Collected an m50d today

[Thawke]

Nice write up, and loved reading about the experiences in both in town and out of town.

Looking forward to all the rest getting their carsto hear more of that first few weeks of driving

[sak83]

Just a further update. I entrusted jim @ definitions detailing to carry out a new car detail and ceramic coating after seeing the good work he carried out on Mark G's car on the forum. The car had a light correction and coating with gtechniq csl and exo. The wheels were coated with gtechniq c5 and the glass including the panoramic roof with gtechnic g5. Being without the car was tricky but made slightly easier as jim was able to drop me womentomwest london from Farnborough I wasn't able to get any pictures at the time of collection because it was dark but got a chance to check it out properly yesterday and I'm really happy with the results

If anyone's interested here's his fb page
https://www.facebook.com/Definitions...3992593748830/


The work is tricky to capture on space grey, anyway here's some snaps I took yesterday's lovely spring weather

[Wing Co]

Looks super, just follow the obsessive rules for washing now and your car will remain relatively swirl free. detailing world forums should be avoided!

[X5M50D]

Looks really great sak83 and well worth the inconvenience for a day or two
Has the coating got a guarantee for 3 years?
Make sure you don't take it down the supermarket for an eastern European hand wash
Great job!

[sak83]

I've prepared myself for diy washing, I'm well versed in the washing techniques required. It's unlikely I will be obsessive as space grey is quite forgiving but I'll give it a go and see how I get on. I'm looking forward to seeing how the coating affects the ease of washing the car.

[X5M50D]

its now been 10 days since ownership - so how are things going?
What's your likes and dislikes?
Anything I need to be aware of when mine finally arrives?
What's the mpg like?
Any guidance would be appreciated

[Thawke]

Great photos !!

I opted for the Williams Ceramic coating offered by the dealer and the car was clean for ages, but.... I am noticing that it's not "as" good as a wax regarding beading, have you noticed anything ? - performance not as I expected.

I too am now due a wash, and refuse to go to the "eastern european" washers around here as I cringe whenever they used to lean over my last car with their zips and jeans with all those metallic buttons.

Its not the swirls I got, but they light scratches all over the place......

Strictly DIY now with the

1. Jet wash
2. Citric soak
3. Jet wash
4. Foam wash
5. Jet wash
6. 2 Bucket, Lambs wool mitt wash
7. Jet Wash

RELAX

[sak83]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one committed to a wash routine

I haven't experienced any wet weather since i collected the car back from the detailer and I haven't washed it either so too early to say about the beading. I do notice it's not as glossy or warm as a waxed finish but from the reading I had done before that was expected.

Although I didn't wash the car I did wash the wheels before I took the above pics because they were coated in dust from a days worth of driving. With the coating they were an absolute breeze to clean. I hate cleaning wheels usually so that was a refreshing change.

The coating applied to the car is gtechniq csl and exo which is meant to last 3 years. There's not a guarantee on this but tbh I would be happy to see even half of that. Time will tell.

I have ordered a folding stool of eBay to help with access when cleaning the roof i also ordered a few other bits to make it as easy as possible

From my last update I haven't actually driven the car much so don't have a lot more to add so I'll put a few random thoughts down....

When collecting the car from the detailer I drove down with my wife and she drove the x5 back. It was actually quite nice because I got to check my car out from a 3rd person perspective. As sad as it sounds it was nice to see what the car looks like while it's being driven. There was a few times when the x5 was behind me on dark unlit roads and the led headlights along with the led indicators looked stunning.

Further to my earlier comments regarding the adaptive leds I have now experienced them a bit more so can comment further. I find they light the road really well, the adaptive part needs to be enabled by selecting from the left hand stalk and I don't think I was doing this before, the cornering function extends further than my last car. I have still yet to try them on poorly lit rural roads so will try that out when I get an opportunity. But since I last wrote about them I'm more impressed than when I was. I also love the look of them so that helps too

I'm still loving the handling and composure of the ride, because of this my mpg has been quite low around 23mpg but tbh I was expecting that. I'm sure it will creep up when I drive it a bit more sensibly. My daytime driving is quite sedate it's just when I take it out by myself on the late evening as and I can't help myself

I do find the runflat tyres a little stiff for my liking, overall the ride is very good but you can get a bit of jarring on sharp bumps. From experience with previous bmws it's the familiar side affect of having stiff sidewalls. I need more time in the car to see how much of an issue it is for me as it's too early to make a judgement.

Now I have got used to the at I plan to do some coding to personalise it. Things like having to switch off the stop start every time I get in the car are annoying. I didn't opt for enhanced Bluetooth so that's also something I plan to code in.

I'm out and about in the car on the weekend so if you guys haven't got your cars by then I can post some further thoughts otherwise I'm looking forward to everyone else's updates

[GeeRam]

You boys and your wash routines

[X5M50D]

Thanks for the update sak83.
So next thing on my list is a folding stool as I can see getting to the roof is going to be an issue. Certainly is with my wife's 4x4 each time I clean it.
I've opted for the igl kenzo ceramic coating which apparently has a 5 year guarantee - but we will see
I didn't opt for the LEDs and I now wonder whether I've done the right thing? I'm hoping the adaptive and high beam xenon's will be sufficient?
Be interesting to touch base with you on the various code changes as I'm a bit of a novice when it come to that and certainly switching off the stop start is something I will want to do.
Enjoy your weekend ride.

[GeeRam]

Originally Posted by X5M50D

I didn't opt for the LEDs and I now wonder whether I've done the right thing? I'm hoping the adaptive and high beam xenon's will be sufficient?

I had adaptive xenons on my 135i and they were good enough, that I specced the X5 with them as well.

I only changed to LED's pretty much at the last knocking, as I was having doubts over speccing the soft close doors, and there was only a tenner's difference in price between having LED's or adaptive xenons/soft close doors, so went the LED route instead.

[sak83]

I was 50/50 on the led's I dont think you will be disappointed with the adaptive xenons. You may not get the led indicators but you will have a sharper cut off!

[Wing Co]

My Gt.. coating is now 2 years old and still very good. Makes a big difference with the ease with which dirt comes off.

[sak83]

Thats good to hear

My folding stool arrived so i now have access to the roof of the car although the car is not dirty enough to warrant a wash yet

[bmwx3805]

from a proud plant ten production worker. hope your enjoying your m50d.

[sak83]

Originally Posted by bmwx3805

from a proud plant ten production worker. hope your enjoying your m50d.

That's cool to know and i'm enjoying it plenty

[MarkG_M5Comp]

Originally Posted by bmwx3805

from a proud plant ten production worker. hope your enjoying your m50d.

That is very cool - thanks for my car, you did well