Looks like it'll be an X5 after all.....

[Osprey]

  Now the proud owner of an E53 Le Mans which is being collected next week. I agree with the starting price, it is a little heavy...however, given the favourable part ex price for our ageing Rav4...Geezuz did I say that word here? plus the preparation, warranty back up etc we are happy...very happy.
There is one on Ebay in Caerphilly South Wales which set the standard for us. A little cheaper, HD pics made it look very very nice, but when we got there, it wasn't the best. Lacquer peeling off the wheels, overspray and runs on the front panel, non BM services for last couple (not a huge problem BTW but when you know the garage, not a seller either).

Anyway, we love this one, the wife has named him already and he is going to sit nicely alongside my 4 week old 5 series M Sport plus on the drive 

We are back in the BM fold and looking forward to it

[Osprey]

[quote="CondorX5"]
So pleased that the £1000 s of ££££ of work required to replace all these bits on mine are covered by extended main dealer warranty, I can recommend it fully, its worth paying a bit extra.
[/quote]

Condor, when you say 'extended' warranty, did you take one out and if so how much did it cost above the 12 months we are having?

[iiyama]

[quote="CondorX5"]
Hmmm, the ebay one sounds nice if description is accurate, despite high mileage.  Given age of car, milage is not too bad. Very well specced, its not clear but seems as if the parking heater function of the webasto has been enabled, which is a real boon in cold weather.
Seems as if suspension has been recently sorted as has the satnav - both expensive repairs / replacements even if the satnav is dated, it is nice to have it working as its still functional!
Re your comments about the cassette instead of cd behind the front screen - most of the E53s came specced like this, amazingly, the front loading single cd player instead of the tape is actually quite rare!  Amazing for a car of this age to have a cassette player still, but that is just the way most of them came- front loading cd was an option that most buyers clearly didn't tick! Most people now either fit Intravees and just ignore the cassette or have a pile of vintage cassettes they like listening to!  Its rare to find a front loading CD, there is a CD shuttle in the rear though, or should be. The TV is likely to be analogue and therefore defunct now - digital tuners were only fitted around 2005 onwards and the ad doesn't mention this.

Sounds decently priced, great spec. definitely worth looking at.
[/quote]

Thanks for the info, all very useful. Unfortunately the car had sold, that's at least four now that have been sold from under me! There must be a change in the economy!  )

@ Osprey, nice thread hijack!  Two things of note. First; my Mrs is also driving a RAV at the moment, wonder how common it is to change from that to an X5. Secondly; Him? How can any machine be a Him? ALL machines are without doubt a Her. Expensive, temperamental, fickle, prone to breakdown but generally always look good when detailed properly!

[Osprey]

[quote="iiyama"]
[quote="CondorX5"]

@ Osprey, nice thread hijack!  Two things of note. First; my Mrs is also driving a RAV at the moment, wonder how common it is to change from that to an X5. Secondly; Him? How can any machine be a Him? ALL machines are without doubt a Her. Expensive, temperamental, fickle, prone to breakdown but generally always look good when detailed properly!
[/quote]

I'm not sure what a thread hijack is but I will no doubt find out soon! 
If my X5 were a girl I would name her Olga, she would have a 7 o'clock shadow and a load of Gold medals around her neck from the Olympics  )

The Rav has been an excellent car. Bought it just before the heavy snow of 2012 and it kept us moving when everyone else stopped. Of interest on the forum is the winter wheels & tyre thoughts..... I think ours may be having 18's with Yokohamas on in the winter, just in case  :cold: [img]

[CondorX5]

[quote="Osprey"]
[quote="CondorX5"]
So pleased that the £1000 s of ££££ of work required to replace all these bits on mine are covered by extended main dealer warranty, I can recommend it fully, its worth paying a bit extra.
[/quote]

Condor, when you say 'extended' warranty, did you take one out and if so how much did it cost above the 12 months we are having?
[/quote]

Congrats on your new X, Osprey. Sometimes its worth paying a bit more.  The first year of the BMW AUC warranty is done by BMW itself and there is absolutely nothing it doesn't cover, as I recall, it even covers the battery and the next MOT if any failures. At the end of the first year, you will get an option to carry on with the warranty - it changes to a third party company, used to be Mondial, not sure if thats changed, but all the documentation and administration is still via BMW, except they have to get approval from the warranty company for repairs, generally not a problem and better than most of the shyster type so-called third party warranties out there that do everything they can not to pay anything,ever.  There are things that are not covered, though, like glass, trims, blocked drainage, water ingress/damage etc.  The cost of the ongoing warranty varies depending on your cars age, model,engine size and mileage. You can take it on a monthly rolling basis which is quite nice as you can stop it anytime you want without the same sort of rip off loss from companies like Warranty DIrect who refund very very little of your upfront payment if you cancel.    My 4.8 costs me £100 a month, but also includes BMW Emergency -which you will also have in the first year as well- and they are just streets ahead of the RAC or AA type rubbish service, so I have kept that up as well.

There are a few naysayers and sneering types who pop up on here or elsewhere who have been quite abusive in the past about my pro-stance about the warranty, but it depends on many things as to whats right for you. You could take £100 a month and put it into a car emergency fund and perhaps get lucky and after three years still have £3600 in the bank plus interest and no repairs needed. Or you could need a new gearbox, panoramic sunroof, air suspension, sat nav, bluetooth unit, etc. costing collectively thousands over that time.    The X is a complex vehicle with lots of electronics and lots of toys, as they age they are likely to need more and more maintenance and repairs.  I factored the £100 a month into my ownership of the X and feel I made the right decision.

[CondorX5]

[quote="iiyama"]
[quote="CondorX5"]
Hmmm, the ebay one sounds nice if description is accurate, despite high mileage.  Given age of car, milage is not too bad. Very well specced, its not clear but seems as if the parking heater function of the webasto has been enabled, which is a real boon in cold weather.
Seems as if suspension has been recently sorted as has the satnav - both expensive repairs / replacements even if the satnav is dated, it is nice to have it working as its still functional!
Re your comments about the cassette instead of cd behind the front screen - most of the E53s came specced like this, amazingly, the front loading single cd player instead of the tape is actually quite rare!  Amazing for a car of this age to have a cassette player still, but that is just the way most of them came- front loading cd was an option that most buyers clearly didn't tick! Most people now either fit Intravees and just ignore the cassette or have a pile of vintage cassettes they like listening to!  Its rare to find a front loading CD, there is a CD shuttle in the rear though, or should be. The TV is likely to be analogue and therefore defunct now - digital tuners were only fitted around 2005 onwards and the ad doesn't mention this.

Sounds decently priced, great spec. definitely worth looking at.
[/quote]

Thanks for the info, all very useful. Unfortunately the car had sold, that's at least four now that have been sold from under me! There must be a change in the economy!  )

@ Osprey, nice thread hijack!  Two things of note. First; my Mrs is also driving a RAV at the moment, wonder how common it is to change from that to an X5. Secondly; Him? How can any machine be a Him? ALL machines are without doubt a Her. Expensive, temperamental, fickle, prone to breakdown but generally always look good when detailed properly!
[/quote]

Hmmm, you can go off people quickly when they start with sexist comments.......lol. I can think of several definite male machines - useless, not made to last, comms systems fail easily, take a lot of work to look good etc! 

Its a shame you missed that one, it looked very decent indeed and was inexpensive. I don't think its the economy as much as people wanting relatively inexpensive, large, luxury vehicles for families - newer vehicles well over £20K and well cared for older examples will be snapped up. As you have found, though, there is a lot of knackered rubbish out there, that is par for the course with the age of these cars and multiple owners.  You really need to move fast on a good one, no messing about.

[iiyama]

That would be a gadget, (technically a machine but not good for anything other then play!).

back on topic....

When is the inspection 2 service due on these cars? And is this the "expensive" everything checked service?

[CondorX5]

[quote="iiyama"]
That would be a gadget, (technically a machine but not good for anything other then play!).

back on topic....

When is the inspection 2 service due on these cars? And is this the "expensive" everything checked service?
[/quote]

Servicing is variable depending on the service light indicators - bottom left of the dash when you start the car up - 5 little yellow boxes, when they all go out its time for the next service.  Time related maintenance like brake fluid changes every two years, appear on a little clock next to the service indicators.

Yes, Insp 2 is the expensive one, although even an oil service is hardly cheap!  insp 2 is Around £450 ish from the main dealers.  Basically the sequence goes Insp 1, Oil Service, Inspection 2, Oil Service, Insp 1 etc etc.  i would say approximately 20,000 miles between services appears to be average, but this would depend on your driving style and driving conditions the car has been exposed to. My car has done just over 83000 miles and has had one insp 1, 2 oil services and an insp 2 so far, and two brake fluid changes in my ownership.  A brake fluid change was done by main dealer when I bought it as well.

[iiyama]

Thanks again. May go and check out the Le Mans that I listed before. I think its over priced due to being a private sale, but it has 63k on it and it only 30 miles away. All the others we have short listed are around The Smoke so we may go and look at these tomorrow. There was one listed on Gumtree which is very local but I know that area and its a bit of a tip! Listing for the car is also very basic and doesn't mention any service history at all. Probably best not to even give it the time of day.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

[shadrack]

my le mans was less than that in 2011 and it was only 78k miles, think hes been optomistic

[CondorX5]

As these cars age, finding really good examples is only going to get more and more difficult. Law of supply and demand also comes into play.  Depends entirely on condition and your budget really, cheapest is not always the bargain you hoped for.

[Osprey]

Update on the X5 purchase. Dealer e-mailed me some pictures of a touch up they had done on the bonnet - paint defect size of 50p piece.
I nor the current Mrs Osprey were happy and yesterday after a quick phone call to Cotswold BMW Hereford they agreed the finish was not to standard and are now putting it through the bodyshop to have the bonnet done correctly.
I am posting this as I know some have said it is a very expensive E53 and there are others out there which are cheaper. I agree, but this service from Cotswold has convinced me we made a good move.....and we haven't even picked it up yet! 

[Reusch]

[quote="Osprey"]
Update on the X5 purchase. Dealer e-mailed me some pictures of a touch up they had done on the bonnet - paint defect size of 50p piece.
I nor the current Mrs Osprey were happy and yesterday after a quick phone call to Cotswold BMW Hereford they agreed the finish was not to standard and are now putting it through the bodyshop to have the bonnet done correctly.
I am posting this as I know some have said it is a very expensive E53 and there are others out there which are cheaper. I agree, but this service from Cotswold has convinced me we made a good move.....and we haven't even picked it up yet! 
[/quote]

When all said and done mate it's your hard earned money and if you and the mrs are happy that's all that matters

[shadrack]

[quote="Reusch"]
[quote="Osprey"]
Update on the X5 purchase. Dealer e-mailed me some pictures of a touch up they had done on the bonnet - paint defect size of 50p piece.
I nor the current Mrs Osprey were happy and yesterday after a quick phone call to Cotswold BMW Hereford they agreed the finish was not to standard and are now putting it through the bodyshop to have the bonnet done correctly.
I am posting this as I know some have said it is a very expensive E53 and there are others out there which are cheaper. I agree, but this service from Cotswold has convinced me we made a good move.....and we haven't even picked it up yet! 
[/quote]

When all said and done mate it's your hard earned money and if you and the mrs are happy that's all that matters
[/quote]

+1 on that