possible to pass this off to an unsuspecting buyer, but that would be highly unethical given what you already know....maybe even fraudulent. So the thing to do is fix the car, and hope the repairs turn out to be not the worst case.

I love the manual X5s. I've got a 2005 manual and a 2003 automatic. I'd be willing to trade you my 2003 automatic (153,000 miles, works perfectly fine and has the DISA upgrade flap; oil consumption is 1qt/2,000 miles) for your E53 + cash. Then you wouldn't have to worry about having to buy your kid a new car. I'd love to have 2 manuals in my stable.

I'm not kidding. PM me if interested.

FYI clean retail came from nadaguides.com ... I see Kelly is lower, not sure who they use. When I traded my Chrysler the dealer used neither one. I have nothing to hide otherwise I wouldn't be posting... I will confirm tomorrow with a combustion leak test if it's detected in the coolant. I already did a cooling system pressure test and that actually passed.

@Bayerische - thanks for the offer! I need to check things out some more, who knows but do appreciate your consideration. I agree I personally would not want one that was not a 6-speed, they are a blast. Mine is outfitted nicely except for no Navi and non-fancy radio.

Yup! Good luck!

Maybe that NADA guide means retail as far as what a dealer would sell it for off their lot????

Still, even if you want to part with the car, you should fix it first.

You might want to try one of these testers on it:

GDCT16, Tester, Combustion Leak

Snap-on sells mail order, or send me a PM if you want to borrow mine.

Here's what my older version looks like:

http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/q...r/DSC08097.jpg