New buyer E53.

[dubwud]

[quote="chrisn7"]
Just spent 3 weeks in France in the Alps with our X5, and I can tell you that it is most definitely not a hot hatch! Small French hatches soon leave you trailing on the hairpins, when the weight of the beast is really felt.

To the OP - I wouldn't get too hung up about TV and Nav - I have both these in my E38 (digital TV/MkIV nav). TV is just as variable in the car as it is via aerial at home - sometimes good, sometimes bad. The MkIV nav is DVD based, all previous versions are CD based. The final software release is V31. Truthfully any modern satnav (Garmin for example) is, sadly, miles better than the elderly BMW offerings, despite the factory look.

You are right to chase down the spec you want though as retrofits, are generally expensive and time consuming to install.
[/quote]

Good job I have a small French hatch as a project car haha!

Yeah. I have read a lot about the nav and a £100 plug and play would be better. But it’s still a useful feature to have and it seems the cars with nav hold their value better too.

[Turks]

I have dropped onto this thread late-on it would seem, however, I'll just give you my 2p:

I bought the 4.8 nearly 7 years ago now and have kept the warranty extended to date. My reasoning for the V8 (other than the awesome sound and performance) was that the car came far more spec'd up from factory and most of the things I was looking for from a 3.0d were standard on the 4.8. Couple that with the fact that at the time, buying the 4.8 was around £5k cheaper than the equivalent 3.0d, it made sense - after all £5k is a lot of fuel and when you calculate the difference (say 20mpg vs 28mpg) then even after 7 years I'm still better off.

TV - have never used, other than the first couple of weeks when it was novelty.

Nav - good to have integration (looks better than one stuck to the windscreen) but essential to have the updated discs. You are right that one without nav isn't as desirable therefore may effect resale.

Sunroof - no end of issues and very glad I have the Warranty. Its already been replaced once at a cost of £2k to BMW and it needs the runners looking at again. Not essential IMO.

Gearbox - Great. Tens of thousands of units made, with an extremely small failure rate. You have no more risk with one of these than any other Gearbox on any other car.


Turks.

[dubwud]

The more I read from owners, the more the V8 model is preferred. I think I’ve got to the point now where I will buy either the 3.0d or 4.8is – it just depends which model comes up first and at the right price!

Thanks to all again for the continued advice.

[dubwud]

Just as an update. I sold my 335d at the weekend so now it’s time to buy the X5. One last question before I do, is it possible to ‘covert’ a 5-seater to a 7-seater by buying the rear seats and bolting them in? Or does the rear brackets/assembly for the additional seats not exist on the 5-seater model?

[Sanj]

Are you buying an E53 or an E70? You've posted in the E53 section here.

If E53, they never did a 7 seat option.

And if E70 it's not just the brackets for the 3rd row, you'll also need to swap out the 2nd row because in the 7 seaters that 2nd row slides forward for easy access to the 3rd row. Look at a couple of pics of that middle second row and you see the middle of the bench has a cut-out so that when it moves forward it misses the back of the centre console. No cut out, no third row.

[dubwud]

[quote="Sanj"]
Are you buying an E53 or an E70? You've posted in the E53 section here.

If E53, they never did a 7 seat option.

And if E70 it's not just the brackets for the 3rd row, you'll also need to swap out the 2nd row because in the 7 seaters that 2nd row slides forward for easy access to the 3rd row. Look at a couple of pics of that middle second row and you see the middle of the bench has a cut-out so that when it moves forward it misses the back of the centre console. No cut out, no third row.
[/quote]

E53 is what I’m buying. I saw a 2004 X5 on eBay which was a 7-seater, so maybe he had converted it himself? The back two seats were rear facing.

[X5Sport]

Self converted.  The E70 conversion also includes strengthened floor and suspension.  E53 would need type approval if 7 seats used on the road (which the owner may have got as an SVA).  Insurers might be very wary as there is no official version.

[dubwud]

Thanks for clearing that up.

[Kenich]

Hi dubwud, I owned an E53 3.0d sport for nearly four years and found it to be a pretty good. They have their issues, but don't all mechanical objects. For what it's worth here's my information.
the N57 Diesel engine is a strong unit, just needs to have had its services, oil changes etc. I understand they fitted the GM 6 speed to the face lift models which do suffer from the first gear clunk when slowing to an almost stop, but some say a gearbox oil change will sort that. Mine did, but you learn to drive round it, if in slow moving traffic shift to manual mode and hold in second gear prevents it, or sport mode then it drops to first earlier.
The door handles can break inside the door, but there's a fix for this, headlight washer jets get blocked.
If I was buying one again I would look for one with sport edition pack which got the 20's and arch extensions.
If you want to save some money on car tax, get one registered before the 23rd March 2006 as that's when they hiked the prices for the emissions. If you want more power than the standard 218hp then get it chipped, I had mine done and it can add up to 20% and doesn't really affect the mpg. Search the Web for DVD discs, I got an upgrade from Rustymidget, post code and perspective view. Covert to Xenons will get you white halo rings. Hope this helps, and buy the way they are good fun when it snows, which I enjoyed in 2010 when we last had some as the face lift model had the improved xdrive system.

[dubwud]

[quote="Kenich"]
Hi dubwud, I owned an E53 3.0d sport for nearly four years and found it to be a pretty good. They have their issues, but don't all mechanical objects. For what it's worth here's my information.
the N57 Diesel engine is a strong unit, just needs to have had its services, oil changes etc. I understand they fitted the GM 6 speed to the face lift models which do suffer from the first gear clunk when slowing to an almost stop, but some say a gearbox oil change will sort that. Mine did, but you learn to drive round it, if in slow moving traffic shift to manual mode and hold in second gear prevents it, or sport mode then it drops to first earlier.
The door handles can break inside the door, but there's a fix for this, headlight washer jets get blocked.
If I was buying one again I would look for one with sport edition pack which got the 20's and arch extensions.
If you want to save some money on car tax, get one registered before the 23rd March 2006 as that's when they hiked the prices for the emissions. If you want more power than the standard 218hp then get it chipped, I had mine done and it can add up to 20% and doesn't really affect the mpg. Search the Web for DVD discs, I got an upgrade from Rustymidget, post code and perspective view. Covert to Xenons will get you white halo rings. Hope this helps, and buy the way they are good fun when it snows, which I enjoyed in 2010 when we last had some as the face lift model had the improved xdrive system.
[/quote]

Thanks for that mate - very helpful. Some of the things you mentioned (DVD/white halos etc) I was planning to do myself, so I may have to send you a message closer the time haha.

Does anyone have a picture of an X5 with arch extensions vs one without?

[X5Sport]

Imagine a 20mm plastic triangular section piece glued onto the black trim edge of the wheel arch.  That's all they are.

[dubwud]

[quote="X5Sport"]
Imagine a 20mm plastic triangular section piece glued onto the black trim edge of the wheel arch.  That's all they are.[/quote]

Ah right. I’ve seen a few of these kits on eBay to buy and fit them. Thanks for the response.

[dubwud]

Just as an update. I've just found what I think is the right E53 for me. It has all the options I want, is in the right colour combination and at the right price. However, when I select the TV function on the head unit I just get a blue screen. The current owner (seems a reasonable bloke) says he has never used it so doesn't know what he's doing with the car - it was his wife's. I've done some searching but there seems to be no common solution. Could anyone give me some ideas as to what this could be? I don't mind buying a new module or receiver, but I don't want to have to spend hundreds to get it working again. If I can nail this then I think I'll buy tomorrow.

[dubwud]

I forgot to mention, the car is a 2005 model. So am I right in thinking it should have the digital receiver?

[Greydog]

It should have a Digital receiver be aware that they need regular re-tuning particularly if you live in a weak or average signal area. I like all the toys to work but this is one that after the first flush of ownership I can say I haven't used.