4.6is and 4.8is owners - Road Tax / VED cost ??

[CondorX5]

I certainly wouldn't "ignore the Hexagon cars" - they may be overpriced, but given the current economic climes, there is room to negotiate - Hexagon seem to source many of the best specced (and most desirable) performance models in the BMW AUC scheme and people come from many miles away to buy their M3s, Z4Ms, Xes etc etc. from them. I bought my 4.8 from them and the service was very good - there were a few bits and pieces not covered by the AUC warranty which Hexagon paid for in full for the dealership in Lincoln to sort for me to my entire satisfaction.
Obviously, while looking on theBMW AUC site, you may see some Regional vehicles which suit - I looked for months and months and never found one even near the spec of the one I bought from Hexagon - all the 4.8is had much higher miles and less toys. Lots of luxury cars on AUC scheme are finance repos - not just Hexagon - same goes for independents - sadly, a sign of the times and not necessarily a huge issue given the AUC Warranty and a careful approach by the buyer.

I would certainly travel back to Hexagon to buy my next BMW. They gave a painless part -exchange , no quibbles, and a good price and I absolutely love my X, its a cracker.

[Red44]

To be honest, I won't ignore nor discount any 4.8 that comes up if it's the right price and spec, no matter where it's on sale. As I said, I'm located in Scotland but I'm more than willing to travel nationwide to get the right car. I'm not clued up about AUC or BMW dealers in general so I'm wondering :-

1. Say I buy from a dealer in Englandshire somewhere, can I have a dealer up here local to me look after it and any warranty claims or work that should arise?.

2. Do BMW dealers take non- BMW vehicles in part exchange?. I've got a top notch condition Vectra 3.0 V6 CDTi SRi I want to trade in.

I am guessing ( although I may be incorrect as the 4.8 to those "in the know" as gobiman said, is a sought after vehicle ) that in this current financial climate with rising fuel costs, large capacity X5's are perhaps proving difficult or slow to shift off the dealers forecourts?. If this is the case then perhaps there is room for manouver on sticker price?.

[CondorX5]

To be honest, I wouldn't feel comfortable buying a 4.8 from any dealer other than BMW AUC - the BMW AUC Warranty is about the best in the business and is usually no quibble whatever the expensive repair is (and its usually very expensive on a 4.8! - they are complex, high performance beasties!!) You might find a decent car cheaper at an independent / non-BMW dealer and be able to buy a Warranty Direct warranty, and be perfectly happy with that, but I personally prefer to pay the premium for the BMW AUC and its extendable warranty.

If you buy a BMW AUC, you can have any BMW main dealer do warranty work on it anywhere in the UK.

As to the part ex, I think most dealers will take most cars in part ex, but you may not get the best price for it from them - selling privately should net you a better price and you will have more room to haggle if there is no part ex.
Then again, the convemience of not having to worry about the second car and selling etc may be enough for you to do a deal via the dealer. They put very few part exes on their own floors- most end up on auction or handed on to Honest Sids Car Lot by arrangement!

All big engined cars (even your Vectra) have suffered as a result of the fuel prices and poor economy - I know Hexagon have had a few nice 4.8s sitting about for many months now, so they will be desperately keen to shift a few and I'm sure most dealers will be open to negotiate on them. If not, walk away, ther'll be another somewhere. Just be happy with what you eventually decide on - you only have one life, and its for living - no going back, no regrets!!!!

[gobiman]

Maybe I just had a bad experience at Hexagon but what put me off (as well as the prices) was the car I saw had badly marked paintwork,no service manual and had been stripped off its CD player. I saw it before it had been tarted-up for sale.From looking at the V5, it was clear that it had been repossessed and not particularly well looked after.
The answers from the salesman were "don't worry", the bodyshop will sort the damage and you won't be able to tell, we'll replace the CD player and, most worryingly, we'll get a new service manual and get it "stamped-up" for you. Not quite sure how that works! He rather missed the point that it was not appearances that worried me but how the car had been treated. Given the state it was in (pre-bodyshop), the mileage seemed very low.
All in all, I felt it was a bit too slick for my liking and I found a virtually identical car elsewhere with a sticker price £6k lower which had been well looked after and with which I've had no problems in 30K.

[CondorX5]

I try to go for one owner cars if possible, so perhaps I had a good experience with Hexagon partly because of this. I hunted for several months for the spec I wanted and despite seeing a lot of 4.8is both in and out the dealer network, none of them came close to the one I bought from Hexagon - paintwork was unmarked, service book was original plus I asked for a printout of work done on the car, which they gave. The petrol nozzle inlet had some corrosion which I only saw when I filled the tank after collecting the car - Hexagon paid for the replacement done by Soper Lincoln, plus some other bits and pieces including a brand new key as the spare didn't work properly. The interior was in superb condition and the car was clearly an unusually high spec; BT kit played up a bit a while after purchase and after discussion with the local dealer, it was completely replaced and is now 100% as was a parking sensor, both under the AUC Warranty. Plus BMW Emergency was fantastic when the oil cooler blew apart on Xmas Eve and Derby BMW were excellent with the replacement. I've had an adhoc starting issue which hopefully is sorted but the car is sublime to drive and I love it - it is after all, 5 years old, 6 years old this year actually, so given its complexity, occasional issues must be expected - expensive luxury cars may drop in value over time, but their maintenance certainly doesn't!!! I suppose BMW can replace a lost service manual as they have details on the system of all main dealer services, so its not that unusual. I found the salesman very helpful, actually - I was quite demanding about what I wanted, although I paid more than I really wanted I did get a higher price for my 3.0i X5 as a part ex, so it probably balanced out a bit. All in all, I'm happy. As I said, you only live once - may as well drive the car you really really want even if the price is a bit higher than it might have been!!!!