Test Drive Fails -- Found a good one

[sunny5280]

Originally Posted by jdstrickland

I pulled the trigger on the '05 3.0, with 118k miles. It's been my first choice among a half dozen cars with one more to look at, but that one sold before I got my chance. The engine bay is as clean as the day they opened the doors on the outbound side of the production facility and pushed it out. The car is alpine white with truffle brown interior. The major defects in this 10-year old car are that there are some broken plastic things, two of the rings around the door lock buttons on the doors, and a clip that holds the shell onto the back of the passenger side front seat. Oh yeah, and some bad pixels on the nav screen.

It took some doing to get the bluetooth to talk to my phone without a manual. I have the PK code sheet, but getting to the place where I could use it successfully was not so easy. Having said that, once I figured it out, it really is not so difficult -- much of the trouble was that you get less time than I was taking.

Here's to hoping that this BMW experience mirrors all of my others.

Congratulations! I loved my two E53's.

[crystalworks]

Nice pickup. Enjoy it and I hope she serves you well.

[jdstrickland]

Nav, but no Sport. Premium Package.

[white46]

Originally Posted by jdstrickland

I pulled the trigger on the '05 3.0, with 118k miles. It's been my first choice among a half dozen cars with one more to look at, but that one sold before I got my chance. The engine bay is as clean as the day they opened the doors on the outbound side of the production facility and pushed it out. The car is alpine white with truffle brown interior. The major defects in this 10-year old car are that there are some broken plastic things, two of the rings around the door lock buttons on the doors, and a clip that holds the shell onto the back of the passenger side front seat. Oh yeah, and some bad pixels on the nav screen.

It took some doing to get the bluetooth to talk to my phone without a manual. I have the PK code sheet, but getting to the place where I could use it successfully was not so easy. Having said that, once I figured it out, it really is not so difficult -- much of the trouble was that you get less time than I was taking.

Here's to hoping that this BMW experience mirrors all of my others.

Glad to hear you've found one you like!

[jdstrickland]

So, now I'm on the road to chasing down my nav screen issues.

I've found that I want to be certain to get the correct screen because they are apparently viewable from certain directions, and the one for the car is designed for a viewing angle that does not work in the X.

[bcredliner]

Congratulations!

[admranger]

Originally Posted by jdstrickland

It took some doing to get the bluetooth to talk to my phone without a manual. I have the PK code sheet, but getting to the place where I could use it successfully was not so easy. Having said that, once I figured it out, it really is not so difficult -- much of the trouble was that you get less time than I was taking.

Congrats on your purchase. The X5 is an extremely capable vehicle and I think you'll really like it.

Tell me more about pairing your BT (or perhaps go to one of the BT threads and document your experience/steps you used to pair things). Some of us have struggled unsuccessfully for a long time trying to get our BT to work.

[jdstrickland]

Originally Posted by admranger

Congrats on your purchase. The X5 is an extremely capable vehicle and I think you'll really like it.

Tell me more about pairing your BT (or perhaps go to one of the BT threads and document your experience/steps you used to pair things). Some of us have struggled unsuccessfully for a long time trying to get our BT to work.

To be honest, I'm scratching my head on what I did. It has a lot to do with holding your tongue right, I think.

I held the button on the steering wheel that is used to answer the phone -- this button can be in any of several places, the book says it is by some upper storage tray or something, mine is on the steering wheel.

The directions say to hold the button for three seconds then turn the key on and then have your phone scan for new devices to connect to. When I finally got this to work, my phone reported BMWnnnnn, where nnnnn is the last 5 digits of the VIN. When I tried to pair, a 10-key pad on the phone asks for the passkey, but you only have seconds to complete this step.

Basically, the directions in the manual are correct and connecting the phone works as described. My confusion came from a few things, the timing of the sequence being high on the list. The Speaker Phone button is described in a place where it does not exist, if they simply said to press the button <looks like this> (with the pictogram), and let me find it wherever it lives, I would have saved some time. I think the instructions say to set the key to Position I, but I think joy comes when the key is put to Position II (RUN).

Once you pair, your phone will synch your contact list with the car, and you press the pictogram button and say, DIAL name or number, or wait for the car to tell you to say a command and then it will give a list of valid commands.

[bestvaluestore]

Post pics of your new car,please.

[jdstrickland]

Originally Posted by bestvaluestore

Post pics of your new car,please.

I gotta resize them. They're too big to post.

I bought basically the base model with the Premium Package. It's Alpine White with Brown Truffle interior.

I passed on a 4.4 that was loaded with heated seats and the whole 9 yards. And, I missed out on a 3.0 that was loaded, including the video screens on the back of the headrests and only 87K miles. The one with 87K miles and the one I bought are both single-owner cars, I am the second.

I'm happy with what I got, and with what I paid.