Finally! X5 35d ordered! The wait starts...

[PunjabiM3]

After looking at pretty much what seems like every single SUV in the market from a Dodge Durango to a MB GL350 Bluetec, we have finally ordered our SUV of choice! I have on numerous occasions looked at SUVs over the past one year plus, and for my wife and I the one with the least amount of negatives is the X5. The only two negatives are its somewhat smaller than ideal size and the high price tag. But those two negatives beat out the negatives from all the others we looked at. So after months and months of talking about ordering the X5 it has finally been done! Participated in the un4gettable test drive and order placed! Specs:

X5 35d
Luxury Line
Mineral white
Satin aluminum roof rails
Aluminum running boards
Mocha Design interior pkg
Fineline Oak wood trim
20" Style 451 wheels
Premium pkg
Driver Assit pkg
Driver Assist Plus
ACC Stop & Go
Cold Weather pkg
Luxury seating pkg
Lighting pkg
3rd row seat + rear axle air suspension
Harman Kardon
Rear Seat Entertainment Professional
Enhanced BT/USB w/ smartphone connectivity
Rear manual side window sunshades

The only two options I have been on the fence about are the lighting package (LED headlights) and the enhanced BT/USB with smartphone connectivity. Is this feature all that useful it we are iPhone users? Or is half the stuff not accessible by iPhone users? Any feedback appreciated!

[turbotoy4me]

Hello, I ordered the LED package in part because I use the auto high beams all the time. The lighting is awesome from what I have read as well. If it is in the budget I would add the lighting package for sure. Good luck!

[opasha]

Congrats on the order, buddy! Looks like a solid list to me.

[MattBianco]

That build is called "loaded".

nice.

[HansRobert]

I too looked at just about every SUV out there and too decided the X5 offered the best of what I wanted. Looks like you have a great build list. I think you will be very, very happy.

Did they give you an estimate of delivery time?

[F15GorDe]

Nice build.

If you do a bit of the "away from the city lights" driving like a buddy of mine does up in Dynamite County you will appreciate having the LED lighting package.
I've included it in my build. We plan to do a bit of traveling off the beaten path so including the package was a no brainer.

Any chance you're doing a PCD?

[stewy604]

Nice build man, very well appointed for sure. You'll love the Mineral White...I was torn between the Arctic and Mineral, so I glad I went with the latter. It looks amazing in the sun! When are they estimating delivery?

[PunjabiM3]

Originally Posted by stewy604

Nice build man, very well appointed for sure. You'll love the Mineral White...I was torn between the Arctic and Mineral, so I glad I went with the latter. It looks amazing in the sun! When are they estimating delivery?

Week 46 build, so about middle to end of November.

[///Armin]

Did your dealer tell you about the delay on all orders with 20" wheels? I recently ordered too but was told there is a delay from factory because of the wheels

[PunjabiM3]

Originally Posted by ///Armin

Did your dealer tell you about the delay on all orders with 20" wheels? I recently ordered too but was told there is a delay from factory because of the wheels

Nope nothing was said. Does this apply to the 451 wheels or the wheels on the M sport model? I still have at least a month before we take delivery. As long as we get it before Xmas we will be fine. No huge rush.

[stewy604]

Originally Posted by PunjabiM3

Week 46 build, so about middle to end of November.

Nice! The countdown is on!

[PunjabiM3]

Well so much for week 46 production. Ordered last Monday and production already started when I checked the BMW website today! Woohoo! How long does production take again? And how long until it reaches AZ? 2 weeks?

[PunjabiM3]

Production scheduled to be completed today! I'm guessing only around two weeks until it reaches our dealer in AZ, though I may hold off on delivery until end of November as we will be on a two week vacation middle of the month. Some questions:

1. Is it ok to have the XPel Ultimate installed only 2-3 weeks after production? And do you recommend having the paint detailed prior to this?

I waited almost 8 months on my R8 to have the XPel done, as at first I didn't want to, but then after getting some tiny rock chips I decided to give it a try. Wished I had done it right at delivery, only reason I did not was my previous experience with Ventureshield and 3M film left a lot to be desired. I did detail the R8 prior to XPel install. But I don't want to risk getting chips on the X5 as well since it is a DD, so would rather have film installed prior to delivery. Thoughts?

2. Anyone buy the wheel/tire insurance the dealer offers? I never have, but am wondering since the X5 has the 20" wheels, RFT tires, and my wife will be driving it 50% of the time. If recommended, how much did you pay as usually this is negotiable.

[heman]

Originally Posted by PunjabiM3

Production scheduled to be completed today! I'm guessing only around two weeks until it reaches our dealer in AZ, though I may hold off on delivery until end of November as we will be on a two week vacation middle of the month. Some questions:

1. Is it ok to have the XPel Ultimate installed only 2-3 weeks after production? And do you recommend having the paint detailed prior to this?

I waited almost 8 months on my R8 to have the XPel done, as at first I didn't want to, but then after getting some tiny rock chips I decided to give it a try. Wished I had done it right at delivery, only reason I did not was my previous experience with Ventureshield and 3M film left a lot to be desired. I did detail the R8 prior to XPel install. But I don't want to risk getting chips on the X5 as well since it is a DD, so would rather have film installed prior to delivery. Thoughts?

2. Anyone buy the wheel/tire insurance the dealer offers? I never have, but am wondering since the X5 has the 20" wheels, RFT tires, and my wife will be driving it 50% of the time. If recommended, how much did you pay as usually this is negotiable.

Wait is almost over!! we ordered at the same time, mine should be build complete by today as well, Hopefully I can get it by the end of next week!

[Shaw]

you'll love it!

[PunjabiM3]

Well no update for the past week. When I call the 800 number it has been stuck on "production has been completed and is waiting to be released to carrier" for the past week. FML.

[PunjabiM3]

Hey everyone. Hope all of you are having a wonderful holiday season! We took delivery of our X5 over a month ago, but I have not posted anything on here as my father suddenly passed away on Nov 8. It was a complete surprise as he was an otherwise pretty healthy individual and still young at only 62 years old. Needless to say, it took much of the immediate joy of taking delivery of the X5. But now that some time has passed and we are slowly getting back to "normal", I figured Inwould post.

We now have almost 1000 miles on the X5 now and it has been nothing but great! Love the mineral white, the mocha interior design package is fabulous, and the diesel is awesome with the immediate torque! The overall fit and finish is better than any past BMW we have owned.

ACC: This is the first vehicle we have had with ACC and I absolutely love it, though it is a bit disconcerting at times when a car is moving very slowly or has come to a stop in front of you (with for example traveling at 55mph). I assume it is not meant to be used on two lane highways with stoplights every mile or so?

LED: I'm glad I decided to get the LED lighting package. Living in Tucson, AZ (IMHO the most poorly planned city I have ever lived in by far), having the LED headlights is a godsend as most of the city does not have street lights. I have LED on my R8 as well, so that helped sway my decision a bit. IMHO, there is a noticeable difference on light output between LED and bi-xenon when driving in non street-lit areas.

RES: The rear entertainment system is decent at best. It suits our needs because we have an almost three year old, and we are hoping to have another little one soon. He loves watching movies (especially Cars) while we are driving. It is a great way to distract him while driving. But my gripes with the system are that it is dated: no Blu-ray player and no HDMI input. I knew this going in, but it's very unfortunate as even a Toyota Sienna has both of those. Also, it's sad that for the steep price BMW does not even provide wireless headphones.

35d motor: It really is an outstanding motor. Sure, it may not be as fast or as quiet as the 35i, but having that torque along with the great mpg is a sweet combo. Only bummer now is that with gasoline prices taking such a huge tumble and seemingly will stay low, it offsets thr great mpg disparity as diesel is now easily 20% more than premium unleaded. Oh well. No regrets.

Shortcomings: Though the X5 isn't a huge SUV, I would say that it is tighter in rows 2 and 3 than we initially had thought it to be when we looked at several before ordering. For whatever reason, it seems BMW's in general are very tight on the inside in relation to the vehicle's exterior dimensions. The X5 is not as bad as some, for example the 5 series. Also, the front passenger footwell is very annoying. I never sat in the passenger seat until after we took delivery of ours, and I hate the steep slope up in the footwell as it takes away a lot of legroom compared to if it were flatter before sloping up. Hope this makes sense. It also would have been nice if the panoramic roof came back further as it pretty much cuts out right where the rear passengers would look up and out.

Full leather: Having full leather interior is a must for any vehicle I plan to own this point forward. I have it in both the X5 and my R8, and both of my previous 997 Porsches had full leather. It just makes the interior a more pleasant place to be, especially with deviated stitching.