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      01-15-2015, 08:13 AM   #23
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http://www.bmw.com/com/en/owners/acc...catalogue.html

This site saved me a ton of time and helped me avoid a bunch of useless phone calls. All you need is the last seven of the VIN and it'll tell you exactly what options are on the car.
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      01-15-2015, 08:30 AM   #24
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Congrats on the newborn! I recently became a father also and the X5 has proven to be a very worthy vehicle for hauling around just about anything I throw in it. We've had three E70s in our family, and one F15. I have a 2011 X5 myself, and if I were you, I wouldn't even look at anything older. The pre-LCI models are really starting to look very dated. Find yourself a 2011, and if you're working with a certain budget, you might just have to find a model that has a few more miles or a few less options. I just advise you to find one that has a warranty, as getting things fixed on an X5 is never a fun, or cheap experience.

Here's an example of an affordable 2012 X5 with the sport package, still under factory warranty for $32,500: http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/de...7759/overview/
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      01-15-2015, 08:35 AM   #25
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Here's a really nice 2011 M Sport with 25K miles on the ticker, and it's a 50i, for $37K.

http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/de...3559/overview/

Looks to be a stripper though (term for little options), but it's a given and take.
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      01-15-2015, 11:14 PM   #26
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Thanks guys. Those are both good cars, but I'm restricting myself to the San Francisco Bay Area or within 2-3 hours driving distance. I would say my budget caps at $40,000 which I think with a little bit of patience I should find one with good clean history, low mileage, and good options.

Has anyone used carmax? I was just looking at their website and it seems that the prices are better than at any BMW dealership and their inventory is constantly updating.
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      01-16-2015, 01:13 PM   #27
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Originally Posted by bmwarg View Post
Thanks guys. Those are both good cars, but I'm restricting myself to the San Francisco Bay Area or within 2-3 hours driving distance. I would say my budget caps at $40,000 which I think with a little bit of patience I should find one with good clean history, low mileage, and good options.

Has anyone used carmax? I was just looking at their website and it seems that the prices are better than at any BMW dealership and their inventory is constantly updating.
be careful buying a "CPO" BMW from anyone else other than a private seller or BMW dealership. In a nutshell if the car was CPO'd starting in 2014, only private sellers and BMW dealers can transfer CPO warranty to you. CarMax and the likes cannot.


I think $40k is a pretty good budget since you're looking at 2011 models that are out of original warranty. We'd been emailing back and forth, but I highly recommend that 2012 X5D that I pointed you towards in SF, I would have bought that one, but options didn't work out for me.

I would say if you're looking at 2011s without warranty, for 35i cars, you should be paying around mid-30s for something with 35k miles or so. I haven't paid too much attention to 35i, mostly X5ds...so if you're interested, i'll let you know what you're looking at in terms of pricing for diesels. PM me your tel.
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      01-16-2015, 01:23 PM   #28
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be careful buying a "CPO" BMW from anyone else other than a private seller or BMW dealership. In a nutshell if the car was CPO'd starting in 2014, only private sellers and BMW dealers can transfer CPO warranty to you. CarMax and the likes cannot.


I think $40k is a pretty good budget since you're looking at 2011 models that are out of original warranty. We'd been emailing back and forth, but I highly recommend that 2012 X5D that I pointed you towards in SF, I would have bought that one, but options didn't work out for me.

I would say if you're looking at 2011s without warranty, for 35i cars, you should be paying around mid-30s for something with 35k miles or so. I haven't paid too much attention to 35i, mostly X5ds...so if you're interested, i'll let you know what you're looking at in terms of pricing for diesels. PM me your tel.
Thanks for the info on the CPO warranty transfer.

Still haven't heard back on that white X5d. I'm kinda open to the 35i or the 35d, but 35i may have a slight edge for me because of the 8-speed transmission. I keep monitoring craigslist, carmax, truevalue, and cars.com. Few cars with ~35k miles or less and few 2011s.
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      01-16-2015, 01:26 PM   #29
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Thanks for the info on the CPO warranty transfer.

Still haven't heard back on that white X5d. I'm kinda open to the 35i or the 35d, but 35i may have a slight edge for me because of the 8-speed transmission. I keep monitoring craigslist, carmax, truevalue, and cars.com. Few cars with ~35k miles or less and few 2011s.
yep, I was using craigslist, autotrader, and ebay. I found my car on ebay. The ebay transaction didnt' go through, messaged the seller and got a private deal done outside of ebay...saved him a ton of ebay fees in the process.

Also, if you're curious about build dates and options lists, use this website to receive each car's options list, it saved me a ton of time asking the sellers whether they had this or that...

http://www.bmwarchive.org/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html

in fact, the x5d I bought, he didn't even list the single most important option I wanted, I simply just punched in his VIN, saw it had the option, and went in with my offer.
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      01-16-2015, 01:50 PM   #30
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Originally Posted by bmwarg View Post
Thanks guys. Those are both good cars, but I'm restricting myself to the San Francisco Bay Area or within 2-3 hours driving distance. I would say my budget caps at $40,000 which I think with a little bit of patience I should find one with good clean history, low mileage, and good options.

Has anyone used carmax? I was just looking at their website and it seems that the prices are better than at any BMW dealership and their inventory is constantly updating.
Your budget is sound, particularly if you're looking at 2011s. 2012s will probably be found in the low to mid 40s. I say probably because I ended my hunt in November (thankfully), five months of looking will drive anyone crazy.

My hunt was comprised of regularly checking AT, Carmax, eBay, BMW CPO, and Manheim (I'm not a dealer but I have Manheim access). I can't tell you how many cars I looked at or how many VINs I decoded on the ETK website. Couple of suggestions there - first, if you're chummy with a BMW service advisor, ask them to run the DCS report for anything you're seriously considering. Since you're looking at 2011+, there should be no reason why any maintenance was done anywhere other than a dealer, and that's in the DCS report. Second, if you're calling on cars at BMW dealers, ask them to furnish you with the DCS report, the CPO checklist, and the CPO repair order (the latter two if the car is CPO, the repair order being the order to CPO the car and fix anything that fails CPO so you can see what they did to it). 95% of all dealers I asked gave me this information and if they don't that would raise an eyebrow for me.

As to the Bay Area, I looked at a car at Stevens Creek. I ended up passing because I thought there were too many undisclosed minor issues, I had a friend check it out for me. Not sure if I'd be a fan of that dealer. In So Cal, I was very impressed by Shelly BMW. A gentleman named Michael (can't remember his last name) in the internet department was very cool, I almost bought one from them as well but was too late on the trigger. There's another place down there called California Beemers that seems to have nice cars but they're a little unrealistic about price. I'd stay away from any Sonic dealerships in CA.

Speaking of Carmax...a couple of things. First, I seriously considered one of their cars but was immensely frustrated when I couldn't get any real information on it. When I asked about how much was left on the tires and brakes I just got the rigamarole about the car being inspected blah blah blah. Second, you could buy a car and have it shipped into your local location. If it shows up and you don't like it, you don't have to buy it but you're out the shipping cost. That's a very expensive bullet to fire in the hopes it works out. Third, I would definitely try and get an independent PPI for any Carmax car. I strongly suspect they are very legit about cars they keep on their lot but you simply don't know, I would treat them in this area like any other dealer in terms of things you should do before buying a car.

I actually sold my MB to Carmax and was very, very pleased by the process and the amount they gave me. It certainly wasn't retail, but it was better than wholesale. They marked it up $7K, then reduced that to a $6K markup, and it was gone.

If you'd like me to check Manheim wholesale pricing for any car you're considering, just send me a PM. If it was bought at auction (will show up on Carfax or AC) relatively recently I can probably find exactly what they paid for it but I'd also need color, miles, and VIN. Always good to have as much information as possible.
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      01-16-2015, 01:53 PM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flying Ace View Post
yep, I was using craigslist, autotrader, and ebay. I found my car on ebay. The ebay transaction didnt' go through, messaged the seller and got a private deal done outside of ebay...saved him a ton of ebay fees in the process.

Also, if you're curious about build dates and options lists, use this website to receive each car's options list, it saved me a ton of time asking the sellers whether they had this or that...

http://www.bmwarchive.org/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html

in fact, the x5d I bought, he didn't even list the single most important option I wanted, I simply just punched in his VIN, saw it had the option, and went in with my offer.
Amen. A couple of times during my hunt I ended up telling the person what they had in terms of the options.
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      01-16-2015, 02:52 PM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by goodmaj View Post
Your budget is sound, particularly if you're looking at 2011s. 2012s will probably be found in the low to mid 40s. I say probably because I ended my hunt in November (thankfully), five months of looking will drive anyone crazy.

My hunt was comprised of regularly checking AT, Carmax, eBay, BMW CPO, and Manheim (I'm not a dealer but I have Manheim access). I can't tell you how many cars I looked at or how many VINs I decoded on the ETK website. Couple of suggestions there - first, if you're chummy with a BMW service advisor, ask them to run the DCS report for anything you're seriously considering. Since you're looking at 2011+, there should be no reason why any maintenance was done anywhere other than a dealer, and that's in the DCS report. Second, if you're calling on cars at BMW dealers, ask them to furnish you with the DCS report, the CPO checklist, and the CPO repair order (the latter two if the car is CPO, the repair order being the order to CPO the car and fix anything that fails CPO so you can see what they did to it). 95% of all dealers I asked gave me this information and if they don't that would raise an eyebrow for me.

As to the Bay Area, I looked at a car at Stevens Creek. I ended up passing because I thought there were too many undisclosed minor issues, I had a friend check it out for me. Not sure if I'd be a fan of that dealer. In So Cal, I was very impressed by Shelly BMW. A gentleman named Michael (can't remember his last name) in the internet department was very cool, I almost bought one from them as well but was too late on the trigger. There's another place down there called California Beemers that seems to have nice cars but they're a little unrealistic about price. I'd stay away from any Sonic dealerships in CA.

Speaking of Carmax...a couple of things. First, I seriously considered one of their cars but was immensely frustrated when I couldn't get any real information on it. When I asked about how much was left on the tires and brakes I just got the rigamarole about the car being inspected blah blah blah. Second, you could buy a car and have it shipped into your local location. If it shows up and you don't like it, you don't have to buy it but you're out the shipping cost. That's a very expensive bullet to fire in the hopes it works out. Third, I would definitely try and get an independent PPI for any Carmax car. I strongly suspect they are very legit about cars they keep on their lot but you simply don't know, I would treat them in this area like any other dealer in terms of things you should do before buying a car.

I actually sold my MB to Carmax and was very, very pleased by the process and the amount they gave me. It certainly wasn't retail, but it was better than wholesale. They marked it up $7K, then reduced that to a $6K markup, and it was gone.

If you'd like me to check Manheim wholesale pricing for any car you're considering, just send me a PM. If it was bought at auction (will show up on Carfax or AC) relatively recently I can probably find exactly what they paid for it but I'd also need color, miles, and VIN. Always good to have as much information as possible.
yep, that's the basis of my price floors that I would offer dealers, start with Manheim and work your way up a little bit. I got a fantastic deal on my car that I'm picking up tomorrow, private sale though, but still compared to what asking and transaction prices are, I'm in the black, I can probably flip my car for about $1k-$2k profit at this point, but I won't, lol
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      01-16-2015, 06:24 PM   #33
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Originally Posted by goodmaj View Post
Your budget is sound, particularly if you're looking at 2011s. 2012s will probably be found in the low to mid 40s. I say probably because I ended my hunt in November (thankfully), five months of looking will drive anyone crazy.

My hunt was comprised of regularly checking AT, Carmax, eBay, BMW CPO, and Manheim (I'm not a dealer but I have Manheim access). I can't tell you how many cars I looked at or how many VINs I decoded on the ETK website. Couple of suggestions there - first, if you're chummy with a BMW service advisor, ask them to run the DCS report for anything you're seriously considering. Since you're looking at 2011+, there should be no reason why any maintenance was done anywhere other than a dealer, and that's in the DCS report. Second, if you're calling on cars at BMW dealers, ask them to furnish you with the DCS report, the CPO checklist, and the CPO repair order (the latter two if the car is CPO, the repair order being the order to CPO the car and fix anything that fails CPO so you can see what they did to it). 95% of all dealers I asked gave me this information and if they don't that would raise an eyebrow for me.

As to the Bay Area, I looked at a car at Stevens Creek. I ended up passing because I thought there were too many undisclosed minor issues, I had a friend check it out for me. Not sure if I'd be a fan of that dealer. In So Cal, I was very impressed by Shelly BMW. A gentleman named Michael (can't remember his last name) in the internet department was very cool, I almost bought one from them as well but was too late on the trigger. There's another place down there called California Beemers that seems to have nice cars but they're a little unrealistic about price. I'd stay away from any Sonic dealerships in CA.

Speaking of Carmax...a couple of things. First, I seriously considered one of their cars but was immensely frustrated when I couldn't get any real information on it. When I asked about how much was left on the tires and brakes I just got the rigamarole about the car being inspected blah blah blah. Second, you could buy a car and have it shipped into your local location. If it shows up and you don't like it, you don't have to buy it but you're out the shipping cost. That's a very expensive bullet to fire in the hopes it works out. Third, I would definitely try and get an independent PPI for any Carmax car. I strongly suspect they are very legit about cars they keep on their lot but you simply don't know, I would treat them in this area like any other dealer in terms of things you should do before buying a car.

I actually sold my MB to Carmax and was very, very pleased by the process and the amount they gave me. It certainly wasn't retail, but it was better than wholesale. They marked it up $7K, then reduced that to a $6K markup, and it was gone.

If you'd like me to check Manheim wholesale pricing for any car you're considering, just send me a PM. If it was bought at auction (will show up on Carfax or AC) relatively recently I can probably find exactly what they paid for it but I'd also need color, miles, and VIN. Always good to have as much information as possible.
Awesome info. I didn't know about the DCS report. I will definitely ask before buying.

I'll PM you about Manheim.

Is Nappa leather really rare in these cars? I saw an 2010 48i car with Nappa tobacco leather and loved it.
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      01-18-2015, 01:08 AM   #34
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Need your guys opinion on options:

would you say rear camera/pdc is indispensable in this car?

I think these are the important features for me:
panorama sunroof
leather seats
heated front seats

Is there a way of telling if it has better speakers?
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      01-18-2015, 09:31 AM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwarg View Post
Need your guys opinion on options:

would you say rear camera/pdc is indispensable in this car?

I think these are the important features for me:
panorama sunroof
leather seats
heated front seats

Is there a way of telling if it has better speakers?
Yes, to me pdc is indispensable. I can live without the cameras though.

I rarely see models without panoramic sunroof or leather...

Re: speakers, use the VIN decoder that I provided
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      01-18-2015, 10:07 AM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwarg View Post
Need your guys opinion on options:

would you say rear camera/pdc is indispensable in this car?

I think these are the important features for me:
panorama sunroof
leather seats
heated front seats

Is there a way of telling if it has better speakers?
You may want to look at 2012's if your budget will allow it - there were some packages reconfigured and more standard equipment offered, including PDC and heated front seats (both optional on 2011's, though pretty common). 2012 will also get you the LED coronas. Check this link -

http://www.bmwusanews.com/newsreleas...8?&id=908&mid=

Regarding the speakers, you'll notice in the link above the the Hi-Fi sound system became standard - this is option S676A when decoded. This option was not available on the 2011 35i/35d - it was either the base system (S645A) or the Premium Sound Package (S677A). You'd probably be happy with S676A or S677A but not S645A. The base system is pretty bleak, the 2 others sound the same to me with Premium including satellite radio and a DVD player in the glovebox. If you find a 2012 you won't have to worry about S645A as it was no longer used/available.
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      01-18-2015, 12:48 PM   #37
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Thanks to both of you! This is very helpful!
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      01-18-2015, 04:10 PM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwarg View Post
Need your guys opinion on options:

would you say rear camera/pdc is indispensable in this car?

I think these are the important features for me:
panorama sunroof
leather seats
heated front seats

Is there a way of telling if it has better speakers?
Check the rear doors. If there's two speakers on each door close to each other, one smaller than the other one, you have the better sound system. If there's only one speaker/door, it's the base system.

I don't think I ever saw one of these cars without the sunroof or leather seats. It's pretty rare to find one without heated front seats, but you should always check either via a VIN decoder or a picture of the center console. The seat heater buttons are next to the climate control, if they're blank then it doesn't have heated seats.
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      01-18-2015, 07:40 PM   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by goodmaj View Post
Check the rear doors. If there's two speakers on each door close to each other, one smaller than the other one, you have the better sound system. If there's only one speaker/door, it's the base system.

I don't think I ever saw one of these cars without the sunroof or leather seats. It's pretty rare to find one without heated front seats, but you should always check either via a VIN decoder or a picture of the center console. The seat heater buttons are next to the climate control, if they're blank then it doesn't have heated seats.
Does the X5 sports package provide a sportier suspension? I drove a 35d X5 today and couldn't get over the bouncy feel over the bumps.
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      01-18-2015, 09:12 PM   #40
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Does the X5 sports package provide a sportier suspension? I drove a 35d X5 today and couldn't get over the bouncy feel over the bumps.
No….Sport Package doesn't change anything with the suspension. Wheels, seats, anthracite headliner, shadow line exterior trim…

Doesn't sound like much but find one without and you get the sh*t seats, chrome window trim, and the wrong wheels.
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      01-18-2015, 10:04 PM   #41
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Does the X5 sports package provide a sportier suspension? I drove a 35d X5 today and couldn't get over the bouncy feel over the bumps.
The Sport Activity Package has the standard suspension, but the M Sport has the sport suspension. Honestly, I'm not sure exactly what that entails, all I know is it feels tighter, particularly around corners.

On a related note, it looks like you can no longer get the options list from the ETK website? The link is no longer there.....
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      01-18-2015, 10:59 PM   #42
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The Sport Activity Package has the standard suspension, but the M Sport has the sport suspension. Honestly, I'm not sure exactly what that entails, all I know is it feels tighter, particularly around corners.

On a related note, it looks like you can no longer get the options list from the ETK website? The link is no longer there.....
M Sport doesn't add any suspension upgrades, or performance…it's all cosmetic. 2011 M Sports included adaptive drive which is a suspension upgrade, but 2012 & 2013 M Sports did not come with Adaptive drive as part of the M Sport package (still available as a separate option).
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      01-18-2015, 11:17 PM   #43
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Originally Posted by goodmaj View Post
The Sport Activity Package has the standard suspension, but the M Sport has the sport suspension. Honestly, I'm not sure exactly what that entails, all I know is it feels tighter, particularly around corners.

On a related note, it looks like you can no longer get the options list from the ETK website? The link is no longer there.....
I've been using this one: http://www.bmwvin.com/

Yes, I noticed that I like the sports package seats and I think I would prefer the M-sport suspension. The ride of the X5 felt a bit bouncy over bumps. Today I test drove the 2012 MB ML350 diesel and the 2012 BMW X5 35d for the first time and the X5 diesel wins hands down. I also tested the 2012 MB ML550 twin turbo and found it to have plenty of pick up and a sportier suspension (it was well priced at $49k for 26k miles, but out of my price range). I'd like to have that sportier suspension in the X5.
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      01-18-2015, 11:26 PM   #44
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Originally Posted by jiggz View Post
M Sport doesn't add any suspension upgrades, or performance…it's all cosmetic. 2011 M Sports included adaptive drive which is a suspension upgrade, but 2012 & 2013 M Sports did not come with Adaptive drive as part of the M Sport package (still available as a separate option).
I just decoded mine (2012 M Sport 35) and I've got option S226A - Sport suspension settings. As I said, I honestly don't know exactly what that entails, but if I decode a Sport Activity (in this case L765773, a Sport Activity 35 currently for sale at BMW of Mountain View) I get option S225A - Standard suspension but no S226A.
Appreciate 0
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