Long boring post but looking for input!

[Dunga]

Hi all,

Long time lurker. My lady and I are in the market for an SUV. For about 6 months now I've been convinced that the X5 offers a great driving experience, looks nice and has some neat options. Basically since I drove one for giggles.

This would be our first BMW. Our garage has a 2015 GLK 350 that we'd be trading in (because we should have never brought it home last year but that's another story for another post ), a Honda Crosstour that has like 3 lease payments left and will be going back to Honda with thanks and a c7 stingray that's staying h#%$ put :-).

So the lady just test drove a GLE400 that we both thought was super nice. On the cross shop list still is the Q7, Cayenne and Range Rover sport. I'm convinced that the BMW is the best value, power to weight and driving dynamic of all of the above including the Cayenne since the higher trims are out of budget.

We called our BMW agent yesterday and he said he has a car on the lot that fits our interior/exterior color combo request and he would have it ready. It appears to be the most well equipped car I've seen but demands a lot of $$$. What do you guys think? What's a good deal on it in your opinion? I know the facelift is coming for next MY so would that deter you? Would that get us a better deal?

http://www.bmwofminnetonka.com/new/B...e25243daad.htm

This one has several options that we wouldn't necessarily order like the rear seat entertainment. We have no kid yet. The dynamic handling package is missing but it has the M suspension and we both commute 10 minutes to work and have another car for the twisty back roads and the track. I'm sitting in bed up at 1 AM stressing out over this! kinda of a big commitment this proposition is!

Thanks for the input. I think I need another cup of coffee!

Sleepless in Minnesota!

PS the forum keeps crashing on me. Is this a sign?

[alphaod]

My friend has a ML350... and the GLE350 just seems the same. Kind of cheap inside. I wouldn't even consider it.

The Q7, even looking kind of weird on the outside, inside is terrific. It drives pretty well and is very comfortable.

Cayenne I considered, but seems it's ready for refresh soon... also very pricey for options. Every time I priced one, it seemed that was better off going for a higher model.

Range Rover Sport. It's a great car; just feel kind of outdated tech-wise. We have a full size one, really nice car, just really slow tech.

X5. I have always loved an X5. Now the the one you show is quite pricey as it's quite spec'd out. Do you need the V8? If not, you could consider a 35 i/d with MPPK. I think you can negotiate the price down a bit? Don't fix on one dealer. Shop around. If you don't need options like rear entertainment, use that to work the price down.

[bayareabimmer]

When I was researching my for my SAV I did notice that there were many Mineral Whites w/ Mocha interior. If you don't like some options on your dealers lot look into finding one in the state that you could get shipped. Just my opinion

[Dunga]

Hey alpha, thanks for the reply.

The last time we drove an Audi last year before picking up the GLK it had the old 30 pin iPhone plug hardwired which we thought was a bit ridiculous for a 2015 luxury vehicle commanding that price. I did hear the new ones are really nice and have a lot of cool tech.

The new GLE we took out for a drive was actually comparable to the X 5 in terms of interior quality, it had the full Nappa leather interior and felt nice to be in. Of course it came at a price similar to that of better equipped X5 V8.

We really don't need the V8 but I found that optioning up the 35 gets you well into the range of the 50. I don't know if most people who buy the V8 need it per se. It's probably nicer to have but certainly is not free. I'm planning to negotiate and willing to walk away if it doesn't feel right.

[Dunga]

Originally Posted by bayareabimmer

When I was researching my for my SAV I did notice that there were many Mineral Whites w/ Mocha interior. If you don't like some options on your dealers lot look into finding one in the state that you could get shipped. Just my opinion

Will do. Thanks. This one might just be a bit too much unless we get a phenomenal deal.

Is anybody getting close to 10% off at all or is that pushing it?

[alphaod]

Originally Posted by Dunga

Is anybody getting close to 10% off at all or is that pushing it?

It got it down about 11% off mine... 10% with the factory hitch installed (which in hindsight, I would dissuade against). Of course I didn't mind I was buy MY15 when there was already MY16 available.

[HansRobert]

Another option is to order one with the options you really want. Depending on what production slots the dealer has open you could have one in weeks not months (mine was at the dealer in 16 days after placing the order).

I think 10% off of MSRP is within range.

[Dunga]

Sounds good. Heading out shortly. Thanks for the help guys.

[twelve535i]

That's a very expensive x5. It's loaded with options which would make me wonder if it was a special order and then rejected. If that's the case, dealer probably not want to hold onto the car too much longer. Might be able to get a better price.

The rear seat entertainment is expensive. Newborns sit in rear facing seats so that won't come handy anytime soon anyway.
That plus the m sport suspension can nearly buy you DHP if you custom order.
If you don't get a great deal, I'd say custom order. You can easily customize a vehicle you like for $92k

[Dunga]

Back home. No new car. The one in the link above is an "executive car" used by a dealership employee and it has 700 miles and a bunch of mods (different wheel, tinted windows, clear bra among other things). They weren't interested in making a deal on it and in fact were going to charge for the mods.

For a brand new order the lowest I could get was 5.8% off MSRP and I'm told it's as low as the dealership has ever gone. Whether true or not I would have probably taken it if not for them wanting to shaft us with the trade in. We were gonna have about $8k in negative equity that would roll into the new car loan/lease which is baloney. They wouldn't budge on the trade in since they weren't making much on the new vehicle sale. I tried to argue that we're still above invoice and that's not even counting the hold backs but no dice.

So....the search continues. The Q7 drove nice but it's no X5 and certainly not a 5.0 X5. They're all sold out through September and they won't give you a penny under MSRP because they "don't have to". That's literally what I was told.

All in all still a fun day off of work. Thanks for all the tips. Hope to splatter an X5 picture extravaganza in a future post soon.

[bjcarls]

Pm'd

[Stinkyxy]

Take a look at the pricing thread. It'll reinforce how some dealers try to screw you. What you mention are clearly sales tactics. Stick to price and start picking up the phone and call around. You should be able to get the price that is fair.

[Dunga]

Yeah I know. I'm gonna check out carmax see what they can offer for the trade and then shop around till I find a good deal.

[Blackhawks]

I didn't read the comments, so i apologize if my opinions were covered.

1. you MUST get the Msport package
2. you MUST get the Adaptive M Suspension
3. you MUST get the MPPK.

The reason I say MUST is that they completely transform the ride... I've had forum members drive my car before purchasing and they said it was unlike any car they test drove on the lot.

Are you married to a local dealership? Plenty of dealers in the midwest would have it delivered to you... I got 7% off and it wasn't even the best (I received 7.5 and 7.75) but it was the best package if including trade in and sales experience.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions...

[Snow-Kidney]

Originally Posted by Dunga

Hey alpha, thanks for the reply.

The last time we drove an Audi last year before picking up the GLK it had the old 30 pin iPhone plug hardwired which we thought was a bit ridiculous for a 2015 luxury vehicle commanding that price. I did hear the new ones are really nice and have a lot of cool tech.

The new GLE we took out for a drive was actually comparable to the X 5 in terms of interior quality, it had the full Nappa leather interior and felt nice to be in. Of course it came at a price similar to that of better equipped X5 V8.

We really don't need the V8 but I found that optioning up the 35 gets you well into the range of the 50. I don't know if most people who buy the V8 need it per se. It's probably nicer to have but certainly is not free. I'm planning to negotiate and willing to walk away if it doesn't feel right.

The GLE interior is higher quality. I own both the X5 and ML (without Nappa). I prefer the design of the X5 interior but the quality of the ML easily surpases it. The materials used are better and everything is more sturdy.

Getting the stitched dash on the GLE is a must, as is the interior lighting pkg. The wood wheel is a nice touch as well. If you like open pore wood then the ash trim is amazing. I get many compliments on the materials with passenger fingers touching everything in the ML. I don't the same reaction in th X5.

[Kzang]

Originally Posted by Blackhawks

I didn't read the comments, so i apologize if my opinions were covered.

1. you MUST get the Msport package
2. you MUST get the Adaptive M Suspension
3. you MUST get the MPPK.

The reason I say MUST is that they completely transform the ride... I've had forum members drive my car before purchasing and they said it was unlike any car they test drove on the lot.

Are you married to a local dealership? Plenty of dealers in the midwest would have it delivered to you... I got 7% off and it wasn't even the best (I received 7.5 and 7.75) but it was the best package if including trade in and sales experience.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions...

+1.

[BitteEinBit]

PM sent

[double_j]

Originally Posted by Dunga

Back home. No new car. The one in the link above is an "executive car" used by a dealership employee and it has 700 miles and a bunch of mods (different wheel, tinted windows, clear bra among other things). They weren't interested in making a deal on it and in fact were going to charge for the mods.

For a brand new order the lowest I could get was 5.8% off MSRP and I'm told it's as low as the dealership has ever gone. Whether true or not I would have probably taken it if not for them wanting to shaft us with the trade in. We were gonna have about $8k in negative equity that would roll into the new car loan/lease which is baloney. They wouldn't budge on the trade in since they weren't making much on the new vehicle sale. I tried to argue that we're still above invoice and that's not even counting the hold backs but no dice.

So....the search continues. The Q7 drove nice but it's no X5 and certainly not a 5.0 X5. They're all sold out through September and they won't give you a penny under MSRP because they "don't have to". That's literally what I was told.

All in all still a fun day off of work. Thanks for all the tips. Hope to splatter an X5 picture extravaganza in a future post soon.

Good job on walking away from the deal.

It's always tough getting out of a car after only one year (trust me, I'm trying to get out of a 2016 X3 35i that I bought new 6 months ago). Your best bet at getting a reasonable value is to go back to a MB dealer - at least they have the ability to clean it up and slap a CPO designation on it without having to put it to auction, etc.

I've gotten crap trade-in offers on the X3 from all but BMW dealers because of the above. I'm much too lazy but your best would always be to sell the car yourself.

[jiggz]

Have you driven the 3 models to compare? The 50i ups the price quite a bit when comparing new (+14K over the 35i & +9K over the 35d), but if it's the engine you want, then....

I have an E70 but drove the 35i and 50i...I would have been happy with the 35i but the 50i just felt like the proper engine for this heavy SUV. I see you have a Corvette so you've already got a fast/sporty car, but at the same time you have a Vette because you likely enjoy that sort of vehicle, so you may want the bigger engine

I agree this is an expensive X5, but other than the rear-seat entertainment and maybe the B&O sound, what is there to remove? Most of the other packages/options are pretty standard/popular choices. Front ventilated seats are only $500 and would probably come in handy during a Minnesota summer. Remove a few things and it's still listed at 85Kish.

[Dunga]

The 50i did transform the car. At over 5,000lbs I'm not surprised. There's a lot of deals online that I'm gonna take my time to go through. I haven't given up hope. Also some forum members were kind enough to recommend certain dealers/salesmen that I'm going to have to talk to to see what they can do.

As far as double-j's comment, it's true. The car stickered at $50k plus tax. We are being offered $31-32k. That'a to depreciation in 10 months. I know it's a German car but wow!

[Chef NOLA]

Order custom vehicle with the colors and options u want for the price range u like. Delivery will happen before ur 3rd Honda payment.