My First BMW

[7builder]

Having been (and still am) a long term Saab owner I have taken the plunge and purchased a 2003 3.0D E53 Sport and become a new member of the BMW family. 

Here is a picture of the beast that has replaced a Jeep Grand Cherokee that felt like a tractor in comparison to the X5. I can't believe how much better the BMW feels to drive and I am very happy so far.

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There are a couple of issues with it and I'm sure there will be questions so I hope you can help with words of wisdom.

All the best,

Paul

[Colin]

Looking good there Paul , wish you luck with it  and health to drive , theres plenty of wise men on here  so ask away .. Colin..

[7builder]

Thanks Colin. I've already started posting in the problems section. I hope the questions aren't too stupid. I wouldn't want to out stay my welcome so soon.

[Sanj]

lovely car - post away. Hope we can help.

[Don Coffey]

Welcome.  Always good to see an original X5, brings back fond memories.

Don

[X5Sport]

  to the Forum.

As Sanj suggests, ask away 

Richard

[andym3]

Hello and welcome 
One thing I will recommend, is get the auto gearbox serviced! These auto boxes benefit from a oil & filter change! They are very expensive to fix if it goes wrong!

[7builder]

[quote="andym3"]
Hello and welcome 
One thing I will recommend, is get the auto gearbox serviced! These auto boxes benefit from a oil & filter change! They are very expensive to fix if it goes wrong!
[/quote]
Thanks for the sound advice Andym3 I will get it sorted.

[Cockneyjanner]

[quote="andym3"]
Hello and welcome 
One thing I will recommend, is get the auto gearbox serviced! These auto boxes benefit from a oil & filter change! They are very expensive to fix if it goes wrong!
[/quote]

Hi,
That's really interesting as I asked the dealer where I'm getting mine from about this and he was adamant that the gearbox is sealed for life. I still had my doubts so asked my local in dependant diesel specialist and he told me the same thing.
The car I'm getting (on Saturday  ) has done 100k miles with a full BMW history. Should I assume that it's never been done, and that it needs doing?

Cheers then!

[andym3]

Cockneyjanner -
They say they are sealed units but that is infact incorrect! I learnt the hard way my first X5 had hit 102k miles & then the gearbox went bang costing me £1600 to have rebuilt. So with my 2nd & current X5 I have had the gearbox serviced within a week of owning them!  )
Any moving part on a car that has oil, in my opinion needs changing just like your engine oil.
Enjoy your X5 at the weekend, is it your first? 

[shadrack]

[quote="andym3"]
Cockneyjanner -
They say they are sealed units but that is infact incorrect! I learnt the hard way my first X5 had hit 102k miles & then the gearbox went bang costing me £1600 to have rebuilt. So with my 2nd & current X5 I have had the gearbox serviced within a week of owning them!  )
Any moving part on a car that has oil, in my opinion needs changing just like your engine oil.
Enjoy your X5 at the weekend, is it your first? 
[/quote]

its just pot luck, if its not broken and all that, some have had the oil changed and the box has gone pop within weeks, others like myself started with a high miler with fbmwsh no history or evidence of a change, piled loads of miles on and not even so mush as a jolt in the gearchange!

we should start a fails log with build date, miles etc and see if there is any type of pattern to the fails, i think also when you think of all the x5s on the road the fail rate must be under 1%

[andym3]

I swear by a gearbox service! If you think your gearbox & gear change is smooth now, you will not believe how much smoother it feels after a service! 

[X5Sport]

[quote="Cockneyjanner"]
That's really interesting as I asked the dealer where I'm getting mine from about this and he was adamant that the gearbox is sealed for life. I still had my doubts so asked my local in dependant diesel specialist and he told me the same thing.
[/quote]

'Sealed for Life' is BMW's take on what is in fact what they consider to be the 'life' of the vehicle. In the case if an X5 that's about 60,000 miles!  Raj just had his done by ZF and even they do a change.  Kinda says a lot about the 'sealed for life' bit.

The debate of getting it done is long and highly opinionated.  The basics are that if you have a worn box then changing the oil might clean the crud out and the box fails.  If your box is fine then changing the oil should be a good thing.  The other side if the debate says leave it alone.  As long as you are aware of what 'might' happen and either have a protective warranty or can afford to repair the box then the choices are evenly balanced.

Richard

[Cockneyjanner]

Many thanks for your replies - what a quandary! Not sure what I will do yet.

It is my first X5, and apart from motorbikes it's my first BMW too. Really looking forward to Saturday morning now. I've had quite a few different cars and a few 4x4's, but nothing like the X5. I was really impressed by the test drive. Just hoping that the car proves to be a good one - reading some of the problems on here could easily lead me to constantly worry about future costs!

[andym3]

The X5 is a bloody good motor & if looked after will give you years of trouble free motoring! Don't think I would own anything else now. So enjoy your X5 and remember we will want pics!