Evening all, looking at a new motor for the wife and kid, after having so many fords vw and audis I have the opportunity to buy a facelift X5 3.0d 2006 in carbon black. Has full BMW service history and 2 owners from new. I do vehicle detailing for a living and did the job for the customer as he was selling up. It's done 140k which was a little worrying but what sort of issues should I look for and what do you think it's worth?

 

140k on one of these is nothing, if it has genuine bmw full service it should have been well looked after mechanically

rear bushes are a ball ache to do so check they've been changed

 

Go for it, I bought a 4.8is in February and it does everything you would expect.
With fbmwsh it should be as tight as a drum.
The only downside I have come across is using maindealers to keep up the bmw service and maintenance history is a little expensive, strangely parts seem more expensive than the e39 5 series which the e53's are loosely based on.

 

rear bushes- not that bad to do with the correct tool.
rear hand brake shoes and discs-they rust like mad inside as they rarely get used as people just put them in park.
tyres wearing on inner edges
front cv boots.
parking sensors going faulty
we sell quite a few of them at work

much better than range rovers of similar age!

 

As above
Pixels in instrument cluster fading, dodgy CAS units, claws on door handles tend to play up

E53 will be getting cheaper, now with arrival of the F15

 

Auto gearbox can give trouble, ours was a nightmare and went back to the garage 3 times and really needed a recon box at Ł2500, I traded it in

 

I loved ours, would have another.

 

Check the tyres as they are really expensive, mine were 305 wide and a pair cost Ł700

 

700quid.... fook that.

 

I sold it after I fitted the tyres, a bit of a knee jerk reaction which I have regretted ever since, it was a 2008 m sport and a great car but you do need deep pockets to run big 4x4

 

I loved mine! would defiantly have another one!

 

got offered a 2002 diesel last week for jusr over 4k, think i'll keep the E60