BimmerFest BMW Forum banner

2003 X5 high mileage good idea?

11K views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  rbelton 
#1 ·
Having searched and found nothing, here is my question. I have a 2002 530iA so I am familiar, and see a few x5's pop up on craigslist in the high mileage range (300,000+) for under $3000. The ones I see look well taken care of and I was just wondering what your gut reaction would be on purchasing one. I would for sure check into the maintenance history as I would think many of the things main things would have been done at least once if not twice with that sort of mileage.
Thanks!
TomK
 
#2 ·
Do a search here and over on Xoutpost for high mileage problems. I'm sure somebody posted a comprehensive list recently that will give you a good insight into what you might be buying.
 
#3 ·
You know what they sell for less than $3k? - because to bring them to condition where you can feel comfortable ta take it for 300 miles drive , it would cost $4000.

If I had only $3k, I would not buy 300k miles BMW - any of them and specifically X5 (they are higher maintenance as comp to other BMW's)
If I wanted X5 - I would buy one which has less than 80 k miles and proven maintenance and pay $10- 15k
For $3k I would buy used Toyota Carrolla or Honda Civic - it would be newer and would cost much less to fox things.
 
#7 ·
You know what they sell for less than $3k? - because to bring them to condition where you can feel comfortable ta take it for 300 miles drive , it would cost $4000.

If I had only $3k, I would not buy 300k miles BMW - any of them and specifically X5 (they are higher maintenance as comp to other BMW's)
If I wanted X5 - I would buy one which has less than 80 k miles and proven maintenance and pay $10- 15k
For $3k I would buy used Toyota Carrolla or Honda Civic - it would be newer and would cost much less to fox things.
I TOTALLY agree. Definitely high maintenance and costly when something DOES go wrong. 300k miles is a whole lot of 'living' and can be a crap shoot to how well it was maintained. Either wait and save up another $7k or get yourself a lower profile ride for now.
 
#4 ·
Good info, thanks guys as that is what I needed to hear. I just keep thinking with the maintenance history with what I have done to my vehicles that at that mileage it ALL had to be done once if not twice already and with minimal things left they can go many more miles. I have had six vehicles so far with over 200,000 miles and have had good luck so far. And yes with $3000 one can buy a Corolla/Civic but you do not drive those with a smile. I do not think any brand vehicle with that mileage keeps it's value and it got to that point with quite a bit of maintenance already done.
Thanks,
TomK
 
#6 · (Edited)
Good info, thanks guys as that is what I needed to hear. I just keep thinking with the maintenance history with what I have done to my vehicles that at that mileage it ALL had to be done once if not twice already and with minimal things left they can go many more miles. I have had six vehicles so far with over 200,000 miles and have had good luck so far. And yes with $3000 one can buy a Corolla/Civic but you do not drive those with a smile. I do not think any brand vehicle with that mileage keeps it's value and it got to that point with quite a bit of maintenance already done.
Thanks,
TomK
And you won't be driving a BMW with a smile if it constantly breaks down on you and you can't afford to keep throwing money down the money pit.

Nothing special about a BMW X5 other than the status associated with a BMW. A BMW X5 is NOT the ultimate driving machine.

:rofl:
 
#8 ·
I just got mine 150k 2001 3.0i petrol. Found it really cheap (considering prices at my country). After reading all reviews and suggestions, was kind of afraid to go for it, but decided to try - went there with my mechanic for full check up: electronics and mechanic. Found many fails on sensors and stuff like that, so dropped the price even more considering that the fixing gonna be high. Now I almost done with all stuff, car is a beast and cannot even feel that it's 2001 or 150k on it :) so in my opinion you have to get a REALLY good indy to do a full check up for it and see how much on top it will go for you.
 
#11 ·
Any X5 is going to require a good deal of maintenance. Or any BMW for that matter. The high mileage examples often require even more, but not always the case.

Here's a playlist of videos showing all of the repairs I did on our E53 X5 over the last year. We bought it at around 120k miles to give you an idea of how much work is involved:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9ZhL1nxVaY-D6Eb2j0BoZOPEauRHskow
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top