Buying a 05 X5 3.0d

[conor2949]

Hi all,

Brand new convert to an X5 (previous heritage was most recently a Santa Fe and various VW's)

I'm about to splash out and buy my first X5. I've fallen totally for them, the 3.0d engine is the silkiest free revving 4x4 engine out there in my opinion.

I've got a bit of a dilemma now though, i've found two X5s that i got to choose between and i'm going to summarise them as follows:

Option 1: 2005 X5 with 72k miles, Beige, tan leather, pan roof, few scuffs on the rear bumper, gearbox jumps on the downshift from 2nd to 1st, no gap in the service documenation (though some were at independents and not main dealers)

Option 2: 2005 X5 with 95k miles, black, SPORT, tan leather, pan roof, very clean body, drivers seat pan badly worn but will be replaced, gearbox is silky, 50k miles gap in its service history, Sat nav too,

Option 1 comes with a 6 month warranty and Option 2 which comes with no warranty.

Option 1 would need a few tasteful mods like window tinting, alu running boards and need bigger tyres to set her off nicely. This would bring the cost of Option 1 to the same as Option 2.

So it pretty much boils down to the fact that Option 1 has a jumpy downshift from 2nd to 1st and Option 2 doesn't.

I'm not so worried about the extra mileage, the engines are well capable of double and triple the mileage thats on them.

I've read alot about the XF "Lurch" on this gearbox. My real question is, is the clunky downshift a symptom of a pending failure or is it just the nature of the beast?

thanks for any help you can offer me!

Conor

[AW8]

I haven't owned a 3.0d facelift albeit I have driven same.

Option 1 :

Colour/trim is down to preference but a biege & tan non Sport model isn't goiung to be the most desireable car to buy or sell.

The box can lurch but I would want a good reputation BMW independent or recommended ZF gearbox expert to check the box or perhaps gamble with a seasoned 3.0d facelift owner driving the car & comparing the box characteristics to theirs. Gearbox repair will approach £2k so be careful if its more than a lurch. I wont comment further as 3.0d facelift owners may wish to share their more expereienced views.

Indy history not an issue if mileages on receipts correspond to stamps in books & old MOT's.

Bumper scuffs aim for £150-250 cash rear bumper respray if needed or allow £50-75 for a smart repair.

You mention SPORT when referring to option 2 but not option 1. Sports command a slight premium and have better spec. SE (non sport) cars will ride a little more comfortably in everyday driving.If a non sport & you are constantly striving for that sport look it will cost a small fortune to create that look & it will never be a Sport.

Warranties often not worth paper written on & in event of an issue you may have to pay for written diagnostics of problems only to be told you have to make a significant contribution due to age/mileage &/or wear tear or find no cover as item excluded from cover due same or exemption of cover in small print. Warranty aside the sale of goods act states any fault, (on a retailed used car sold by a trader), shall be deemed present at point of sale unless seller proves otherwise. All sounds good but many traders will simply refer you to the warranty provider in event of post sale issues. Sale of Goods Act if not honoured by seller needs civil action by you to resolve any later dispute re failure to repair defects found. Integrity of trade sellers is all here, but many traders can switch charm on & off to suit needs & pockets !

Summary (No offence intended to others) ,Its a biege SE, without comms pack with a jumpy box & various stamps from odd garages in the book........Personally I wouldn't buy this car as a keeper.


Option 2 :

Personally I wouldnt by this car as a keeper either.

50k gap in history is an issue. Folk often assume clocked cars show sub 50k miles yet few question someone clocking a car back to say 95k as folk expect to see wear/tear.........In reality mine has covered just over 100k miles & drivers seat is not in badly worn condition. Be careful your not buying the Millenium Falcon, (i.e. a car thats covered straship miles).

Ask yourself why anyone would want to neglect servicing or loose history for 50k. (whether to save money, avoid bills or to hide true mileage). Not saying its a bad car but I would need some convinicing. Maybe call BMW customer service to ascertain mileages/dates of dealer visits (contact details in buyers guide on this board).

Re High milers :

IMO there's nothing wrong with high miles on an honest car, well maintained, not clocked & priced to reflect. Do bear in mind though that various suspension components can fail/wear over time. Assume & expect to need to replace front outer CV boots, rear subframe bushes around 70k upwards. Strong engines indeed but I would change breather filter if no evidence of same being done as BMW dont schedule this into servicing routine. Engine may outlive the turbo...........A well cared for high mile car might be less of a timb bomb than a 70k car in need of forthcoming work.

[conor2949]

thanks for the response AW8, a very comprehensive response.

Prompted me to ask a few questions of the dealer. Turns out Option 2 hasn't been taxed for almost 10 months, so something is definately amiss.

Could anyone confirm if the lurch that i described is a symptom of a failure or just a characteristic of the gearbox?

thanks!
C.

[jamesturner]

Hi,

Go for a Manual X5, No Auto transmission faults then. I would also go for Estoril Blue with Pan Roof and Grey Leather. Thats what I have and I love it. I live in Norfolk so dont go for any of the above if you intend on being near by. Im the only Guy in the village of Norfolk so far and wouldnt want too many others. Every body raves on about the the colour and I would be lying if I didnt like the positive comments.

Happy hunting

Jt

[AW8]

Re option 2 you did the right thing........not worth the risk.

Re the lurch.........I don't cut /paste advice of others but the links below may be of use (all credit & acknowledgement to kind contributors on other forums/sites ) .


Click for Link 1

Click for Link 2

Click for Link 3


My limited understanding, (not experienced by me or claimed as accurate), of lurch was the car shifted into 1st when travelling slow in 2nd & when driver goes to accelerate briskly. Other symptom was box shifting to 1st arbruptly as driver slows car down & just before stopping - also described as shunt.

There are supposedly dealer software updates to improve this which seem to yield mixed results.

Bottom line I am no expert & in any doubt I would get it checked out........clearly if the other one drove fine something is in need of improvement.

It would be appreciated if someone with a 3.0d facelift can help the OP by sharing any available knowledge & experience - Thanks

[Giblets]

Personally I would keep looking.

There are loads of facelift 3.0d Sports out there at the moment so take yout time and choose a good one.

I haveonly had mine for a couple of weeks (53 plate, 97k 3.0d Sport). I bought from a small dealer (so token 3 month warranty only).

I got him to get an Inspection 2 done on the car and fix a scratch on the rear bumper. Unfortunately I test drove on a cool day and it turned out the air con was out of gas (£70 to regas).

Once bought, I paid a specialist to go over the car for 30mins and he found that both the CV gaitors were split (an MOT failure) and that the inside edges of the 2 rears were worn right down (probably due to the camber). I rang him up and got him to agree to pay for the CV gaitors job (£326).

At 97k miles I can accept air con regassing and shagged tyres (that I didn't check properly), but wasn't prepared to pay the bill for the gaitors that the so called 'warranty' didn't cover.

Good luck choosing but bear in mind that black is always a very poular colour to sell on, and that most people look for Sport spec and ideally satnav too.

[pvr]

Regarding lurch - mine had that for a while, but a change in gearbox oil actually sorted it for me.

Not that I changed the oil because of it, but it was a side effect for having a leak in the sump for which an oil seal needed replacing. Not had it since though ...

[conor2949]

Thanks for the replies guys

I would prefer an auto car tbh, especially with such a powerful engine and the amount of city driving i do too and also the fact that finding hens teeth is more probable than finding a manual in the spec that i want.

As an update, I have gone with Option 1 on the proviso that the transmission shunt is sorted out.

I omitted from the initial description that it was also a sport model. I did the Irish equivalent of a HPI check and she showed up clear save for some finance which is owing, but that has now been sorted.

I will post up pics once I have finally taken ownership of her, I want to make one or two small mods to her to give her the Sporty feel i'm looking for, going to 1) tint out the back windows ever so slightly and 2) fit some running boards (not that they are practical but they really set off the look of the car)

Interestingly the car has 72k miles on it, I have been informed that the breather flaps have been changed already. Is there anything else that I should be aware of that should watch out for or change (Within reason) as a precautionary measure?

Can't wait to get behind the wheel now and start racking up those miles

P.s do ye guys host events / social gatherings / Road trips ?

[pvr]

Breather flaps ??? That would be the first car I have heard about having them then.

[conor2949]

LOL - correction "Swirl Flaps"

[Sanj]

Even them! All facelift X5's are said NOT to have them...