Noob from London

[SimplyRed]

Hi All,

I am not at all new to the BMW fold, I have owned dozens including some M3's and BAURS but I have got my first X5 earlier this week.

2005 3.0d Sport
Stirling Grey with Black Dakota
63,000 miles
Still got BMW warranty
Full Comms (havent worked out yet if it has bluetooth)
Bit gutted I got no panoramic roof and no heated seats but I think at £11,250 it was a bargain.

I actually bought it for the missus who is expecting in March but I am falling in love wth it, drives so much better than the Range Rovers I have had.

Main reason I chose a 2005 model and not a newer one is that at around £13,000 worth of car I will shed far less tears when she brings it home from Sainsbury's with dents and scrapes all over it. The second choice was an E60 but all the ones I viewed seemed so poorly specced and as my kid will be in the car and we have heavy snow past few years I decided the X was the way forward.

She doesnt actually know yet that I bought it for her. Has a month left on the warranty so I have sent it off to Brunswick garage in North London, BMW independents to give it a full check over so I can send the car to the main dealer to get repairs done for free. At £1,500 per year I have no intention of renewing the warranty. If the missus says she doesnt like it then I'll keep it and cancel my plans for the E60 M5 and buy her a Kia. That'll learn her.


My favourite BM that I have owned......



And no this is not the same one, different reds, above is the 3.2 evo, below is the 3.0.



And this was my first one when I was 17.




And yes nearly all my BMW's have been red, hence my username. No I am not ginger, lol

[Sanj]

Welcome fella!

How the hell do you hide a 2 tonne piece of metal from the missus? How does she NOT know???

Check for the button in the centre armrest - then you know you have bluetooth.

Pano roofs are great just very expensive if/when they go wrong.

Seats can be retro fitted but expensive mod - wiring should all be there.

Nice colour too!

[SimplyRed]

[quote=""Sanj""]Welcome fella!

How the hell do you hide a 2 tonne piece of metal from the missus? How does she NOT know???

Check for the button in the centre armrest - then you know you have bluetooth.

Pano roofs are great just very expensive if/when they go wrong.

Seats can be retro fitted but expensive mod - wiring should all be there.

Nice colour too! [/quote]

I have parked it up at my cousins house, so she hasnt seen it yet, her brithday is not until mid December so god knows how I will keep it secret when I keep popping round there to drive it. I am sure someone will see me.

Under the armrest there is a cradle and a bluetooth logo button, when i press it the cradle jumps out, does that mean I have bluetooth? Cant seem to find the fuction on the screen to get it to pair with my Blackberry.

When you say heated seats can be retrofitted, roughly how much are we talking?

I gotta keep drumming it into myself that this is my Mrs bus and not pimp my ride, lol, but its so nice!!!!

[Sanj]

[quote=""SimplyRed""]Under the armrest there is a cradle and a bluetooth logo button, when i press it the cradle jumps out, does that mean I have bluetooth? Cant seem to find the fuction on the screen to get it to pair with my Blackberry.[/quote]

Is that facing the back of the car at a slight angle? There will be another one at the opposite end of the cradle - got a face with radial fan (as if speaking) on it. Like the button on the steering wheel. Also, check the menu, do you have Telephone as an option. Otherwise, no you may not have it.

You can check to see if you have the module in the boot - left side, silver thing and check fuses 7, 73, 74 (if present).

[quote=""SimplyRed""]When you say heated seats can be retrofitted, roughly how much are we talking?[/quote]

Lots - hundreds usually. You need the front seats and the centre console buttons - some have done the relay only retro-fit but I wouldn't know where to begin on that one!

Glad you like the car though - get a lot for your money nowadays...

[SimplyRed]

[quote=""Sanj""]Is that facing the back of the car at a slight angle? There will be another one at the opposite end of the cradle - got a face with radial fan (as if speaking) on it. Like the button on the steering wheel. Also, check the menu, do you have Telephone as an option. Otherwise, no you may not have it.

You can check to see if you have the module in the boot - left side, silver thing and check fuses 7, 73, 74 (if present).
[/quote]

(isnt bluetooth standard on a 2005 with comms pack?)

I definitely have a telephone option on the screen and I called BMW uk and they said it does have bluetooth. Its quite confusing as all cars I have owned have either a carphone or a bluetooth, never seen a car with bluetooth capability and also a cradle at the same time. Whats the deal with that?

[X5Sport]

Firstly Welcome

Cradle will allow the phone to charge and pass some of the commands to and fro. My old E53 had bluetooth with the built in handset - a Siemens system I think - where the sim went into the armrest and there was a cordless bluetooth linked handset in the car. This was not a cellphone away from the car though, which made taking the sim in and out a pain! I don't think BMW repeated that particular option on any later models, although you can now get cradles for a number of current phones.

[Sanj]

No not standard.

Cradle is to charge the phone and use the external antenna for better reception. But you need the right cradle for your phone. I have a blank tray - non-specific.

If you have the button I described, you should have Bluetooth. Lots and lots on here on how to pair the phone. In short:

1. Press button for 3 seconds
2. Key to position 1 (not started)
3. Let go of button after 3 seconds
4. Bluetooth Pairing should display
5. Ask phone to search for Bluetooth devices
6. Phone should ask for the key, enter the 4 digit passkey from the manual or sticker on the ULF module
7. Job done...

[SimplyRed]

This is just a library picture but this is what mine looks like.

That little button has a bluetooth logo, surely that means i have it, no?

[Sanj]

Ooo! You're is different to mine.

I have the release button at the bottom and the other button where your Bluetooth button is. But yeah, you should do. Try the procedure I listed...

[5wany]

Welcome to the site. At a touch over 11k it sounds as though you have bought wisely, dont worry too much on pano roof, it is a great option but the price youve paid u can add heated seats an other stuff.

The e53 is a fantastic car & TBH I prefer the dash layout (rev, speedo with seperate fuel/heater dials at side) over the e70 layout.

well done, & give her the present early
an post some pics

[shadrack]

hello simply red, like the m3 i had one of them a 4yrs ago the 3.0i it was a lovely bullet proof engine and pulled like a train! ive also had 2x318s, 2x320,2x325, 1x328,1xm3 and 2x X5s... and more cars than that before i got into bmws!you will love the x5 therere the best of everything in one package, i also could have bought an e70 at the time but liked mine and could have only bought a poverty spec mega miled one, where as i bought a top spec e53 also purposely bought one to avoid the £460 ved, i since saved up but am to tight to buy one and the depriciation put me off!

[x555]

Hi and welcome along as for the bluetooth it may be worth a check in the boot for the module to make sure the previous owner hasn't taken it out before selling......anoying but it does happen!

[SimplyRed]

I am sitting in the car right now. Where is this button I am supposed to press? I cannot see any buttons near any storage compartment. Just the bluetooth logo button which simply ejects a plastic tray. Behind which is some terminals. I have a button on the steering wheel with a logo of a face and speech waves. When I press it, it comes up with ACTIVATE PHONE on the instrument binnacle.

I tried using that same button with the whole ignition sequence malarky but no joy.

And Yes I do have the silver box in boot.

[phill]

Have a look at this

http://www.carnationsoftware.com/carnat ... etooth.pdf

You may have to delete previous phones already connected by previous owner.

Phill


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

[Minda]

Welcome! and red defiantly back in!