These Things Are Flying Off the Lot

Although BMW’s X5 has been tearing up the highways for only a limited time, a few purchasing trends are beginning to surface in dealer surveys conducted by J.D. Power & Associates.

Of all the X5 trade-ins, according to Tom Libby, Detroit-based director of the firm’s Power Information Network, about 36% are BMW cars.

Clearly, BMW owners are a loyal lot. And they are willing to spend, with the average transaction price for the X5 4.4i at $55,975 in Power’s survey, that of the 3.0i at $47,008.

The top trade-ins--the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Mercedes-Benz ML320 sport-utility--indicate that the X5 is “doing an excellent job” of winning over owners of those two DaimlerChrysler SUVs, Libby said.

Libby cautions that some of his data, collected from dealers in 15 major markets between Jan. 1 and July 9, are drawn from a statistically low sample.

In any case, he says that the true test for the X5 will be the performance of the 3.0i, which hit showrooms in May and joins a crowded field of six-cylinder luxury SUVs.

In terms of unit sales, the X5 3.0i has a long way to go. BMW sold 1,415 of them in June, versus 6,872 for the smash-hit Lexus RX 300, according to Autodata Corp. But BMW can take heart in the 3.0i’s “days to turn,” the average time from arrival on the dealer’s lot until it is sold: It is a segment-leading seven days.