XSeries-forum

Hi, just joined this forum hoping for a bit of advice on buying a diesel X5 ie. what to look for.

I was originally looking for a Navara becuase the main reason for the vehicle would be for towing our twin axle caravan. I owned a Navara a few years back, however the wife suggested she would like something more comfortable than the Navara( being as she's got 3 prolapsed discs) i agree the Navara wasn't the comfiest ride with it's rear leaf springs.

She has always liked the X5 so we decided to start looking although it would have to be an older model our budget would be upto about £12000.
I would appreciate any advice any of the members could give me as i know very little about the model

many thanks in advance Richard

Welcome to the Club

You should not have any trouble towing a twin-axle caravan. Even using the Caravan Club's 'Guidance' for the trailer to tractor weight (80%) still allows you more than 1800lbs. you may need to watch the nose weight though depending upon which tow bar is fitted.

£12,000 should find you a post facelift model (late 2003+) and the things to look for, especially with the back problem - with which I can empathise having a similar issue - would be:
Post-facelift version with Comfort Seats (14-way electric adjustments). This version also has the more powerful 218bhp diesel engine which may come in handy when towing.
OEM towbar if poss as that will include the additional electronics which alter the vehicle stability system when a trailer is plugged in. But see note about noseweight. Mine isn't here today so I can't check it.
The Sport Trim comes with stiffer suspension and self-levelling rear air springs.
Widescreen (Professional) DVD based Navigation System
Xenon HID Lights - even adaptives if you can get them - these are lights that move with the steering.
There are lots of other toys like auto lights, auto wipers, TV, moving load floor in the boot, privacy glass, sunroof, rear window blinds. But it comes down to what you really want and how much you want to spend on toys rather than the vehicle itself.

Known weak areas - Transmission's, Turbo's, electrics and some sunroofs so make sure they all work properly. Turbo issues are rarer these days and a lot depends upon how it's been driven and also that servicing has been done properly. Most are absolutely fine.

Welcome Richard,

Have a look at this guide too - very helpful...

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=25

Thanks for the replies so ideally i need to find one that's had a new gearbox.
what sort of mileage will they withstand if they have full BMW service history

Hi and welcome richjt and good luck with the search.

[quote=""richjt""]Thanks for the replies so ideally i need to find one that's had a new gearbox.
what sort of mileage will they withstand if they have full BMW service history[/quote]

I sold my last x (y reg 2001 pre facelift)with fbmwsh and 98,000 miles on the clock without any issues other than standard maintenace/wear and tear issues.It was a great car and i had fewer problems with it than my latest facelift model.Not that i have had too many with this one mind.
Be carefull but don't be sucked in by all the gearbox horror stories either as we only ever usually hear complaints on the forums which makes the x's sound worse than they are.That said if things do go wrong these cars are not cheap on parts bearing in mind the cost of them when new.
Good luck and let us know the outcome

Hi Richjt and welcome aboard I would also echo the above comments from x555 above. Try not to get to hung up on issues and judge each car as you see it and drive it. Clearly full BMW history is a major advantage but do take the details of the dealers who did the work and call them to confirm what was done + warranty work that would not show in the service book. Always feel free to post details of any 'X's you are looking at, web links are a big help and will allow members here to advise on spec. If you haven't already have a good read of of AW8's buyers guide, a wealth of information there. Good luck with the search and always feel free to ask any questions you may have.

are the autoboxes the same on diesel and petrol ie. the same problems.
also what are the manuals like

Yes Rich, the gearboxes are the same whether you buy a petrol or diesel. However due to significantly more diesels being sold than petrol you will generally hear more issues relating to the pre facelift 3.0d's with the 5speed box. A new 6speed box was fitted to the facelift and while not as many failures have been reported this box does seem to suffer from the 'lurch' problem, plenty of info on this. As for manual gearboxes, never heard of any issue with these but do de-value vehicles fitted with manual boxes by at least £1k

Hi mate, welcome to the forum.

Good luck with your search. As others have said, don't worry about the some of the reported problems with the X5... there have been over a million produced and so you are bound to hear of problems often but that doesn't mean the cars a prone to these failures. I don't post every time I drive my car that my gearbox was fantastic today... I would however post instantly if it failed and that is what you tend to read on forums.

The X5 is a great car to tow with. Capable and comfortable in one. Not only that, it is much safer if I remember correctly than the Narvara.


Turks.

i am going to look at a 2002 3.0d sport auto tomorrow full history with new turbo and gearbox

Just one slight amendment to Chompers post - som e facelift cars still had the 5 speed box - my 54 plate )Sep 04 build) certainly did, but I believe the change to the 6 speed box was soon after that.

Peter T

[quote=""petert""]Just one slight amendment to Chompers post - som e facelift cars still had the 5 speed box - my 54 plate )Sep 04 build) certainly did, but I believe the change to the 6 speed box was soon after that.

Peter T[/quote]

Now you do have me confused as mine is an August build date with a 6 speed box (i thought all facelifts were!) with yours being a Sept build and later why would it have 5 speed box ..........Pete we need more confirmation

[quote=""petert""]Just one slight amendment to Chompers post - som e facelift cars still had the 5 speed box - my 54 plate )Sep 04 build) certainly did, but I believe the change to the 6 speed box was soon after that.

Peter T[/quote]

Peter,

Are you sure? I had one of the first facelift models and would put money on it being a 6 speed. This along with upping the power was the 2 main differences from the pre-facelift.

Don

Sorry Richjt, forgot to say 'Hi, and welcome to the site.'

Don