[coastal2]

Originally Posted by NGT2

I see a lot of posts saying 2020 is the best year and 2021+ suffer from lower quality, etc. Is this really significant? I’m looking for another X7 now and was going to try to find a 2022, 2021 at the oldest. Mainly so I’ll have at least a year of warranty left to go with the CPO. Forget the options deletions, for the purpose of this question. Would you guys say the differences are enough to buy a 2020 over a 2021-2022, assuming the mileage is the same, even if you have to then fool with finding a third party warranty? Shopping for an M50.

You really need to test drive because it’s all about feel. Personally I am legitimately worried when my 2020 dies I’ll have to look for another brand because I’m so unhappy with everything they’ve done the past few years. If they don’t start beefing up the “weight” of the body of the car (think how solid the doors feel when you open and close them), give back physical buttons, and go back to allowing us to code things like what mode to start the car in again… those are dealbreakers to me.

Also there’s a salesman that frequents this forum named GOLFERR or something who sells warranties and service plans and stuff and I hear good things.

Originally Posted by Madsen203

I can’t recall if it was 2020 or 2021. I half wonder if the piped in engine noise was turned up or there was an exhaust leak or something. It was quiet at cruising speed but under throttle, the bass of the motor intruded heavily and under throttle you could barely keep conversation as it was very intrusive. The 40i had similar pep to 30-40mph but then the the V8 shined through until I let go where as the 40i acceleration rate started to slow down heavily at about 85mph.

That absolutely sounds like the stupid fake engine noise. The default is adaptive based on driving mode and if you’re in sport it gets painfully loud.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by coastal2

That absolutely sounds like the stupid fake engine noise. The default is adaptive based on driving mode and if you’re in sport it gets painfully loud.

I coded it off in my M550

[NGT2]

coastal2 regarding test drives - I own a 2021 X7 40i now. So I feel like I’m pretty familiar with it. We’ve had no issues. Got a drivetrain warning once and a software update seemed to fix it. Been probably 10k miles since and no issue. We bought it in 2022 and it had maybe 15k miles on it. We’ve put about 12,000 on it.

The M50 we test drove was a 2020 and it was fantastic. But it’s overpriced and at a local carmax. That’s why I’m not buying it. That and it doesn’t have bowers stereo.

[Madsen203]

Originally Posted by NGT2

coastal2 regarding test drives - I own a 2021 X7 40i now. So I feel like I’m pretty familiar with it. We’ve had no issues. Got a drivetrain warning once and a software update seemed to fix it. Been probably 10k miles since and no issue. We bought it in 2022 and it had maybe 15k miles on it. We’ve put about 12,000 on it.

The M50 we test drove was a 2020 and it was fantastic. But it’s overpriced and at a local carmax. That’s why I’m not buying it. That and it doesn’t have bowers stereo.

Carmax does have an EXCELLENT warranty though. ADDS years of warranty for a fraction of the price and can get it serviced at the dealer. Even with the markup of the car, still less than BMW warranty.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by Madsen203

Carmax does have an EXCELLENT warranty though. ADDS years of warranty for a fraction of the price and can get it serviced at the dealer. Even with the markup of the car, still less than BMW warranty.

Really??

[Madsen203]

Originally Posted by NGT2

Really??

Yes! I was eagerly trying to buy from them as the warranty was excellent and provided confidence to give me protection through the life of the loan term.

You can hit up their online chat, provide them the stock number of the car you’re interested in, and they will provide you the price. They either cover the car to 100k or 125k miles. I don’t have experience buying from or using carmax warranty but it was a strong selling point for me even if the car was a questionable buy.

However, I ended up buying private party from a guy who had a mint X7 40i with the key packages I had as a minimum requirement for an excellent price (you can search my posts to find the info about it but in short, it was 2.5y old from inservice date, 22k miles, not a single used-car imperfection, $54k). Bought through Autotrader Private Exhange sight unseen and it was seamless and easy. Within a day, I had a flight booked for that week to pick it up for a fly and drive (5h away).

[omnid00d]

Originally Posted by Madsen203

Yes! I was eagerly trying to buy from them as the warranty was excellent and provided confidence to give me protection through the life of the loan term.

You can hit up their online chat, provide them the stock number of the car you’re interested in, and they will provide you the price. They either cover the car to 100k or 125k miles. I don’t have experience buying from or using carmax warranty but it was a strong selling point for me even if the car was a questionable buy.

Not a BMW data point but I had a MaxCare warranty on my Volvo XC90 which paid out like 30k or something and I paid about 2.5k for it. I used it between indy shops and Volvo dealer so I can say that MaxCare is legit with the only caveat that their rental support is a bit dicey so I would rely on the dealer to give you a loaner/rental as opposed to you trying to get it yourself with enterprise or something. That said, dealer might be annoyed when needing to call MaxCare but I haven't had dealer straight up say no, we're not dealing with them.

[NGT2]

My SA said MaxCare is a great warranty, fwiw.

[AvGeek]

Wanted to revisit this thread after making a change - lowered the suspension setting to "setting 1", 2nd from the bottom. This has significantly reduced body roll and floatiness, while only increasing harshness slightly. Bonus points is the suspension setting is retained across drive cycles, no need to continually lower the suspension each time you get in.

[Madsen203]

Originally Posted by AvGeek

Wanted to revisit this thread after making a change - lowered the suspension setting to "setting 1", 2nd from the bottom. This has significantly reduced body roll and floatiness, while only increasing harshness slightly. Bonus points is the suspension setting is retained across drive cycles, no need to continually lower the suspension each time you get in.

Have you tried adaptive setting vs comfort or sport? I recently starting using this and it blends in sport suspension settings discretely while overall maintaining the comfort settings most other times. I’m not sure if the LCI have this drive mode (I presume they do) but it has improved drive comfort considerably for me.

Let me know your thoughts after trying it.

[AvGeek]

Originally Posted by Madsen203

Have you tried adaptive setting vs comfort or sport? I recently starting using this and it blends in sport suspension settings discretely while overall maintaining the comfort settings most other times. I’m not sure if the LCI have this drive mode (I presume they do) but it has improved drive comfort considerably for me.

Let me know your thoughts after trying it.

No adaptive on the LCI. Yet another function deleted. This is unfortunately the best compromise I can find at the moment.

[Madsen203]

Originally Posted by AvGeek

No adaptive on the LCI. Yet another function deleted. This is unfortunately the best compromise I can find at the moment.

How annoying. I look at my 21 and dread the future when it needs to be replaced. While that is 5-6y away, that means I’ll be looking at the final year LCI (‘26?) for replacement.

[zzdanny]

Originally Posted by NGT2

I have a 2021 40i. M Sport, 21” runflats, no DHP. It rides pretty good but honestly a little rougher on some bumps than I’d like it a car that size. My M550 has DHP and I think it rides better. Wife daily drives the X7.

But don’t get me wrong. It drives great. We preferred it to the Mercedes drive. The BMW just drives with more engagement and fun, even in a car that big. We both drove a 2025 LCI 40i today and we both agreed it was smoother and quieter than our 2021, but not as fun to drive for some reason. It drove slightly heavier. I don’t think it was slower but we felt the sensation of the acceleration less. To the point she thought it was slower but I disagree. Maybe some of the undesired difference was because it wasn’t M Sport like ours? Either way, she didn’t feel motivated to pay up for an LCI at all. Quite the opposite. And the engine was quieter, which many would like but she prefers hearing the engine noise.

I agree with others that the B58 inline 6 has enough power for the car, if you’re not primarily focused on power. And the I6 engine makes the front end feel really light, which I think makes it drive nice around town.

All that said - we happened to test a 2020 M50 today and it’s fantastic. I’ll be looking for a CPO 2022 M50. Totally different animal. It had DHP and it was a game changer, along with the V8.

I’d say the 40i and M50 are just two different cars in the same suit. It was more than just a faster version of our current X7. And the spec was very similar, otherwise. I came from a 2018 540 to a 2020 M550 and had the same experience when I first test drove the M550. Totally different car. Went hunting and had one a few months later.

Final thoughts - get the DHP. It’s harder to find on a 40i but you can find it. Based on what you’re coming from and looking for, you’ll appreciate it. I think either powertrain X7 with DHP will give you a more engaging drive than the Benz but offer enough of the comfort that you’re used to.

try coding in with bimmercode, comfort plus mode, and see how that helps the ride

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by zzdanny

try coding in with bimmercode, comfort plus mode, and see how that helps the ride

I will! I didn’t know it was an option. Is it pretty easy to find? I haven’t coded the X7 but I’ve coded several little things in my M550.

[tkelley86]

Originally Posted by NGT2

I will! I didn’t know it was an option. Is it pretty easy to find? I haven’t coded the X7 but I’ve coded several little things in my M550.

To be clear, my understanding is coded Comfort Plus (sans Alpina) is only transmission and throttle response changes. Your suspension behavior won't change.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by tkelley86

To be clear, my understanding is coded Comfort Plus (sans Alpina) is only transmission and throttle response changes. Your suspension behavior won't change.

Ahh good to know. Thanks for the clarification. I’ll probably skip it then.