11-26-2019, 06:53 PM | #1 |
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2020 X5 build questions and advice
Hi all- this forum has a wealth of information and has been very helpful so far while I piece together my desired build for a potential X5 order. So far I have the following:
2020 X5 xDrive40i: Dark Graphite Metallic Standard wheels Black Vernasca Leather Fineline Stripe Brown High Gloss Wood trim Convenience Package Driving Assistance Professional Package Parking Assistance Package Heated Front Seats Armrests & Steering Wheel MSRP for this build comes to just under $68k and I’ll be targeting around a 10% discount before incentives (only qualify for USAA as I don’t currently have a car - NYC based and this would be a total splurge). Anyway, I have some room to play if I want but I am not totally sure that I’m sold on any of the other extras. A few questions: How durable is the leather and is there a big difference in quality / comfort between the Veronasca and Merino or just bragging rights as the more expensive has a nicer looking (to me) stitch pattern? The test drive car actually just had the sensatec which apart from the general disbelief of not having leather standard in a car with this price point actually felt pretty nice. Reason I ask on durability is my wife is pregnant with our first child and there’s a likelihood of some spills to say the least, lol. Is the HUD worth the $1200 upgrade fee to the premium package? It was definitely cool but also a bit distracting - maybe you get used to it - I liked that the sat radio stations appeared when using the steering wheel changer ... can you configure the dash to display the same? Otherwise the dash does show the navigation so it doesn’t seem that necessary. But it was cool. This is one of the items I’m most torn about. Seats - I know there have been some threads on the virtues and drawbacks of the multicontour seats. First, are the standard seats the so called “sport seats” I’ve seen mentioned elsewhere? It seems most find the multi contour seats to be more comfortable (apart from headrest depth setting) - how do they compare in terms of lower back support? I have a bad back and tend to get sore during long car rides and thought the standard seats in the test car were nice and provided firm support for the lower back and I may be concerned about not liking the upgrades seats unless I got a chance to test drive those also. Wheels - I’ve seen a lot of love for the 20” wheels, tho it seems that most also suggest pairing it with the air suspension. Again I’ll probably have to drive a model with the air suspension to get a feel for it. As it was I enjoyed how the standard wheels and suspension drove / rode - handled well, road noise wasn’t noticing loud, and cornering felt good and tight while still providing a comfy ride overall. Would the air suspension be too soft with the standard wheel setup? Are either of the upgraded stereo options worth it? The normal stereo sounded good apart from when I connected my phone to Apple CarPlay over Bluetooth and played music from Spotify. Tho I have the highest quality files saved on my phone the Bluetooth always generates a degradation in sound quality as the bandwidth isn’t high enough to stream the full quality (lesser compressed) versions. It would be better if we could connect our phones to the car via WiFi (similar to how Sonos works). Is that even an option? Or is there an option to play music from Spotify from the phone while it is connected by cable? That would solve the audio quality as well. Anyway, it is really a next level car and especially with the autonomous driving features should be a pleasure on long road trips. But it is clearly easy to go overboard with the options tho this build I out together is relatively economical. Looking forward to your input on m my questions and thank you again for taking the time to read and respond!! |
11-26-2019, 08:19 PM | #2 |
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Thanks for the detailed response! I think in the end we’ll want to think more about the HUD, multi contour seats / luxury seating, and the upgraded stereo. Living in NYC we have the added joy of paying for parking (~$500 / month! ) so trying to keep this semi under control. It is just going to be a weekend car for getting out of town etc so hard as it is I am trying to not go overboard with the options!
Btw do you know if any of these options appreciably impact the length of the build time more than any others? |
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11-26-2019, 08:29 PM | #3 | ||
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The leather to me is a feel thing... with a small child, I went with the regular leather. I would also recommend the darker colors. The ivory and beige look great, but very hard to keep clean. In just a couple weeks, my ivory driver seat is already showing a blue shade from me jeans. I've had the Harmon Kardon and regular stereo and didn't think the upgrade was worth it. That said, I'm. It a big music person, so take it with a grain of salt from me. Hope that helps, ask any other questions you need help with. I love my G05
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11-27-2019, 10:43 AM | #4 |
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One of the reasons that the Luxury cars offer a synthetic leather is for the "sustainable" conscience buyer. It's not a huge deal in the US (yet), but overseas buyers are concerned about that kind of stuff. So some buyers will opt for the Sensatec (or MB-Tex) not b/c it saves you a thousand dollars, but because they have a moral objection to using leather (like buying fur coats, etc...).
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11-27-2019, 11:30 AM | #5 | |
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11-27-2019, 11:36 AM | #6 | ||||
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Perhaps those that don't like the HUD can chime in to give you more balanced feedback. I will never own a BMW without it.
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11-27-2019, 11:40 AM | #7 | |
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Anyway, the car will be nice for getting out of town on the weekends, visiting family, etc. Somehow I just have a mental block on dropping $$$ every time I want to rent a car so having it will make weekend trips much easier esp when the baby arrives in a few months. But yes, I doubt I’ll have many chances to blast my music so the upgraded sound system is probably a pass. Went over the build with my wife last night - she wants to add the side window shades (seemed hard to get down but maybe there’s a trick) ..ok, fine. If you don’t get the luggage compartment package is there a manual trunk privacy cover or just nothing? If the latter we’ll add that too. The remaining points to decide are premium package for the HUD (probably yes) and the multi contour seats - need to compare side by side for that. All in all it should be a great car! Thanks again for the help! |
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11-27-2019, 12:01 PM | #8 |
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Lots of truth in the replies. I'm in my 4 th X5. The only real reason we bought the X5 again after looking at Porsche, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and go on, is the seats. My wife has a triple fused back and the contour/comfort seats are a gift. I'm also extremely happy with the seats, lumbar support very good and love the massage, so for long trips that'll help against soreness.
I have the 20" wheels, changed it after wanting 21" but then doing some comparison regarding cost of tire replacement, and the fact the 20" can have show chains and 21" can't. Air suspension was a must for me, and I have no regrets, since I tow a travel trailer every once in a while. Self leveling goes well with that. No complaints but I also prefer comfort over sport/firm suspension. I'm happy with the standard sound system. I'm sure I'd notice the difference back to back, but I preferred using that money on other things, like the advanced driving assistant, which makes long trips a breeze. The HUD is nice and I'm glad it came with the packages. The radio stuff can be displayed on the instrument cluster also, in the same list format for selecting your next channel. |
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11-28-2019, 07:47 PM | #9 | |
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11-30-2019, 03:32 PM | #10 |
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Btw - is it safe to assume the vernasca leather is durable enough to keep a ~15lb base of a baby car seat on it? I think someone mentioned the vernasca is thicker / more durable than the merino size of the vernasca wouldn’t hold up to that safe to assume the merino wouldn’t either?
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11-30-2019, 04:00 PM | #11 | |
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Remember these seats are designed for a human to routinely go in and out. Surely the cyclical effect of that has to be more challenging than the static load of a car seat that only gets reinstalled infrequently. Don't confuse soft and supple of the merino to mean delicate. |
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11-30-2019, 05:25 PM | #12 | |
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11-30-2019, 07:39 PM | #13 | |
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11-30-2019, 09:25 PM | #14 | |
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Examples below from X3 forums - to think bottles of Evian creasing durable Vernasca
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11-30-2019, 11:08 PM | #15 | |
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The 3rd came from the factory as is and not over time. Point is you don't need to treat Merino with kid gloves, it's durable enough. Just because a family require kids seats in the back, they shouldn't be relegated to Vernasca just for durability. I'm sure there's a Bentyaga with kids seat in the back out there.
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12-08-2019, 04:14 PM | #16 |
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Hi again folks -
Doing more research as I decide whether to go with BMW or another brand. Can you opine on what does the included maintenance with the X5 include? Does it include tire rotation? Is there a high probability that I will need any non-included maintenance service for the car during the 3 year term of the lease? I don't anticipate this being a heavily driven car (weekends, some longer road trips). Also, how long (miles) will the initial tires last and how expensive are they to replace? Thanks again! |
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12-08-2019, 06:39 PM | #17 |
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My dealer didn't charge me for the rotation when I had it done during my oil change service but did for my first one when I made an appointment for just the rotation.
The price for replacement will depend on the size you are getting, you can get an idea by going to a dealer's site and looking at the title prices. I have the 20's and hope the will last my lease period but doubt they will given some of the posts I read. I think the 20's are $3-400 a tire installed. Here is the maintenance list: |
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12-10-2019, 07:34 PM | #18 |
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Ok - after much research I am close to signing on the following deal:
36mos 10k miles / year lease: 2020 X5 xDr40i: Dark Graphite Metallic Coffee Vernasca leather Fineline brown wood trim Drivers Assistance Professional Package Parking assistance package Premium package Running boards Front and rear heated seats Heated front seats Total MSRP inc. destination $69,895 The only option here I definitely wouldn't have picked is the running boards. In a custom build I wouldn't have picked the heated rear seats and I could go either way on the steering wheel. The only missing items from my build is the rear window shades (agreed, the standard rear tinting may be enough) and the glass controls which I could take it or leave it. Negotiated selling price of $62,000 or a $7,895 discount (11.3%) plus another $1000 off in incentives ($750 conquest + $250 USAA -- don't ask me why the USAA is $250 instead of $500, whatever), which comes to 12.7% off total. Finally payment on this is $698 / month with $4415 due at signing (taxes and fees). I've plugged it into Leasehackr and it seems to tie out (Leasehackr initial payment is a little higher: https://leasehackr.com/calculator?ma...Tax_radio=true ). Any comments or feedback? This isn't signed yet. I do feel comfortable with this deal though trying to get the total payment to $690 - we'll see. There's also a different car which is the same build but without the running boards that is basically leaving the factory any moment and this dealer didn't think he could get it though another one did offer it to me just now (though at a lesser discount) -- if I got that vehicle from my current dealer it would generate about $5 less / month, so probably not worth pushing it. I don't think it would be possible to achieve these numbers on a custom build right now, the end of year incentives on existing inventory is what is pushing it. Also, I'll get the $1000 back from BMWCCA, which nets to around $850 after fee or $23 / month so effective payment will be $675 or thereabouts. To secure the deal the dealer is asking for $2000 deposit which he said is non-refundable (red flag?). I am happy I was able to work it out with this dealer as he is the closest by far and it will hopefully be the start of a good relationship! He needs to get it approved by his manager and I need to make sure I can move the start date on my parking spot up a month as I put down a deposit for a parking space to start Feb 1. In any case big shout out and thank you to everyone on here who provided insight and knowledge! This is a solid $60 / month better than my initial deal which was already very decent and I couldn't have done it without the information I learned here. Thank you! Last edited by BeemerDreamerNYC; 12-10-2019 at 08:22 PM.. Reason: fixed link |
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12-10-2019, 07:54 PM | #19 |
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Added wrinkle -- competing dealer on the other vehicle (the one without the running boards) just offered an additional $1000 off so $8550 discount on MSRP of $69,495 (12.3%) plus the $1000 incentive so 13.7% discount total - payment would be around $475/month per Leasehackr calculation. Ideas on how to handle it? I don't want to be a jerk and have him work a lot more on this only for local dealer to drop the price by the same amount....
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12-10-2019, 08:09 PM | #20 |
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If you really want the vehicle then having the deposit being non-refundable won't be a problem. Even so, I would tell him you would like it to be refundable.
I don't think shopping around and asking for something automatically makes you a jerk so wouldn't worry about that if things are handled professionally. I would go back to your local dealer and see if he can come close to matching the other dealer's offer. Even if he can't and the numbers are fairly close you may want to go with him to develop that relationship. Just as an aside, the tinted windows in the rear do not provide UV protection, they are just privacy glass. Good luck and let us know how things turn out. |
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12-10-2019, 08:20 PM | #21 | |
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12-10-2019, 08:23 PM | #22 |
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Hopefully he comes through. I don't think there is really another downside. They seem to make a lot of money off of service so your local dealer will probably be happy either way.
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