Well, johnny, i hate to say it, but the bmw dealer did inspect the engine mounts and gave it a check mark, so they must be fine yeah. I don't think so. Look at that! It's smashed so you're telling me they were wrong cd vote, but they also inspected that the cv boots and that's got a check mark wow about the grease right here. You got both power steering lines from the reservoir leaking okay hold on hold on.

They check the power, steering fluid level and condition yeah. The both lines are leaking. How about the radiator leaking? No yeah it just dripped in my face, so yeah welcome to movies garage, the dumbest automotive channel in all of youtube - and this is a 2003 bmw. 4.6 is the high performance variant of the first generation: bmw x5 340 horsepower v8 under the hood, a lot of cool performance and styling touches on this car.

Basically, it is an x5m and everything, but the name in the first generation. They didn't have an mx-5, but this was basically it. I paid 7 500 for this x5 bought it sighed unseen on ebay, cross country, and i felt pretty good about it, because the seller was nice enough to go. Get this thing inspected by a bmw dealer before he listed it for sale and he listed all the known issues there.

So i bought it. It arrived and clearly it had way way more issues than the seller listed and what the bmw dealer found wrong with it. And well, i feel, like i have been massively massively screwed so today we're going to find out if i'm right we're going to take this bmw to my independent bmw mechanic. The car ninja stack him up to the bmw dealer's estimate.

This is not my local dealer, but somebody cross country far away that looked at this thing and see if it is indeed missing a lot of things on their list and how much is actually going to cost to fix. But before we do that i'll give you a tour of my x5 and explain well why i bought it so you're, probably thinking who you idiot, why did you buy this thing? When you made a video about a year ago saying you should never ever buy a bmw x5 because you bought one in that video, it was so bad. You took it right to the junkyard and well. The answer is, i never learned from my mistakes, but also because i'm trying to assemble the bmw dream team now, while these cars may be aged and haggard now 20 years ago.

I thought this was the best automotive lineup really of all time. There's never been a better lineup since bmw in 2001. The cars are all very attractive, very well built, at least from the way they feel and look and drive, and while they haven't aged as well mechanically, it is a fantastic lineup of cars and it shows how bmw has gotten away from their core. Well, initial principles of building the ultimate driving machine now, they're, all bloated cars filled with technology screens.

All that stuff, not pure driving cars like even this suv, was when knew. It was a great driving suv, and i know this because i actually used to have one. When i was only a few years old. I got an x5 4.4 i and when it got out of warranty, it was a total disaster, but i'm giving it another chance here, because i wanted to build the bmw dream team all in silver, and this is the last link in that i now have the Z8, an m3 a z3 an m5, my seven series, my 740i sport, which is outside and this the x5, and while these cars can be a monster to maintain it does help a lot when you find a good, independent mechanic to keep these things on the road.

If you're taking it to a dealer having a car like this as cool as it is being a performance barrier at the 46, is it could just be a total nightmare and it's getting worse and worse with dealers, franchise, bmw dealers, all dealers, taking care of older Cars, it's like they're, not interested, they don't care the parts and the labor rates at dealers have gotten so obscenely high. At this point, it's almost like they're trying to scare people out of these older cars and in to newer ones, but also it's just sort of a rip-off obscene greed thing and thankfully that's opened the door for independent mechanics to open up shop and really you can Get a much better deal that way, but also one thing that really bothers me is they're losing a lot of talent as they raise their labor rates. You see the pay for these techs not going up well at near the percentage of the labor rate that they are charging and they're losing all of these talented texts and what good ones are still around well, they are worked really thin. The quality of their work isn't very good.

That's why i think i got a bad inspection on this car either it was an inexperienced tech that was probably in diapers when this car came out or somebody that was so busy that they just rushed through an inspection and missed a lot of things. Now i don't blame the seller of this car at all for this, because he listed everything the bmw dealer said was wrong and even went above and beyond and pulled the codes on the car, because the bmw dealer wanted another 140 just to pull codes to see What the check engine light was, he said it was a cam timing code that goes away if you reset it, it stays away for a long time before it comes back on and listed all the issues that he knew, including the damage to the front. Unfortunately, it looks like it had a hit with an animal or some kind of impact that needs to be fixed, but otherwise it is in decent shape, 113 000 miles, but i mean probably mechanically totaled. If you take this thing to a dealer now he wanted 7.

500 for it i messaged them with the cam timing codes. There's some other leaks, there's some issues like the cosmetic stuff and i tried to negotiate like ed. I said: hey this thing's kind of a project. Would you take six grand and probably would have offered two grand and they said no firm, firm, firm, firm, it's not a project.

I just drove this thing 500 miles. It is mostly fine and well to the best of this person's knowledge. It was fine, but i really don't think so when i start this car up, it has a really bad noise from the right side of the engine sounds like like a bad accessory, or maybe the timing chain that code that's going off for the timing. It does seem to be leaking a little more than just oil.

It seems like there's some other fluids mixed in there and there's just lots of other little things like this mirror. That's just totally loose and really the car doesn't dry. Fine. It seems a little down on power, there's that noise in the suspension it's just totally shot, but i can see if someone's owned a car over a number of years, and it slowly got worse.

He wouldn't notice that things are off because it didn't well happen overnight, but overall it is in decent shape. You know with the miles it's probably a little bit nicer than average, and these things look so cool with the is body kit you can see, they fender flared it a little bit. It's black the exhaust out the back, looks really really cool. The inside.

Has sport seats we're missing a few trim pieces, but otherwise it is in pretty nice shape, so how bad can it be well we'll actually find out in the morning? I'm still in this crazy schedule with the car issue show where i don't have time to film anything during the day so early in the morning, we will go to the car ninjas lair. We will check out this x5 and see how their inspection stacks up to the car ninjas. Well, very, very careful eye. He has a lot of experience with these things, so i know this car is in good hands, so i really dove on a grenade here, a seller saying that this thing drives great: it's not a big project and holding firm to his price and well.

When you drive this thing, it uh, it does not drive great there's this odd noise coming from one bank of cylinders, it seems like on one side of the engine array it's an accessory and then the suspension is so bad. On this thing, an x5 used to be a pretty tight feeling suv, but now this one will drift hard to the left. It is just super super loose, so there's some serious suspension problems, but that's all noted in this inspection from a bmw dealership that the seller did list. But you know sugarcoated it not saying that it's cost 4, 000 plus dollars to fix the bmw dealer and that's just diagnosing the check engine light.

That's not fixing this check engine light, which is you know, going to be a lot of money, this code 22 for whatever cam issues. This thing has let's floor it here the mirror comes loose as you flirt like you can't see now, but you know not bad, but when you do the math, it just makes no sense because a nice one of these, with 60 000 miles, sells on cars and Bids, for you know about 15 grand i paid 7 500 firm for this and well it easily needs another 7 500 to get to that point, or maybe that's at least at a dealer, but the carnage of being an independent mechanic. His labor rates are lower. He gives me a break on parts, so so maybe maybe i'll get lucky.

If he likes this thing, it all depends on if he likes the car. That's that's a that's an important thing. So, let's, let's get to the car ninjas in this hopelessly broken. X5.

Oh, why did i do this to myself? It makes a weird noise under load on that side. There's some accessory or something making noise on this guy almost sounds like a timing chain. Tensioner, that's what i thought yeah well. It does have the check engine light on, but uh.

This is an unusual circumstance ninja, because i already have an inspection done on this car from the bmw dealership. There you go so three thousand four hundred and eighty one dollars and that's with just diagnosing the check engine light at 140 bucks not what's wrong with the engine, and apparently it's a code 22, which is the the vanes thanos stuff for you know rattling, then the Should fix four thousand two hundred and eighty dollars and you saw the cosmetic things yeah uh this mirror every time i floor, it is being a bmw x5, but i was told by the seller. This isn't a project. What is it then? Yeah? You know it's not a project, so he held firm to his price, saying it's not a project.

It's a gorgeous car but yeah. It's gon na be more than a project. I guess we're plugging it in first huh yep, but look at this. This is mine right yep, that aftermarket bumper is actually really really good.

They did an awesome job painting it yeah. I mean i didn't want them to go too nuts. So there's still this, but it's been touched up yeah. It does look like a completely different car.

So this whole thing has been resprayed, remember, yeah how bad it was so yeah. It looks like a yeah very presentable. M5. Now i just need to get the wheels refinished and then well, there's still a lot of mechanical things too.

You're done! Oh, my the wood! Yes, i got so high cleaning that one up, so how did you do it? Chemicals yeah? It was just a respray of paint, so you just rubbed on it with chemicals and the wood's actually in nice shape. So somebody just painted the wood to be to be dumb, huh yeah uh. This is gorgeous the way wow. Well, i think you just increased my value quite a bit without any of the mechanical works exactly so we're almost done with it.

We're just gon na. Do the clutch brakes the rear shocks and should be yours, okay, well, and then i dog pile this on you, so let's plug it in m3, transmission is on the way the z3 is outside in progress as well yep. The dream team is assembled. What have i done to myself? I've assembled it to have it all.

Disassembled here spend thousands, and what have i accomplished, something that has never been done in a while, okay, i'm sure nobody's ever eaten their own in a while. I mean that doesn't mean it's accomplishment. Actually, you do not have any venous codes, you have airflow meter code, you have a tank ventilation code and oxygen sensor. I mean the only thing we can change is the airflow meter.

I mean the rest is just emissions, so it shouldn't affect your drivability at all. Oh okay! Well, they said when he reset it would stay off for a long time. So maybe it is, but it is making a little bit of noise up there yeah, because it's coming that's coming from the tensioner, though so timing chain's a common thing very common on those. Oh, it's been done.

It's been done very recently, so why is it rattling? Is it just being a bmw uh? I do not know if they changed your tension or not. I mean um and if they time it properly or not, so i'm not sure i do see this motor mount is busted. Inspection begins right. Well, that's something! The bmw dealer didn't notice, yeah it's it's busted, you have a broken boot.

That's where this nipple goes right. Here, it's broken. You can't fix that. It's no big deal and obviously you have oil leaks from your timing cover.

So we're going to lift it up in the air and see they did. They did notice that well johnny, i hate to say it, but the bmw dealer did inspect the engine mounts and gave it a check mark. So they must be fine yeah. I don't think so.

Look at that. It's smashed so you're telling me they were wrong. Yes, really stevie boots cd boot, but they also inspected that the cv boots and that's got a check mark wow. How about the grease right here, you're telling me the bmw dealer miss something now tooth some things, and i noticed you said something about tie rods.

I don't see anything wrong with the tie rods at all they're solid, but they were right on the oil leak being the timing chain cover yes and the bushings. We are having a oxygen sensor code. I don't know if you notice it right and you got aftermarket sensor here - that's why it's just been wired in with electrical tape yep. So that will be one of the issues, but the seller told me that when he resets it, it all stays off for a really long time.

Yeah, i don't think so. Also, obviously your valve covers are leaking too. You got both power steering lines from the reservoir leaking okay hold on hold on, they check the power, steering fluid level and condition yeah. The both lines are leaking.

How about the radiator beacon? No yeah, it just dripped in my face, so yeah. Really it's not a project, it is a project. Oh look up right here, yep, there's, the blue, bmw cooling system strikes again. Okay.

This is definitely the worst car of the bunch that i've bought all right. Well, let's see how your estimate stacks up to the bmw dealers. Well i mean they told you, you need tie rods, you don't right, and i imagine that your prices are not quite as obscene as these. The question is: do you want to rescue it or not? I guess it all depends on how big your estimate is.

So, let's see uh, first of all, how you would do against the bmw dealer. Okay, uh timing chain cover gasket nineteen hundred dollars, nah um approximately about eleven 1100 bucks, 1100 bucks yeah. But what about the tensioners and stuff in there? Well, you just do the outdoor tensioner and that's another um 60 bucks for from bmw, so yeah so 1100 bucks. So i save 900 right there pretty much and you do more yep and then the uh bushings uh tension strut bushings are 531 dollars.

Their labor is like 180 about like 260. 260.. So then we have radiator power, steering another 200 on power steering um another 400. On the radiator yeah and then you had oxygen sensor, mass airflow meter.

Now the airflow meter is kind of pricey. Really, yes, so we're gon na do some shopping for that trying to find a better price um and the booth is like 50 bucks plus another hour to do and then there's those loose mirrors. That's really annoying yeah! I had one like this. While back uh, there is gears inside the strip.

I if i remember right, i modified mine. Let me see if i can do the same thing with yours: okay, so ballpark. What do you think? Probably three grand? That's it! That's it to sort this thing out. I imagine if the dealer were doing this it'd be like 10 grand, probably yeah, so that's a no-brainer all right! Well, one more dog piled on to the rest and i'm sure you're not busy at all with any other customers.

Cars right, yeah, absolutely all right! Well, we're get we're getting close and then, when they're all fixed, we're gon na, take it to the track. All of them have this beautiful track day with these cars, and hopefully they don't break so probably bleed the brakes on this thing too. Yes, big heavy thing. Oh, by the way, the z3 has great brakes now: oh good, yes, okay, yeah, because they weren't working in the rear at all, yeah yeah.

So all right! Well, thank you for watching you.