e61 shopping

[Josh (PA)]

We (I) started looking in earnest at e61s to replace the MDX. These things seem more difficult than your average car to figure out options, etc on them by looking at the pictures. It seems they all shipped with a screen and I-drive, but not all have nav, Bluetooth, etc. Even with the VIN and a decoder like BMWCONFIG, it is really hard to interpret what the options lists really are.

I'm getting pretty close to this one. It is down in NC, so I haven't looked at it in person yet. I'd do a PPI at whatever BMW dealer is close by before driving down. I've attached the VIN build sheet and a couple of the interior pics. I think it does not have NAV. Can't tell about Bluetooth. I've exchanged a few emails with the sales guy who mentioned cold weather and premium packages. I haven't pressed it too far yet. It's a decently low mileage 2010, well priced to replace the MDX without wife criticism.

Anyone with better E61 knowledge than me make any comments/suggestions:

http://www.southeastautogroup.com/20...-28117/4980331

[SARAFIL]

Nav = no (see that bin in the dash above the heated seats buttons? If it has that, no nav... That panel is flat if the car had nav)

Bluetooth = should be yes, I believe all 05 or 06 ++ E60 models had it standard.

[JST]

Originally Posted by Josh (PA)

We (I) started looking in earnest at e61s to replace the MDX. These things seem more difficult than your average car to figure out options, etc on them by looking at the pictures. It seems they all shipped with a screen and I-drive, but not all have nav, Bluetooth, etc. Even with the VIN and a decoder like BMWCONFIG, it is really hard to interpret what the options lists really are.

I'm getting pretty close to this one. It is down in NC, so I haven't looked at it in person yet. I'd do a PPI at whatever BMW dealer is close by before driving down. I've attached the VIN build sheet and a couple of the interior pics. I think it does not have NAV. Can't tell about Bluetooth. I've exchanged a few emails with the sales guy who mentioned cold weather and premium packages. I haven't pressed it too far yet. It's a decently low mileage 2010, well priced to replace the MDX without wife criticism.

Anyone with better E61 knowledge than me make any comments/suggestions:

http://www.southeastautogroup.com/20...-28117/4980331

What 'fil said, plus the cars without Nav got a smaller screen. If this one had nav, the screen would have a lot smaller plastic border around the edge.

It also does not have the nice seats, which really were my favorite part of my old car.

You can see the bigger screen on this car:

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...nal&listType=1

That one also has the sport package, meaning the nicer wheels, nicer steering wheel, and the fancy seats (along with shadowline trim).

Personally, I'd hold out to find one with the sport package, but maybe the seats and so forth aren't that big a deal to you.

Actually, I wouldn't buy a 535xiTA at all. It's a nice enough car, but the sole reason I went with one was because of the stick. If I were thinking of buying an automatic, there are other cars I'd go with first. The lack of a sport suspension in the 535 was kind of irritating--made the car floatier than a BMW really should be. More than that, the sunroof issues really annoyed me. And of course it had the typical BMW water pump issues.

I liked that car, but I was pretty happy to see it go.

[Josh (PA)]

Originally Posted by JST

What 'fil said, plus the cars without Nav got a smaller screen. If this one had nav, the screen would have a lot smaller plastic border around the edge.

I liked that car, but I was pretty happy to see it go.

Thanks. I like the car in your link but not at a $10k premium over the one I'm looking at. The seats will be an improvement over the ones in the Acura. The car is for my wife and she strongly requests an automatic. She'd be happier with a heated steering wheel than a sport wheel.

Basically, it needs to be comfortable, drive well and be able to carry 5 people and a lot of 'stuff' on vacation. She's been driving the e46 wagon since we got it and enjoying it (our daughter has her permit, but won't be driving full time until the end of summer). She loved our e39 wagon (it was her favorite car ever). She'd be happy in something that's comfortable and a little floaty, while still having good performance. I want something that isn't the Acura, drives well and has the BMW familiarity. The lower we can keep the price delta between the two the happier she'll be.

[JST]

Originally Posted by Josh (PA)

Thanks. I like the car in your link but not at a $10k premium over the one I'm looking at. The seats will be an improvement over the ones in the Acura. The car is for my wife and she strongly requests an automatic. She'd be happier with a heated steering wheel than a sport wheel.

Basically, it needs to be comfortable, drive well and be able to carry 5 people and a lot of 'stuff' on vacation. She's been driving the e46 wagon since we got it and enjoying it (our daughter has her permit, but won't be driving full time until the end of summer). She loved our e39 wagon (it was her favorite car ever). She'd be happy in something that's comfortable and a little floaty, while still having good performance. I want something that isn't the Acura, drives well and has the BMW familiarity. The lower we can keep the price delta between the two the happier she'll be.

How about this?

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...nal&listType=1

[wdc330i]

Originally Posted by JST

How about this?

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...nal&listType=1

That's cool. Although I test drove one of those and found it pretty lifeless. On the subject of the 5 wagons, a couple of things:

1. The comfort seats are not only cushier, they actually make a big safety difference in the car. Research crash tests with regular seats, sport seats, and comfort seats to see what I mean. When we were shopping, we made those a condition for buying.

2. Park Distance Control is also critical, IMO, as the car has pretty poor rear sight lines and is big and bulky all around. The 3 wagon has far better sight lines.

3. We had heated rear seats, which turned out to be really nice. Obviously not a deal breaker.

4. HPFP, water pump, mechatronic sleeve, melting headlights are all problems you will likely face, if the previous owner did not. And that panoramic roof issue--less of a problem if you never park outside.

Plus sides: a luxurious, roomy, comfortable wagon with excellent highway manners.

[Josh (PA)]

Originally Posted by JST

How about this?

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...nal&listType=1

I had some bad experiences with the Audi dealership near me and never found (albeit 10 yrs ago) a good indy shop. Both cars being equal, I'd prefer a BMW because I'm comfortable dropping it off with my mechanic and keeping it maintained with minimal hassle.

I do appreciate the links though. Not having the CCC (or CIC whichever is newer) NAV on the '10 car is a real bummer. I like the HD based nav and infotainment as well as the traffic info... Looks like retrofitting it is an expensive and painful process.

[Josh (PA)]

Originally Posted by wdc330i

That's cool. Although I test drove one of those and found it pretty lifeless. On the subject of the 5 wagons, a couple of things:

1. The comfort seats are not only cushier, they actually make a big safety difference in the car. Research crash tests with regular seats, sport seats, and comfort seats to see what I mean. When we were shopping, we made those a condition for buying.

I thought I read (from a post on here, probably from JST) that the original regular seats were replaced during the LCI due to their safety issues. JST or anyone, do you recall if that is accurate?

2. Park Distance Control is also critical, IMO, as the car has pretty poor rear sight lines and is big and bulky all around. The 3 wagon has far better sight lines.

The car in the link has front and rear PDC. One of the nice things about not getting M-Sport is having the sensors in both the front and rear bumpers

3. We had heated rear seats, which turned out to be really nice. Obviously not a deal breaker.

4. HPFP, water pump, mechatronic sleeve, melting headlights are all problems you will likely face, if the previous owner did not. And that panoramic roof issue--less of a problem if you never park outside.

Plus sides: a luxurious, roomy, comfortable wagon with excellent highway manners.

I'm pretty sure the one I'm looking at doesn't have the rear heaters. Being an LCI car, the melting headlights goes away and being a 2010 build, the HPFP should be minimized. The mechatronic sleeve is a little scary... maybe if it breaks Nick can fix it for me. Nice thing is my mechanic would fix it at well below dealership rates.

[wdc330i]

I think you're right about the seat upgrade. Not sure what the remedy was? Free comfort seats? Cheaper ones? Eliminating the sport seats?

[JST]

Originally Posted by wdc330i

I think you're right about the seat upgrade. Not sure what the remedy was? Free comfort seats? Cheaper ones? Eliminating the sport seats?

I think the sport seats went away, and the comfort seats were just included in the sport package. That's what happened with mine, anyway (an '08).