E53 Addition to the Family

michael.joseph

Active member
So...


A few months ago the wife's w204 c-class estate was wacked by a taxi. Insurance company decided to write it off. Trying to find a replacement was a mission to say the least. Firstly, we got that car at a bargain price and still had plenty of M/plan left on it with super low milage. Secondly, it had a whole bunch of convenient features which the wife had come to love...

Needless to say- she soon became a "merc" person... to her beemers would always be "B-Grade" in comparison.
So trying to stay within budget and find another low milage Benz with space and convenience proved to be more than a challenge.

Eventually, we agreed to find a cheapie (i10/picanto) that I'd use as a daily while she'd "make-do" with my e90.

At about the same time that we amended our car search, i had sent my car in to have the rear bumper repair due to a careless driver rear ending me... my rental just so happened to be an i10.

Now while they aren't bad cars, i couldn't see myself in this forever. She could see it as well and said that we should get something that we'd be happy with. I still maintained that it needed to be something that we didn't need to pay off over 5 years.

Now i remember seeing this X5 that Nick posted a little while back. I remember it looking good and that the milage was low... too low in fact. To me- how in earth could an 04 model have 85000km. Anyhow, i went back to the ad and thought maybe its worth a look. The dealership is literally up the road from me.

We get there and check it out- yeah she's old but still in pretty good condition. I like it and so does the wife.
Next day Francois and John run a few checks and this car checks out to be legit... i also get another mechanical check done at the 357 and apart from a few minor things- she's still "fresh".

The deal gets concluded a few days later and she finally arrives home

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michael.joseph

Active member
After that she took a trip to Powerflow Randburg to visit Sanjeev for a new downpipe some new tailpieces. Then it was off to Leo Haese Pretoria to spend a few days with John. She got new bonnet shocks and some vacuum lines needed replacing. We also found that the battery was taking a beating and the exhaust manifold had a couple of cracks...



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John spent quite alot of time personally to get to the route of the battery trouble. All signs pointed toward a tracking unit... the previous owner had no subscription and the owner beforw him was an old lady whose husband handled all of that stuff, but he had passed on. Anyways- i made a few calls and got lucky with tracker. Went thru to one of their installation centers and had 3 units removed... 3... all of their internal batteries were dead and were inturn killing the car battery.
 

cRed001

Active member
We have one of these in the family. Very solid vehicles, but its weight and size can be abit cumbersome for daily drive.

Keen to hear your wife's comparison to the merc after a few months in it.
 

michael.joseph

Active member
After reading posts from a couple of UK forums- it was evident that this exhaust manifold was a common issue. That lead me to the same company that SoloMan and LuigiS used when they came up with the same problem.

X8r.co.uk

The solution being a cast iron replacement

I was blown away at how quick and efficient these people are. I concluded the transaction on the Monday at 3pm... it was delivered to my door on Wednesday at 4pm.

When we found out about the leak in the manifold i made contact with the previous owner who advised that he had it repaired a while back but inlight of it resurfacing, he'll have it sorted for me at no extra cost.

Fitment was perfect and included all the gaskets and bolts
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Nick

Honorary ///Member
Im SO glad the X5 is with someone that can give it the love it needs.
Its already looking 10 times better.
 

michael.joseph

Active member
After this was sorted it was off to ZF to have this 6sp Auto box serviced and ready for some software upgrades. Unfortunately though as much as Nico said that the oil was in decent condition for its age, 2 of the adaptation values were outside of spec and indicated a bit of wear on the clutches:blueCry:

So he advised against doing the service but to plan for a recon in about 40000km.

At least i can somewhat plan for that from now.


Ok... so mechanically we are sorted with this car. She's big and heavy, but solid and responsive. Software will have to take a back seat for now as i don't wana risk killing the gearbox prematurely.

Now on to the detailing. Buddy of mine- Sbo- handled my e90 some time back... and based on the results from the Alpine White, i knew he'd work his magic with this Toledo Blue Metallic paint.

Enjoy...

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Nick said:
Im SO glad the X5 is with someone that can give it the love it needs.
Its already looking 10 times better.

Thank U Nick
:ty:


Also ordered a new radiator cap and door pin surround from JSN

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Clint@MMS AUTO

BMWFanatics Advertiser
Official Advertiser
Hey Michael, Great buy this and very well done on getting her back into shape... Its Already looking Fantastic!! Congrats and Enjoy it...
 

RickyM

New member
Hey Michael,

Congrats to you and the family on the new car. Looks great and I hope you have many happy miles with her.

I am feeling a bit jealous now! :smilebounce:
 

Dirtydeedsman

Active member
No time is being wasted on this thread... congrats on the car she looks great



Will you be taking it for movie and lunch with the girls on Thursday? :fencelook:
 

michael.joseph

Active member
Dirtydeedsman said:
No time is being wasted on this thread... congrats on the car she looks great



Will you be taking it for movie and lunch with the girls on Thursday? :fencelook:


LoL... forgot to edit that out:hammerhead:
 
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