New SE London owner of an X5 3.0SD

[Mavster]

Thanks again Richard and Barney.

Difficult to see the shape of the tips from the diagram, I essentially want my exhausts to look like those on the 2012/3 sport models ,  are these the same tips as the part in the diagram?

Richard, did you mean that you try and avoid the Spider wheel or try to avoid the Main dealers because of the rip off prices?

I didn't even consider that the wheels might be copies as the car is being sold as an AUC. - Good point sir !, I will get them to double check if wheels are OEM- I won't have copies on such a safety critical bit of the car.. >:(

Cheers

Steve

[535dboy]

I would say those wheels are original.

The tips are the same as later cars.

I paid about £350 fitted at main dealer.

Does look much bette than std set up.

[Mavster]

Perfect ! Cheers mate.

Yeah, I think they will be OEM also. I will still ask anyway for peace of mind. Lovely looking wheels though, really make the car look  on the outside IMO

I will get the dealer to fit tips before they bring car down to me. Maybe they will give free fitting if I'm lucky 

[535dboy]

Defo worth haggling now I agree.

[X5Sport]

I meant that I would avoid main dealer tyre prices as they are way too high.  If I can save over £300 on a 20" set, I suspect you will save a lot more on 21". 

No problem with the wheels.  You may find the ride a little 'unforgiving' on RFT's, but that's just coz they're RFTs.  I'm like you, and I avoid copy wheels too.

Read up on AUC on here as some dealers have proved less than stellar when dealing with AUC.  You would have expected as BMW sell their cars as the ultimate driving machine!  The official warranty would be of similar quality.  Most Dealers are fine, but some are poor.  Don't let the delivery team depart until you've checked everything - twice...

Richard

[Barney]

[quote="X5Sport"]

Read up on AUC on here as some dealers have proved less than stellar when dealing with AUC.  You would have expected as BMW sell their cars as the ultimate driving machine!  The official warranty would be of similar quality.  Most Dealers are fine, but some are poor.  Don't let the delivery team depart until you've checked everything - twice...

Richard
[/quote]

Totally agree, when I started looking at the start of the year I thought a BMW AUC was going to be spot on, all I viewed except the one I finally purchased were dogs. I'm fussy and know what I'm looking for, I made it clear in calls prior to viewing what I would and wouldn't accept and they always either lied or wouldn't know a bad motor if it smacked them in the face  My final purchase was just shy of £35K so it wasn't as if I wasn't willing to pay the right money for one.

[Mavster]

Barney,

What are some of the things that I should ask about or watch out for on this X5 that you saw in the cars you looked at but didn't buy?
Thanks

Steve

[Raj]

Congrats on the purchase. Lovely looking and do love the 128's as they look so right.

[Barney]

[quote="Mavster"]
Barney,

What are some of the things that I should ask about or watch out for on this X5 that you saw in the cars you looked at but didn't buy?
Thanks

Steve
[/quote]

Paint repairs, many BMW AUC I saw had very poor smart repairs to the bumper corners, sanding marks visable under the paint and even paint overspray covering the top surface of one car !. One with a terrible repair to the rear passenger door, again signs of filler and sanding marks under the paint. Many hadn't been looked after with knocks and scrapes all over, heavily valeted with damp carpets still showing stubborn signs of dirt/marks.
Another thing is poorly refurbished alloys, again smart repairs caried out on them so just sprayed (poorly) on the face of the wheel, this will last only a matter of months before is chips and peels.
All the examples I saw prior to the one I purchased had numerous paint repairs, none had been repaired to a professional standard and in my opinion had recently been 'tarted up' by the dealer to help sell the car, the thing to remember is that the original owner must have treated it poorly to need such work.
I spent ages talking to sales guys prior to viewing, got them to double check for any paint repairs and also had videos and extra photos, none of these showed up the paint finish properly.
Another thing is that one car had a massive chunk out of the side wall of the tyre, the dealership were happy it was safe and later sold the car with the dodgy tyre to another punter.

Having said that, the dealer I finally got my 40d from, Sandals in Wakefield were superb from the start. They gave me an honest description, highlighted any marks (very minor) and looked after me all the way. There are some good dealers out there but don't assume that just because it's a BMW dealership you will get a quality used car. 
What year and how many miles has yours done?