I have an opportunity to buy a 2001 X5 with just over 50k on the odometer and thought I would ask owners of those vintages what to look for in terms of maintenance/relaibility problems. i've looked on general forums, but thought i'd get better information from BMWCCA gearheads on what to know about the cars.
I purchased my 2004 X5 (E53) in 2006 from a dealer after determining it was a Certified PreOwned vechilce that had been traded in. Basically I toook the vin number to the local BMW dealer and had them run a vehicle history report. This provided me with details on repairs, maintenance, and recalls taken care of by a BMW service center in addition to learning I would have the the remaining mfg maintenance and warranty 4yrs/50k miles with extended maintenance & warranty coverage till 2010 or 100K miles. Even though mine was a CPO I still had a pre purchase inspection done anyway by a local non dealer BMW specialist shop just to be safe. First thing I did was have the Brake fluid flushed and oil changed since it was due. Second since mine is an automatic I went ahead and changed all differential and transimission fluids to include filters around 39k miles which is highly recommended by most boards to do in the 35-50k range even though it is not cheap. BMW will tell you these are lifetime fills but if you plan to own your X5 for sometime I would make sure this is done. In your case paying a BMW Dealer to do the PPO would wise from my perspective as they can hook up to the diagnostic computer and even print out the repair service, and maintenance history for you since it was most likely serviced at a BMW dealer while under warranty. Not sure for everyone but my experience with Leith BMW in Raleigh has been good regarding any repairs over the 3 years of ownership. Here are the issues I have had Pulley noise on first start of day Drivers mirror not retracting Thermostat-replaced on Inspection II at 60K Drivers side rubber door seal worn Navigation CPU failure requiring module replacement under warranty Replacement BMW Rondel that was discoloring
