No moonroof on X5 xDrive35i !!

Originally Posted by voken

Yes, to your question, its the first thing he noticed while in the lot at the dealership that the car didn't had any moonroof (not the optioned pan roof but he was expecting the standard moonroof). At that point he didn't know that he could walk out of the deal (not sure how well you all fared on your first purchase !!) though he made a big issue about the roof, the CA didn't even suggest that he will place another order for him and that this one could go on to the lot (of course no dealer would volunteer this, so I don't blame that guy) !!

If he didn't know he could walk away from the deal- he should have at least walked away from the delivery until such time that he had all the facts. He had nothing to lose by going home to reconsider the matter and seeking counsel from those with more car buying experience..

Originally Posted by Popdisplay

If he didn't know he could walk away from the deal- he should have at least walked away from the delivery until such time that he had all the facts. He had nothing to lose by going home to reconsider the matter and seeking counsel from those with more car buying experience..

Yes, I agree w/ you. but sorry for not making this clear on the post...he noticed that while he is taking the delivery not during the deal During test drove a few months back, he had the moonroof on the one he drove...and like any other 3 or 5 series (which I own and has this moonroof as standard) he thought its a standard and didn't pay that much attention as the option said 'panoramic' which he thought as an enhanced version of the base moonroof...

Its just that he felt bad for a day or two and now its being more than a week and he got over it

I thought the X5 does not come with a moonroof, its either the pano or nothing.

Originally Posted by 0428

I thought the X5 does not come with a moonroof, its either the pano or nothing.

Correct, there is only one sunroof/moonroof, whatever you want to call it (the terminology in the industry is not precise).

Thinking that since the option is called a "panoramic moonroof," the base model comes with a "normal" moonroof is like thinking that since an option is called "BMWAssist with bluetooth," the base model comes with "BMWAssist" (without bluetooth), or that since an option is called "Space-saver Spare," the base model comes with a "regular sized" spare, etc. It's just a descriptive adjective.

Originally Posted by voken

Poor choice of words...you don't have any right in going about saying the things you said about my brother...he is new here and its his first buy as as Aqua Bliss said its not about not being able to afford the Car w/ all options, its the circumstances that made him to get this base version and he thought the base would suffice and he had to cash down the entire amount as opposed to the luxury of loan/leasing like the rest of us.

Yes, to your question, its the first thing he noticed while in the lot at the dealership that the car didn't had any moonroof (not the optioned pan roof but he was expecting the standard moonroof). At that point he didn't know that he could walk out of the deal (not sure how well you all fared on your first purchase !!) though he made a big issue about the roof, the CA didn't even suggest that he will place another order for him and that this one could go on to the lot (of course no dealer would volunteer this, so I don't blame that guy) !! Yes, I agree that he did make a mistake of calling me while he took the car out of the dealership, but still the CA would have helped him as he knew its his first buy and that he is new here.

Its funny...I used to respect and like your posts on 5 series forum, not sure what made me do that !!!!

Aw, you're breaking my heart.

Yes, I am sure that we all had challenges when we purchased our first new car. And yes, we all learned from our mistakes. But I doubt many / any of us went on a forum and tried to blame our own "rookie" mistakes on a CA. At the end of hte day, the CA was just doing his job.

I have publicly apologized to Aqua Bliss for my comment which was poorly worded, and he sent me a very gracious PM in return. But I stand by my prior post on your brother's situation. It's unfortunate that he convinced himself there was some sort of "standard" moonroof, even though no such imaginary "standard" moonroof appears in the brochure or in the BMWUSA.com online configurator. But that's his fault (maybe yours, too, if you advised him), not the dealer's. If he made a mistake ordering the car, he could have refused delivery, but he chose not to. Yes, it sucks that he didn't know any better, but again, it is not the CA's fault.

There are a whole bunch of other folks here that complained about your whining (even Ard, though he called it "whinging"). Are you going to bash them, too, or do I get singled out for special treatment?

Originally Posted by quackbury

it is not the CA's fault.

I agree 100%, it's not the CA's fault.


That said, if I were the CA and someone was ordering a vehicle without a major option that previously had been standard on all versions of the vehicle, I would probably point out that it is no longer standard and ask if the person was sure he didn't want to consider it.

Certainly not the CA's fault or obligation by any means, but a really good CA probably would have noted it to the customer prior to ordering, and said something like "are you sure you don't want the moonroof?" If for no other reason than to avoid a situation where the customer decline the vehicle and the dealership was stuck with a "no moonroof" vehicle to sell.

P.S. I know a somewhat similar case where a person ordered an "Urban Green" Z4, a truly hideous color by most people's standards. The CA told me he was very careful to ask the person if he was really sure about the color, as he was worried when the customer saw it, he wouldn't take it, and the dealership would have a hard time selling it. After it came in, some of the CA's made bets as to whether or not the customer would actually accept it... he did.

But read what he said again, the brother test drove one that HAD the moonroof. Now how's that possible?
Btw, there's nothing urban about that green. No rapper would want to be seen in that.

[quote=0428;5650003]But read what he said again, the brother test drove one that HAD the moonroof. Now how's that possible?/quote]

Well, you do get a moonroof if you get the convenience package on the 35i, so I would guess he test drove one that had the convenience package option?

For the 86th time, there is no moonroof for the X5, it's either pano or nothing. I must be crazy?!

Originally Posted by 0428

For the 86th time, there is no moonroof for the X5, it's either pano or nothing. I must be crazy?!

It is a pano MOONROOF.

So yes, up until this year every X5 came with a moonroof. To be specifc, a tinted, two-stage pano moonroof, but a moonroof indeed, i.e., if one wishes to plau games with English, I could say there is no pano moonroof, only a tinited pano moon roof, but that would be as silly as saying the X5 does not come with a moonroof.

Seems pretty clear to me that the brother test drove a demo that was either a 35i Standard with the convenience package, or a 351 Premium or Sport Activity, both of which have the Pano Moonroof standard. (Makes sense, as I bet no dealer would order a demo WITHOUT the pano roof, as that would make the unit pretty hard to move when it was time to sell it).

Not sure that there is any accepted definition in the industry, but I would call a retractable metal roof panel a sunroof; a retractable glass roof panel a moonroof; and a retractable glass panel inserted in an otherwise mostly-glass roof a panoramic moonroof.

From subsequent comments made by the OP, I am guessing that the brother is an immigrant, and English may not be his native language. So the CA may have asked him all the right questions, but he may not have understood him properly. (Trying hard to give both the brother and the CA the benefit of the doubt here).

I also applaud the brother for the fact that he picked a really nice ride for his first car purchase. (My first car purchase was a 1980 Pontiac Grand Prix, which I bought from my employer when I changed jobs, so he clearly has me beat by a mile). Sucks that it didn't work out as well as it could have.

Originally Posted by Penguin

P.S. I know a somewhat similar case where a person ordered an "Urban Green" Z4, a truly hideous color by most people's standards. The CA told me he was very careful to ask the person if he was really sure about the color, as he was worried when the customer saw it, he wouldn't take it, and the dealership would have a hard time selling it. After it came in, some of the CA's made bets as to whether or not the customer would actually accept it... he did.

Reminds me of the split pea soup that Linda Blair puked up in The Exorcist.

I hope the poor guy didn't order the car as part of his midlife crisis, thinking he could cruise for hot chicks in it!

You still don't get it penguin!!!

The whole thread was about the brother thinks when not ordering the pano roof you get the smaller moonroof as standard. Memba those?

Originally Posted by quackbury

Reminds me of the split pea soup that Linda Blair puked up in The Exorcist.

I hope the poor guy didn't order the car as part of his midlife crisis, thinking he could cruise for hot chicks in it!

Well, he certainly got something very unique, as I doubt BMW sold many of those. I really wish there was someway to find out how many BMW made in that color.

It was the post that said he actually demoed one with the moonroof (see pic above) that make this such a mystery.

What mystery? He demo'ed one with a Panoramic moonroof, cuz there ain't no other kind! (The one in your pic is on a Honda Civic. Even you should be able to figure out that ain't no E70 )