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Old 05-10-2018, 11:57 AM   #31
Biggins
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Is the plan still to return the car when the lease is up?

Can you take/post some real photos of the rear seat/hatch area?

Enjoy!
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Old 05-10-2018, 01:06 PM   #32
Josh (PA)
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Yea, the pictures and fake M badge do suck. I had the current lease holder send me more pics off line and they were all of similar viewpoints. He sent a walk around video and the whole thing was shot from about a foot away. I don't think he was trying to conceal anything, just was an awful I-phone photographer.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Biggins View Post
Is the plan still to return the car when the lease is up?

Can you take/post some real photos of the rear seat/hatch area?

Enjoy!


The idea is this will be my wife's daily driver for the summer, and the girls will have access to the e46 wagon and the X5 as needed.

We've been PILING on miles on the X5, (bought it Feb 2017 with ~46k... it now has 85k) so this will also give us a chance to slow down on the wear and tear of that vehicle.

I didn't realize this, but the GT is based on the long wheelbase 3 series platform sold in China, so it is 4.3" longer than the f31 wagon. I think the rear seat room will be great. I'll post some pics with kid(s) in the back and the dog in the hatch when I get it home. Ultimately, I'd much prefer a true 3 wagon, but this thing is cheap (when you factor in the $$$$ sweetener he is throwing in) and I hate that the 3 wagon doesn't get the N55. I expect the wife will like it a lot. I haven't driven one, but reviews make it sound similar to the e61.

The plan right now is to turn it in at end of lease (Feb 5, 2019). I don't know what the residual is on the lease, but I'm wondering if we really like it if we can work out a trade of the X5 + some limited cash for it. Looking at how low the prices are on used ones and how few BMW sold, I would think they would rather have a nicely equipped X5 on the lot compared to a GT. If not, no biggie, we pay the $350 disposition fee and walk away happy (Hopefully turn in is painless).

I can't really explain it, but there is something incredibly appealing to a short term lease. The car has to be much less of a 'perfect fit' when you're only going use it for 8 months. I don't care that it is ugly, don't fret that the interior is black and exterior is silver (don't like that color combo at all). I didn't need to spend 3 months trying to find the perfect one at the best deal.
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Old 05-10-2018, 01:09 PM   #33
rumatt
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Originally Posted by Josh (PA) View Post
I can't really explain it, but there is something incredibly appealing to a short term lease.
I can see that for sure.
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Old 05-10-2018, 01:23 PM   #34
Biggins
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It makes a lot of sense to me, and you have me ready to scan the swapalease website tonight when I get home.
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Old 05-10-2018, 01:33 PM   #35
robg
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Josh (PA) View Post
Yea, the pictures and fake M badge do suck. I had the current lease holder send me more pics off line and they were all of similar viewpoints. He sent a walk around video and the whole thing was shot from about a foot away. I don't think he was trying to conceal anything, just was an awful I-phone photographer.





The idea is this will be my wife's daily driver for the summer, and the girls will have access to the e46 wagon and the X5 as needed.

We've been PILING on miles on the X5, (bought it Feb 2017 with ~46k... it now has 85k) so this will also give us a chance to slow down on the wear and tear of that vehicle.

I didn't realize this, but the GT is based on the long wheelbase 3 series platform sold in China, so it is 4.3" longer than the f31 wagon. I think the rear seat room will be great. I'll post some pics with kid(s) in the back and the dog in the hatch when I get it home. Ultimately, I'd much prefer a true 3 wagon, but this thing is cheap (when you factor in the $$$$ sweetener he is throwing in) and I hate that the 3 wagon doesn't get the N55. I expect the wife will like it a lot. I haven't driven one, but reviews make it sound similar to the e61.

The plan right now is to turn it in at end of lease (Feb 5, 2019). I don't know what the residual is on the lease, but I'm wondering if we really like it if we can work out a trade of the X5 + some limited cash for it. Looking at how low the prices are on used ones and how few BMW sold, I would think they would rather have a nicely equipped X5 on the lot compared to a GT. If not, no biggie, we pay the $350 disposition fee and walk away happy (Hopefully turn in is painless).

I can't really explain it, but there is something incredibly appealing to a short term lease. The car has to be much less of a 'perfect fit' when you're only going use it for 8 months. I don't care that it is ugly, don't fret that the interior is black and exterior is silver (don't like that color combo at all). I didn't need to spend 3 months trying to find the perfect one at the best deal.
I rode in someone's 328 GT once, and yes, the backseat room was near Limo-like. Way more than a 3 wagon due to the longer wheelbase. Too bad they had to make it so homely because it does check so many boxes otherwise.
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Old 05-10-2018, 01:53 PM   #36
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I thought about the 550GT for quite awhile. Homely, but with a bunch of advantages. We had three dogs at the time, though, and that seemed like a non-starter with the hatch gizmo.
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Old 05-10-2018, 02:22 PM   #37
Josh (PA)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Biggins View Post
It makes a lot of sense to me, and you have me ready to scan the swapalease website tonight when I get home.
There is quite a range of lease swap 'deals' that range from very expensive to great deals. There are a few 5ers listed on the fest right now, that's where I found this one.

BMW makes the lease swap pretty painless. There is a $500 fee (which the current leasee paid) and a couple of forms. The process takes 2 - 4wks, but most of the time is their processing. I had very little to do.
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Old 05-14-2018, 07:32 PM   #38
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Mabel fits, but barely. Drives great and is really quick. Backseat is very comfortable for two adult men with the front seats at my normal driving position. Put 350miles on it today and feel good. I'll post more pix later.
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Old 05-15-2018, 07:49 AM   #39
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Originally Posted by Josh (PA) View Post
Mabel fits, but barely. Drives great and is really quick. Backseat is very comfortable for two adult men with the front seats at my normal driving position. Put 350miles on it today and feel good. I'll post more pix later.
Cute pup! Yeah, the rake of the roof in back takes away a lot of dog head height. We worried about that going from the E46 wagon to the E91. The 5 wagon was the best. X5 is fine, but we have to hoist dogs up there. They could just hop in the wagons.
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Old 05-24-2018, 11:15 AM   #40
Josh (PA)
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We've had the car for a couple of weeks now and been able to identify its pros and cons. It isn't a bad platform, but the hatchback takes away so much utility that it isn't a viable option to replace the x5. It's really a shame that BMW didn't use this platform and engine for the 3 wagon, that car would have been really good.

Pros:
The engine with the PPK is excellent and the car is very, very quick.

When the comfort/sport button is in sport and the transmission is in regular drive (not sport drive) the car launches smoothly without any of the delay or harsh over throttle of the x5. In the other modes it is either too jumpy or too mushy, but at least there is a configuration that i can drive smoothly in. I still hate driving the X5 because I can never get a smooth launch.

It rides well even with run-flats and is plenty capable for a daily driver.

The back seat is great for 2 adults. Excellent leg room and head room. The car is noticeably less wide than the X5, so I think three across would be snug, but the added legroom over the regular three is noticeable.

The interior layout is good and the front seats (M-Sport) are very comfortable and BMW familiar. It has a lot of new tech over the 2013 car, most of which is well configured, easy to use and convenient.

Cons:
The hatchback is stupid...stupid, stupid, stupid. It does nothing better than a wagon back end and gains very little over the sedan. Last weekend we had the dog and two kids going up to the lake and there was no choice but to take the X5. I personally think the sloping rear end looks worse than either the sedan or wagon variants as well.

The electric steering is light, but still very quick off center. It is much more susceptible to minor twitches compared to all my 'old' BMWs where the steering weight required more intentional inputs. It doesn't have much feedback. I didn't miss that too much at first because the chassis still communicates well, but the more I drive the more I sense the numbness.

Overall:
My wife is enjoying it as a daily driver and likes it much more than the X5. She is still getting used to the sight lines and thinks it has much worse blindspots, but I haven't had an issue getting mirrors adjusted properly. If the lease turn in goes well, it will have been a good deal for us.

I was hoping it would do 'wagon duty' and give us an option to dump the x5 and keep this at the end of term, but that's just not going to happen.

* And just for the record, the M badge was removed immediately upon getting it home.
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