Which blue to go for, or possibly silver ??!

[MJim]

Many thanks for all the feedback - really helpful - thanks guys !

I hadn't realised that the paints were water based these days. I guess I'll just hope it doesn't get wet then!! Lol.

Thanks for the suggestion re getting the car film protected - does anyone have experience of getting these done ? Any good? Is there anything to choose between Armourfend, 3M or any of the others? I wonder if this issue is why BMW itself seems to favour the SE over the M sport - as per the fleet of low mileage ex BMW staff 40d se's on the AUC site ....

535dboy I'm pretty sure the dynamic pack adds the titanium grill too, but could be wrong!

Once again, your thoughts are really appreciated !!

[acideraser]

[quote=""MJim""]535dboy I'm pretty sure the dynamic pack adds the titanium grill too, but could be wrong![/quote]

unfortunately not MJim, I am getting black grill with 3.0d and dynamic pack. Even asked a dealer if I could get titanium grill on 3.0d as option - reply was no, buy 4.0d. It's possible though to order titanium grill as original bmw part from ebay usa, it's around 175-225 usd + p&p. You can also get painted (black, blue etc) from the internet.

[535dboy]

[quote=""acideraser""][quote=""MJim""]535dboy I'm pretty sure the dynamic pack adds the titanium grill too, but could be wrong![/quote]

unfortunately not MJim, I am getting black grill with 3.0d and dynamic pack. Even asked a dealer if I could get titanium grill on 3.0d as option - reply was no, buy 4.0d. It's possible though to order titanium grill as original bmw part from ebay usa, it's around 175-225 usd + p&p. You can also get painted (black, blue etc) from the internet.[/quote]


I tlhink you'll find you can buy it through parts now. I thought I saw it in the new accessory brochure

[Chompers]

[quote=""MJim""]Thanks for the suggestion re getting the car film protected - does anyone have experience of getting these done ? Any good? Is there anything to choose between Armourfend, 3M or any of the others? [/quote]

Can only comment on Armourfend and last time I had it fitted to a customers Lotus was back in 2002!!! It's not the cheapest stuff in the world but does do the job very well. Elise's came will a small amount of protection from the factory i.e. front edge of the rear wings, around the filler cap & sooftop mounting point. The only problem was that while the area protected looked great the area around did stand out from chipping.

The rear wings/arches do sound like a weak point for excessive chipping and would defo say this area should be protected, I would also guess that the front bumper and leading edge of the bonnet would be a good idea and maybe the backs of the door mirrors. I have no idea of cost, but I'm sure Armourfend will be able to advise you. Maybe also a good idea to get something like Evo mag as other companies do advertise in the back of them.

[quote=""MJim""]I wonder if this issue is why BMW itself seems to favour the SE over the M sport - as per the fleet of low mileage ex BMW staff 40d se's on the AUC site ....[/quote]

I haven't looked at these at detail but would guess that these were 40d launch spec vehicles order by the factory for BMW GB, std on any new launch and offen well spec'd and keenly priced when they hit the dealer network.

@Acideraser - Nice exterior colour you have ordered what interior did you go for? look forward to pics in a few months time, will make a change from all the Silver & Black ones

[acideraser]

[quote=""535dboy""]Acideraser - Nice exterior colour you have ordered what interior did you go for? [/quote]
thanks . I have small kids so went for boring black leather interior with bamboo wood trim, but I like the look anyway

You guys mention Armourfend here, but dealer offered A-glaze to me for around 400k (http://www.aglaze.com/).
I thought it's not worth is because if I part exchange my car in 3-4 years, doubt dealer would care.

[MJim]

@ acideraser - apologies, should have been clearer, the Dynamic pack comes with a titanium mesh and not grill i.e. beneath the kidney grill - it does look good! Glad that's sorted! Call me brave, but I have two young boys and am going for the Oyster - I'm confident it can be cleaned off with wipes when dirty. I took a look at aglaze and looks like an advanced polish as far as I can see so not sure it would offer the same protection as a film.

@ Chompers - cheers for the guidance. I understand that Armourfend use 3M film so that kills the 3M vs Amourfend debate - so will look into that when delivery approaches.

[acideraser]

Thanks MJim, don't apologise - I didn't know that and actually was wondering myself if mesh is in silver/titanium or black. Assumed it was black so my black kidney grill would match. Now it looks like I'll have to order titanium kidney grill but good news are BMW has both black and titanium listed in X5 original accessories brochure here http://www.bmw.com/com/en/owners/access ... ndex2.html

however bmw car builder on uk website still shows 3.0d + Dynamic pack with black mesh...

[Chompers]

[quote=""MJim""]@ Chompers - cheers for the guidance. I understand that Armourfend use 3M film so that kills the 3M vs Amourfend debate - so will look into that when delivery approaches.[/quote]

No problem always happy to help. They did indeed use 3M when I was selling it but wasn't sure if that had changed since.

@ acideraser - It was me who liked you your exterior 535dboy is a Black on Black kind of guy mon - fri then Tango for the weekends

I know but this is mine,





I also have 2 young kids and in fairness to them they haven't been to bad, as for the carpet mats they are a different story and I would highly recommend MJim getting a set of rubber mats as mine have been mullerd over the winter

[StumpyPete]

I went with the BMW protection when I bought Xena, and although a bit costly seems to have worked really well over the last 4 years. I have one chip on the front from what must've been a pretty big stone, but other than that she is pretty flawless.

[MJim]

@ acideraser - I checked in the official printed X5 price list - specifies that Dynamic pack brings titanium mesh - maybe worth taking a look ... I walk past a silver X5 SE with dynamic pack each morning. From memory it has the black grill (and titanium mesh) but still looks stunning ...

@ Chompers - the beauty of Oyster in the X5 is it comes with black carpets and seat backs - so shouldn't be too much of a problem (hopefully) !!

[acideraser]

@Chompers
yeah, meant to reply to you but quoting button put 535dBoy there . I think I ordered black interior more because mats can get dirty pretty quickly and I hate rubber mats in the car . Oyster leather looks great indeed.
I see your exterior is Platinum grey too - man it looks awesome, I am so glad I've ordered this one and not sparkling bronze as I initially intended...

@MJim, Just can't wait when my car arrives, but it's good to have option to change kidney grill if need be. This is how I expect my car to look like except for kidney grill which will be black( this one is 4.0d and not mine)

[MJim]

Just went to look at an X5 in Deep Sea Blue - on sale at a nearby dealership. Rubbish photo from iPhone below. I'm not going to say it's the best colour, as thank goodness we all have different taste, but it's definately the best colour !!!

In all seriousness, I've seen so many X5's in different colours, silver, black (that's pretty much all else they do in numerous variations!) oh and white, and they have all looked stunning!! I'm happy to stick with DSB though, so roll on April !!

Sadly in terms of visuals, I've decided on 19in wheels - I know the 20s look better and the 333s are my favourate - but have sacrificed aesthetics for a more comfortable (but still very sport biased) family orientated grand tourer ride ... I think that'll be better for us in the long run !!

[535dboy]

Nice colour

[Chompers]

[quote=""535dboy""]Nice colour[/quote]

+1 I like very much, good choice

[acideraser]

For some reason I didn't look at DSB at all. First choice was Platinum Bronze, then after dealer's suggestion we decided to go for Platinum Grey and only recently I saw DSB and really like it. I would say it's richer then any grey and goes well with plastic wheel arches you get with SE and 20inch alloys.

However my car has been built and will be arriving soon so PG is the best colour for X5 SE