[Tim603]

So I was thinking about getting an e53 or an e70. What are your guys thoughts in the e53 3.0l engine. I like the reliability of the n52 and want to get something similar to maintain but for the winter so i was thinking e53 x5. The e70 may be a little to expensive for me at this time and I've seen some killer deals on e53s. Any advice on what I should know about these before I get into them?

[XMetal]

The E53 never came with the N52. But the M54 is still pretty bullet proof. For the 3.0i, it's pretty much the same engine/transmission combo throughout the entire model years if you get the automatic (5spd). The manual gets an extra gear (6spd) on the facelift (2004-2006). You also get xDrive on the facelift, which can direct power from 0 to 100% to either "axle". The power distribution for non-xDrive is fixed at 38% front & 62% rear.

I'm slightly under 95k (mostly hard SoCal city miles) on my '04, 3.0i and it still doesn't drink a drop of oil since new. Other than your average maintenance stuffs and window regulators, I haven't had any major issues. The X5 does have its fair share of quirky problems, which I did ran into a few...but again, nothing major. Give xoutpost.com a browse for all the various "quirky-ness" if you want to dive into further. The only major thing that I've done (if you considered that as major) was the Vanos rebuilt using the Beisan kits...and the only reason that I had decided to have that done was because I already had the valve cover off to change my slightly leaking valve cover gasket.

Here's how it looked with the valve cover off after 10 years and about 93k miles (at the time of the photo) following BMW's maintenance service interval - well almost - with an annual oil changes.

But since these cars are getting up there with ages, I would budget in some maintenance/preventative maintenance money if you decides to get one. I've seen people that go out and buy these 10+ years old cars and then go on forums to complain how shitty these cars are for basically maintenance items (yeah...your brakes, water pump, expansion tank, hoses, belts, oil separator, starter, compressor, alternator, coils, battery, etc... will need fixing/replacing after 10+ years, if the previous owners have neglected it).