E30 Zone

Ok, so the missus has decided she wants an X5, but like everyone, she doesn't wanna pay for it, so I'm looking at cheapish 3.0 petrol models, (maybe even the 4.4, but def not a diesel!!!) 2002/3/4 ish!

She's not really fussed if it's an auto or manual, but obviously has to be the right colour (:roll:) which limits the options a bit!!!!

Any tips or advice, outside the norm for second hand cars, that I should be watching out for on these???

Seen a few of interest, with varying mileage, that I'm going to have to start viewing soon!!!

Low milage is the best way to pick the V8 cars out, they run too hot as standard which causes all sorts of cooling system horrors

best tip? dont do it. Horrid wanker cars

Simon13 wrote:best tip? dont do it. Horrid ****** cars

In the unlikely event that my missus expressed a desire for one of these (I know she loathes the things), I think I'd be more inclined to change the missus than the car.
Nasty unstable things, dangerous to those outside of them, and inside.

Simon and Brian speak the truth!

The worst kind of Chelsea tractor.

Ben

Thing with X5s they're not the cheapest thing to keep well maintained, so like most BMW owners they let them become a shit heap.

I quite like X5s, they drive like a car for their size. I nearly traded my E39 in against a 4.8iS that's was really well specced. But I came to my senses.

I wouldn't call them unstable. As Maxfield says, they handle like a large car.

Very heavy on suspension and tyres, and I thought the interiors were sad 8 years ago. Brave man considering 15 year old turds!

This has reminded me, I've got a private job to replace a window reg on an X3

If you HAVE to have an E53 X5 then then the most reliable and least likely to present you with big bills is the 3.0 petrol.

DanThe wrote:Low milage is the best way to pick the V8 cars out, they run too hot as standard which causes all sorts of cooling system horrors

Not to mention stretched chains, worn chain guides, oil leaks from all sorts of places and on the later N62 cars, worn valvetronic levers and eccentric shafts.

Valve stem seals are about finished by 100-120k miles on all V8's.

The 4.6 petrol lump is a good one iirc, developed by Alpina initially ?

Brianmoooore wrote:Nasty unstable things, dangerous to those outside of them, and inside.

Sounds like a few of my ex's

bss325i wrote:

DanThe wrote:Low milage is the best way to pick the V8 cars out, they run too hot as standard which causes all sorts of cooling system horrors

Not to mention stretched chains, worn chain guides, oil leaks from all sorts of places and on the later N62 cars, worn valvetronic levers and eccentric shafts.

Valve stem seals are about finished by 100-120k miles on all V8's.

The extra heat cant do the plastic chain guides any good, its no wonder they become brittle and break up. A mate ran his early E39 540 up to 200k miles before selling it as it blew the top hose and the auto box cooler started to leak, never had to touch the engine

Don't listen to the haters!

I have a 51 plate 4.4 v8.

Unstable, no, not even remotely. Is by far the best cruising car i've ever had. I would advise though, if it is to be used for lots of local driving, don't get one with M sport suspension, mine has. it makes local driving a little harsh on pot holes and speed bumps etc, but it comes into its own on A roads, motor ways etc.

Depending on the how much it gets used, expect to replace ball joints etc more than a "normal" car, lots of weight bearing down on them all the time. Common bushes to go are the rear sub frame mounts, mine need doing, you'll notice a "thump" from the back end when going over speed bumps for example. Many horror stories on costs, but reality is, bushes can bought for around £80, my local indy will fit mine for £193.00.

You'll get through brake pads to0, heavy car to stop, front wheel will always be black! Again inexpensive job.

The most important thing in buying one, is history history history. Check the online MOT history, this gives a good idea of how its been look after etc. Try to find one with as little owners as possible, mine had 1 for first year, then a lady for the next 14 years. I would put history much higher up the list than spec, mine has a pretty low spec but very good history. Look for things such as the correct tyres, should be Michelin Dyamaris (SP?), if it has budgets, wall away. Check all tyres have even tread, they suffer from transmission wind up, for example, if you blow a tyre, you need to replace both on the axle. Without going into it, wind up over long period screws with the gearbox somehow leading to problem, and they can be expensive ones.
Make sure the engine is dry, not power cleaned, just naturally clean and dry, mine is, and doens't drop oil from anywhere. A power cleaned engine would be very concerning.

Wouldn't bother with the diesel, not much difference in power to be honest, you can't beat the V8 grumble! I would think the 3 litre petrol to be bit underpowered, it is a heavy car, but that is just a thought as i've not driven one. Also, the 4.4 only comes with auto, and to be honest, my wife had reservations about auto, but now having driven it, the auto is the one to have she loves it.

Be prepared for warning lights to come on, I have one for the brakes coming on although there is nothing wrong with them. I have one on at the minute for the driver side rear brake.stop lights, they like to mess around and not work, i've not looked at mine yet, but it is common and something to do with connections.

In summary, an excellent car with a bad reputation, but you never read about the good ones on the net!






Bought my wife romantic number plates for it too

Oh and the earlier ones cost less to tax, mine is £225 ish for the year, 2003 on is about £500. Insurance is £280 for the year fully comp. full no claims, wife 45, me 41.

Few echos of my thoughts above!!!
She's upgrading from a knackered old focus - wanted a mini for a while and I kinda just looked at a few until she got bored of that idea, so the X5 sounds like a surprisingly good choice, compared to what she normally picks!!!

It won't do mega mileage and I was looking for the 3.0 petrol models anyway!!!
Not driven an x5 with the m-sport suspension, but considering other models I've driven with sport spec, I would always avoid them tbh - my E30 is on coilovers if I want that feel!!!

Did spot a manual, which I guess might be a safer bet than an auto at this age?

Thanks for the insights so far!!!

If it won't do mega mileage, get a V8, you'll regret it otherwise! Fuel wise, mine is no more thirsty than my '97 2 litre Honda CrV.

On a run very good, 30 mpg not unrealistic, local, about 18mpg. Doing about 5k per year, don't really care about the economy.

My whole X5, and it's running costs are all covered by what i was spending on fags. Much prefer having that in the garage than puffing away the money

My wife really does love it.

i don't know what cars you lot have been driving but they drive nothing like a large car! I can't quite admit* that theres an F25 X3 at my house a 13 plate and its a bloody heavy old tractor. You can't hide it! I've not driven an older E53 X5 but its going to be alot worse!

Simon, you are so wrong, when you're next passing mine stop in for a drive! I was suprised how well it drove. I expected a wallowy old lump but i was very wrong, it drives superb it really does.

Jesus - slightly off topic. If you want to save yourself some coin on them subframe bushes. I have the proper tool, you can borrow it if you cover postage.

Thanks for the generous offer Jamie, but i'm probably going to get the garage to change them, the older I get, the less enthused I get doing my own spanner spinning. Getting old!
Thanks again though

Topblag wrote:The 4.6 petrol lump is a good one iirc, developed by Alpina initially ?

Yes but its the same M62tu thats used on in the E38/E39/E53 up to 2003 which suffer from the same issues i outlined previously.

DanThe wrote:

bss325i wrote:

DanThe wrote:Low milage is the best way to pick the V8 cars out, they run too hot as standard which causes all sorts of cooling system horrors

Not to mention stretched chains, worn chain guides, oil leaks from all sorts of places and on the later N62 cars, worn valvetronic levers and eccentric shafts.

Valve stem seals are about finished by 100-120k miles on all V8's.

The extra heat cant do the plastic chain guides any good, its no wonder they become brittle and break up. A mate ran his early E39 540 up to 200k miles before selling it as it blew the top hose and the auto box cooler started to leak, never had to touch the engine

There seems to be no set mileage that they start to suffer chain and guide issues but i have done them on E39's with as little as 115k miles.

The 3.0 is not the road block you might think it is. Manuals are rare, only seen three of them out of the countless E53's ive worked on.

Ok, so I had a little look at at 3.0i petrol auto, with about 80k on it.... my main reason for walking away was the lack of any paperwork other than MOT & logbook, combined with the creamy gunk under the oil filler cap!!! He was adamant it was just condensation from standing for a week or so in the cold, but it put me off!!!
The guy assured me he looked after it well, it was his baby, but he didn't know when it was last serviced

Other things I noted were... the occasional 'clunk' on downshift from the auto box - not sure if they're all like it, or maybe the way I was driving it?
Is there a dipstick for the transmission fluid??? I couldn't spot that anywhere and the owner didn't know!!!

Also, the brakes left a bit to be desired imho - I'm assuming they're not all like that, 'cos they make the cheap brakes on the knackered focus seem pretty sharp!!!
It also looked like only the middle of the front pads were making contact with the discs, as there was quite a thick line of corrosion around the inside & the outside of the disc - anyone seen that before???

All help/advice much appreciated!!!

All that said, I have just read on another forum that the creamy gunk under the filler cap can be perfectly normal and due to a blocked CCV!!!
Does worry me though!

That sounds like a right turd either way. There's plenty out there, wait for one that's decent

I bought an E class merc in November which had a slight clunk on down shift, this soon, in terms of 2 weeks got radiply worse, I sold it sharpish. With potential dodgy x5 gearbox I'd have ran away. My brakes are super sharp.

You did the right thing to walk away, more so with lack of history.

The box oil has probably never been changed, which was what BMW recommended when these were new! They now state 100,000 miles IIRC but its still too long.

The bloke who bought my merc said that, I just couldn't be bothered on a £300 shitter

They are a stay away from. Most of it is range rover system when bmw owned them.

Theres a guy up my road with two 4.8is. One tatty, one nice one.

Spoke to someone the other day who has had a 4.8 for 5 years, only drama being the adjustable air suspension. Spent just under 2 grand on it. Over 5 years though it could be said that's pretty good.

X5 3.0i manuals are the ones to have - really not much to go wrong. Mainly rear airbags plus the usual X5 lost that is quite short - drivers door handle support bracket, shagged handbrake ratchet, expansion tank and so on.

Wouldn't touch a V8 - apart from 17 mpg, the diffs aren't really up to it and there's too much to go wrong.

I got 20mpg yesterday on a 150mile run up the motorway. Have had better, best being around 28 on a run. Local driving though, yep 17 or less is to be expected.

In addition to previous advice, hoping to view a 3.0 petrol with lpg conversion... never had an lpg vehicle, so any additional tips appreciated???

Does the lpg system require regular servicing, along with the normal stuff?