About to pull the trigger

Spike · Post by **Spike** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 11:16 pm

Hi all

I have spent the last three weeks mulling over the purchase of a X40D demo car from my local dealer.

I love the look and drive of the car but must admit I have been concerned by the negative press and general opinion that many hold of the X6.

I have finally decided to ignore all of this and go with my gut feeling and buy the car.

It is a June 2012 black on black car with dynamic, comfort seats, media pack, camera, 3rd rear seat, etc.

I am chopping in a 9 month old Audi Q5 3.0 tdi with all the toys. My last three cars have all been Audis and I haven't owned a BMW for 20 years. Is there anything I should be aware of before handing over the cash?

I plan to keep this car for at east five years so will be looking to extend the warranty as I'm concerned out of warranty repairs could break the bank.

I would welcome any thoughts/advice based on your ownership experiences.

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:11 am

Hi Spike, and Welcome.....

I have had my 40D since the end of 2010 - and so far it has been good as gold. If you have already road-tested it and it's fitted with 20" wheels you will know 'hard' the ride is. 19" are better.

The only issues I have had from new were poor paint finish (corrected by BMW) with the clearcoat 'flaking' and the now publicly known security issue - since fixed with a software update.

I don't have a lot of miles on mine (just over 8,500) but they've all been good. Coming off an Audi and previously being a BMW Owner you understand the costs of these beasts. A warranty is essential!! The engine and gearbox are still too new to have any known issues - the 1st Gen X5 has a nast habit of breaking its gearboxes but the E70 & 71 are not yet showing any signs of the same - new 6 & 8sp boxes were used for these cars.

The only problem anyone here has had was a failed rear diff unit - fixed under warranty. The X6 has a very clever electronically controlled rear diff (as standard on it and the X5M).

And the Dealers are 'poor' in terms of their technical abilities to sort anything out.

Richard

Spike · Post by **Spike** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 12:40 pm

Hi Richard,

Thanks for your comments. I did trawl though most of the forum topics so I have a rough idea of some of the issues encountered. I spotted the rear diff thread, nightmare!

As for the ride, I'm kind of used to a few bumps as the Q5 is on sports suspension with 20" low profiles and before that I had an Audi S5, again on 20" with 30 profiles. I must admit run flats will be a new experience and I will need to see how I get on with them and maybe switch to normal tyres when they need replacing. That reminds me, I must speak to BMW to check the jacking points. I like to treat my wheels front and back with alloy wax at least once a year so I guess I need to invest in a jack since one is not provided with the car.

Other than that I will be looking to mod the angel eyes to a 'whiter' shade and maybe upgrade the interior lighting. I have a full Tunerdome LED kit I stripped out of the Q which at least half of which I can reuse in the X6.

Anyway, being an impatient sort I have just put my money on the table and done the deal. ::)

I dare say I will be throwing the odd silly question to you guys once I get the car.

Cheers

Spike

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 12:44 pm

Welcome to X ownership and congratulations on your purchase.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 12:53 pm

Congrats on joining the 'X6 Club'......

No such thing as a silly question.......and there are four (rectangular) jacking points underneath. I have a tool bought from the US that fit's into it and converts the rectangle to the usual round shape for the trolley jack. You can actually purchase a complete spare wheel and tool kit for the car, but you lose the under floor storage in the boot.

R

Black X5 · Post by **Black X5** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 1:01 pm

Well done, and look forward to the pics.

Spike · Post by **Spike** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 5:43 pm

Thanks chaps

I think I'm going to have to get one of those jacking blocks.

First thing to address is the 'yellow' angel eyes. I think cars look rubbish when manufacturers mix white and yellow lighting together. The first thing I did on all of my Audis was to mod the fogs as they come on with the 'see me home' lighting which looked pants with the stock bulbs.

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 6:39 pm

HIDS4U all the way then

Spike · Post by **Spike** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:09 pm

Thanks for the info on the angel eyes.

I think I need to do some research as they seem to vary in intensity.

Spike · Post by **Spike** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 10:44 pm

So tomorrow is collection day.

With a bit of luck the weather will hold as it would be nice to keep it clean for just a few hours!

I did have a bit of a wobble thinking I should wait a bit or a good spec facelift 40d to become available but decided the price difference and further deprecation of my Q5 would be too many pennies to sneak past Mrs Spike.

So all being well I should be collecting a June 2012 black on black x40d dynamic pack with 20" 214 alloys, media pack, comfort seats, heated seats F&R, camera top view, running boards, 3rd seat, folding dimming mirrors, lumbar, phone USB, mobile apps, Internet, voice, sun protection glass, speed limit display.

I was a bit disappointed that it has the standard audio system as I was told it had the business pro. Having said that the sound is pretty good although not up to the quality of the Audi B&O.

I also picked up one of those BMW jacking pads on eBay. I just need to find a trolley jack with a 70mm cup.

Cheers

Spike

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 10:48 pm

Sounds a great spec, and good luck on the pickup tomorrow.

You will need a 2.5 - 3 tonne trolley jack (keep your eye on halfords as they sometimes have theirs on offer) as these are heavy motors.

As the car is black, you'll be lucky to keep it clean for a few minutes let alone hours ( voice of experience;) )

Enjoy the drive home and don't forget the pics

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Tue Oct 09, 2012 12:21 pm

I bought mine from Reverse Logic in the US. They are This version

I noticed they have now started doing proper Axle/Jack Stands that fit into the jacking point too.

You WILL have to pay import Duty & VAT on them unless there's a member who can get things from the US?

They do all sorts of stuff like this for BMWs and Minis.

Spike · Post by **Spike** » Tue Oct 09, 2012 10:57 pm

Cheers guys for the info. I looked at the halfords 3 ton jobbie but it has a small cup so no good. There s a perfect model in the local motorist store but its £130. It's a Arcan XL30R which I'm sure I can find cheaper on the net.

Anyway, I've had a smashing evening driving around in the new toy. I was going to start ploughing through the user manual but gave up when I discovered how thick it was!!

First impressions are good. The ride is not too harsh even on my local country roads and the handling is superb. The toys are great although the reversing camera is going to take some getting used to as I nearly swiped the back of my wife's car as I backed up the drive. :'(

I mentioned the naff angel eye bulbs to the dealer and asked if BMW offer an upgrade to which I was reminded of my warranty T&Cs! >:(

Finglonga · Post by **Finglonga** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 10:59 am

[quote="Spike"]

First impressions are good. The ride is not too harsh even on my local country roads and the handling is superb. The toys are great although the reversing camera is going to take some getting used to as I nearly swiped the back of my wife's car as I backed up the drive. :'(

I mentioned the naff angel eye bulbs to the dealer and asked if BMW offer an upgrade to which I was reminded of my warranty T&Cs! >:(
[/quote]

I tried parallel parking just using the camera with the assist lines on but gave up in the end and went old school with the mirrors. It is fun to worry other parked cars though by folding the side mirrors in and reversing up to their car while turning the car round.

) Oh and only just found out they automatically "unfold" at just below 30mph.

Not had any issues with my LED angel eyes with dealers on both the e92 335i and the X6 and they were put in the same day I picked the X6 up.

Oh and . . .

shadrack · Post by **shadrack** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 12:06 pm

Machine mart do a very good range of jacks I have 2 that have harge cups on and go high enough for the x5, 3t I think and were about £80

XSeries-forum

XSeries-forum