Wish me luck...
 

Going to pick up an 07’ 4.8 that has been sitting for a year or so. Battery dead as a brick and she’s got a low rear end. Looking like it it has all the bells and whistles making it kind of like seeing a $5 bill at the bottom of a outhouse and throwing in your wallet to justify the retrieval... Wish me luck :)

How many miles on the clock? Low rear end sounds like airbags and/or the air compressor. 07 48i has been reported having quite a few issues and it may or may cost you less than $5K or more. Keep us updated.

Thanks fo the information. Car has 80k on it. Will update as I pull my hair LOL Going to be a bit of a leap compared to the 00’ E53 4.4 we are going to sell.

Oh OK. I got mine too when it was 80K. So far, no major issues and only following:

- Passenger curb assist mirror did not work (fixed itself after few months)
- Air compressor failed (replaced with airbags)
- Getting license plate light failure warning(still happening off and on)
- Coolant tank leak (replaced)
- Driver side tail light burnt wire caused the light to fail. Replaced and retrofitted LED tails

That's it so far although there are threads here reporting numerous major issues which I haven't experienced yet but quite a few owners have.

Well.... I went over armed with a fresh battery as I was unable to start it yesterday even with using the e53 and jumpers. Installed the battery and bingo she started up but quit 5 seconds later. Did a restart same result. It didn’t stall but rather shut off. I could hear the lock pin for the shifter each time it quit. Hooked up my scanner and ran a body scan found multiple codes in each module. My scanner shows battery voltage and I noticed it was at 11.38V ingnition on and when it would run for the 5 seconds no real change in voltage. I hooked up the jumpers to the e53 and checked voltage on the scanner and got 12.43V e53 running. It would appear no real voltage is getting through the battery to the modules. Faulty battery distribution block? Or? I didn’t bring a volt meter... owner mentioned it would do that even before the battery and just put it up to low fuel. I dumped in a full large jerry can in before moving forward with above. But as mentioned it’s not running out of fuel but rather ignition is getting cut.

Anyone?? Should make for some interesting diagnostic :)

I have bought several non running BMW. Assume anything you can't test is bad (engine, transmission, AC) and price accordingly. $2-3k for something like this. Worst case, it becomes a parts car and you can get some of your money back.

What software are you scanning with? When shopping now, I bring my laptop and scan with ISTA+.

I brought along my Autel 908. I find it a decent scanner. I do have INPA but admittedly I’m not very proficient with it..

Would the security system if activated cause a no start or allow start and instantly die? I would assume no start but have found different security system do react differently.

Should not even start if it is a security issues. Actully I dont think it will crank.

80k mile X5s dont just sit for a year. Owners who offer up, belatedly- 'oh, it was doing something like XYZ before...' seem like trouble.

There are a TON of things I could suggest, but it would just be shots in the dark.

GL