Hello - first BMW.

Good afternoon to everyone.

We bought our first ever BMW last week and are just getting used to the car now.

After never being on the radar before, seeing one at a car supermarket recently we released that it suited our needs and looked for an example with the folding mirror option that I'd got obsessed about !

In the end we went down the approved used route and found a car with a few more bits & pieces not too far away. It was much dearer than we initially planned to pay, but was only one owner low mileage in great condition even though it hadn't been prepped, complete with a (stereotypical) National Trust sticker in the windscreen !

After perusing the forum for a couple of days it looks like a fun place to be without the showing off and sniping that you get in some other places

Thanks Simon.

 

Hello and welcome.
Good to see a new member, hope you find some useful hints and tips on the forum.
The link you attached doesn’t seem to want to work, shame as we always like to see the cars.

 

Welcome aboard Simon,

you'll like it here, a good crowd, more chiiled than some of the other forums.
Perhaps dare I say because some of us are slightly more senior in years.
Good luck with the new car, wishing you many happy and safe miles in it!

Kindest Regards
Carl.

 

Thanks for the welcome Wynne. I will try again.....hope this works.

 

Perfect.

 

Thank you Carl, that's very welcoming & kind.

Here's another photo, slowly getting used to the unusual interior colour...........

 

@Simon5705 Welcome to the forum Simon, and congratulations on your first BMW - almost certainly won't be your last A good crowd on here and lots of collective knowledge, so never be afraid to ask questions.

 

Welcome to BMWLand.

 

Hi and welcome Simon, lots of very knowledgeable guys on here and I’m sure you’ll pick up plenty of info if required.

 

Welcome to BMWLand.

Something different in the BMW range than most will be driving. Look forward to your reports on how the BMW suits your needs. Enjoy!

Peter

 

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments, I will learn a lot from here and hopefully be able to help if I can too.

 

Yes a very friendly bunch. As already stated, some of us have been around BMW for a good time. A lot of knowledge on here, on all aspects of BMW. Also a wider motoring knowledge base.

For me, my father got his first BMW in 1970, a '2000 sedan'. Had my first BMW in 1982, driving them before that.

Peter

 

Similar but different here Peter, my dad was enthusiastic about cars having two Rover P6s and and SD1 when I was young before he moved onto PSA diesels from the early 80s onwards.

I think the car we bought seems rarer than other models in the range, we've only seen two others since we got it verses about fifty X1/X3s. Not sure why, maybe it doesn't appeal to traditionalists. I did read somewhere that over two thirds of buyers had never owned a BMW before.

For us, a saloon car was no good. The 1 series just a bit too small and the 3 series touring was a bit too sporty, so this is a great middle ground. Maybe I will do another thread somewhere in more detail.

 

welcome to the forums and congratulations on your new car

the approved used may have cost a bit more than you wanted to spend but the 12 months approved used warranty is good peace of mind if anything should go wrong

the 2 active tourer is a good compact MPV that is based on the Mini platform and was the first front wheel drive car to be badged as a BMW and some of the old school BMW fan boys were shocked that BMW were moving to front wheel drive for some models but when you look at it from a business point of view there was a lot of money being spent on compact MPV's and BMW were missing out on this market share so the 2 active tourer filled that gap

as for the two thirds of owners being first time buyers of the brand that does not surprise me at all because if you are long term BMW 5 series owner then the F45/F46 will probably not be on your radar come time to change but may be considered if you were looking for a second car. my sister has the 7 seat version the F46 2 gran tourer and she loves it and as she has young children still in car seats the car really fits her needs and the F46 is her first BMW

BTW l do like the colour of your car it looks very nice

 

Cheers for (finally) mentioning the model.

I know it’ll make me look dim admitting this, but I really wasn’t sure what model BMW it was...

 

Whoops, my fault !

I did put it in the signature like other members, but hadn't actually said what it was in the thread.

 

No worries! I do like it!

And yes, the signature. For some reason I can only see that when holding my phone horizontally, which I rarely do.

So it’s a Flamenco Red F45. I knew it!

 

Thank you, my other half really loves the colour too. She also adores the upholstery, I wasn't sure but am getting on more with it now we've had it a week. Buying a used car is always a compromise as it was someone else's choice to begin with.

Approved Used seem to have the cleanest & nicest examples with the best history. The warranty is a reassurance, but you are also likely to be starting with a better example in the first place than a general dealer is willing to bid a higher price for. Ours also had lots of options specified which seemed to help offset the extra price.

GDPR seems to limit what the salesman can tell you (or make up) these days, all we know it was supplied by Halliwell Jones at Warrington with a five yr service & warranty package to a 'local customer' but wouldn't let us see the v5. We got it from Cooper at York, our salesman said their buyer 'bought it in' as he thought it would fit what they sell in their area. Bizarre that it has come back to live very near to Warrington.

Glad your sister likes her similar car, we plan on keeping this ten years or so.

 

l have half heartedly been looking at changing my car and found a car that was absolutely fully loaded with every toy you could ever want or need and t was a low miles very clean car but the interior exterior colour combination was the only thing that was putting me off it was a black exterior with a full white leather interior had it been black on black it would be sat on my drive now. thankfully it sold fairly quickly so the temptation was removed