Buying an X5 E53 causing me headaches

[dpbayly]

Trying to pick up an X5 after wanting one now for a few years but they had been out of my price range, it's more of a weekend plaything not my main car and as a result im looking at the bottom of the price ranged X5's they seem to start at £3750 and im looking around £4500 and so far I've looked at 3 and 2 of them I got out my car and within 90 seconds i was back in my car driving home,

The 1st one was a 65 mile trip and was a 4.4 (my first choice engine) the owner stuck the key in the ignition started it up and "bing" trans fail safe to which he said oh I've never had that before to which i responded "thanks but no thanks"

The 2nd was a 3.0 but lpg and on 22's that looked nice so gave it a look drove 87miles got out owner had a jump pack at the ready not a great sign but before he even connected it up i removed the expansion bottle cap to find it covered in oil mayo in the cooling system,

The 3rd one a 70 mile drive another 4.4 i should have walked away straight away but I really tried to see a good side but after the road test which lasted all of 200 yards it all came to an end knocking banging creaking and squeaking....

So the final chance is happening tomorrow It's another 4.4 but LPG'ed so best combination and after talking to the dealer he has inspired confidence so fingers crossed tomorrow at 11am I might be a happy owner of a V8 beast but if its the 4th shed I might have to throw in the towel at least till i boost up my X5 fund by another grand.

Im a mechanic of 13 years and enjoy tinkering and taking an unloved motor and bring it back and exceeding  it's former glory but it needs to have some things going for it.....

[graemeX5]

Hi and welcome

There is good buyers guide on E53 in that section, which will help.

However at the price you are looking at the cars will probably have higher mileage and could have some issues.

You do need to check every button & switch as the cars can cost, but a well maintained one is enjoyable but they do take a lot to seek them out.

Good luck with the search.

[Pope]

Welcome fella.

Good luck for tomorrow. At least as a Mech, you know what to look for.

[Horizon]

I'm my opinion if your looking at only spending that sort of money, you are not going to find a tidy, trouble free one. It's handy you been able to do all the work your self when you find one, but several formal members have had nothing but nightmares with having bought what they thought were bargains.
You are in a much better position than most of us with your knowledge of cars and being in the trade, so I'm not trying to teach my grandmother how to suck eggs.
Good luck with the search

[dpbayly]

Thanks guys,

The one im looking at tomorrow dose sound like a really good find i also contacted the seller within 20 mins of the ad going live so im first to view it which is a good thing if it is a top find as they seem to sell quick if there good which gose without saying at that price.

Ive had 3 BM's with the 4.4 motor a 2001 7 series and 2 5 series a 1996 and a 2001 and i love the engine and know them really well as well as the auto boxes with that in mind one of the first things done will be a gearbox oil change....

Fingers crossed I'll become a proud owner tomorrow and post some pics up.

A little heads up to anyone looking at a 3.0 LPG'ed silver X5 sitting on 22's in Birmingham as when i pointed out the emulsified oil in the cooling system he replied "oh i had'nt even noticed that if i had i would have cleaned it all out" so it probably will be being sold to an unsuspecting buyer who may open up the expansion bottle and be unaware of any problems as i get the impression he will just clear the emulsified oil out the bottle with out sorting the fault..... might be wrong (but think im not) so beware.

[Nat]

Good luck with that. I've had 2 E53's and each time they took some searching out. They are great cars and everyone wants one, but few can really aford to run them the way they should be run. Thus many people on a ford fiesta budget buy one , and then realize that buying it was the cheap part, now you have to run it and they cant aford it. When things go wrong that doesn't stop the car running they leave it broken . Also many if not most have had kids in the back that have kicked the shit out of everything in sight and that which has not been kicked to death or broken  is covered in spat out sweets/gob/crisps/juice/etc etc. Fuel is not the bigest expense either. Personally I hate LPG conversions, the fitting cost doesn't give you the savings and it always makes me question the quality of the work, so I wont touch one. Also again it points at the car being owned by a tight arse.  Unfortunately you are looking at the very bottom end of the market. With a new  gearbox from BMW costing more than what you are looking to spend, I agree with the last post, you are looking at cars well past their sell by date. Even doing the work yourself, the cost of some parts are on the high side. Don't get me wrong, I really like the E53, but you need a fat wallet and the motivation / know how  to fix things as they go wrong. I have gone on several occasions to look at E53's for mates and I have never found a car with everything working, ever. Even silly bits like parking sensors are £80 or there abouts.
Thus I wish you luck, they are cracking cars and a good one is rewarding, but I think you will be better off buying one of someone on here and I know we are not all fortunate enough to earn X5 money, but try save up a bit more, it really will be worth it in the long run.
I do hope you find one,

Good luck

regards,

Nat.

[dpbayly]

I am very luck as im a key holder to the garage i work at and have use of the workshop and equipment any time outside working hours and I also have the use of the spray shop too so i normally go for the mechanically sound but untidy motors knowing that i normally have them looking great again within weeks of acquiring that said i usually find every single little mechanical and electrical fault to screw the price right down with normally great success.

So i'll be on my game tomorrow crawling all over the motor and also plugging in the Bosch diagnostics scanning all the systems obviously as long as the seller has no objections and if they do it raises my suspicions (not that anyone has ever objected)

[Raj]

Good luck with tomorrow. As a lot have said you are looking at some if the bottom end ones so very rare to find clean decent examples for that sort of money, however they are out there.

Agree with a lot of the comments above and it's great you are a mechanic so not what to look for.

Only thing I don't agree with is Nat's comment about people who LPG are tight arses as I'm pretty sure I've spent more doing my X up than than most pay for a decent X example. My conversion is excellent and a real testament of meticulous thought out workmanship and will simply allow me to enjoy my 4.8 even more than I already do without killing my wallet.

[dpbayly]

[quote="Nat"]
Good luck with that. I've had 2 E53's and each time they took some searching out. They are great cars and everyone wants one, but few can really aford to run them the way they should be run. Thus many people on a ford fiesta budget buy one , and then realize that buying it was the cheap part, now you have to run it and they cant aford it. When things go wrong that doesn't stop the car running they leave it broken . Also many if not most have had kids in the back that have kicked the shit out of everything in sight and that which has not been kicked to death or broken  is covered in spat out sweets/gob/crisps/juice/etc etc. Fuel is not the bigest expense either. Personally I hate LPG conversions, the fitting cost doesn't give you the savings and it always makes me question the quality of the work, so I wont touch one. Also again it points at the car being owned by a tight arse.  Unfortunately you are looking at the very bottom end of the market. With a new  gearbox from BMW costing more than what you are looking to spend, I agree with the last post, you are looking at cars well past their sell by date. Even doing the work yourself, the cost of some parts are on the high side. Don't get me wrong, I really like the E53, but you need a fat wallet and the motivation / know how  to fix things as they go wrong. I have gone on several occasions to look at E53's for mates and I have never found a car with everything working, ever. Even silly bits like parking sensors are £80 or there abouts.
Thus I wish you luck, they are cracking cars and a good one is rewarding, but I think you will be better off buying one of someone on here and I know we are not all fortunate enough to earn X5 money, but try save up a bit more, it really will be worth it in the long run.
I do hope you find one,

Good luck

regards,

Nat.
[/quote]

I understand what your saying but i see it as a challenge to pick up a slightly neglected motor (not completely knackered) and breathing new life back into it,

My latest project my now every day motor a 3.0V6 A4 B6 picked it up with a couple of little mechanical faults and a few cosmetic faults and dropped nearly 4k in 3 months into it and turned it from this:





Into this:









The X5 wont be getting such a big transformation just made mechanically sound then maybe some nice wheels face lift lights bumper lowers painted and and bit of an exhaust mod....

My experience of an LPG kit BRC on an ML55 was great and made the pressing of the loud peddle a complete pleasure knowing it's costing a fraction of what it would be.

[X5Sport]

You're realistically going to have to come up to at least £7k.  Remember if the gearbox goes bang, that's a £2k fix on it's own.  An unloved as you put it example could be a VERY expensive money pit.  Nothing on these cars is cheap - same as the Audi - but the Audi is probably more reliable than an early X5.

Not trying to put you off, but the older examples of the cars are nearly 14 years old and (to me) that's stay away country unless you've a friendly scrappy and you're a whizz at electronics......

If you do find a good, fully fit and healthy one then grab it!! 

Richard

PS: 

[huck]

Welcome and good luck!
I sense this is either going to be a fairy tale or a horror story in the making. Hoping for the former!

[Rusty]

Hi and welcome to the mad house.

Nice job on the A4

Good luck with the search and I hope tomorrow goes well for you mate.


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[shadrack]

I think it should be quite possible to find one on that budget, if anything the early cars are now very overpriced compared to others of the same age, I would try and find a mechanically sound with bodywork issues, if you have access to a spray shop what about a cat c\d damaged one? That way your budged would probably get a far newer lower milage example and reasonable to fix using salvage parts?

I have to disagree slightly in that parts can be bought very cheaply (exept gearboxes) maybe you have the know to rebuild one, all bushes etc can be bought on there own and pressed in which makes daft bits like lower arms £10 in staed of £100 and obviously you don't have labour charges!

I also agree with raj in that lpg is just a petrol that you can use more

[Imy]

Good luck with the search. I do have to agree with others in that for the budget you have set I wouldnt hold any high hopes. There maybe one out there but by the sounds of it your patience also appears to be waining.

And nothing wrong with LPG, just means the money I save i can spend on doing little mods here and there or put it towards repair funds. Nothing to do with being a tight arse. I think if anyone was given the chance to save money sensibly they would take it.

I do like the look of your A4. Nice Job!

[Greydog]

Welcome

Keep looking they are out there I found my 4.4 LPG last year, my first BMW let alone X5 I think I have a bargain.
Good luck with the hunt.