Newbie Looking For an X5

n1k85 · Post by **n1k85** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 3:38 pm

Hi Guys,

I'm Nick from Wolverhampton.

Not new to the BM scene having had a 3.0 Z4 which I loved:

Followed by my current car - e46 320CD

And before them both I owned this little beastie:

I reluctantly sold the VX220 to buy the Z4 when my girlfriend (at the time) decided the VX220 was too "cold and a deathtrap". I then bought the Z4 which I also loved and then reluctantly had to sell again when my next girlfriend got pregnant. I am now again reluctantly selling my 3 series as we now have a one year old baby boy and a 4 month old Golden Retriever puppy... Each time something big happens it end's up with me selling my car.... My current car does 50+ MPG (Diesel) so as much as i'm looking forward to a new car, I'm not looking forward to the MPG of an X5

Anyway, that's a little about me. Hopefully I'll be behind the wheel of an X5 by early next year (if not sooner) and looking forward to being a member on the forum

Im also looking at Diesel only X5s (2002/2004/2004) so if anyone has any useful advice or suggestions to look out for, i'd be very grateful. I understand the Auto boxes can be a big/expensive problem on the older X5s, so I've been looking at a few Manuals (although they are few and far between). Can anyone give me a little more info/experiences of the Auto gearbox common problems?

Thanks all

n1k85 · Post by **n1k85** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 3:47 pm

Thought i'd ad a few more pics for good measure!

Here's our Retriever Miley a few weeks back (when she actually fit in my car):

And a few pics of the very first X5 I ever saw close up....

(I was walking through a field near my house and came across it, other than the damage I remember thinking "ooohh I like those rims"

. I have no idea who's it is/was or what happened, but It looked pretty nice inside and made me want one!)

pvr · Post by **pvr** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:25 pm

Looks a bit like an X6 like that

Welcome aboard, where you on the Z4 forum by any chance? I also had a 2004 3.0 and now still have the Z4M as well as the X5.

MPG - on my diesel I just got 38 mpg on my recent trip to Southampton, so it is not all bad when it comes to MPG ...

x555 · Post by **x555** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:58 pm

Welcome along

great first post btw

Sanj · Post by **Sanj** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 6:09 pm

Welcome Nick,

Take it you've read AW8's Buyers Guide?

Go as new as you can afford and the facelift diesel benefits from the 6-speed and uprated power. You got a list of extras you want?

Lee4.8is · Post by **Lee4.8is** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 7:19 pm

Hello & welcome,as your picture shows they dont handle very well so coming from a vx220 & z4 you will be in for a shock!!

Good luck with your search & lovely retriever you have,we have two labradors one six month & one 5 years old so the split tailgate comes in handy for journeys & getting the dogs in & out.

n1k85 · Post by **n1k85** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 7:52 pm

Thanks for the welcome,

svr - Yeah I remember you from the Z4 forum!, you had the same avatar as on here IIRC

sanj - Thanks mate, I haven't read it actually but i'll dig it out now and have a read!

My last two BM's both had full leather, factory sat nav, heated seats & Bluetooth. If possible i'd like to get an X5 with similar extras, although i'm no stranger to a retro-fit kit

I would ideally like to get the facelift (which is 2004 onwards right?) but I don't have a huge amount of cash to put on top of the sale from my current BM. I have found a few X5's at local-ish used dealers who've mentioned the possibility of a straight swap for mine, but mine is a 2004 Sport , fully loaded with 104k, but the X5s i'm talking about were all 2001/2002 with much higher mileage than mine. I'm not ruling them out but the gearbox issues on a 110+ miler worry me...

x555 - Thanks mate

Lee - Cheers, yeah I did actually manage to drive one a few weeks back, it was a 3.0d and certainly quicker than I expected, but it was an SE. And yeah the handling is a little different to my last few cars

Driving with the dog at the moment is a nightmare, can't wait to be able to chuck her in the back!

Sanj · Post by **Sanj** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:39 pm

[quote=""n1k85""]sanj - Thanks mate, I haven't read it actually but i'll dig it out now and have a read!

My last two BM's both had full leather, factory sat nav, heated seats & Bluetooth. If possible i'd like to get an X5 with similar extras, although i'm no stranger to a retro-fit kit

I would ideally like to get the facelift (which is 2004 onwards right?) but I don't have a huge amount of cash to put on top of the sale from my current BM. I have found a few X5's at local-ish used dealers who've mentioned the possibility of a straight swap for mine, but mine is a 2004 Sport , fully loaded with 104k, but the X5s i'm talking about were all 2001/2002 with much higher mileage than mine. I'm not ruling them out but the gearbox issues on a 110+ miler worry me...[/quote]

Go to a dealer and you're gonna get fleeced...

If you can, sell yours privately and then look to buy from a dealer /privately to maximise your return. More agro but worth it in my book.

Leather, sat nav, bluetooth should be possible as almost standard 'extras' (especially with the Sport model). Right to worry about the higher mileage ones unless good history/box replaced or fixed.

Buyers Guide link below:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=25

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:41 pm

Hi and Welcome

I had a 2005 E53 3.0d Sport with the 6sp Auto and suffered catastrophic failure in the torque converter sprag clutch which caused consequential downstream damage to the gearbox then the hydraulic pressure failed. No warning, no warning lights, a sudden inability to change gears and only 42k on the clock at the time (Dec 2009). No particular known cause for that failure mode, but the repairer had a lot of BMWs with the 5 & 6 speed autos all requiring repair, along with various other manufacturers cars that use the same boxes. It cost just over Â£3k to fix which included a full strip and rebuild with a master repair kit plus a new 'mechatronics module' (gearbox computer). The labour charge was 17.5 hours. BMW GB didn't want to know. Warranty Direct paid for all of it except the Â£60 diagnostic fee and Â£50 policy excess. The mech unit is Â£1200 on its own and is a rare failure, so nearer Â£2k would be normal should a full rebuild be needed. Like you, I would rather have had a manual but the Dealers simply refused to play without excessive deposits at the point of ordering.

Although there are a lot of failures reported on the web, it is fair to say there are thousands of cars out there which never have any issues at all. A failure at 42k was just very bad luck and I don't drive any car hard anyway so it was just one of those things. I was more peeved at BMW's attitude than anything else, but I now know that's not unusual.

It was a great car, fully loaded and sold in September to help pay for our new Mini. I drive the X6 40d now and that is a beast! The X5 was by far the best handling 4x4 at the time and I used to get around 35-37 mpg on a motorway, 25-27 mpg around town. If you can get a 2004+ model you will be better off. Leather, Bluetooth and Nav should not be difficult to find, a manual may be a bit of a challenge.

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 9:28 pm

Welcome along.

I hope you're looking for a slightly better condition X to the one you pictured

and good luck with the search. I think your biggest hurdle will be that winter is coming and after the last couple of years 4x4's are being bought by everyone so will be pushing prices up and availability down. But saying that I hope you get one soon, for the dogs sake if nothing else.

Sent from my iPod device using Tapatalk

n1k85 · Post by **n1k85** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:06 am

Thanks Guys,

I had a good read of the buyers guide!

Been scouring the net and found a few little beauties that would fit the bill (allbeit pre-facelift and 100k+)

One being this 2003 Black 3.0D: http://www.mallyvillecarsales.co.uk/use ... 8416648196

I particularly like the 1 owner from new (and it's local), although I'm really not a fan on the wood trim and would prefer black interior. I wonder how clean that interior would be after my muddy family and dog hop in the car after a long walk... But beggers can't be choosers I guess! And I can always swap out the dash trims. any thoughts on this one guys?

Something i have noticed is that loads (im talking 20+) of adverts I have read for X5s refer to them as 'Jeeps'

"this Jeep is in great condition", "this Jeep is ideal for winter" etc....

I think my budget at the moment won't let me get anything newer than a 2003 (or a very high mileage/ CAT D 2004 which there are plenty of). It all depends on what I get for my car, but on the upside, my particular model of 3 series diesel is quite popular at the moment and is worth a considerable amount more than its Petrol counterpart

AW8 · Post by **AW8** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:22 pm

Be careful to check history/mileage/mot's on any 1 owner car offered by a trader. Not saying for one minute the mileage is wrong but many dismiss milegage checks or issues with same if it shows over 100k at point of sale.

n1k85 · Post by **n1k85** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 7:37 pm

UPDATE:

I went to see this today (since it was only half a mile from my house):

2002 3.0D SE 115k

I was particularly interested in the Manual gearbox. I took it for a spin and actually thought it was a pretty good drive. I was a little unsure about the Manual box to begin with but now I've driven one I actually really liked it, and I would feel a lot better not having that Â£2k+ Auto gearbox issue that could drop any moment.

The problem is, I don't like the steering wheel, the wood trim, the small wheels, the lack of NAV, the lack other other extras (xenons/sport extras/bluetooth etc)

I could have more or less straight swapped it for my 2004 e46 320CD but as I said above, mine is loaded with extras and has less miles. I actually even considered it, but the X5 also had a few problems:

The Stereo display has had it:

The dash had no display whatsoever, the guy told me it was a case of replacing a bulb and an easy fix?:

The above faults, along with the fact I'd want to start changing stuff immediately (wheels/steering wheel/stereo) made me walk away

I'll hopefully get my current car in the Trader over the next week and hopefully get pick up a decent Manual 3.0D in the near future. I'm just a little worried that there are only 12 manual X5's on Autotrader at the moment.... It will be just my luck that I buy an Auto and the box goes after 100 miles.

AW8 · Post by **AW8** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:37 pm

Have never seen a total dash failure.

You dont just change bulbs they need sending away for repair but a totall failure may mean other issues than mere pixelation.

Sound like you need/want a 3.0d Sport manual to sort SE alloys and steering wheel issues that concern you.

shadrack · Post by **shadrack** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:48 pm

id stay away from that, total failure? more like power it up and it has a host of waring messages e.g self level suspension inact? i had that when i bort my first x5 and was nieve, got it working and it had been done to hide error message, luckily it was a Â£50 sensor but it could be hiding anything!!!!

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