Mk1 BMW X5s sub £5K- would you?

[daveofedinburgh]

These are popping up as low as £4K with decent miles/ history.

Big 4.4 V8, 3.0 petrol six and a diesel. Inoffensive looks (to my eye at least) if a bit dated. Interior looks good with some nice leather options.

Im wondering if a 3.0 petrol manual might just be a decent value 4x4 for winter and my very short rat-run commute.

Used the search button, haven't seen a decent thread on them other than a couple of limited comparisons against other cheap 4x4s.

So, how borky are they? Is there a big difference in reliability between the V8 and the 3.0? Are the autoboxes robust? Anything generally to be aware of before going for a drive?

I know I'd be better off in a Landcruiser or Shogun, but the X5 looks like a nicer driving environment to me. The other 4x4 options that appeal cost significantly more (L322 RR diesel, Cayenne 3.2), and the same period Merc MLs sound borktastic from my limited research.

Or just direct me to the relevant thread that Ive failed to find...

[wolfy1988]

Bump!

I'd be very interested to hear too.

[Major Fallout]

I had a 4.4 when it came out and I loved it, all the good bits of the e39 and the Range Rover I had at the time.

Problems I had were the MAF failing and the steering column bursting into flames. Otherwise it was fine.

To think of it the diesel X5 I had after also set fire to steering column. Try and find one with a manual adjusting steering column.

Is that how you spell "column" it looks funny?

[jon-]

Major Fallout said:

I had a 4.4 when it came out and I loved it, all the good bits of the e39 and the Range Rover I had at the time.

Problems I had were the MAF failing and the steering column bursting into flames. Otherwise it was fine.

To think of it the diesel X5 I had after also set fire to steering column. Try and find one with a manual adjusting steering column.

Is that how you spell "column" it looks funny?

Is this you:

http://www.wrestlecrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2014...

[irfan1712]

we had our E53 4.4i X5 for around 10 years. served us fantastic for over 150k miles, plenty of grunt, sounded fantastic, was comfortable even on 20'' Kahn wheels and always looked much more expensive that what it actually was when it was gleaming. and surprised a lot of other cars haha.

however. on ours, the first major issue was part of the chain tensioner snapping sending a fragment into the internals of the engine- it was an engine out job by a BMW specialist in Newport who had never seen it happen before. Another noteworthy issue which is much more common is the (self levelling?) suspension failing - the rear end of ours was stuck fully up and looked like a hot rod before getting sorted, others have had the rears collapsed and sat on its arse. not good.

smaller faults include leaking rear lights.

other than that, go for it! was definitely one of my fathers favourite cars that he's owned and has considered a facelift E53 4.8 X5 as a run around. They handle like a 5 series estate.

Edited by irfan1712 on Tuesday 25th November 08:33

[Major Fallout]

3 Range Rovers
2 X5
1 Discovery
1 Jaguar
1 Corsa
1 Punto
1 model t ford
1 motorbike
1 lawnmower
1 double-decker bus
1 Hotel
1 Channel tunnel train
1 HSS ferry
1 house
2 Forrest fires
1 pub
Have all caught fire while I have been in them them, and I swear I had absolutely nothing to do with it. On the upside I don't panic when something is on fire now.

Edited by Major Fallout on Tuesday 25th November 08:35

[xRIEx]

Major Fallout said:

3 Range Rovers
2 X5
1 Discovery
1 Jaguar
1 Corsa
1 Punto
1 model t ford
1 motorbike
1 lawnmower
1 double-decker bus
1 Hotel
1 Channel tunnel train
1 HSS ferry
1 house
2 Forrest fires
1 pub
Have all caught fire while I have been in them them, and I swear I had absolutely nothing to do with it. On the upside I don't panic when something is on fire now.

Edited by Major Fallout on Tuesday 25th November 08:35

Did you wet the bed a lot as a child?

[Phateuk]

Interesting timing for this thread, I started thinking about one of these yesterday as a tow vehicle and daily. I'm not fully convinced by the looks of the back end but they seem good value for what they are.

My dilemma is, I do around 14k a year, the 3.0d would probably suit well but the fear of bills for injectors and turbo on a 120k+ example is a worry, then I look at the 3.0i, but down at ~20mpg the costs start to mount up and is only cheaper to run than the V8 models, then realising I'll be getting 15mpg the plan falls apart somewhat

High milage 3.0d, cheaper/lower milage 3.0i, ruinous V8...?

[anonymous-user]

Major Fallout said:

1 double-decker bus
1 Hotel
1 Channel tunnel train
1 HSS ferry

Any interesting stories about these ones?

[SuperVM]

xRIEx said:

Major Fallout said:

3 Range Rovers
2 X5
1 Discovery
1 Jaguar
1 Corsa
1 Punto
1 model t ford
1 motorbike
1 lawnmower
1 double-decker bus
1 Hotel
1 Channel tunnel train
1 HSS ferry
1 house
2 Forrest fires
1 pub
Have all caught fire while I have been in them them, and I swear I had absolutely nothing to do with it. On the upside I don't panic when something is on fire now.

Edited by Major Fallout on Tuesday 25th November 08:35

Did you wet the bed a lot as a child?

After drinking petrol and with a match in his hand?

[knitware]

Major Fallout said:

3 Range Rovers
2 X5
1 Discovery
1 Jaguar
1 Corsa
1 Punto
1 model t ford
1 motorbike
1 lawnmower
1 double-decker bus
1 Hotel
1 Channel tunnel train
1 HSS ferry
1 house
2 Forrest fires
1 pub
Have all caught fire while I have been in them them, and I swear I had absolutely nothing to do with it. On the upside I don't panic when something is on fire now.

Edited by Major Fallout on Tuesday 25th November 08:35

That crying child painting you have, bin it!

[Output Flange]

Phateuk said:

High milage 3.0d, cheaper/lower milage 3.0i, ruinous V8...?

I had a 3.0d Sport with 104k on the clock when I bought it. The injectors and turbo were fine, but the gearbox and transfer box required attention, along with various other things. It needed about £4k of work when I p/x'd it.

That said, it was a good car. Mine was remapped by Torque Tuning which made a huge difference to both performance and economy - early 30s on a motorway run was realistic.

I'd have another.

[JimmyConwayNW]

The self level adjusters are very common.

If your lucky it can just be the sensors, if not it's the unit in the boot.

Dead pixels on the dash display.

As they are heavy they can put a fair bit of wear on the suspension bushes/components.

I would go for the 3.0d and as plenty are about I would just find one with a really decent bit of history around the 100k mark.

[Phateuk]

How would a 3.0i cope with towing, does it have enough grunt? Also I know the gearboxes on these can be a bit weak - would they cope with the extra load of towing? I believe the X5s with the 6speed auto are the same as I had in my E86 Z4 which was starting to slip in gear under load. (Is this also the same engine M52 I think?).

[Output Flange]

I towed 2tonnes regularly with my 3.0d and it was great. Can't imagine the 3.0i being comfortable with it at all though. Worth checking to see if it has a lower load rating.

[Boobonman]

Auto gearboxes are liable to grenade after 100k. I think pretty much the same box as E39 and doesnt like the extra weight and load.

[CAPP0]

Phateuk said:

High milage 3.0d, cheaper/lower milage 3.0i, ruinousburbly V8...?

You actually have to ask????

[Cheburator mk2]

E39 auto boxes were either GM or ZF. The 3.0 petrol and 3.0d got theirs from GM and the consensus was it was made of cheese. The E39 4.4 gearbox however was supplied by ZF and by all accounts it appears to be much more robust. I wonder whether it was the same for the X5 - GM for the lesser models and the strong ZF for the 4.4?

[anonymous-user]

A couple guys at work owned examples from when they were new. They appear to be good cars however, as stated by previous posters they do seem to get old/to a certain mileage and need a lot spent on them. I'd probably want a couple of grand in reserve, even on a 4k example.

[JakeT]

Cheburator mk2 said:

E39 auto boxes were either GM or ZF. The 3.0 petrol and 3.0d got theirs from GM and the consensus was it was made of cheese. The E39 4.4 gearbox however was supplied by ZF and by all accounts it appears to be much more robust. I wonder whether it was the same for the X5 - GM for the lesser models and the strong ZF for the 4.4?

My dad's current E53 he has owned since new and has never had a recorded change of the gearbox oil. But I think it is a GM box, so could set some back on higher mileage models. But don't get a manual. It really doesn't suit the character of the car. They're great to drive, sitting high and being able to have a good waft around.

another couple of points. Really good buy for the money. We had a 4.6is for a while originally and have had a 3.0i from new and it now has 185,000 miles on it. The only problem it has ever had is the alrernator failing. Had a suspension refresh at 150,000 miles and the TPMS no longer works. Still runs like a swiss watch and cruises at 85-90 with no hassle at all.