Considering an E53 x5 3.0d sport auto 2005 model facelift

[celica]

Only just started to think about these, as I had a spare hour the other day I went down to a local trade centre just for a wander.

I came across i think a 2005 model, facelift, sport, auto, nav circa 80k on clock for £12,999 and got me thinking to look into these. However, having looked on Autotrader prices vary some what for this spec i.e. £12,999 - £17k (for the special edition le mans colour ones)!

Questions: for this age and spec:
1- your thoughts on going rate?
2- combined and motorway run mpg? what does that equate to miles to tank and litres to fill up?
3- any major issues to consider at 80-100k models i.e. turbo failure, gearbox or anything costly needs replacing?
4- are they capable of remaps at this age and mileage on engine and gearbox, as i read somewhere about 330d auto box being weak for remaps

5- other thoughts are 530d e61 touring m sport of similar age and mileage, thoughts? Pro's I would say it's a fresher model, iDrive (love or hate it, but with the capabilities it's an improvement over the non existance iDrive in X5, fresher looks, better mpg due to lighter and no awd system). Ultimately a seperate topic, but if i chose the e61 i would ideally like the 535d

[Turks]

First things first, welcome to the forum - glad you have found it.

AW8 has a buyers guide which is found in the E53 forum section which should help you with some of your questions.

1. I have thought for the last few years that these are excellent value for money. Facelift models are the ones to go for if your wallet can stretch that far... 6 speed gearbox, updated X-Drive system and other improvements on the already great E53 pre-facelift. You need to decide, what mileage you would be happy with, what spec you would like to have (toys), finally then think about colours - this way we can better advise you on the value range of the car you are looking for.

2. Combined MPG is a topic which you will see alot of people discuss. Generally ranges between high 20's to mid 30's, depending on your driving style and how you are using the vehicle. A remap could improve this value if you go for an economic remap rather than a performance remap (point 4).

3. As with any car you purchase, the higher the mileage and the older the vehicle, the more chance there is of things going wrong. X5's have been known to blow turbos the same as any of the BMW 3.0d range has.. there is no science behind when this will happen - almost down to luck. Finding one with FBMWSH will help - if only for a goodwill gesture they discount the repair due to the continued custom? On the BMW 3.0d models, depending on age, there is the swirl flap issue... could be a problem but may not be - again one that is down to luck but preventative measures can be taken by removing the swirl flaps. If you could find an example with BMW Warranty then I would strongly advise you to consider that vehicle over another that is a few hundred £ cheaper without the Warranty.

4. They are good for remaps, as mentioned earlier you could have one done for economy (doesn't slow it down, just smooths the delivery), or you could get a performance one - see Jason B & W (member on here). I would advise that you use someone highly recommended so that you are happy that they are mapping the car properly and to within safe tolerances. This should not effect the Auto box in any way, the delivery should be smoother so in theory is less stressful to the gearbox components.

5. E61, great car and you wouldn't be laughed at for buying one of these over the X5. Very capable car with more useable space. Chompers on here also has an E61 so could maybe offer advice if needed. That said, i'm not sure that I would choose a facelift X5 over the first run of the E61's just because as time goes by in any models life, improvements are made and you may have an E61 with niggling issues over an X5 that has had them developed and ironed out.

Hope that helps in some way.

Introduce yourself in the newbies section. List your past cars etc and a bit about yourself...


Turks.

[celica]

thanks

e61 has more useable space? why?
economy map, do they actually work, not sure how i feel about that, and don't do the mileage to justify it unless it improved significantly rather than small percentage.

well currently have a mk5 golf r32 dsg. power is spot on and responsiveness (although not the quickest thing, still pleanty enough), dsg is great, smooth and effortless. before that had a remapped 1.8T TT 225

with growing family requirements of pushchair, bike, cot etc when visiting grandparents the golf isn't really big enough.
also with increase petrol cost, average mpg in the R, thinking of a diesel.
R32 on a long motorway run can see 32-36mpg, combined is circa 26 mpg at a guess. but the 3.0d x5 doesn't really offer much more due to the size, which is a negative point.

also ours is a 2006 model, sub 28k miles, so it's hard to stack up with something with 3 times the amount of miles at a great cost, when the R32 is a brillant car (less the space requirement)

[Chompers]

Hi Celica and welcome. As Turks point out above I do indeed have an e61, details in sign off. I traded in e53 V8 for it and have to say am mighty impressed. In the above post you refer to expanding family and all the associated stuff that goes with them The e61 has a larger boot than the e53 X5 + it has storage under the boot floor as most e6X's have RFT's. useful space when loading the car up. The rear seat also accommodate child seats much better IMO, particularly the booster style. While my e61 is only the 20d with 177bhp, nearly half what the V8 had, in real world driving you would be hard pushed to feeel the differnce. However you certainly see it at the pumps. V8 = £100ish to fill up and gave 400ish miles range with mixed driving. e61 = £65 to fill up and a range of over 600 miles, you do the maths.

I lover the V8 to bits, possibly one of the best cars I have ever owned. I purchsed it over a 3.0d because it was a great buy £3-4k less than equvilant models and at the time petrol was 10-11p less than diesel a litre and didn't do many miles so made sence. 2 years down the line and circumstances have changed, my son started school and the 'X' was coming up for some big bills, tyres,Insp I service and so on, so it made sence to change.

As Turks also pointed out AW8's extensive buyers guide is well worth a read, it was this that got me thinking about the V8 over the 3.0d due to the very small difference in consumption figures. The figures you quote for the R32 seem pretty good and you will do well to get the same with an e53 X5 3.0d going by what others state on here.

I won't bash on to much about the e61 as this is an 'X' forum, however a look at the 5er section over on bmwland.co.uk would be well worth a visit. I also can't help much with your other questions re: major issues. Pricing seems at the rightish point for the mileage a member dbr5 recently looked at similar vehicles to what you discribe so he may have a few pointers. Always a good idea to post any links to cars for sale that you are looking at at as members often pick up on things you may not have noticed.

Good luck with which ever route you go.

[X5Sport]

If it helps from my real world ownership of a 2005 E53 from new til now then here's my two penneth.

I was recently offered £14k to P/Ex for mine with 44k on the clock. Mine has a FBMWSH as I bought it with the 5 year service pack - which @£1200 notes was not worth it as most of the wear and tear items neither wore, nor tore! it' still on the same brake hardware being but one example of an area where the dealer told me I'd use a set of pads and rotors at least every 18 months.

In terms of mpg, I get approx 27 on the commute run between home and Milton Keynes. It's a busy route so you can never get a decent speed up. For motorway use, I usually see around 33mpg and have on one occasion on a long run down the M6 seen 37, but only once!

I had a lot of minor niggles with things like electric mirror issues (both were replaced under warranty), failed starter motor, faulty oil pressure sensor from new (replaced) and a boot lock, but all fixed with no issues. The worst failure was simple bad luck when the torque converter failed at 42k miles and the gearbox lunched itself. I have a Warranty Direct luxury policy and it saved me several thousand pounds. Apart from that I've only changed one set of tyres.

We have decided that we actually don't want to get rid of it so I'm no longer trading it in and SWMBO will take it over once my E71 arrives in November. It drives like a car, handles beautifully and I think looks much better than the current model.

If you can find a good one then go for it. Read the excellent 'Buyers Guide' as has been suggested, and that will tell you most of what you need.