The Australian X5 Thread

[Fraser]

I'd take it in at 25,000km unless the car says earlier. They may only charge $350 for the oil change but a full 25,000km service will be more like $700 to $900, I suspect.

[aussiex5]

Car says 22,000 until oil change and Sept 2011 for service. What is a full 25,000 service, what does it involve?

David

[jammit]

Just took my 6 week-old 2010 3d on a country drive the other day and discovered the satnav maps are already out of date. The Geelong freeway bypass in Victoria was completed nearly 12 months ago, but my 6 week-old map still doesn't show it. The voice instructions told me to do a U-turn "when safe to do so!".

My dealer has no idea when idrive updates will become available, and compared to a few years ago, BMW Aust no longer wants to talk to real customers. (try calling their 1800 number some time and try to talk to someone useful) In addition, the BMW Aust website is next to useless for useful information.

I have a number of questions:

Q1) Does anyone know how often new iDrive maps generally become available and the usual cost?

Q2) Is it reasonable to expect a major freeway system would be in a new satnav sold 10 months after the road opens? What have others experienced here with the Aust BMW satnav maps?

Q3) I am finding the whole customer experience in dealing with BMW Aust to be entirely unsatisfactory. They expect the dealers to understand all the details of the latest iDrive and they simply do not.
As a test - try asking your dealer what the MP3 storage capacity is on the new iDrive or what the bluetooth contacts limit is? Neither of these details is documented anywhere I can find by BMW and my dealer had no idea. (the answers by the way are: 12Mbyte and 1000 contacts). Has anyone else had problems with their dealer's lack of knowledge on the new iDrive system?

Q4) Has anyone else been frustrated by their recent BMW purchase and the lack of support from BMW Aust ie: - the BMW Aust 1800 number and the website? I am considering taking this further with BMW Aust but would like to understand if it is just me or if others drivers feel the same way......

Jammit

[anzer]

I found BMW Australia useful to help resolve my overall purchase issues with Dec 2009 X5 35d purchase ..to the point where they helped influence a swap over for 2010 model ... not sure who your dealer is ..but try the customer service guys at BMW Melbourne as they have been very up to date with technical details on X5 etc ... but agree that overall BMW Aus need to lift their game and stop passing the buck back to dealers ...this is the problem when a car company moves from niche driver oriented to mass production market (think how many 3 series are on the road these days compared to ten years ago ...every man and his dog ..and dont even mention things like the 118 etc .. opened it up to the "try hard bogan", "aspiring wanker", "can't drive for shit but makes me look good" customer segments as well) ..when you go mass their's no going back .....

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by aussiex5

Car says 22,000 until oil change and Sept 2011 for service. What is a full 25,000 service, what does it involve?

David

Really surprised to see that your X says 22,000km until oil change even though it has done 22,000km already?

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by anzer

I ...this is the problem when a car company moves from niche driver oriented to mass production market (think how many 3 series are on the road these days compared to ten years ago ...every man and his dog ..and dont even mention things like the 118 etc .. opened it up to the "try hard bogan", "aspiring wanker", "can't drive for shit but makes me look good" customer segments as well) ..when you go mass their's no going back .....

BMW started their venture into to the car (and motorcycle) world via mass market offerings. The fact that it has produced some of the best of both worlds along the way is our good luck.

If BMW is now too 'common' for you, you need a Porsche.

[anzer]

Fraser, I think that may be right for Germany, but BMW was fairly exclusive in Aus up to around 1985. Now they are 'common' because common salary earners can get into entry level models, and it will only get worse as they bring front wheel drive models through. This is not to say that there are not some fantastic BMW models out there, the x5 and 5 series being good examples along with most M's

When I see a new M3 it draws my attention because it's special, when I see a 320i it just blurs into the background as a commute vehicle

And yes, I would like a Porsche because they still stand out (even if most think they are for rich wankers)

I like the x5 because e70 shape is still cool, despite what top gear may think.

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by anzer

I like the x5 because e70 shape is still cool, despite what top gear may think.

I wouldn't take anything that Top Gear says seriously. It's more about entertainment than information. As for 'common' BMWs, without them the 'special' BMWs wouldn't exist.

[iamthestig]

Originally Posted by anzer

...this is the problem when a car company moves from niche driver oriented to mass production market (think how many 3 series are on the road these days compared to ten years ago ...every man and his dog ..and dont even mention things like the 118 etc .. opened it up to the "try hard bogan", "aspiring wanker", "can't drive for shit but makes me look good" customer segments as well) ..when you go mass their's no going back .....

Geez, you need to lighten up a bit. The 1 series can be a fun drivers car and I would be happy for my child to drive one - wouldn't you ?

So you are just upset that more people can now afford BMW's ? - Just what is the problem with that ? In real terms pricing has reduced - I paid almost $100k for a 3.0d X5 with a few options back in 2003...

[anzer]

My point is that mainstream and model proliferation leads to boredom and engineering tradeoffs ...e.g. BMW now moving to front wheel drive for next series entry level, therefore more and more they are responding to mass market needs, and it ultimately impacts brand and core values. This is a change In direction for BMW and I'm just saying that I don't agree with that. Before you know it VW will be making a buyout offer...