Newbie looking to buy X5

[seawolf21]

I'm looking to buy a 2008 X5 3.0 but have a couple of questions on which packages and options to take.

Currently thinking of the Rear Climate, Cold Weather, ipod interface, and either PDC standalone or with the Tech package.

The BMW website mentioned Dual power outside mirrors as standard. Are they Heated and power folding?

The Tech package comes with voice activiation which allows dialing phone calls hands-free. How's that different than Bluetooth on the BMW Assist option?

We live in NYC so we'll be doing mostly parallel parking. Any experiences with how' the PDC and the rearview hold up in urban parking situations?

Also, any recommendations on dealers? I took a test drive at LifeQuality and they are quoting $1000 above invoice.

Thanks.

[rh71]

$1k above invoice is a decent deal imo. But shop at more than 1 dealer and make them compete with each other if you really want the best price.

The PDC beeps are NOT all that accurate for inching during parallel parking. It has the solid warning tone but you can still inch a bit more so using the audio only, you can't judge distance precisely. The rearview camera is very good for this and if I were you, I'd get both (since you need *something* for the front).

Even with the premium package, the outside mirrors are NOT heated but they are power folding. I am not sure about cold weather package affecting it - I have never seen that mentioned, but I always recall the "ski bag" in that package.

[seawolf21]

Just as a clarification to my original question. Is the rearview camera useful for parallel parking or does the PDC itself does a better job?

[rh71]

Originally Posted by seawolf21

Just as a clarification to my original question. Is the rearview camera useful for parallel parking or does the PDC itself does a better job?

sorry I must've been half-awake when I wrote that. I fixed my 2nd paragraph now.

[seawolf21]

Thanks rh71.

How's the PDC accuracy visually for parallel parking? I drove a 5 series in Munich last year and I end up turning the PDC audio off since it was annoying when you got close to the car/wall. I envision using only the PDC visual displays to finish up parallel parking.

Have you done any parking in New York City streets at night (street lamps illumination)? How’s the rearview camera under these lighting conditions? I was reading that you get a red blob at night in the camera due to reflections from the brake lights.

[meruyailir]

I wish I got the rearview camera. The car is huge and I have difficulties parking it at times. Perhaps I'm so used to my 3er.

I also regret not getting the Adaptive drive.

Other must-haves, in my opinion, are the premium sound system, the lights package, anti-dazzle on both interior and exterior mirrors, and finally silver-painted kidney grille.

[rh71]

I haven't done any parallel parking at night out there but backing out of a parking lot with street lighting around here - the camera is useless. I could barely make out any shapes and I knew there was an "island" behind me there too. Had to depend on any PDC beeps in that instance.

The PDC beeps cannot be turned off or volume lowered - I've tried but there seems to be no options with it. Everytime I back out of my garage, it beeps like a video game. It will be just as annoying as you experienced.

I won't say anything further about the PDC accuracy because I've never gotten out to see at what point a beep becomes a solid tone. If you get that down, you can probably use it to park well enough. Same goes for the red warning marks on the idrive screen. BTW, those PDC marks on the screen are not as pinpoint as you would hope for, in the sense that if you move an inch further, the red on the screen would not necessarily reflect that little space you just moved, etc. I view it more like a guide and wouldn't depend on it.

[seawolf21]

Thanks for your reply again.

Maybe it was the German 5 series that let you turn off the PDC audio. According to the X5 PDF manual, you can turn down the volume but doesn't look like you can elimnate it.

[AzNMpower32]

The exterior mirrors are heated standard, but power folding requires Premium package.

I haven't parked an X5 myself, but in general, I find PDC sensors more useful than backup cameras. I drove a Prius once with the camera, and I found it absolutely useless.

[seawolf21]

Does anybody know what the Base Invoice is effective June 1 for the 3.0? Pre-June 1 was $42230. My dealer quoted $43610 June 1 pricing (difference of $1,080) but given that the MSRP price increase is $300, I have a feeling the dealer provided number is not the true June 1 invoice.