Evening all

[Dan1502]

Just saying hello as I've just put a deposit down on an X5 having previously hated 4x4s with a passion. I guess that was because I was behind them in my 996 (currently for sale) or prior to that my S2000 or E36 M3 before that and couldn't see past but had never driven one or maybe I'm just getting older and more sensible.

Anyway I was planning on selling my current motor first but had been researching X5s for a while as I fancied a complete change and my wife has always wanted one. The day after I started looking I missed out on an extremely high spec one owner 3.0d sport with less than 25,000 miles and viewed a few others when I came accross what I thought was a mistake. It turned out it wasn't so I went to see it and bought it. It's a 3.0d Sport 54 plate that wasn't ideal in terms of spec but it's one owner, from a main dealer so warrantied and has only done an amazingly low 13,500 miles! It's automatic with leather and the panoramic sun roof and rear sun blinds but doesn't have comms or nav but I can cope with using a separate nav and bluetooth headset for that mileage and peace of mind of the warranty and it was a fair bit cheaper than the newer higher spec models I was considering.

I just hope I enjoy it now and can get into slower, more relaxed motoring.

[AW8]

Welcome to the fold Dan,

Decent past cars all of which I have given some genuine consideration to owning at some point.

Despite my appreciation of the X5 I confess to having genuinely at times toyed with idea of replacing X5 with either a 996. Sadly my budget at the time would have only yielded an early prefacelift car & with me having some underlying engine durability fears. At back end of 2008 a lot of 993 meant there were some sensibly priced examples of the 996 aroud. I even bought a Peter Morgan buyers guide to find out more re these cars. I drove one some time ago & warmed to it finding it very balanced & useable not like some precious performance metal prior driven......shamefully despite pressing on a bit at the time I cant be 100% certain as to whether it was a C2 or C4 Carrera though I am fairly sure it was the former.

Having had an RX-8, MR2, MX-5 & laterly my wife owning the Z3 I am partial to Jap &/or open top RWD cars, (the first two which like/need to rev high).

E36 M3, (4dr non evo), consered some time ago when considering a "Q car" saloon of value that would entertain in bends yet give a fair return on a run. I see less abused 4 door examples & the non evo has the 328i box so not so costly if the original breaks.

Your X5 sounds nice & fresh with under 25k which is a quarter of mileage of my 4.4i. Hopefully it will serve you well. You can get them remapped by a variety of specialists out there. Mogsyman who makes brief appearances on here prior owned a 996 then DMS mapped & owned a facelift 3.0d which he later changed to a 4.8is, (since changed again). Whilst he loved the 4.8is I got the impression he found the 3.0d to be the better all rounder. His head will explode when I type this but he is a competent brisk cross country driver & doesnt hang around. He found the 3.0d to be sufficently capable of decent hassle free brisk progress. I drove a non mapped 3.0d facelift & found it a little down on oomph for my liking but to be fair it was a very low mileage car with a tight engine. Despite me liking my V8 I accept the 3.0d is a desireable choice,(even with diesel prices climbing up & above unleaded costs near me).

Hope you enjoy the car & that it serves you & yours well.

[Dan1502]

The one I bought is the one with 13,500 miles so stupidly low.

It was you who responded to my request for a buyers guide on pistonheads so thanks for that. My 996 is still for sale if you're interested. They are fantastic everyday sportscars and with mine having been on the Hartech warranty scheme it was pretty much worry free. The problem was that my wife doesn't like driving it and also most of the long journeys we have been going on lately have been mountain biking so we mostly ended up taking our second car which is an 02 Focus Estate. Also, although I have made it a talking point to avoid the potential issue until now, I couldn't help worrying about the impression turning up to see my clients in a Porsche has and also the alternative of turning up in a fairly old Focus Estate. I realise there can be image issues with 4x4s but think a silver X5 with my private plate on should be fine. That said it could also be that I tend to get the urge to change after about 2 years anyway.

I now need to sort out a decent towbar and towbar mounted bike rack and probably a few other bits like a boot protector etc and once the weather's better, give it a proper clay, polish and wax and general valet as I always do when I buy a new car.

I'd also like to get some winter wheels/tyres but storage of the ones not being used is a bit of a pain. Are they reasonable in the snow etc without them? There appear to be loads of decent sets on ebay in Germany (my wife is German) but getting them here would probably not be practical. I'll probably need to take advice on what wheel/tyre size I would need too.

[gmc15]

Hi Dan and welcome

I had a 2001 3.0d and had a towbar fitted. The OEM one is made by Westfalia and is detachable and fits behind the panel in the rear bumper. The electrics are also there, so when the bar is removed and panel replaced you can't tell a towbar has been fitted. The other makes require a bumper cut and the towbar will be visible all the time. I am not sure about towbar mounted bike racks on detachable bars, but on 2 bolt flange ones racks can be bolted. You can get bike racks that clip onto the rear tail gate so if you do not need a towbar for acrually towing, you could save some money

My X5's have had Michelin Diamaris fitted and have had no problems in snow, even quite deep snow. Biggest problem is stopping in icy conditions on the fat tyres

Here is a link to a towbar fitter with some prices and details of towbars available.

http://www.hedley-towbars.co.uk/bmwx5.htm

HTH.

Graeme.

[Dan1502]

Thanks, it looks like the Westfalia is the one to go for then subject to checking it's ok with the bike racks. I have roof bar mounted racks at present but they would be very high up and adversely affect aerodynamics and fuel consumption so I think the towbar mount option would be better.

I'm 99% certain those are the tyres that are fitted to mine (mid way through their life) so they'll probably be fine for now but I might pick some winter tyres up ready for next year. I take on board what you say about stopping and have already warned my wife about this!

P F Jones towbars are located close to me so I'll probably do a bit of price comaring then go to them as they do a price promise.

Just to add a question on this subject re electrics. There appears to be a cheap option or a dedicated electrics option which is about £95 for single. I'm presuming the dedicated is better and guessing it has proper connectors/less splicing but is this what I should go for?

Thanks

Dan

[AW8]

Definitely go Westafalia and for the decicated eletrics.

Maybe worth getting a price from dealer on the electrics I very vaguely recall someone saying they can work out at a decent price when you factor in the bmw kit used to come with an adpator to cater for both caravnas and trailers

It's a while since I looked into this as I was considering a towbar some time ago.

Towequipe very knowledgable if you speak to the right person.

Thule do some pretty good bike carriers.

I have 2 sit on kayaks to carry now so alas the 996 would be hard to justify even more so as I am house hunting having been caught for far longer than hoped between owned prioperties.

[gmc15]

There are a couple of options for elecrtics when having a towbar fitted.

Single 7 pin black socket - this is used for trailers and lighting boards where an extension of the car rear lights only is required.

Double 7 pin sockets (one black as above and one grey) The grey is used when towing a caravan and provides power to the fridge, battery charger etc. The wiring for the grey socket will go through a relay so power is cut off to the caravan when the car engine is not running.

Single 13 pin socket. This combines the black and grey 7 pin electrics and is how new caravan plugs that attach to the car are wired. This is the best option, but only really needed if towing a caravan. My Westfalia towbar came with 13 pin electrics as standard.

I suspect that the cheap option will just splice a black 7 pin socket into the car wiring. The dedicated electrics will probably be a 13 pin socket and this should plug directly into a dedicated socket in the wiring harness in the back of your car.

HTH.

Graeme.

[AW8]

Must clarify the BMW electrics choice only worked out cheaper if wanting to socket adapter so you can connect to 7 & 13 pin sockets.

Costwold BMW do mail order & will give quiet competitive prices for bits comapred to other dealers. They may do discounts if you mention certain forums (possibly the land forum). I had intended to speak to Cotswold re discounts for members of this board but I need to ascertain how much if any webspace, ( if any), they might want in return & speak to sp3cte & pvr about this if of overall benefit to this site & cost effective.

Importantly it is worthwhile getting the kits that have effevctively communicate with the trailer stability program settings in the DSC or whatever it is thus causing the cars suspension settings to adpt to allow for the trailer.

If buying used westfalia or BMW towbar off ebay etc be very careful to ensure all parts present as cost & hassle to source spares & a new lock & or keys can soon make the whole excercise futile & counter productive. i have even seen some selling the hook alone as a towbar rather than the whole kit with the supports & actual rear bar.


I must clarify I'm no towbar expert so please chack albeit I did look into this before....apologies if my ramblings not 100% up to date.

Apologies for not reading your 1st post properly I had seen 25k & thought it low mileage but 13.5k is mega low..........well done in sourcing.

Glad my reponse on PH was of some use - I do perhaps need to tweak the guide to make a little more reference for 3.0d as my V8 buying preference at the time quiet dominant throughout.

Your mention of clating reminds me I need to clay mine again ( then machine polish & wax), at some point.

[Dan1502]

Thanks, very useful. I would only really be using it for bike racks but it would be good to have the option to tow if I need to. My Dad has a trailer and if I ever get back into UK diving and join the club again, the club boat can be taken out by members.
My thinking is that for the sake of a few quid after negotiating deals I might as well get the proper electrics and probably the 13 pin. I'll look into getting the BMW fittings/loom but am guessing you can get aftermarket adapters relatively easily. I just need to check about the DSC communication as that seems important and something I would want to work in case I ever tow. I'm ok on rack knowledge and have used towequippe before. I could probably fit the towbar meself as well as I'm fairly handy with a spanner and have the tools but am a bit lazy in that regard now and if it's not too much would probably get it fitted professionally.

[Dan1502]

I knew there was another question I meant to ask. The BMW dealer offered me a 2 year service pack for £349 which seems reasonable to me. There are currently 3 green lights on the dash. The trouble is the nearest dealer in their group is over an hour drive. Is this something I could take out from another dealer group at a similar price? Is it good value? Should I go for it despite the incovenient dealer location?

[AW8]

Value difference depends on what & type of & how many service or oil inspection(s) you are likely to incur over 2 yrs dependant on mileage.

Each light represents about 3000-3200 miles. If one light has just gone out then 9000-9600 miles likely until next visit. 5 lights equate to roughly 15-16k.

If your car has 13.5k miles I am assuming it had additional oil change(s) or additional inspection(s) rather then the car being 3 lights from 1st oil change.

If down to 3 lights you would need to travel 21-24k miles in 2 yrs to qualify for 2 free inspection stamps, (one of which would be an oil inspection).

Ideally look at service book & ascertain what type of inspections the next 2 stamps will be.

Ask yourself if you didnt have service inclusive whether you'd be likely to pay for at least 2 services.

If unlikely to qualify for 2 stamps in 2 yrs ascertain cost of just next service including fluids/sundries, (include exactly what parts are likely).

In pricing cost of you paying for inspections maybe offset your costs by pricing for you supplying own correct spec oil, (ask dealer for oil litreage cost).

Check to see if brake/coolant fluids & friction parts covered & cost likely price of same if applicable.

It may be cheaper to abstain from service inclusive dependant on the above, (on back of a call & a few calculations).

Also consider additional costs &/or time incurred taking it further & to your supplying dealer.

Cant comment re other dealers so ask them or supplying dealer in abscence of someone else on here clarifying.

[Dan1502]

Thanks, that pretty much confirms my thinking. After posting but before reading the above reply I contacted my most local main dealer and found out the prices of the different services (but didn't ask about supplying my own oil). I then contacted the dealer I'm buying from to clarify which service is next (I think there were four stamps in the book from memory). I'll base my decision on which service is due next. It's hard to judge the milage we'll do as currently I do very little in mine but as the choice will be between the focus estate and this I imagine this will get used a lot more plus one of the attractions of buying such a low mileage older car is that you can drive as much as you like (within reason) without worrying about it becoming a high mileage car. That has been the beauty of the focus too as it was 5 years old when bought with 50 (yes 50) miles on the clock. With the Porsche you are always conscious that putting on too many miles affects the resale.

Thanks once again.

Prices quoted by Williams in Stockport were:

Oil service £232
Inspection 1 £372
3rd oil service including oil separator £530

[X5Sport]

Winter wheels and tyres are available, just don't expect to find many left in the UK this year as demand has far outstripped supply. BMW GB have sold 4,000 sets and only expected about 1/3 of that. It took me three weeks to source my tyres from around the UK (already had come into possession of a completely new set off a brand new X6 that had been fitted with ACS hubs at delivery, so just needed a rubber change).

You can complete sets direct from BMW and some dealers will even store the 'off car' set for you for free. You will of course pay for the priviledge of buying OEM from a Dealer, but if you source a set of rims and rubber yourself that could save you £££s. I used their 'Tyre Hotel' Scheme for my new X6's Summer Wheels this year. BMW will change wheels over again for you at the correct seasonal point. And to answer another question, yes they do make a difference.

Grip is better below 7C and driving on ice not quite the heart racing scare that it can be -especially with RWD. Having 4WD helps, but adding Winter Tyres as well helps even more

.......oh and Welcome

[Dan1502]

That tyre hotel service sounds interesting. Storage is a big issue for me as I have no garage (just a shed which is pretty full already). Just to clarify, are you saying this might be possible even if winter wheels and tyres are sourced by me?

I'm fully aware of the benefits of winter tyres. We travel to Germany frequently and were picked up from the airport by a friend who proceeded to drive about 85-90 mph on the autobahn through slush and until I realised he had winter tyres on I was a little nervous to say the least. To help with cash flow, as we're half way through winter and to give me time to source some I was wondering if the X5 was 'ok' without for now.

[X5Sport]

Play dumb - or innocent. In my case when they asked if I'd bought through them I said of course....

BMW's UK Tyre Hotel Scheme is new this year. A lot of Dealers don't seem to know they're taking part. Mine didn't. Sales didn't know, Service weren't sure, and Parts actually run it - but none of them were talking to each other, and only one person really knew. I emailed BMW Customer Services for details of a local participating dealer and they pointed me back at my Dealer. When I went back with the mail there was a surprised 'Oh really', lots of scurrying around and then 'Yes....but you need to find so and so...." When I actually took them in after Xmas, no questions were asked at all. I sourced my own tyres. Make sure the Rims are BMW though. The set I have aren't actually a proper winter set as the rims are staggered (much better for the X6) but no one is bothered.

...............and you can always say you've just moved back to the UK.......