Well after 3 and a half years of the cheapest motoring I have ever experienced, I have got rid of the Civic and bought a 66 plate BMW X1.
The Civic came with actual mpg of 60+, free road tax and an inclusive servicing package. Really liked it, loved the flexibility of the magic seats especially when we had the dog. Even on a recent holiday, I was able to fit two adult road bikes in the rear well with the magic seats up.
However I craved an automatic and to get back into a higher up car. Ideally I wanted a Qashqai as the top of the range Tekna came with all the toys – sunroof, cameras, heated seats, front and back sensors etc etc . But there is so much negative reviews around the Nissan Xtronic CVT auto gearbox.
My indie mechanic, who swears blindly to the VAG cars, advised that if I wanted auto, it had to be BMW or Mercedes. A quick look at cars and specs quickly narrowed the hunt down to X1 or X3.
However I was in no rush. I knew what toys I wanted, I wanted an X1 that had Qasqai toys! Some regular searches on autotrader with alerts set up for X1 with sunroof, reversing camera and front and rear sensors didn’t throw up many hits.
Then a colleague at work referred me to the guy that he and all his family buy their cars from. He sources from auctions, only buys less than 3 year old cars, and most of them are sourced from closed e-auctions direct from manufacturers.
A quick call with him with my requirements and left him to do his stuff.
About four weeks later and I am now the proud owner of a 66 plate X1 2.0 diesel xline with 9500 miles on clock. Lots of toys I didn’t even need like the widescreen media / professional set up, privacy glass, spare wheel, non runflat tyres, folding mirrors, park assist as well as all my requirements listed above. I wont mention the price because although I have researched and reckon I got it for around £3k less than it would be in showroom, no doubt someone on here would try and prove differently so I will leave it that I am happy with the outcome.
Love the car, love the automatic and so far, really loving the BMW experience with all the toys and gadgets through connected drive. The car is registered in Sep 2016 so I still have manufacturer warranty on it and am currently downloading my free map update that I am entitled to!
On the downside, the week after buying it, I was pulled in by my boss and told that I am being made redundant. Employer only gives statutory redundancy! Depending what jobs I apply for, I may, or may not, attend any interviews in the BMW !
|
Sorry to hear about the redundancy Bobby and good luck with the job hunting!
Can I ask what industry your employer is in?
Glad you like the new motor. Btw if it’s a 4x4 keep the tyres within 3mm wear of each other. My brother didn’t and it was very expensive.
|
Cheers zippy, am in charity retail for a hospice.
Noted re tyres!
|
|
Is a BMW X1 a rebodied Mini Countryman ?
|
>> Is a BMW X1 a rebodied Mini Countryman ?
Variants of the same platform, but different drive train FWD vs RWD/Xdrive
|
>> Variants of the same platform, but different drive train FWD vs RWD/Xdrive
X1 2wd now has FWD like the 2 AT
|
Built on variants of same platform along with 2 series Active Tourer mpv.
Check out the models available on VWs MQB modular platform: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_MQB_platform
|
|
And what's the Model Number? Come on you are a BMW owner now, you should know this stuff.
|
|
was waiting for you to tell me.........
|
Congratulations on the car Bobby, and commiserations on the job. Retail really is a tough place right now. Good luck in your job search. Are you going to target a similar type of job or look to change? I suppose we all suffer from the same dilemma that no one is going to pay us what we need to earn for knowledge we don't have, so we tend to end up doing a version of what we've always done.
I'd quite like to be a lumberjack I think. ;-)
|
Cheers Humph - really don't know what I want to do next.
Going through that whole work/life balance debate, mortgage will soon be paid off anyway, can I take a less pressure job, no emails / 24/7 always on call, managing 40+ staff etc and have my own time to myself but with less money? Its never been my style before so would be hard to accustom to but I am not sure in this day and age beggars can be choosers so need to see whats out there.
However if anyone sees a vacancy advertised for a driver to drive a Porsche 911 up to Glencoe and back every day then please let me know!!
|
Well, I have had the X1 for a couple of weeks now and loving it. Loads of toys and I only discovered this week that it also has parallel parking feature which I had to try on the beachfront at Troon and it worked perfectly!
This is my first auto and still getting fully used to it. Find that I need to switch the stop/start off when at low speed manoeuvres as it constantly cuts in eg in my driveway we park 3 cars literally bumper to bumper. I let it move slowly on creep but every time I press the brake fully, it cuts the engine.
Have had a couple of rush hour journeys and also one trip which involved going up 7 floors of a multi storey so auto was great for that.
Fuel economy is mid 40s so far without trying too hard, if I do sit on motorway in eco pro mode and 60mph then mpg jumps to 60+. Of course when I put it in sport mode and floored it up the sliproad the mpg display plummeted through the dashboard!
Seats are probably the only weak point so far, mine has the standard leather seats and I feel that I am on them rather than in them. I am not the fattest or tallest but feel that my thighs are sitting on edge of seat. Maybe I can play about with the position and this will improve.
LED lights are fab at night as are the puddle and door handle lights!
Boot seems big enough helped by a sliding rear bench that splits 60/40. Its looking like we are going to shortly be dog owners again so need to get a mat to cover the bumpers for entry /exit.
Overall, absolutely loving the car, for the first time in a long while, I have been thinking of places to “just go for a drive” – probably helped with having more time on my hands now since redundancy! Off up towards Aviemore tomorrow to look at a puppy so that should be a good run.
|
>>Seats are probably the only weak point so far, mine has the >>standard leather seats and I feel that I am on them rather than in >>them.
....though mine is petrol, it is a very similar spec to yours.
It was selected from stock as a near fit for my requirements, (at a discount of course).
Two items on the vehicle I wouldn't have ordered, but in retrospect having used them I now would, are the reversing camera and the sports seats. The latter are a step up in comfort from the standard ones, at least for my frame.
|
I have the reversing camera - essential piece of kit for my driveway! Though it is a bit confusing because it stays on up to 5 mph even if you are driving forward!
I will need to persevere with the seats - the drive tomorrow is 2 and a half hours each way so that should give my body some good feedback!
|
|
Salesman said to me, specify what you fancy or not, I'll not try and sell you extra features, but specify the multiway comfort seats. He was right
|
|
For the dog, get a hatchbag, tailored to fit with a flap for the rear bumper. Got one for my beemer and a dog training friend has one for her X5.
|
look great pieces of equipment Zero at reasonable prices.
However not sure how much use I would get - previous dog was maybe only in my car 2 or 3 times a week and mostly that was getting picked up from the in laws a mile away.
Maybe only once or twice a month would it be in the car for a trip to the seaside etc - we did most of our walking from home and have Strathclyde Country Park within walking distance which was a regular walk.
Of course all that may change and I suppose I won't be using my car boot for filling it with charity shop donations....
|
>>Off up towards Aviemore tomorrow to look at a puppy so that should be a good run.
So two and a half hours (126 miles) on the A9 with varying degrees of dual carriageway, single carriage and some roadworks. Arrived back home, both the missus and I commented that there are no aches or pains and the journey itself was very comfortable.
Of course, helped by getting loads of cuddles from a litter of golden lab puppies!!
Overall managed 51.6 mpg which I was delighted with.
Love this car!!
|
so any BMW owners out there accessed the "Secret" idrive menu??
Also, as per other thread, my 3 year old X1 is due a brake fluid change. Car has the variable servicing thingy. So serviced at Oct 2018 so next due 2 years or mileage dependent.
But the brake fluid needs done at 3 years - so still need to visit a garage! Need to have a chat with my local indie - he advises he has all the technology needed to update idrive service information. I thought BMW would make sure this was only available at dealer (I know they need to allow independent servicing as per EU rules but I'm sure they don't need to extend that to idrive access?)
|
>> so any BMW owners out there accessed the "Secret" idrive menu??
Yes, its of little value
>> sure this was only available at dealer (I know they need to allow independent servicing
>> as per EU rules but I'm sure they don't need to extend that to idrive
>> access?)
Its possible to do all the servicing stuff with a regular garages device, including adding an entry into the online service book.
You may want to examine buying a thing called a "carly" for BMW. You can also get other cheapish tools to programe lots of parameters
|
|
I also still don't know if my car has auto full beam headlights - haven't been down suitably dark roads to check them !
|
>>You may want to examine buying a thing called a "carly" for BMW. You can also get other cheapish tools to programe lots of parameters
I would like my car programmed to fold the mirrors on locking the car without me having to press and hold the lock key (which also slides the sunroof blind across). Apparently this can be done with these gadgets.
|
>> Of course, helped by getting loads of cuddles from a litter of golden lab puppies!!
Oh BTW there is no such thing as a "golden" Labrador.
There are yellow labradors, there are golden retrievers, and if you interbreed the two you have a mongrel.
|
Ha ha yip - when I was wee they were Golden Labs, Alsatians and Mongrels.
Now they are yellow labs, German Shepherds and things like cockapoos and Jugs and the like!!
|
>> Ha ha yip - when I was wee they were Golden Labs, Alsatians and Mongrels.
>>
>> Now they are yellow labs, German Shepherds and things like cockapoos and Jugs and the
>> like!!
Anyone who comes into my ring with a "cockerpoo" will at best have it described in my scoresheet as "crossbreed" There is nothing wrong with a crossbreed, indeed they make excellent dogs in many fields, unlike the pretentious owners.
|
>>...... they make excellent dogs in many fields, unlike the pretentious owners.
>>
Snigger.
|
>> There are yellow labradors, there are golden retrievers, and if you interbreed the two you
>> have a mongrel.
I'm sure you're right but there's a whole generation of us who remember, or think we remember, Honey, Goldie and other Golden Labradors as Blue Peter Guide dogs.
|
>> I'd quite like to be a lumberjack I think. ;-)
I'm sure there's a feller out there somewhere that can help you.
|
|
Yes, I've always fancied branching out, if I could bring anything to the job it'd be my determination to get to the root of the problem.
|
|
.....don't become a lumberjack, though - It's shrubbish......
|
|
It is something I've often pined for.
|
|
....I thought one pined for the Fjiords.....?
|
|
Do lumberjacks have to log on when they get to work?
|
|
...and do they all drive Nissan Leafs? (Or is it Leaves...!!)
|
You are all barking mad, I'll knot put up with this any longer
|
>> Do lumberjacks have to log on when they get to work?
If they forget they're OK as long as a colleague saw them.
Otherwise they have to axe to be let off.
|
>> If they forget they're OK as long as a colleague saw them.
There's still the risk of getting the chop.
|
|
After they have logged on, do they use "what sap"?
|
Yep the job description look fine :-)
He cuts down trees, he skips and jumps
He likes to press wild flowers
He puts on women's clothing and hangs around in bars
I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK
I sleep all night and I work all day
|
>> He puts on women's clothing and hangs around in bars
That wood be a sight for saw eyes.
|
|
This thread has me stumped.
|
|
And you know what? I bet he doesent have the wood interior trim option.
|
|
I bet he hasn't twigged that was on the options list.
|
I wrote to BMW and asked them if they could tell me every option / pack etc that my X1 had when it was built as I know it has many extras and I wanted to be sure I knew everything the car had.
Within a day I received the following reply, looks like I have a bit of googling to do! Many of these seem to be standard xline trim items but some that I am not sure what they are! And I have already replied to ask about the service pack they refer to - that would be a bonus that I was totally unaware of!
Below I have included the specification list of your BMW X1, this consist of the standard and optional extra’s:
Ordered Options
01AG Touring fuel tank
01CA Selection of CoP-relevant vehicles
01CB ACEA/CO2 Coding
02PA Security Wheel Bolts
02TB Sport automatic transmission
02VB Tyre pressure monitoring
0223 Electronic Damper Control (EDC)
0230 EU specific equipment
0249 Multi-function controls for s'wheel
0255 Sport Steering Wheel
028A 18" Y-spoke style 569 alloy wheels
03AG Reversing Assist camera
03AT Roof rails, matt aluminium
03L8 Exterior trim - Satin aluminium
0300 Space-saver spare wheel
0302 Alarm system (Thatcham 1)
0313 Elec Fold Exterior Mirrors
0316 Bootlid operation, powered
04FD Sliding rear seat bench
04LU High-gloss black interior trim with Pearl chrome finisher
0402 Panoramic glass sunroof
0420 Sun protection glass
0423 Floor mats, velour
0428 First Aid Kit & Triangle
0470 ISOFIX Child Seat System
0473 Armrest - front, centre
0493 Extended storage
0494 Seat heating, front
05AV Active Guard
05A4 Adaptive LED Headlights
05DD Car Jack
05DP Park Assist
0508 Park Distance Control (PDC), front and rear
0534 Automatic Air Conditioning
0544 Cruise control with brake function
0563 Extended Interior Light Package
0575 12V power sockets
06AC BMW Emergency call
06AE BMW TeleServices
06AK BMW Online Services
06AM Real Time Traffic Information
06AN Concierge Service
06AP Remote Services
06UP BMW Navigation Plus
0610 Head-up Display
0650 Single-disc CD Player
0654 DAB digital radio
0698 Area Code 2 for DVD
07HW xLine package
08KA Oil-maintenance interval 24 months/30,000 km
08R9 Refrigerant
08SM External Visible VIN
08S2 Coding of alarm siren (time limit)
08S3 Auto drive away locking
08TF Active Pedestrian Safety
08TG Dead-Locking Function
0812 GB Specification
0850 Add Fuel for Export Cars
0877 Remote Alarm Setting Only
0880 English Handbook
09AA Bodyshell protection
Standard Options
02VG Performance Control
0853 Instrument Panel Letter
I have also included the packages that came with your BMW X1 below for future reference:
- 4 Year Service Inclusive expires 29th September 2020
- 5th Year Service Inclusive Extension expires 29th September 2021
- 24 Month MOT Protection expires 29th September 2021
|
I think yours is a 2016; I think I still have an electronic copy of the brochure/price list which would reveal the details of some of the codes (albeit possibly those more easy to interpret anyway).
Not at home at the moment so can't check.
It looks to me that you have the full 5 year service inclusive package, withdrawn/reduced to 3 years, shortly after I bought mine, which covers routine servicing, as demanded by the in car display, for the first 5 years, is transferrable (I believe without any action required), and should be valid at any BMW dealer. MOT protection means they will rectify FOC any MOT failure attributable to non wear and tear items or consumables.
|
Cheers for that info - I had just got my indie to do the brake fluid 3 year change as well! Didn't realise I had this cover!
Re MOT, surely nearly all MOT failures will be due to a wear and tear item??
|
Depends what it means by wear & tear items, I guess. I wouldn't say that lights, exhausts, suspension components and brake lines would count as wear and tear times to name a few.
|
>I wouldn't say that lights, exhausts, suspension components and brake lines would count as wear and tear times..
Suspension components are definitely wear and tear items. Rubber bushes for one. And lots of middle-eastern taxi drivers certainly believe that headlamp bulbs fall into that category.
|
|
The 335 just went for its pre-Mot and Mot - I was just charged for the "ticket" - Subscription services become expensive at the end of 3 years - just saying ! :-)
|
You mean for all the Connected drive stuff?
Been quoted £49 for a year of USB map updates which I didn’t think was too bad. Especially since I don’t think I need to subscribe straight away so my map was updated just before it expired. So could wait 3 months then take out another years subscription then.
|
|
Well the full suite..not going to bother with all of it - just pick and choose when the time comes. Already got a free month on everything from them when I phoned them the other day.! :-)
|
Never renewed the concierge service, its simply a lifestyle feature that offers me limited benefit.
Sat Nav updates are useful (but I use google maps most of the time, I am REALLY annoyed that Android Auto is not available) the things I use most of all are "find my car", sending destinations to the car (automatic if you put the address in your google calendar), remote locking, remote ventilation and details of current fuel range.
The most useless of all features tho is the remote/auto booking of car services. My BMW dealer does not seem to be hooked up the system, requiring a phone call through the worlds worse call handling system (three dealers linked up)
|
Yeah I like the “send destination to car” feature. With an up to date built in sat nav with traffic, I use it for almost all journeys now.
I don’t seem to have the fuel range feature? Is this on the phone app?
|
Yes, Android, Wen you start the app the car status comes up, part of that status is fuel range.
The Sat Nav is good, but google traffic updates are faster and more comprehensive, and re routing faster. The BMW one has a tendency to hang on to its original route a bit too long if you divert. Google also has a larger and more dynamic and diverse POI system as well.
|
|
Apple have the app as well. I usually know how much fuel my car has from a brain app though
|
>> Apple have the app as well. I usually know how much fuel my car has
>> from a brain app though
Similarly.
Mercedes went to a small amount of trouble to install the Mercedes Me thing on my eleven year old E class.
What for?
It can tell me if my car is locked, and how much fuel is in it. I use the eyeball app.
|
>> It can tell me if my car is locked, and how much fuel is in
>> it. I use the eyeball app.
Does the memory have enough left to say how may miles the heap aged mercedes has without going outside to check?
|
|
I know from driving it yesterday it has in the region of 400 miles in the tank. The App says 421. I have to say the remote locking feature has been used a few times.
|
|
Yes, I guess bushes are but I was thinking more of shocks, which I would have thought were not.
|
>> Yes, I guess bushes are but I was thinking more of shocks, which I would
>> have thought were not.
I think they probably are. Which is why they are relatively easy to change.
|
>> Re MOT, surely nearly all MOT failures will be due to a wear and >>tear item??
For BMW MOT Protect:
"All items will be covered with the exception of the windscreen, wheels, tyres and items replaced as part of routine servicing (e.g. brake disks and pads) modified and/or non BMW components. The cost of the MOT test, re-test and advisories will not be covered neither will failure as a result of neglect or adjustments and damage resulting from impact or accident, or faulty repair of any item be covered. Vehicles used for competitions, racing, pace making, or rallies are excluded."
.....and yes, the brake fluid change is part of "Service Inclusive"; mine has been done.
;-)
|
Goodbye Civic, hello X1 - zippy
