[rottenit]

Hi Folks,

I am at a point of decision fatigue when it comes to purchasing my X5. I’m not going to make a long lengthy story but over the last 2 months I bought an Audi Q7 and traded it in 2 weeks later, been taken for a ride by that Audi dealer, and ran into 2 bad BMW dealers. Thankfully I found an awesome dealer in Wisconsin and ordered a M50i.

About 4 weeks ago (thanks to the forum) I gave the dealer a heads up on the roof rails and asked him to make sure my M50i was not affected by the production error. He assured me that according to the plant, the rails were included. When I went to pick up the M50i last week it had no roof rails. The rep that I was working with (also the GM) was not in town when I tried to pick it up but I refused delivery.
My plan was, If the dealer lets me, is to re-order an M50i with a couple of cosmetic changes as I did not like the color (too blue) and the interior trim was bad. I also plan to add full leather. After some considerations I am not convinced that this is the best plan.
So I’m asking for some help from the forum, I am at a bit of an impasse on what to do regarding which vehicle to order in what configuration.

Option 1 – 2020 X5M

Sit on it and wait to order a X5M Comp. Due to surgery canceling my class for this semester I am no longer in a rush to replace my MDX. So I have the time to wait. I mentioned this in another thread and a couple of forum members said that it may be a bad idea. The first point is they do not do well in varied weather conditions, due to the tires and the height to the ground. I did find that they are making 22” AS and winter tires now so is that still an issue? As to the ground clearance, I saw an X6M the other day and it seemed to have more clearance than the average car. I live in Wisconsin, so snow is defiantly an issue. I rarely do any cross country driving in the winter, but it happens occasionally. The 2nd point that was mentioned which is interesting is that the M is basically lost on an SUV due to weight and size, that made me consider option 2.

Option 2 – Get something else

The other thing to consider is getting another car. I wanted something that was fun to drive. One of the things I hated about the Q7 it was way more boring than my 2011 MDX. So maybe go with an M5, although its missing some of the cool features available on the 2020 X5 (laser lights come to mind). Would the M5 deal with the winter well?

Option 3 – M50i & Something else (down the road)

Reorder the M50i and then maybe next year grab an M2/M3 which would be summer only.

With the re-order I am questioning a few choices that I made, and would like some feedback:
Wheels – Should I stick with 22”? I love the look and now that the AS are available (I know I need to order them separately) does that mitigate the winter along with a set of winter rims & tires. This would pretty much be the same thing I did on the MDX (although those are 19’s). I was going for the “blackout” look on the car.

Trim – I wanted something that was “sporty” but that aluminum tetragon seems pretty dam ugly to me and my wife. Any other suggestions?

Full leather – The one I ordered had the extended, I kind of don’t like how the dash looks and am thinking of just going full on the leather.

Trailer hitch – I will probably want some type of hitch. I think the factory one does not look that great (although better than most aftermarket things I have seen). I am considering the hidden hitch as it is not visible and I can keep the kick to open feature (which I want). I would like the iDrive trailer features, is there a way to enable them without ordering the factory hitch?

Thanks so much for your time and opinion! The forum has been a fantastic resource.