View Single Post
      12-26-2011, 01:18 PM   #2
Jess///M
Second Lieutenant
10
Rep
201
Posts

Drives: 2016 X6M
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: CA

iTrader: (0)

First of all - Congratulations on your taking delivery of a 2012 X5 xDrive50i this week!

I must admit that I had many similar concerns about the claims, quality, cost and warranty about these aftermarket performance upgrades for my '12 X6M. Both ESS and Dinan made fairly bold claims which were difficult for me to truly verify empirically or from online or other investigation. So I decided to accept instead that there would be a noticeable subjective difference in the driveability (not a real word) of my X6, which was what I really wanted (I don't race or track my car as it's my DD). Both have excellent reputations and reviews from many customers, so I thought quality would not be an issue. The INITIAL cost differences were significant, though.

Warranty was the most important factor for me and subsequently, DOWNSTREAM costs. There's a lot of potential risk when modifying these vehicles and companies are quick to distance themselves from support or liability when folks make changes to their products.

You state that "Many enjoy the peace of mind the DINAN warranty offers and some actually believe that it works in tandem with the original BMW warranty, but the fact is your BMW warranty WILL BE VOIDED if they have a reason to blame the DINAN software, and we all know that they will always find a way to blame something on the software. I have never dealt with DINAN warranties, but I would not want to experiment with it while my car is sitting at a BMW dealership with some sort of problem."

My understanding of how the Dinan warranty works is that if the dealership determines that a particular fault or failure is attributable to the Dinan product, Dinan covers it during the BMW base warranty period. I don't think ESS or anyone else does that. I understand that Dinan's personnel work directly with BMW on technical and administrative levels regarding warranty claims on their products. I don't think that anyone else does that. I don't think that BMW will void the BMW warranty at all if you have Dinan software or parts. Rather, I think you would run into problems if you have aftermarket parts (which "may potentially harm the vehicle") that NOBODY covers. Also, the idea of having to uninstall or undo anything so that I wouldn't have problems at a dealership for normal service and updates did not appeal to me AT ALL.

Ultimately, I chose Dinan for the warranty and a couple of other reasons. Dinan was having a 15% discount across all of their products at the time and there were other mods I was also considering (exhaust, suspension) which reduced the total initial cost. Not sure where you're located, but I had all installations (software, exhaust, suspension) performed by a BMW dealer which is also a Dinan retailer (BMW Encinitas, California), who did a superb job, BTW.

I have to say that I am very satisfied with all of the mods. The car looks, sounds, handles and performs fantastically! Even though it was great before, the difference is more than noticeable and worth the extra initial cost (with a little peace of mind). I would recommend the Dinan software over others and getting the installation done by a BMW Service Center.
Again-- Congratulations!
Appreciate 0