2004 3.0d.......what to look out for

[the shreksta]

I will be viewing a 2004 facelift x5 3.0d that has come up for sale half a mile from my house,I wanted a v8 but good ones are few and far between so I've decided on a diesel.

It's done 108k and he says it runs great and everything works including the panoramic roof.

Is there anything other than the usual I should be checking? If i do buy it is there any preventive maintenance I can do with the panoramic roof to stop it failing?

I've heard of some diesels having noisey injectors,is this common? Also heard that some diesels smoke a hell of a lot,something to do with a vortex breather if I remember correctly.

Cheers guys

[X5Sport]

Buyers Guide on the Forum will help with a lot of what you need.

Diesels don't smoke that much!  If they did you would get MOT fails on soot.  The vortex breather is certainly worth a look, but may have been done.  It's a relatively simple DIY job you can do in an hour or so.  If it hasn't been done then do it in order to reduce the risk of turbo seal trouble (rare).

I've never had noisy injectors on any of ours.

Other than that the same problems occur regardless of engine type, so check that absolutely everything works.  Bear in mind that at 12 years old you will be looking to replace bushes pretty soon if they haven't been done.  Brake pipes will be starting to corrode where they run on top of the suspension arms and if you can, have a look at where they go into he rear sills either side.  Known failure point!

See if the Webasto unit is running properly.

[the shreksta]

Webasto??????

[X5Sport]

The heater mounted on the right side as you look under the bonnet.

[the shreksta]

any particular way of checking it mate?

also it doesnt seem to have heated seats,i thought all x5's had heated seats

this is the car in question

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-X5-3-0D-S ... SwX~dWpMbA

[X5Sport]

Look at Webastos on the forum....lots of info about them and if necessary, how to fix them.

Heated seats are a cost option across the range.  Nothing comes free with a BMW!

Being a 3.0d it will have a Webasto unit....that was standard on the E53.

Interesting that the a/c was on which says the ignition was on, but the Nav etc all powered off. 

[the shreksta]

[quote="X5Sport"]
Look at Webastos on the forum....lots of info about them and if necessary, how to fix them.

Heated seats are a cost option across the range.  Nothing comes free with a BMW!

Being a 3.0d it will have a Webasto unit....that was standard on the E53.
[/quote]

thx buddy, if i get time i will look it up. is it a major expense to fix if it is broke?

looking forward to looking at it,i been after an x5 for bloody ages lol

[X5Sport]

Anything up to a couple of hundred depending upon what's gone.  They aren't vital, just useful for warming the car up quicker......its main purpose is to heat the coolant more quickly and then shut down.

If the temp is below 5°C it will start automatically when the car is switched on. Above that it doesn't usually run.

Worth asking about though 

[the shreksta]

[quote="X5Sport"]
Anything up to a couple of hundred depending upon what's gone.  They aren't vital, just useful for warming the car up quicker......its main purpose is to heat the coolant more quickly and then shut down.

If the temp is below 5°C it will start automatically when the car is switched on. Above that it doesn't usually run.

Worth asking about though 
[/quote]

i will deffo ask the question but he probably wont know. my main area of concern is the gearbox so i will be paying particular attention to that. ive told him i would like to see the car from cold then a good drive around town to get warmed up then on the motorway to see it at speed then around town again and he doesnt have an issue with that.

[X5Sport]

Sounds like a good plan

[Entwicklung34]

Not long ago was I in the same position as you...

Main advice would be this:
1. To fully check the gearbox out you want to do a good test in a city area with traffic lights, roundabouts etc. The 'lurch' is WELL worth a search before you test drive it. Then u can check specifically for it.
2. In the boot on the drivers side there is a side panel which u can open and inside is a weird cubby hole and a fuse box. When I found this cubby hole it was full of water. Worth checking!
3. Give the brakes a good test, mine needed bleeding but I didn't give them a good enough test while test-driving otherwise I would have noticed this!
4. Check that the car gets up to operating temp (needle dead centre) and then it stays there. After changing the main stat mine gets there pretty quick (under ten minutes town driving from cold) and doesn't move after that.


Advice that you probably won't want to take...
Find a petrol v8 instead... I wish I did! The reason I looked for the diesel was because I thought it would be a lot more efficient than the v8. It isn't!

Advice that you definitely won't want to take...
Don't get an x5. I found my e39 530d a much better car than the x5, smoother, much more comfortable, better drive, better turning circle, cheaper to run, none of the annoying so called 'features' of the x5. Don't get me wrong it has it's good points (interior space, road presence, more than likely better in hazardous conditions, high spec etc etc), but to drive it just doesn't compare to a 5 series that was 5 years older than it.

Only my opinion... and I'm sure there will be many who oppose it and I respect that... each to their own.

Good luck with the purchase whatever you choose.

[X5Sport]

The Mark 1 X5 was built with a certain amount of 'Land Rover' in it, and it shows.  I'm surprised about the fuel economy though as regardless of traffic there was always a significant difference between the V8 and diesel powered ones.  The price of the fuels did close the gap though.

[the shreksta]

thanks for input guys, the reason i want an suv is my build and size is very hard to squeeze into a normal size car,im 6ft 9 and 28 stone so its rather undignified reversing into a normal car then twisting into position without knocking myself out lol

[X5Sport]

And I thought buying a car was 'challenging' at 6'4" 

[the shreksta]

lol