Potential e53 owner

[davrostavros]

Hi all,

I'm on the hunt for a replacement car and the x5 seems to tick all the boxes for the family. I was looking at 5 series e39s but the x5 has also caught my eye.

My budget to buy one is relatively right. The economy, insurance costs are fine to deal with but given the type of car that it is I don't want to be hit with any major bills.

I've seen a 2003 in my price range with just 105k on the clock. Seems to be in pretty good condition. It is the 3.0 petrol. I'm assuming that it's the same engine as the e39 5 series and the cooling system like the radiator and expansion tank are weak points but anything else that I should be looking at when I go to see the car?

Any general advice would also be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[graemeX5]

Hi

Have a good read of the E53 buyers guide first, it will help you decide and show you what to look for and  problems. A good car is great and a bad one can be a money pit.

Depending on the car most have autoboxes there manual gearbox was rare. Depending on your driving the 3.0 petrol may be underpowered and possibly not much better on fuel than the bigger 4.4 V8 so don't rule it out the 3.0d is more economical but are more expensive to buy.

The E53 is getting older and the prefacelift cars up to 2003 had. 5 speed box later cars have 6 speed box. Some forum member have had probs with the earlier box, so check on it operation.

Again if fitted with a panoramic sunfoorf check the operation several times, check all the electrics include folding mirrors as circa £300 to fix each side.

Check for any water ingress in footwells front it can mean blocked scuttle panel drains and rear which could be rear door plastic barriers broken, both of which may be hard in this drier weather.

Mechanically is not too bad if fitted with air suspension on the read check the car is sitting level and not sagging on one side or that the pump in the boot is not running all the time.

This is plus the usual car and paperwork checks, look for front wheel wobble when driving or under braking as the tie rods could be worn, check rear tyres carefully as ithey do wear in the inside edge of them. If running less than midway it's likely to be the thermostat will need replacing.

The as said if the air suspension check it if it doesn't have it the rear suspension still has a lot of bushes and its likely could be that at around 100k these can be worn, so you may have to budget for these at some point unless a previous owner has replaced them.

Also if underneath have a good look at the rear brake lines as a couple of forum members have been lucky and found them badly rusted.

If you are looking at the lower end of the market then look for a well maintained car with receipts whether an Indy or for parts fitted, there are a lot of cars out there so take your time and find a good one as they cost £50k for a reason and parts even sechond are pricey.

Good luck with the search.
Graeme