Did someone mention three pedals???

Here's one for sale, not mine.

BMW for Sale | BMW Dealer Chicago | Next Automotive Co | Chicago, IL 60609

"For $XXX I can get another vehicle. Why spend it on this old car?" That is not my opinion. It is the average thought process of owners of all vehicles.

Certainly an opinion. As written I may lose my faith in mankind if many others agree it is factual.

Based on my observations, X5's V8 owners falling to two major camps:
High end car owner mind set, fix everything and keep it looking nice. Investment, image, experience, & performance.
Or casual owner, add electronic entertainment, and complain about maintenance costs.

I stand corrected. Only two camps, major or otherwise, for a very complex and long list of criteria involved in the purchase decision of X5 V8s makes sense.

I think as the E53 ages beyond 10+ years there will be a whole lot fewer ones that are striking good examples. Many of the nice ones are found posting on the forum.

Mr Obvious. That would be true of any vehicle and any number of years---rate of attrition.

In my own high rise office complex there are only 2 that are clean (V8). The other 4 are 6 cyl models that are washed when it rains. One has enough old gym clothes in the back to double as the locker room at the Y. Needless to say it is not washed often, much less detailed.

Are you sure you want to use 6 X5s, none of which are 4.6s and 4 that are not even X8s as even part of your conclusion you have drawn for the entire universe of E53s?

Long Live the V8s! Even the puny 4.6is....

Never a good idea to poke the bear.

How many 4.6s owners are you aware of that fit into your opinion?

I want to play

I am a new member and a new owner of a 2002 X5 4.6is...black on black. 160k miles. The one I bought was not well taken care of by the last owner, but was perhaps by the 1st (think dad gave it son, son sold it to me). It needs a LOT of work inside and out. Good from far, far from good kind of thing. Everything is original though...except the darned sound system/nav. Like someone mentioned in the above thread, these are pretty rare vehicles (less than 3k made?). Seeing how the specs are pretty decent, I'm going to "involve" myself with this car, cross my fingers, and hope to get what I want out of it: A pretty fast, mean looking, rare, luxury(ish), muscle car...with a lot of cargo capacity. I loaded my Ducati 1198 in the back and drove from FL to CA. Ha! I leased a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee last time around, and though I loved it...12k later, I've got nothing to show for it. I remembered that the 328i is what converted me to being a car fan(was a motorcycle fan only, before that). So this may be the right fit. Anyway, I thought this post was as good as any to introduce myself. You'll be seeing more of me in the tranny posts...mine is probably gone ;-)

it was nice today, so I snap some pics of my ride.

http://x546is.weebly.com/uploads/1/7...14518_orig.jpg
http://x546is.weebly.com/uploads/1/7...52090_orig.jpg
http://x546is.weebly.com/uploads/1/7...61012_orig.jpg
http://x546is.weebly.com/uploads/1/7...55727_orig.jpg
http://x546is.weebly.com/uploads/1/7...22271_orig.jpg
http://x546is.weebly.com/uploads/1/7...41142_orig.jpg
http://x546is.weebly.com/uploads/1/7...49408_orig.jpg
http://x546is.weebly.com/uploads/1/7...62008_orig.jpg

Did you ask the previous owner if the timing chain guides have been replaced? If they haven't, with the miles on it they need to be replaced ASAP, don't take that repair lightly.

Not at all. It's a concern, for sure. No noise re:the chain and no pieces in the pan, but it'll have to be done for sure. Unfortunately, I've got to do the tranny first, then in the spring I'll do the front of the engine, or have it done. My work is seasonal, so I've got to "lay low" until then. This was an ego purchase...thought I knew about BMW's because I had owned and put hands on my 328i. Wrong, this is a different beast, and to be honest, I was gonna puke the day after I bought it. Meanwhile, the tinkering and challenge of it all has set in, so it's ON. I was going to ditch it in CA when the transmission started slipping, but instead I had it shipped home/Chicago. There is a math to the stupidity of owning one of these, or any other car(motorcycle) one becomes obsessed with...and it rarely adds up in terms of $. Thankfully there seems to be a lot of smart folks on here and in the end(whenever that is), it'll work out for me...one way or the other. I've gone through a lot more than 5k learning a lesson before. Maybe I should've gone with the CRV:rofl: But why be dull?

did your 4.6is happen to be on craigslist a week or so ago?

Yeah, in La Jolla. Dirty. Everyone wanted to give me exactly 2k for it. Lame. Did you inquire? I wonderbwhat the rims are worth? No matter. So now it's a "project car". Onward and upward. I'm going to need a bigger garage.