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I'm in an area where new builds are going up & the NAV doesn't reflect them 'cause the DVD is not up to date.
Does one have to pay for an updated DVD or simply request one from BMW or service?
Now to get the keys from my wife :confuse:
Another thing, when BMW went to "free" maintenance they lengthened their maintenance intervals. Most recommendations I've read exceed BMW's recommendations.
Bought the 03 540i Sport 18'' rims. Winter is coming here in Chicago. What do you recommend for winter tires?
All that said, I use a 16" wheel with Bridgestone Blizzaks. I used the LM22s for two winters, and they have been fine, and they look like I can use them one more season, however I might change to something else, just to see what else is out there.
Listed below are the items you ordered and other details of your order.
Qty Size and Description Availability Price Each
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -
4 16x7.5 Borbet Type H Silver Back Ordered $134.00
20 Required lugbolt for vehicle In Stock N/C
4 225/55QR-16 Michelin Arctic-Alpin In Stock $104.00
1 Tire warranty packet In Stock N/C
4 Mount and balance - no charge
Shipping Method: UPS HUNDRED WT
Shipping Out of: Delaware
Order Total: $1,007.11
Vehicle: 02 BMW 530i Sedan Sport Pkg
Best Regards,
Shipo
Those are MY five spoke Borbets!
Best Regards,
Shipo
You know BMW makes money selling extended maintenance agreements and extended warranties. I think the original post quoted $3400 for both. I'm sure 30% to 50% is profit, commissions and overhead for the programs. That leaves approximately $2000 for covered services and repairs.
I'm sure some transmissions fail before 100,000 miles, but I am also sure that most fail after 100,000 miles. Extended maintenace and warranties are basically pay me now instead of pay me later and are based on averages. Some people will come out ahead, most people will lose money; but BMW will always comes out ahead.
In my opinion, there will be a sharp demarcation in resale values between the two models, in a few more years...
That didn't make the '05 a bad buy last year... but, it would at this time, I think..
regards,
kyfdx
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Thanks in advance for all your help.
I say save your money and don't get the SP. Considering that I'm a fan of BMW's SP setup and would never order a BMW without it, these are strong words indeed. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
While we're on the stereo topic, is there much difference in sound quality between stock stereo and optional logic7?
Thanks
I suggest that you drive both cars and see which motor you like the best.
Best Regards,
Shipo
I think I would get the following options:
Automatic
Sport Package
Premium Package
Navigation
HUD
Xeons (If I got 525, they are standard on 530)
Rear Seat Fold Down
Rear Side Airbags? (toss up, I want information as to pros and cons of these)
I would pass on the following:
Cold Weather Package and Heated Rear Seats ( I live in California)
Premium Sound, I don't think it is worth the $1800 upgrade price, stock stereo system sounds fine to me
Dynamic Cruise Control (regular Cruise Control is just fine)
Active Steering ( to much computer control of driving)
Comfort Access ( no big deal)
Rear Side Airbags (this one is a toss up, I would take them if they are very beneficial)
Comfort seats (already have sports seats)
Power Rear Sun Shade (not that big of deal)
Parking Sensors (not that big of deal)
OK, having that off my chest, we have the parking sensors and they CAN BE a big deal.
I cannot tell you how many times my parking sensors have saved me a $300 "polishing fee" on my Audi A6. Our X3 has the front and rear sensors and they are great for pulling into your garage (front) and for the other reasons that are obvious for the rear.
Other than the latter "big" one and the former personal preference, I would agree with your comments.
One question: does the 5 come with servotronic steering if you don't get "active steering?"
In general I’m not a fan of options. In my opinion they are little more than a profit center that offer limited value. Yuryg I haven’t tested the sound systems on recent BMWs but have tested plenty of others including older BMWs. To me, the costlier sound systems do not justify the price. But sound is easy enough to test. Just bring your CDs and trust what you hear. You don’t need butt-kickin’ bass in a car and you don’t need overly crisp tweeters since most sound is in the mid range anyway and should be balanced accordingly.
As far as options affecting resale, it has been pretty much acknowledged by most people that you don’t recover what you pay for them when selling your car. Yet people think they are missing out on something if they don’t indulge. A base BMW has everything you need and I think it will sell just as fast as a highly-option version after it has been used.
Too much tech in cars. Have we forgotten about the great simple pleasures, like just getting up on a horse and riding without a friggin’ iPod or cell phone connected to your head, like knowing where you are by way of the Big Dipper and location of moss on a tree, like the feel of road grip and lateral g forces on the bimmer?
Just 2 cents worth of perspective from an old Boy Scout.
Oh and yes, a gold star for the first person to translate the Morse Code at the top of this post.
;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
This option is key for states with lots of sun.
It will keep your car cooler and protect the back seat area from the sun.
I use mine everyday.
Yes, of course, of course. Our class valedictorian does it again!
(Now come clean Shipo. Did you know this or look it up on the web like I did? Actually, there was a time when I knew it by heart.)
;-)
Teehee... I used to know them as well, and still recognised "B" and since memory didn't tell me that the other two weren't "M" & "W", I guessed.
Just after I made my post it occured to me to look them up (and edit my post if I had been wrong). ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
I can't find (but have only looked casually) the information about this technology on the 5's -- do you need to buy the active steering to get servotronic?
Servotronic is (or should be) standard on this class of cars -- it is worth extra. I can't comment with respect to its possible value at a couple of thousand dollars, though.
Subsequent to our order of an X3 with this option, the purchasing manager at our local BMW store claimed that all stock BMW X3's would be ordered with this option.
Several reviews of the X3 have mentioned the servotronic steering as have many articles about "cars in general."
It would seem that ALL BMW's should come with servotronic if it can be had at full list price of $250 (and one must assume that includes profit and is at that price point, in part, due to its cost to manufacture.) Further, it would seem "logical" to assume that if they all came with servotronic, the price per would drop due to a certain economy of scale.
One last ?, how do you get 18" wheels and tires on a 5 without forking over more than $3,000? At least the sport package option on the X3 upsizes the wheels and tires at what would seem to be an almost bargain price and the sport wheels that come with this package are quite attractive.
I configured a 525xi today and short of clicking an over $3000 option box, it seems that a $55K 5 will come with 17" wheels and tires? Can this be so?
FWIW, the Premium Sound option buys you a 7-band equalizer, 13 speakers (including two subwoofers), simulated surround sound and a 6-CD changer. IMHO, money well spent!
The car was "warmed up and cooled down." The engine was allowed to reach proper operating temp and the interior was allowed to reach a comfortable temp too.
But, cleverly (?), the car had been set to play the DVD-audio demo disk (and it was playing when we opened the door.) To this day I have not heard a better sounding system and only the Infiniti M that I nearly bought also had DVD-audio. If I bought cars based significantly on their sound systems this DVD-audio system in the Acura would have clinched the deal.
A great sound system in a car significantly "improves the performance" (in every way) of a car -- perception IS reality.
Now, in the case of the Acura TL, it was a rainy day and we had asked for a lux and sported up version with a stick shift and even the fantastic sound system could not mask the incredible, disconcerting and frankly dangerous torque steer this car "offers" -- especially on a slick, rain-covered street in suburban Cincinnati.
Even then, we had three "regular" CD's with us, however -- but wow that DVD-audio demo disk was an audio spectacular.
Now, here is what we do: We bring 3 CD's and 2 DVD-audio disks with us when we take cars out for a test drive.
Today, however, I would also think it would behoove the auto retailers to encourage their cars to be tested with sat radio active. In the Audi audio premium version of the sound system, only in CD and sat radio can "surround sound and 'Audio Pilot'" (a Bose technology) be turned on -- regular AM and FM need not apply for the full-on aural experience.
Also, with all the sound contouring software these high-zoot systems afford, it is important to set the sound's parameters between the various cars you test (even those from the same mfg) as close as possible to the same.
In the case of our new BMW X3, the "normal sound system" is not merely lame it is inadequate and disappointing in a car that can easily be optioned to over $50,000.
At least for the test drives if not the actual ownership, the customer should be allowed to take a "blind taste test." The standard systems even at this price level generally suck from a little to a lot, while even the first upgraded system offered (sometimes for less than $1,000 MSRP) is a huge improvement.
All of these comments, of course, are totally personal and personality based.
If you listen 90% or more to talk radio, some of these comments, well, apply not so much. If you listen to books on CD with little background music or few sound effects, ditto.
If you listen to classical, jazz, rock, country, new age or blues (or, like us, all of the above) a $675 sound system upgrade (or even a $2,000 upgrade) are worth every last penny.
You can discern the difference between a system that "has no highs, has no lows" and one that provides clean deep bass and crystal clear (non-blurry) highs in addition to a strong mid-range.
I am convinced the only place most folks listen to music critically is in their cars -- long gone are the days when folks (most folks) buy a new CD, sit in the sweet spot of their home sound system and listen for 45 minutes, doing nothing else. A car generally requires that the driver sit in "the sweet spot" for the duration -- what better way, what better place to hear, really hear and appreciate the new ColdPlay album or LedZep Unplugged or The Boston or Cincinnati Pop's rendition of the 1812?
Not including my high def TV, my home sound system and speaker arrays exceed $40,000 in cost; and, I rarely "sit still" long enough to appreciate a new (or old) album.
My Audi A6 with the premium sound and my wife's X3 also with the upgraded system clearly are the best places to listen to Dire Straits, U2, Mozart or Marc Antoine.
And, all things considered, at a fraction of the cost.
Do take your favorite CD's along for test drives -- and, increasingly, spring for a couple of DVD-audio discs "just in case."
:shades:
Once again while driving along in my new 2006 525XI it began to shake violently and cut off. How embarassing, here I am in the middle of the street in this beautiful looking car and cannot get to my destination. What An Experience! I'm furious this is the third time that this particular problem has occurred each time I left the dealership I was assured that the car was repaired. This is their final try and I will be demanding my money back to go purchase something a little more reliable. Three months of ownership, this car definitely is not fit for the purpose intended. :mad:
Deal: we take your 2005 A6 back and offer you a new A6 and if we can't find one, we'll order you one (a 2006) and in the meantime you can use a SWB A8.
This person is now a walking advertisement for Audi and someone, somehow at Audi was able to "eventually" diagnose and repair the ailing Audi.
I would suspect BMW will at least equal this kind of treatment.
On the other hand, you could try "four strikes and you're out!" as long as this is the agreed upon approach.
BTW, it probably should be noted that my wife's colleague is a lawyer and although he never did anything that would threaten the dealership or the company, it probably didn't hurt with respect to his ability to "argue" his position.
He actually got a bit more car (content) by taking this approach.
His frustration was temporary and high, but his compensation was more than adequate to make him quickly forget his ordeal.