Ah! understand now:-) Dare I ask which model your looking at?
I think I may have mentioned to you before that I’ve always fancied a BMW X5. The plan was to buy one when I retired. I even own a private plate which is X5 followed by my initials 😂. However, when we dropped down to one car (when my wife could no longer drive), she was keen that we stuck with Motability but, like me, she now feels it’s not for us anymore.
I’ve been looking for around 6 months for a used current generation (pre facelift) X5, but they hold their values very well and even a good 4 year old example, with sensible mileage and all the kit I’d want, is still in the £40-50k range at BMW dealers. As I wasn’t getting anywhere on the used front, I did some research and went to see my BMW contact armed with all my info.
There are now only 4 engine options with the X5 and they all get great reviews, so choosing is difficult. The 30d and 40d diesels are probably the most sensible ones to get, but my wife isn’t keen on a diesel and we don’t really do the mileage to warrant one. As the vast majority of X5s are bought as company cars, the 50e PHEV is the big seller due to the lower company car tax rates. As you know, I’m not a complete convert when it comes to PHEVs, but the 50e has a combined power output of 489 bhp, helped by a straight six 3.0 petrol engine and the real world EV range is at least 50 miles, which would suit our needs far better than the Tucson, which runs out of puff before we complete our weekly journeys. With the VAT and VED exemptions, and the level of additional discount that we are discussing, we could be looking at a car that would retail at £90k (with options) for £62k. I’m having one on a 24 hour test drive in a few weeks time.
The spanner in the works is that I was drawn to a gorgeous blue colour (Marina Bay Blue) in the showroom on an XM (ugly car). This colour is reserved for BMWs full blown M cars and the M lite versions, including the twin-turbo 4.4 litre V8 X5 M60i (523 bhp), which is the same engine (in a lesser tune) as in the X5M Competition. That model has as standard a number of options that I’d be adding to the 50e and there are even bigger discounts to be had on it, plus a massive VED saving, so a car (with options) that retails at £106k could potentially be mine for £67k, which is just £5k more than the 50e. It would cost me £100 more a month to run (which I could live with) but I wouldn’t ever have to plug the ruddy thing in and, as the dealer said to me, “it’s a car that sounds like a car”! Both cars are the top insurance group (50) but, oddly, the M60i is £50 cheaper to insure (£635 versus £687 for the PHEV). Even though my BMW dealership is huge, they’ve never had an M60i (they only represent 1.5% of the current generation X5s on the road) so they are going to try to get one through the BMW Experience programme for me to try for a few days (apparently they have to pay to have these rarer cars delivered from BMW, but they are happy to do so).
I appreciate that these are eye watering sums of money, and way more than I have ever paid before (or wanted to pay now) for a car, but being able to buy a new dream car (in the case of the M60i) with a near £40k discount is very tempting, particularly as the depreciation would be covered by what we would save by opting out of Motability (sacrificed benefits plus AP). BTW, both prices include quite a few options and a 5 year BMW servicing plan, as well as the usual 3 year warranty. I’m beginning to think that I’d get more pleasure from that money than leaving it in savings which Rachel from Accounts will do her very best to chip away at.
It may all come to nowt, as I may not like either car when I’ve had a day or two in them (it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened – two days in different iX1’s being just one example) but it will be a fun way to while away the worst months of the year. The other option is a Porsche Cayenne, but I can’t seem to get as enthusiastic about them, even though it’s probably a more sensible buy. They will hold their value even better than the X5, but there’s no upfront discounts with Porsche, so it’s horses for courses.
As you like your cars, I’ll post a YouTube review of the M60i. I’d be adding the air suspension that he raves about!
