XSeries-forum

And for reference Glasses guide on a 2004 BMW X5 4.4 Sport with certain options

rade-in - excellent:£10,301.00
Trade-in - average:£9,390.00
Trade-in - below average:£8,331.00
Dealer Retail price£15,100.00
Private Sale price:£12,501.00
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Vehicle details
Optional EquipmentStandard EquipmentTechnical data
£ 275.00 Adaptive Headlights
£ 215.00 Aluminium Running Board
£ 385.00 Bluetooth Telephone Preparation
£ 280.00 BMW 6 Disc CD Changer
£ 0.00 BMW Business Radio/Cassette
£ 620.00 Comfort Seats & Electric Steering Column
£ 2,570.00 Communications Pack
£ 2,855.00 Communications Pack with Car Telephone
£ 1,095.00 Electric Glass Sunroof
£ 320.00 Front Seats Heating
£ 295.00 Front Seat Lumbar Support
£ 70.00 Graduated Tinted Screen
£ 1,720.00 On Board Monitor with TV
£ 680.00 TV and Text Function for OBM with Navigation
£ 330.00 Voice Activation

Tombs mentions valid points on back of it - especially re service book issues, (I agree a new one can still raise concerns later). A lot to be said for trust & gut feelings too

........Mine had FBMWSH but shortly after bought by me shortly had a main dealer Insp 2 which later resulted in recommended work being done & with book cost exceeding cost of the Insp 2, this despite me having bought/sold various cars before, viewed carefully & researched heavily before buying.

Tombs - My car not 100% mint but I keep on top of most stuff & like many on here it presents far better than when purchased

[quote=""AW8""]Tombs - My car not 100% mint but I keep on top of most stuff & like many on here it presents far better than when purchased [/quote]
I know where you are coming from and I don't mean to go off topic but since buying mine I've had it serviced, plugs & filters, sorted out the the slight PAS fluid leak, resprayed back and front bumpers, replaced 2 parking sensors, new set of boots on front, am about to fix the drivers side handle carrier, booked into Lepsons for a full refurb on wheels and will repair the Pano roof issue...once there with that lot Meguiars have sent me a load of new products to try out so she will get the treatment and photos will follow. I'm not trying to take anything away from the previous owner cause it was a used family car but I wont be happy until everything is "tip top" and as it should be and I notice from reading your posts you treat the car the same way...look after these "buffalos' of the road and they will look after you!

I understand that if you want to check the mileage, then have the key read by a BMW dealer. Key and speedo mileage should be the same. Was led to believe that even if car was clocked then it would not affect the key. Anyone want to confirm this? I know that the new keys will remember how much fuel the car had in when it was last used....

Tombs - I note &/or agree with all your last post .........Most used examples ( of any daily driver car), will benefit from initial & ongoing attention & tlc.

Ianp - I cannot confirm this.

Can someone with knowedge please clarify - Perhaps Jason could offer advice ????

It is true, the key holds the mileage data. It is also possible to read the mileage from ews/cas with bmw diagnostic tools.

Thanks for the tips AW8 and Tombs (thanks Tom for the glasses guide) – you’ve been a great help

Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out as I expected with this car, fur coat no knickers comes to mind!

Whilst viewing the car (and thanks to all your tips AW8) spotted some issues leading to leaky engine coolant and cv joints. Got the car seen to by a local indy who spotted leaking gearbox, leaking engine oil and coolant, worn subframe bushes, split cv joints and boots as well as a couple of other worrying things. Given all that, the only thing to do was to walk away, just seemed like too much a risk.

Was left quite dejected to be honest because externally the car was lovely, felt lovely to drive, and the roar of the V8 – think I was infatuated! Guess I was lucky enough to have it seen to mechanically.

The one thing (not related to this car itself) that really started to wind me up was people’s reaction (wife, friends etc., including a mechanic!) at the prospect of buying a 4.4i. I quote verbatim “…What?! A 4.4i, are you mad? That’ll cost you the earth on fuel…”, cue my standard response explaining the little economical difference between in the 3.0i and 4.4i etc. I mean surely the costs aren’t that bad and I know, I’ve done my calculations and got good advice from the experts on this forum!

Anyway, after months of searching and being let down by 2 potentials where I was ready to buy, I’m back to searching again. The wife wants to stick with a 3.0d (she seems to have been put off by the reaction of others relating to the running costs of the V8) so that will be my primary search, but will keep a sneaky eye out for any 4.4i’s!

Thanks to all who helped here, till the next time!

IanP – the mechanic I know advised me the same, i.e. the key stores the mileage and if there are any issues with clocking, the dealer will be able to tell by checking the key on their system

Good to have that information about the key confirmed, shows the mileage on my truck is correct. BTW have you thought about a gas converted V8? I can see the running costs of a diesel going up as they get stuck with an 'emissions' tax. And I think the cost of diesel fuel will always be higher than petrol due to high demand from the transport industry. Of course when the government of the day think enough people are driving gas powered vehicles then the tax will rise on that fuel as well.....

[quote=""IanP""]I understand that if you want to check the mileage, then have the key read by a BMW dealer. Key and speedo mileage should be the same. Was led to believe that even if car was clocked then it would not affect the key. Anyone want to confirm this? I know that the new keys will remember how much fuel the car had in when it was last used....[/quote]

it all depends on how much they paid if they wanted to clock the car

the milage,in the dash,keys,ews are easy to do now days and takes a few hours to do

this is what the the clockers do dash,keys,ews

what the can't do is remove the milage from the ecu's and this is where i find the highest milage readings

this is one hell of a pain in the ass to find but have done this a few time for customer so they could get there money back from you know who!!!

they say this is the correct miles and so on, 2-3 onwers from new????

never ever trush a dealer they just want your money as they brought the car for about 2000-3000 (off some poor git) less than the maked price on the windscreen

if they say they give you £1500 for your wife if you bring her in then they have added £1700 to the price before hand

don't ever buy the 1st car you see,look at a good few and never be talked into buying a car

your some times better of buying a x5 that do 100,000 as it had most new parts fitter then then buying a 75,000 to 80,000 thats going to need all the bushes done sooooon!!!

[quote=""saf_b21""]Whilst viewing the car (and thanks to all your tips AW8) spotted some issues leading to leaky engine coolant and cv joints. Got the car seen to by a local indy who spotted leaking gearbox, leaking engine oil and coolant, worn subframe bushes, split cv joints and boots as well as a couple of other worrying things. Given all that, the only thing to do was to walk away, just seemed like too much a risk. [/quote]

Lucky escape -by quick head maths knowing rough costs you could have ended up paying £3k+ to sort with Insp 2.

Maybe share details of the the indy used.......so someone else can consider using them for a buyers inspection - money well spent.


The one thing (not related to this car itself) that really started to wind me up was people’s reaction (wife, friends etc., including a mechanic!) at the prospect of buying a 4.4i. I quote verbatim “…What?! A 4.4i, are you mad? That’ll cost you the earth on fuel…”, cue my standard response explaining the little economical difference between in the 3.0i and 4.4i etc.

3.0i just 0.30 mpg better combined & 4.4i facelift actually 0.30 mpg better on the extra urban cycle....they mistaken

If you said you were buying a 3.0i I doubt anyone would have commented anywhere near as negatively.

[quote=""saf_b21""]The wife wants to stick with a 3.0d (she seems to have been put off by the reaction of others.................[/quote]

Reaction of others who obviously know there cars & E53 X5's I am sure. That said not hearing the words "told you so" may be an incentive. 3.0d genuinely a fine & sought after car, (as said before), but it still has same gearbox, cv joints, cv boots, bushes, suspension, tyres, brakes, etc.....Oh & the turbo. Labour charge for non inspection work same for V8 & 3.0d btw.

I seldom comment re partners comments as this can cause great offence but if your wife wants a car that will be ultra reliable, cheap to & run & maintain then a used X5 may disappoint.

.......Other used car options out there but you can find negative stories & tales of reliaility concerns re most & Yes that includes the press favoured Nissan X-Trail. If I wanted a reliable 4x4 I would buy another RAV4. Others may laugh but they probaly havent owned or driven one - I have. As competent in twisty bends as X5 & maybe a even bit more in certain scenarios.......Far better to drive on road than over rated CRV IMHO.

.......If fear of future bills is a real issue then buy with main dealer warranty & extend same or get rid of car everytime it runs out. Costly but the only way to have best peace of mind against unexpected bills. Of course that comes at a price.


Good Luck



jason - Thanks for sharing the clocking & key data info - Once again I have learned something useful on here