BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

platypus

Ya got me stumped! After all, for $250, they should be doing something more than just being a pick-up location for me. (Wine and cheese spread perhaps...)

I was actually going to give them (my local dealer) a call after I receive the letter from BMWNA stating the expected dock date of my car.

I spoke with Joern today, and from what he said, I am responsible for registering and titling the car. He expects to receive the title to my car in the next week or so, after which he'll Fed-ex it to me. Then I take that down to the local county tax office to register the car and get the plates. When the car hits my local dealer, I go up with registration and tags in hand and drive it off. I'm expecting at a minimum that they detail the car and configure the key memory settings.

denright

CirlceBMW.com lists the E46 alarm system at $225. Great price.

I just called VOB BMW and inquired how mcuh they would charge to install a BMW alarm if I provided the system and parts and just wanted them to do the labor. They said it would take 3 hours at $79.90 per hour. OUCH.

I think they are vastly overestimating the time it takes to install the system.

They also said that they typically charge $422 for a dealer-provided alarm system for the system itself and installation.

Sucks.

goody4

I bought two alarms for my Accords in the past. Both times I purchased through ads found in the auto mags. Both times the service department could have cared less.

I suspect it's the same for all makes. Besides: they're going to get you with an outrageous labor charge.

Side note: There have been numerous posts on the 'net detailing how easy it is to install a BMW alarm. Many with excellent photos to help you along the way. (You still need to have your dealer activate the alarm no matter what path you decide to follow.)

How to install an alarm for the e46

brave1heart

Yep - my salesperson pulled off similar BS on me. She quoted a price of $495. I called the service dept and they said it was $405 - 300 for the alarm, 90 labor and the rest was tax. So you'll get diff estimates from sales and service even in the SAME dealership. Bottom line is, labor really is about 1 - 1 1/4 hrs and you should be able to find a reputable dealer that will give you a reasonable price. I actually called 2 more dealerships when I was trying to decide and all their prices fell in the 90-120 range for labor, as long as you bring the BMW alarm and not something else.

BTW, goody4, I think you posted the CD changer instructions, not the alarm as you intended.

titaniumsil325

I wish I could install the alarm myself - but the truth of the matter is I can't. I did see the instructions & you are right they seem very straightforward - but I'd rather leave it to the pros. Thanks for responding so quickly!! Maybe I'll call another service department at a different dealer.

goody4

good luck titaniumsil325

jasonkureejii

Well, I may take the route of haggling with my dealer about the alarm if that's the case...Braveheart seems to have a decent deal with that $405 quote (even if the alarm is $225, it cost him $180 to have it installed... none of his time, no manuals, no tools, no headaches). Also, I thought about the CD changer...but I saw on circlebmw.com that they had the glovebox Nakamichi model for the E46 3ers at $470. I'd rather have the glovebox CD changer...could care less if it's in the trunk (it wouldn't be worth it for me then). Anyways, hopefully I can srtike something up with my dealer or some other salesperson, hopefully...Anyone have the CD changer? BTW, I found out my production status thru BMWNA is supposedly due on June 22nd...how much longer do they require for shipping and all???

uge123

The car takes anywhere from 3-4 weeks after it's produced to make it to your dealer, depending on area of the USA. If you're in California it may take longer. Cars that are pre-sold are expedited through customs.

Now what _I_ want to know is (1) why there are relatively few slots for European delivery and (2) why European delivery delays your delivery date in the states by one full month even if you're not staying in Europe for a full month!

Several weeks ago I tried to change my US delivery car to a Euro delivery since we're going to be in Europe soon anyway. They said that all the pickup days were already too full and that I could not do a Euro pickup. Anybody else have better luck? It's neither here nor there now but I'm just curious.

uge123

Has anybody tried to install the CD player in a 325iT sport wagon?

The left back panel already has a built in opening for other things and the mounting points for the CD player are visible when you open the braket. Does this mean that the wagon does not require a whole new left back panel when installing the player like the sedan and coupe do?

Issue two: Did you know that some insurance companies charge MORE for European station wagons v. their sedan counterparts while LESS for American wagons v. their sedans? The cost difference is not that much between Euro sedans and wagons. And wagon owners generally drive more sedately secondary (often) to family issues...not that I plan on driving sedately at all...and you should see my wife in her 95 Accord wagon. Yikes!

brave1heart

My car was completed on 4/1, shipped on 4/9, got to NJ on 4/24, at the dealer's on 4/29 and I could have picked it up on 5/1. So you are looking at about a month from June 22 (your car's completion date).

uge123

Does anybody know if there are any quality differences between the various BMW factories in Germany. According to my car's VIN, it was assembled at the Regensburg plant. Can't wait! How DOES anybody tolerate this wait?

adam68

I'll let you know how it comes out tomorrow..

lewparker

Thanks for the feedback Denright, Brave, and Alpine. Brave, I hear what you're saying and if I had to do it again, I would probably order the SP for my 325. However, at this late date I've decided to follow my initial instincts and go with what I've ordered. Alpine, I'm looking forward to enjoying the car, and I know it's going to be a major upgrade for me. I'm sure I'm going to be more than satisfied with the standard suspension.

I forgot to mention that I also I've also been driving a BMW motorcycle for five years. Unfortunately, I must part with that magnificent machine in order to move into the four wheeled variety. Oh well, perhaps we'll meet again someday...

alpine325i

Adam68, I glanced at your Town Hall Profile and noticed a Town Hall link called: Store Bought Waxes Part 2. Cool link! I'm learning alot about the waxes, Thanks, Alp )

Firebird_EOU

Anyone here with BMW nav? Any news on something better coming out for 02?

Firebird_EOU

Do you usually have to pay more for cars on dealer's lot because it's available, vs pre-order and have to wait a month or more for it?

suv16

I don't know what these vents are and how should I set them. Please tell me what you'd do and why. Do laugh at me. This is my first new car. Thanks in advnace!

1. outside air intake vents open during engine warm-up: active/not active?

2. close footwell vents when cooling: when active, footwell vents are closed when system is in AUTO mode and cooling. (Note: this position will optimize A/C cooling performance)

3. close defroster when cooling: when active, defroster vents are closed when system is in AUTO mode and cooling. (Note: this position will optimize A/C cooling performance) when not active, will help defog windshield after rain and high humidity.

4. vents position after ignition on: when active, manual control of the air vents will be activated directly by switching the ignition on. DOES THIS OVERIDE ABOVE 3 SETTINGS? DOES THIS OVERIDE THE AUTO-RECIR FEATURE. YES TO BOTH!!!

suv16

Firebird_EOU

I noticed that the full maintenance only covers 3 yrs/36k miles instead what I thought would be 4 yrs/50k miles, so a 15k/mile lease for 3 yrs would run out of the full maintenance.

Is there any costly maintenance that I am expected to do between 36k miles and 45k miles?

johneunah

Shelley BMW in buena park will go $1500 over invoice for 3 series sedans and $2000 over for coupes. I bought a 330Ci, 5sp, SP, CD, Lthr, Moonroof, Xenon in Ti silver/Black that's due to arrive on 6/10. talk to Dave Frisch the fleet manager. MACO, mats, are extra btw.

parump

Firebird,

This is an interesting question. Client advisors have an incentive to sell inventory cars (cars on the lot) for several reasons. First, if the cars remain on the lot for more than (typically) thirty days, the dealer will probably make interest payments. Secondly, most of the cars are equipped with option packages and "stripped down" models are not typically available. Thirdly, dealers with "excess" inventory on the lot at the end of the month might be willing to offer a better deal.

When deciding to purchase a car, ask yourself about flexibility on options and price. A recommended strategy is to inform local dealers that you wish to purchase a car with the selected options. Assuming that an immediate purchase is not necessary, you can request the dealer to contact you when s/he can offer you a car at a good price. At that point, the art of negotiation begins.

I hope that these comments are helpful to you.

Parump

frank69m

Got my 330i a month ago and wondering how many got the Extended Warranty.....Any opinions on it?

Gold101

After my week-long wait, I finally took delivery of my Steel Gray/Tanin Red 330i, with SP/PP, Xenon's and in-dash CD. The car is just a joy. Incredible handling, and a tight, well snubbed ride. Those 17 inch wheels are quite tasty, and the car somehow manages to be mean looking yet elegant. It's incredible. The power seems higher than the 225 HP rating, and the shifter seems precise, with short throws. I look forard to making some serious comparisons with my other car, a TL Type S. I will be driving this car home to NY on Monday(I'm in Florida), so that should be a fun trip. I'll post some pics ASAP!

Regards.....

tippi2

deciding between AWD vs. RWD. Dealer trying to tell me that RWD in hte 330i is sufficient for winter conditions, barring deep snow because of hte Dynamic Stability Controland and All Season Ttraction. Dealer said that 330xi is only needed in deep snow! Will anyone please relate to me their winter driving experience with this car? I'm concerned with heavy rain, freezing rain,sleet, and some snow (few inches worth). Willl I want to park this car every time there is bad weather or will it handle okay? Am I better off getting the 330xi? Thanks for any comments and advice.

midtowneast

We are going to have almost the same cars. I have a 2002 TLS and I am waiting for a 330xi Steel Gray/tanin Red 5sp/SP/PP/CW/Xenon and cd. The car shows waiting for transport on the Bmw Site. For those interested this was a week 22 car.

Grumike do you see this car in your system it should be heading to Park Ave Bmw in Maywood NJ

veekay1

tippi2:
get the all wheel drive for exactly the conditions that you mentioned......viz. rain, sleet, freezing rain etc.....the beauty of all wheel drive traction is most evident on slippery roads; deep snow can be handled even by snow tires. in addition, most people do not report any loss of handling and/or agility with the AWD due to the 38/62 rear bias provided by BMW AWD. At the same time, if 3/4 wheels are losing traction, all(100%) power will go to the 4th wheel, in an effort to provide you max. traction! It is a system very similar to Quattro although I think Quattro has an additional benefit of transferring power sideways too. In any case, I think getting the AWD is a no brainer unless you live in Miami!
Good luck!

vesuviusii

veekay1

midtowneast:
Hi! I am week 22 also ! 325xi/pp/cwp/blk sapphire metallic/gray/xenons/step.
Do you know the status # of your car ?
Veekay1

midtowneast

I do not know the status number, I am hoping Grumike can help with that. I am expecting delivery to the dealer around June 15.

veekay1

On what basis are you expecting delivery on June 15? Is that what the dealer told you or BMWNA?

tippi2

thanks for the input
(i'm frustrated b/c the delear is telling us that we do not need the AWD b/c the RWD is sufficient; according to the dealer, AWD is only needed in haevy snow! I live in Pa and we do get nasty weather.)
By the way, if I do buy one, it will be the steel grey w/tanin leather!

denright

I ordered a 330xi on April 28. I live in DC, and although we don't usually get more than maybe 20 inches of snow per year, we get a LOT of freezing rain. The following article from Autonetwork Reports further convinced me that ordering the AWD was the right decision.

http://www.aacbg.com/firstlook/textreviews/2001330if.htm

suv16

Alpine325i: please check out this site

http://e46fanatics.com/~pete/e46_custom_config_01.html

I am a frequent visitor of www.bimmer.org's E46 message board. According to other owners there, this site has a few options that are not shown on BWM's sheet. I posted a same message there and got reply from one guy:

"You get two master keys. I set up one for spring/summer driving (optimuum cooling) and one for fall/winter driving (optimuum warming).

1 & 4 - Both keys at the default setting.

2 & 3 - Summer key (defroster and footwell vents closed); winter key (defroster and footwell vents open). Basically, this means that only the dash vents blow air when in AUTO mode with A/C on. Can be overriden by dash controls.

The other options that I find convenient are snowflake (A/C) on ignition and AUTO on ignition. My summer key has AC come on in AUTO mode on ignition. My winter key is manual mode without A/C on ignition. Thus, car starts blowing cool air upon ignition in the summer and does not blow much air on ignition in the winter (when engine is too cold to heat the air). Once car is warmed up, I change over to AUTO mode or control distribution and blower speed manually."

If you haven't been to bimmer.org's message board, pay a visit when you have a few minutes. There is a lot of useful information.

yeeeha

My vehicle is also sitting on the dock, waiting for the next ship to leave port. The status code for this stage is "195". If you call BMWNA, they can tell you the status. Also, once the car has been assigned to a ship, they can tell you the ship name, and you can track the ships status. Hope this info helps. Not sure what week my prod was supposed to be. Seemed to begin a week or two sooner than I had expected...I just ordered it April 30!!!

aaa330i

still in 111 status.

alpine325i

Wow! Thanks for the link! I have the e46fanatics.com bookmarked, but I have yet to dig deeper into it, lots of great info. Sounds interesting being able to have different keys programmed for different climate control functions. I read somewhere in an earlier post that the keys can be programmed for something like 30 different functions. I wonder what they are, and how much these other 2 keys cost. )

tippi2

thank you so much for that article! I printed it and am going to show it to the dealer who still says that the RWD would be fine in winter! if you find anything else, please let me know.

roc50mg

Yeeha: What?! You ordered the car on Apr. 30 and your car is already awaiting transportation? I ordered my car around the same time as denright, on Apr. 28, and my car is still "on order" on owner's circle. Please explain.

Denright: What's going on here???

denright

I was thinking that same thing, but for all I know he has a car coming from SA or something like that. I am trying not to begrudge others their good fortune.

My car is still in 111 status, as of this morning. Sigh.

Firebird_EOU

Thanks Parump for the answer.

I went to test drive S4 today, not bad, but $677/month for 39 month/15k miles with $0 down but $2208 drive away cost (1st payment, security deposit, reg/doc fee, maybe bank fee). Car's cost is $40,250.

My friend said that's too high, so I will check out 330i's lease deal. With SP/PP/nav/auto/heat seat/metallic paint it's about $40,500. $40,000 if I can get for $1,500 above invoice so the lease should be comparable, now just up to the residual value and the money factor between the two cars. Was wondering what lease payments you guys are have on the 330i.

jimbres

No regrets about the tanin interior? As you might recall from an earlier post, I live on LI & I'm awaiting delivery of a steel grey / tanin 330i with stick, SP, PP, & Xenons. I've never actually seen this combo but I'm confident that it will look terrific. My wife has suggested that my confidence is misplaced & that I am really quite insane. Please post some pictures so that I can prove to my wife that I am not alone in my insanity.

Your car sounds wonderful. Best of luck with it.

Gold101

The Steel Gray/Tanin Red combo is to die for! No regrets at all. As I said, as soon as I get home to the Island I'll take some pictures..... Regards

postoak

I don't worry about every nickel and dime in buying a car -- by no means. I'm just making the point that people have to watch these dealers at every point of the transaction. I've seen posts where people admitted paying over $500-$600 for documentation fees, after fighting hard to get an additional $100 off the salesprice! As your own transaction shows, anything over $125 or so is just padding the dealer's pockets.

I actually checked with my county Tax Assessor/Collector to see what the government charges are (aside from the sales tax). They charge $13.00 to register the title and nothing (other than the cost of the license tag itself) for the license. The tag costs $71.30. So, in Texas at least, anything over $85.00 is going to the dealer. Of course some small fee over this amount is reasonable. But not $500!!

gurumike

This is not a drill.
Your car is, repeat, IS showing Produced not shipped. It is waiting for the next boat to leave Germany. My own car just left the port on 16th. I'd guess the next boat will leave in this next week so you should see your car in about 3-4 weeks ?!! Acually, my car is on a boat going to CA so there's no relationship to draw there so far as when yours will leave. Probably next week anyway, though!

gurumike

I know many dealers do that. I remember talking to some sales people from L.A. area dealers and they were high-five'ing how they routinely "slide" astronomical prep/doc fees past unattentive clients.
BTW, in case anyone who knows me is wondering, Cutter has a $45 fixed doc fee regardless of car purchased. Not too unreasonable!

Firebird_EOU

Thanks Parump for the answer.

I went to test drive S4 today, not bad, but $677/month for 39 month/15k miles with $0 down but $2208 drive away cost (1st payment, security deposit, reg/doc fee, maybe bank fee). Car's cost is $40,250.

My friend said that's too high, so I will check out 330i's lease deal. With SP/PP/nav/auto/heat seat/metallic paint it's about $40,500. $40,000 if I can get for $1,500 above invoice so the lease should be comparable, now just up to the residual value and the money factor between the two cars. Was wondering what lease payments you guys are have on the 330i.

roc50mg

alas, if our cars don't turn 112 by monday, i fear we may never see june delivery and hence goes our 5.9. maybe i should have bought an s4 instead.

i know...it's sacrilege to have such thoughts, but patience was never my virtue.

fpugh

My Steel Grey 325i Euro-delivery finally showed up at the dealer this week. Unfortunately the car arrived at the Dealer with a 4 inch long, deep scratch on the roof. Before they called me they re-painted the roof. At least they told me. I haven't seen it yet, I live about 300 miles away. My client advisor says you can't tell. I can't get over there until Tuesday. Needless to say, I am a little bummed. Has anyone had a similar situation?? It has the moonroof, how would they re-shoot the roof and ensure a seemless paintjob?? Do they just shoot that small area instead of the whole roof?? If they paint the whole roof, do they remove the moonroof to do that?? If you re-paint a house with a different batch of paint you can often tell, is this the same with a new car?? Am I being paranoid?? Any advise on how I should handle this would be much appreciated. Thanks
Frank

gurumike

...(groan, sorry) if it's done right, you'll never know it was painted. I've seen numerous repaints on cars pre and post body shop and any half decent body shop can do a car truely back to new condition.

veekay1

gurumike:
hey Guru, where u been hiding?!
Didnt know u had ordered a car also!
So, does your system show any updates on my car yet? Or is it still showing 112 status? (325xi/blk sapphire/gray/PP/CWP/DeSimone BMW, Marlton, NJ). If it is still showing 112 status, I doubt it is going to be June delivery! (sigh)
veekay1