I want to buy a 2001/02 - 2004 X5 next month and really need some advice please!

[sallyjc]

Hi AW8, thanks for clarifying my folding mirrors question and no, congestion charges are not a factor thank goodness. I will certainly take a look at 3.0L models but am I correct in thinking that this model cannot be converted to run on LPG? As you can tell I am keen on LPG and from what I have read once it is working correctly (teething problems fixed) it is a lot cheaper to run. Certainly cheaper than 31mpg using diesel?

Hi CondorX5, I am not sure I can stretch to a model from a BMW dealer which seem to start at £15k. However the BMW AUC warranty sounds amazing, I therefore have some extra questions!

1. Is the BMW AUC warranty only available if I buy the X5 from a main BMW dealer?
2. Could I perhaps have it if my used X5 has a full BMW service history?
3. If my used X5 has done 70k or 80k miles, can I still have it? Having said that I will most likely buy one with 50k-60k but it is nice to know all the same.

Apologies for these basic questions but I have never had a warranty before and one seems essential with an X5. I guess I have just been lucky with my 2002 318i which has done 90,000 miles and only minor repairs.

[Sumo69]

Hi Sally

As another newbie, I bought a 4.4 facelift on an 05 plate as a BMW Approved Used Car (AUC) 3 months ago - I definitely paid around £2.5k over and above what a private sale would have cost but I got 2 years AUC warranty as part of the deal and the front brake discs/pads as well as the panoramic sunroof were replaced prior to delivery.

Two days after collection the car overheated and the fans and thermostat were replaced under warranty and I have also had the radio amplifier changed last month.

The value of those repairs and the 2 years warranty is around £6k so I am more than happy that I paid a premium, which was worth it for a one owner 05 plate car with 24k mileage! Haven't seen any that low.

Re your questions:
1 You only get the AUC warranty if you buy an AUC car from a BMW dealer.
2 You can get the BMW insured warranty which if you want the full cover starts at around £1k per annum for cars with mileages below 60k - the car must be inspected by a dealer first I believe before you can arrange cover.
3 You can get warranty for cars with mileage up to 100k but the cost is higher and after 100K only engine/transmission cover is available.

Finally there are very few petrol e53 X5's available as AUC's so you may have to be patient and you will certainly not get one for £8k - think £12K+.

Hope that helps.

David

[sallyjc]

Hi David

Thank you for the valuable information. Do you know why there are so few petrol e53 X5's available as AUC's? I just checked online and page after page are diesel only X5's. Another silly question if you don’t mind...is one able to haggle the price with BMW main dealerships or is it a case of “take it or leave it”? I have never bought a car from a main dealer before. And did you get your extra 1 year warranty by haggling? I like the idea of an AUC warranty for the peace of mind it will bring. However if I can't find the BMW AUC I want the BMW insured warranty route sounds good. Would the cover be there same? I am most concerned with the engine blowing up or the gearbox needing to be changed!

Thanks, Sally

[Sumo69]

Sally

Not much demand for big-engined petrol eaters doing 20mpg or less its that simple!

Haggling is part of any purchase from a main dealer though you may have to threaten to walk to see any significant movement - I got £300 cash reduction, 6 months road tax and the 2nd years AUC warranty (which costs the dealer £500 I think).

The insured warranty is 99% the same foe cars with less than 60K - I think batteries and exhaust are not covered but are on AUC but thats it I believe. You can reduce the price of the insured warranty by having a voluntary excess but theres no excess on the AUC. I think some of the interior like nav/comms may not be covered after 60k but you can see all the details on the link from the BMW website.

David

[X5Sport]

The 3.0i was seen as the 'base model' or entry-level to the X5 and there are far fewer of them about than either the 3.0d (the majority sold in the UK) or one of the V8 models.

As Sumo says, the In Car Entertainment systems don't tend to be covered beyond 60k, or at all with some companies; and 'fair wear & tear' items such as brakes, some suspension components and batteries, bulbs etc are often excluded too.

Engine failures are fortunately pretty rare on these beasts, but gearboxes are another matter.  Most will be fine, but a growing proportion of cars are seeing failures.  The rebuild is not too costly in parts, it's the 17 odd hours of labour that adds up, that and BMW GB will only replace not repair.  A remanufactured box fitted by BMW is over £7k!!  And if the Mechatronics Computer (gearbox brain) also goes west (rare) add £3k on top!  A rebuilt box (inc MU) costs about £3.5k all in.  Big difference!

Some aftermarket warranties will not cover any diagnostic work either.  As an example my box failure cost me £60 to BMW to tell me it was ruined and then £50 excess to Warranty Direct to fix it.  Their bill was in the £3.5k mark.  The policy was £500pa for 'Luxury Cover' including the option to use a Main Dealer rather than an Indy specialising in BMW.

When our fuel pump relay went, the diagnostic bill was well over £200 to change a £10 part.

[sallyjc]

Thanks again.

X5Sport, may I ask why you use Warranty Direct and not BMW for your warranty? I am guessing Warranty Direct is cheaper? However do they do everything you want them to? I am supremely confident that you will have done your research before choosing Warranty Direct!

[X5Sport]

I used WD because BMW never offered me an extended warranty on my E53.  The Dealer I bought from was taken over twice and I guess the records disappeared, or got locked out from the new Dealer's access.

I now have an 18 month old X6 which is still under BMW Warranty but I will see what the market looks like nearer the time that it runs out in 2013 to narrow down the field for extending it.  If BMW make a sensible offer then I'll consider it, if not........

One thing to be aware of with WD is that should you choose to cancel a policy part way through, they will charge a £50 and 30% of the premium too.  You may not get as much back as you hoped!  A couple of us got caught by that when selling our cars.  Seems rather excessive for just pushing a 'Cancel' button, even if legal!

[gobiman]

Just to add to the wealth of good advice here, my thoughts would be -
1. Go for a facelift if you can on the simple basis that some of the gremlins will have been engineered out.
2. I would look for a facelift 4.4 - 2004/5. You can often find them as one-owner cars with modest mileage (say 50-70k) which have been well specced and looked after by private owners out in the country (garaged +FSH) and have not been thrashed.Big V8s are not popular for obvious reasons and a good few thousand cheaper than like-for-like diesels. That's what I started looking for to exchange for my 2004 diesel but ended up being seduced by a 4.8iS. In my view they are great value.
3. On the warranty point, BMW would typically charge around £1,200-1,500 a year to renew an AUC warranty.I declined to extend and and so far have had 2 years with no problems so £3k or so into the notional sinking fund. However, these are expensive cars to put right and depending on your circumstances a warranty may be a good idea particularly for major items and for first year for peace of mind.
4. You need to find a good independent BMW specialist to save on any repairs and avoid ludicrous main dealer labour rates.
5. I would see how you go on mpg and mileage once you have a car and then do the maths for an lpg conversion. You can make sure it is done right.
Good luck

[sallyjc]

Thanks, I hope you all don’t mind me firing these questions! It’s just that I am off work this week with some time on my hands. If the right car appears I would like to buy it while I have the time.

1. I was planning to pay the AA £125 for them to inspect the X5 before I buy it. Is this a good investment or are there specialist BMW Inspectors I should be using?

2. Do I need to this upfront inspection? As soon as I buy the X5 I will take out a warranty with either BMW or Warranty Direct. So does the Independent Dealer have a duty of care to fix any problems that might appear just after I buy it? If so once I get it home would I then be covered by the new Warranty? It is not that I want to save £125 on the inspection, I am just worried that by introducing a delay for an inspection it might be sold to somebody else.

3. I will of course contact BMW, but in the meantime does anyone know if the X5 has to have 100% BMW Service History for BMW to sell me one of their Warranties?

Thank you.

[X5Sport]

Sally I'm sure no one minds at all.......well I don't anyway.....

1.  An inspection is a very good idea, though £125 sounds a lot.  I don't think BMW offer a service like this, but as an option you could agree with the Seller that the car goes to a BMW Dealership to have a fault code readout check, and condition check.  Mind you that might cost the same so the AA check is an option.  My slight hesitancy is because a Dealer will have the right diagnostic tools and know the car from experience.  An AA Inspector may never have seen one before, and may not have a full suite of diagnostic tools to read all the car logs.  Equally some of the error messages that come up are a little 'confusing' at best.  Example '3rd gear Clutch speed implausible". Clear as mud innit.. . No I don't know what it means either, but it was one of the news on my E53!

I've got 14 pages of faults caused by the instrument panel on my X6 taking an unannounced 'holiday' a few weeks back - exact fault still unidentified - and some of them mean nothing except to a BMW Tech.

2.  Get a deal with the Seller in writing.  Trade suppliers have to offer something anyway and it might 'flush out a dodgy car' without any money changing hands.  If the car is found to have serious faults then the Trade Seller has to either fix them or give you your money back.  Do not sign anything that offers a 'Sold as Seen' deal!

Warranty Direct have a clause that prevents you claiming within a defined period of days.  Can't help with any of the other warranty offers.

3.  I don't think it does, but it will have to be fully inspected by them so all the servicing records may well be needed including parts lists - if they're going to get picky anyway!  Might be very straightforward depending upon who serviced the car and when.

Richard

[sallyjc]

Very interesting. Hopefully any Trader Seller worth his (or her!) salt will already have this information available (fault code readout check, and condition check).

It is good news that I won’t need a BMW service history to qualify for a BMW warranty.  However what is worrying me is that BMW may want to see “parts lists” dating back 8 years (I may buy a 2004 model). So do lots of people keep their receipts? I must confess that I don’t but I will from now on. So if I am missing evidence that BMW parts have been used, am I back to square one looking for an X5 with full BMW Service History? In any case I have emailed BMW Warranty Dept.  and once I have received a reply with a person’s name I will give them a call and ask this very question.

Thanks for the advice regarding “Get a deal with the Seller in writing”. So if I buy the car on a Monday and shortly afterwards the gearbox fails, the Trade Seller has to repair it? That is great and makes me feel a little more relaxed about the purchase.

Regarding “a clause that prevents you claiming within a defined period of days”, could I run my existing 318i for a few extra weeks before starting to use the X5, this would get me in to the qualifying period? Naughty I know!

[X5Sport]

Sally,

To your first point.....very unlikely unless it's a BMW Dealer.  An average Trader won't have all the different reader versions for each manufacturer of car they sell.  There is quite a range of plugs, sockets, interfaces and languages used.

To your second, I would hope that aDealer would show some pragmatism, but the BMW Warranty comes from an insurer so all bets are off.

To your third 'shortly afterwards' may be within a defined number of days - like 7 or 14.  After that you are most likely on your own with the warranty supplier.  And either of them may choose to give you your money back rather than fix it.

Finally not at all, and I see where you're coming from and it's 100% legit.  You could indeed park up your X5 for two months say and then start using it.  I think they call that 'creative thinking' ) )

[sallyjc]

Thanks.  In that case I won’t rule out a Private Seller in case the perfect X5 comes up on Autotrader. Assuming the worst (that I have bought a shocker), as long as I run my existing car for a further month or so, I should be OK with my new Warranty. I will still have the AA/RAC inspection though.

By the way I emailed an Autotrader Seller earlier re. possible Part Exchange. He asked if I knew the number of previous owners of my 318. Do you know how I could find this out??? Thanks.

[X5Sport]

It's on your V5 Logbook/Registration Document (or whatever it's now called). Just add 1 to include yourself.

[dirtymonkey29]

Previous owners will be on your log book