At $13,500, Is This 2012 BMW X5 xDrive 35d A Door-Buster Deal?
If today’s Nice Price or No Dice BMW diesel X5 were a grocery store item, it would be on the dented can discount table. Let’s see if this oddly equipped, and door-damaged SUV can still pull a fairly premium price.
Lexus has always been a fairly premium brand. That’s been a laudable trick to pull off seeing as early in its existence, many of the marque’s models were just thinly veiled versions of Toyota vehicles. I guess it helped that Toyotas are usually a pretty good jumping-off place.
The 2000 Lexus LX 470 we looked at yesterday was one such example of this vehicle veiling, having been based on the stalwart Toyota Land Cruiser, albeit with some necessary fancification. Most of you found the big SUV lacking at its $12,500 asking and with 240,000 miles under its belt, with many of the comments noting that both numbers needed to be lower to engender interest. In the end, that meant a narrow but decisive 55 percent No Dice loss.
BMW has long touted its products as being “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” When you think of that term, what probably springs to mind is a snarling M3 or maybe hellzapoppin’ E60 M5 with its amazing V10 engine. What you probably don’t envision is a seven-passenger diesel-powered AWD SUV, although the company made those too and so here we are.
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Because it has the optional third row, this 2012 BMW X5 xDrive 35d is one of the rarer of the model’s many iterations, probably because it’s a form factor that few people stumble into BMW dealerships demanding. You might think that the diesel X5 itself might not be all that common based on BMW’s long-held tagline, but the 30 or so that are up for grabs on Craigslist right now would beg to differ. There are even more on eBay and Facebook Marketplace, but you get the idea.
This one is of interest because it has relatively low miles, matched with an equally low price compared to the others being offered. That price reflects some damage to the passenger side which appears to be aesthetic-only but makes the truck look pretty rachet from the curb.
Fortunately, it’s said to be in “immaculate mechanical condition.” The 3 liter M57 turbo-diesel six makes 265 horsepower and an entertaining 425 lb-ft of torque in the X5, and here that engine has enjoyed a recent refresh of its timing chain, and water pump, as well as a service on its Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) system. Per the seller, the truck has been well cared for (save for letting another truck roll into it) and comes with a slew of maintenance records. It also comes with new tires, brakes, and CV joints, per the ad.
The interior looks to be in tip-top shape, featuring black leather upholstery and warm-looking wood trim. When BMW designed the second-generation X5, it made the truck larger in most dimensions than the first-gen, which allowed for the addition of the third row of seats. Now, while technically a third row owing to the two seats placed in the load area and the seatbelts that accompany them, this is not really someplace you would put anyone but the tiniest of passengers. It’s such a small and cramped space that Zoolander ant jokes are a natural reaction to seeing it. What sucks the most is that the only individuals who might (might!) be comfortable in there are kids who are of an age that they rightfully should be in child safety seats, and those won’t fit back there at all.
Regardless, the option allowed BMW to tout a three-row SUV and that apparently is an important selling point in this class.
Does that hold appeal to any of you? If so, what might so odd an ultimate driving machine from a decade ago be worth today? Prices on these are all over the place and you have to be careful about those advertised as “diesel delete” since the removal of those pesky emissions controls can make registration a significant headache — plus they pollute the planet so stay away from them. This clean title but bruised-body X5 asks $13,500 for the honor of being its new owner. Selling any vehicle with substantial — if only cosmetic — damage is sort of like trying to introduce to your parents a new boyfriend/girlfriend who likes to wear Crocs with socks. To say it makes things tougher is an understatement.
What do you think, could this X5 pull it off? Is this diesel-powered SUV worth that $13,500 asking, warts and all? Or, do you think that ultimately, that price is not doing to drive a sale?
You decide!
Spokane, Washington, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Dennis Drea for the hookup!
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