[particulardude]

Hello! I'm a longtime lurker, first introduced to Bimmerpost years ago by my good friend Tron1043. One of his old 3 series was the first BMW I ever drove way back in college.

It's great to finally be a part of the BMW community with my first Bimmer - a 2013 e70 MSport 50i. I spend way too much time online and I'm not sure there's a better car community than the one here around Bimmers - thanks to all!

So I had VWs since I left college. Two GTIs and a Tiguan when the baby came along. While VW is a great product for the price point I was ready for my first substantial vehicle. I went back and forth with a number of cars (S6, Q7, Model S and 3 series GT were the most recent considerations) and finally chose the X5 (notice I didn't say "settle" for the X5). I chose to go with an e70 rather than wait for an F15 as I'm partial to the body style of the e70. I think it will go down in BMW history with the likes of the e39. The lines are just fantastic - especially with the MSport package.

Of course I may have saved a few pennies as well which doesn't hurt ;] Maybe the F15 will grow on me by the time I'm ready for an X5M - we'll see.

As a 6' 5" car enthusiast it's tough for me to find a vehicle that I fit in let alone others who may want to ride with me fit in as well! The X5 met all my needs and I couldn't resist going with the 50i as I'm a sucker for throaty exhaust. I knew the mileage would be bad - just not this bad! I suppose it evens out in the household, my wife drives an A3 TDI so 12+/- and 40+ leave us in a remotely acceptable place, right?

I needed something I enjoyed driving that also comfortably fit my wife and daughter. I've got a Clek Foonf car seat that is still rear facing - any of the Dads out there will know - those things ain't small.

I'm loving the truck so far, the design, comfort, power and sound are all incredible. If I had to nit-pick I would mention the LCI taillights are great but that upper corner light really should be the little LED cluster you see on the 3 & 5 series LCI tails - the ones we have look half baked imo.

So it's got just over 1k miles on it and I've had it in to service 3 times - yes t h r e e! I like my dealer but not that much - I can't keep wasting my day off there ogling at their frozen M5.

First visit was for squeaky brakes - I understand I have vet the new brakes (maybe it's bet I still haven't heard it clearly and evidently Google doesn't know of this special task for new brakes and I neglected to ask the service guy how to spell it). Living in the city I haven't had it on the highway yet so I'm told that had something to do with it - they're getting better but for awhile there I sounded like a CTA bus at every stop light.

The other two visits were for check engine lights. Both came back claiming gas cap wasn't closed. Silly rabbit, you have to close the gas cap after you fuel the truck. Really? I cinched that SOB down and the light came on well over a week after fill up both times. Anyway, service said if it happens a third time they're going to take it for 2+ days and check the integrity of the entire fuel system.

I don't have any stunning DSLR photos yet, maybe I'll snap some after it gets a wax following a Thanksgiving road trip to Northern Michigan. For now I have to settle for a couple of iPhone Instagram photos as that is all I have to share. Give me a follow at moabiite - if you're an Instagrammer - come on all the cool kids are doing it!

As you'll see in the photo I still haven't mounted my required front plate. One $60 ticket later I'm searching for a solution. I don't want to screw up that beauty of an MSport bumper. I also am not interested in the off center tow hook workaround. One suggestion I've gotten is 3M velcro and just slap it on when I'm parking on the street. I am leaning towards something that under-mounts on the very bottom of the bumper. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thanks for looking and I'll be sure to add more photos as I have them. I'm definitely going to make sure I post a photo of how the car seat fits. Car seat photos were one of the hardest things to find when I was researching various models.

Full Spec:
-Titanium Silver
-Black 'Nevada'
-Dark Bamboo
-Cold Weather
-M Sport
-Premium 2
-Premium Sound
-Tech/BMW Apps