Diesel truck guy new to BMW

[CountryBoyCanSurvive]

Hey everyone, new guy here. Just picked up my first BMW, an e70 diesel. I'm into Cummins diesel trucks and wanted to get my wife something with the longevity, power and efficiency of a diesel motor. Started my search by looking into Benz GLK 250s, but found too many problems. That lead me into the M57 motor and I decided that a 2011-2013 X5d was probably the ideal vehicle for us. I searched for over a month before I found the right one with all the packages I wanted. And here it is:



http://imgur.com/gallery/kgSqTb0

It's a 2012 X5D with the sport package, hot + cold packages, heads up display and most importantly, not black on black. I would have preferred Vermillion red, but finding a clean sport red with HUD and low miles is basically looking for a unicorn. So, white with brown leather will suffice. The white has actually grown on me as it looks pretty good even when it's fairly dirty, which darker colors definitely don't do as well.

So far my only plans for it are darker tint, deleting the third row for a spare tire storage and doing a delete/tune after the 120k extended warranty runs out.

I've read through a few threads here and it looks like a wealth of information. Glad to have found an awesome vehicle and a good forum to back it up. See you guys around!

[JohnStoj]

You'll love it. My best changes were downsizing to 18" wheels and the DPF/SCR delete & tune.

[CountryBoyCanSurvive]

What do you like about the 18" wheels? I think the staggered 20s look awesome. These have new non- runflat Pirellis and coupled with the air suspension, it rides pretty smooth. Certainly smoother than my HD diesel trucks.

[JohnStoj]

I needed more sidewall - city driving and parallel parking is tough on rims. :-)

I did also find the ride improved, with little degradation in handling. Plus, I can rotate the tires now that they're squared up.

[ard]

Originally Posted by CountryBoyCanSurvive

wanted to get my wife something with the longevity, ... of a diesel motor.

Wait, so why did you get a BMW diesel?!?


I kid, I kid.


White w brown is sweet. Good look. FAR better than black. IMO


Why delete 3rd row? Just toss a spare in the back and be done with it. If you ever need the seat, pop out the spare and you're good to go.



Enjoy


(ive got a '12 D)

[CountryBoyCanSurvive]

Originally Posted by ard

Why delete 3rd row? Just toss a spare in the back and be done with it. If you ever need the seat, pop out the spare and you're good to go.

Well, everyday cargo space is one reason. Keeping a spare, jack, first aid kit, emergency kit w/ blankets, water, non-perishable food in an out of the way space would be nice. That would allow us to keep a stroller in the back and still have room for groceries/hockey gear/etc.

The other reason is I'd like to have the spare and jack securely fastened to the car. Those could be deadly projectiles in a crash.

Plus I'm a big dude, my wife is tall and both our kids are tall, so I don't see the third row being terribly useful unless we suddenly befriend a pair of little people who also happen to lack their own transportation. I really don't see how anyone fits in those seats without some serious finesse.

[crystalworks]

Nice looking truck! We were unfortunately saddled with the black/black combo w/ all the gear we were looking for. But what are you going to do? I certainly prefer your color combo.

How comprehensive is your warranty? Maintenance can be a little heavy on these things, but give them what they ask for and they are great vehicles. We've been spending about $1000/yr on maintenance so far. This year is heavy w/ needing a trans valve body rebuild and an SCR tank rebuild. Again, what are you going to do? Welcome to the fold, your wife is going to love it (mine certainly does).

[CountryBoyCanSurvive]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

How comprehensive is your warranty? Maintenance can be a little heavy on these things, but give them what they ask for and they are great vehicles. We've been spending about $1000/yr on maintenance so far. This year is heavy w/ needing a trans valve body rebuild and an SCR tank rebuild. Again, what are you going to do? Welcome to the fold, your wife is going to love it (mine certainly does).

Just have the BMW extended warranty of 10yrs/120k on certain service bulletins. I believe it covers the nox sensors, high pressure fuel system, alternator bracket bolt, SCR active tanks and a few other common issues. Ours has 97k, so I'm going roll with that until 120k and then delete the emissions crap since PA doesn't test emissions on diesels.

I have a two post lift in my garage and am a fairly competent mechanic. My best friend is a professional mechanic and our other good buddy is a BMW enthusiast with his own X5d and a couple other bimmers. I'm hoping that between the three of us we can keep it on the road for less than taking it to an indie shop.

Wife definitely loves it so far. Big step up from a base model minivan.

[crystalworks]

You'll be fine then. Sound like exactly the type of owner these cars should have at their age. You've got a youngin' (ours just hit 166k before taking off the road for repairs) so should be fine for a few miles at least. Again, welcome to the fold.

I don't know why I said black/black above for ours, it's actually black/beige which is only slightly better.

[spyro235]

Enjoy! I love mine, and I'm at 246k miles. Treat it well, which it sounds like you have the capability to, and you'll see countless miles from it.