Thanks. That one is nice. Although I would prefer it to have the sport seats over nav, but it's not a deal breaker. I do like the price and there shouldn't be much rust in Florida.

I did just find this one

2003 BMW X5 3.0i Sport | Sacramento, CA | Lions Auto Sales

It is modified and looks to be at a rinkadink dealer. But it is a hell of a lot closer. And I would have to paint the wheels silver and change out the tail lights. The black interior looks nice and the sport seats (what I am really starting to lean towards look nice. Any thoughts? Typically I try to buy stock cars, but wheels and taillights aren't a big deal.

Rear bumper is dinged up pretty bad on that, the tails are horrible and the wheels I'm not sure of make on them but they look to be some kind of reps.

Honestly the Black one in FL looks cleaner, like it wasn't parked in city streets all its life, has the 6th gear which is clutch, and listed for a grand cheaper.

Also flying to Daytona Beach isn't the hardest thing to do, one way to Orlando and 30 mins drive.

Just my opinion, I love my pre-facelift, but if I could do it over again I would get a facelift 6-speed, newer T-case, extra highway gear, and the LCI front end do amount to a lot in my opinion.

For 1k less than the '03 you just posted, that FL black 6-speed you could buy a set of sport seats for if you are really wanting them. For what its worth and what really grinds my gears is that I have sport package but don't have sport seats, sucks!

I can't imagine have black leather seats in Fla, hard to judge that all black interior, but it is presented well. If I lived in WA, I could live with black dakota leather interior. Worth a further look at that mileage and appearance .....

So among the obvious, that one in CA has reported frame/unibody damage on the Autocheck I ran. I am going to go ahead and pass on that.

That black one in Florida does present well. That is just a long journey. Literally one corner to the other. I am going to look into it a bit more. RB you are certainly right on about buying the sport seats separate. It might be tough though to find them in similar condition to those stock ones. But that is a different deal for a different day.

On a side note, I am not entirely sure which body style I prefer. I do like the rounder head light look of the pre facelift, but for whatever reason the face lift version looks wider. Maybe its the grills. But the 6th gear would be nice for the highway as I go to the mountains a lot for snowboarding.

The FL car is non-sport, but I'm sure all you model maven spotters noticed that, too. ;)

Black seats in FL ain't the end of the world, imo; all of our cars have black seats and 2 of the 3 cars spend ~5 months in FL, albeit in 'winter'. There may be more wear on that car's seats if the owner parked it outside frequently, and from its age.

An FL car does not necessarily mean it lived in a pristine situ: huge sun/radiation exposure, heavy morning dews from Nov to April, salt air is ubiquitous along any coast, and a few idiots drive theirs on the beach, catching salt water spray/waves, fwiw...Daytona has that kind of beach.

Looking for a 5 or 6 spd is like looking for that poifect but rare situ: when one ain't looking, they are around. When on the hunt, it is slim pickings. :(

GL, mD

You are absolutely correct. I have spent enough time down around that area to see how the saltyness can destroy things. Thanks for the heads up about driving on the beach. Ill have to get someone to look it over the paint closely if I decide to go for it.

Josh I just found you a 6-speed facelift in Utah with 90k miles

Cars for Sale: 2005 BMW X5 3.0i in Salt Lake City, UT 84107: Sport Utility Details - 374824903 - AutoTrader.com

Sterling Gray 6-speed LCI in Pompton Lakes NJ with 84k miles (30 mins from my house!)

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...78146191&Log=0

The Sterling Gray car has a terrible set of sunshades and tail lamps, but it does have the hugely desirable Piano Black trim!

RB I sent you a PM.

I have found this one. It has sport seats but the bolsters look a bit worn. Maybe they are not yet too far gone, better detailed pictures are needed. And is it just me or does the carpet look rather stained by the rear doors? Vacuuming the carpet like that does wonders when trying to hide worn/stained carpet. I am not a big fan of the interior/trim color combo but for the right price things can be swapped out.

2003 Used BMW X5 3.0i at Premier Auto Haus Serving Downers Grove, IL, IID 12399675


Edit:
I think I was being a little negative about that one. I do like how clean the exterior looks. There are a couple blemishes but doesn't look like too many. Looks like it had PDC which is cool, although I do know how to park, having it in something much bigger than I am used to would probably be nice. I like that it does have the sport package, so black headliner and sport seats. I think I would swap out most of the interior with black stuff, but leave the grey seats and grey door card inserts. Kind of like how that Toledo Blue's Toffee interior was. Might look good, might not, I am just thinking out loud. I am just waiting on an auto check now.

Gotta love the ads: even that AutoHaus car joint calls that 2003 a "6 speed".
I guess it is technically a '6 speed', if one counts reverse as a 'speed'. :D

All the '03s were 5 speeds, IIRC. The pic of the gear shift is also 5 speed.

Nice color and looks nearly identical to our '01, and probably is 'sport' with those style 69 18" wheels.
GL, mD

Isn't it annoying? I have seen many of the LCI's with "wonder full 5-speed transmission" in the add that are clearly 6-speeds. How hard is it to get the facts straight when making an ad for the car? I know they burn through any cars but come on.

Yeah It does have the sport wheels, sport seats, and black headliner (which I think was part of the sport package), but no sport steering wheel. I don't understand the sport package on these cars, unless owners swap out parts a lot. I have seen many combinations of mixed and match sport and non sport stuff on "sport packaged" cars. Like RB was saying, his sport package doesn't have sport seats, which I would imagine would be one of the most important parts of the sport package.