By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
DL
DL
Have Fun
DL
I had the car long enough to feel how well it tracks on entry and exit curving ramps, and a few other curvy roads. Pretty nice. I was also very impressed with its quietness at 70 mph on the Interstate.
I've been following the discussion here on the run-flat tires, and that seems a little inconclusive at this point. Someone says Bridgestone can repair them, while the owner's manual says that's verboten. Hmmm.
Another coincidence: I've the spakling graphite, too. I notice a brown hue (variant on the purple, I guess) from time-to-time and it's growing on me. The color appeals to my wife more than me (I'd have gone for silver).
I purchased a 2006 330i and a 2005 X3 3.0 from the same dealership (Greenwich). Here's my experience to date:
- vehicles were supposed to be delivered in the first week of August; they arrived, were "prepped" and delivered Sept.1 (obviously to get the sales on the books for Aug.).
Immediate problems:
X3
- Sat not installed
- Adaptive headlights not calibrated properly
- All-weather floor mats, emermgency road-side kit and first aid kit missing
- Manual missing
- Dealer unable to deliver plates; wind up using dealer plate for the next 10 days
- BMW Assist not setup
330i
- Trim not as ordered
- Sat not installed
- Alarm not installed
- Adaptive headlights not calibrated properly
- All-weather floor mats, emermgency road-side kit and first aid kit missing
- Manual missing
- Ddealer unable to deliver plates; wind up using dealer plate for the next 10 days
Week 1:
- dealer arranges pick-up of X3 to resolve all problems but is only able to swap out the dealer plates
- ditto 330i
Week 2:
- dealer picks-up X3 to install Sat and replace other missing parts; returns car with improperly installed Sat.
Outstanding problems 3 weeks after delivery:
X3:
- no Sat
- no mats
- no BMW Assist
- no emergency roadside kit
- no first aid kit
- many miles put on the car back/forth to dealership
330i
- no Sat
- no emergency roadside kit
- no first aid kit
- no alarm
- no mats (A/S)
These are not cheap vehciles, and the much-celebrated BMW service has so far been completely disappointing. There's no attention to detail (how do you install something and not test it?) and the dealer is obviously putting their own interest ahead of their clients (don't promise to deliver to me on Monday that which you cannot deliver until Friday, if you have any interest in my repeat business). My treatment at VW was white-gloved by comparison to this.
I recall that he used Castrol brand synthetic.
Aside from that, I don’t know why you accepted those vehicles with things like sat, alarm, trim and manual missing. I would have put my foot down right off the bat. Good luck, it doesn't sound pleasant.
Other things -- like the alarm -- didn't surface at first b/c the sales agent didn't have time to go through the complete overview of the car with me; consequently, as I went through the manual myself, item by item, I discovered things that were not as they should be.
I've been patient. I even tried to see things from the dealer's perspective (i.e., apprciate that they were "trying"). But I don't think it's everyday even a BMW dealership sells two cars at the same time to the same person. Frankly, I should be getting better service because that's what I've paid for. Word spreads fast, and my wife and I are relaying exactly what happened when people ask about our buying experience.
(Sorry to vent!)
I understand your frustration with all the stuff that should have been done prior to delivery..... Just wanted to point out, though, that the car being delayed and having to wait for it wasn't anything the dealer or salesperson could control. August is a slow time for production in Europe since entire countries over there go on vacation at the same time in the late summer. At least the 330i came in before Sept 1, or else you would have had to pay the 3-Series price increase! Anyways, my point is that if the dealers had their druthers, they'd have as many cars in stock as possible and not have to wait for orders to come in at all! Nothing they can do to speed up the process.....
***Mooselook***
DL
I think we'll see the day soon that you will not be able to buy a car off the lot. All custom orders practically.
That's located on our Smart Shopper board - you might want to peruse the list of discussions there. You'll probably find some other helpful topics.
When should I start contacting the dealer about it? I live in the BayArea
The car that I want is a:
325i
barrique red with Dakota leather
premium package
nav/I drive system
and maybe comfort access
manual
is the sport package essential?
Also any suggestions about ED?
My only option is the sport package, so yes, I think it essential, but it depends on the driver. I think if you are getting an auto it doesn't matter, but since you are getting the manual, look into the zsp. It is your money, let us know what you decide.
My suggestion on ED is don't drop your car off in Italy, better yet don't even drive there unless you want to be worried about your car the entire time. I stuck to Germany and Austria.
I haven't had my car long enough to fully appreciate all the color variants of the Sparkling Graphite depending upon the light. I do like the color, most of the time that is.
I'm saving the reason why I haven't had my car long enough for another post.
David
Geez, I've had probems with Greenwich too, though not nearly to the extent of your problems.
Today my 330i is 3 weeks old. It has spent a total of 8 days in the service center, so far. I just got it back last night after a full week of fixing the malfunctioning adaptive headlights for a second time (the first time they thought they'd fixed it, but they didn't). At first they thought it would be a same day job. Then they realized they had to order a part (a DSC Sensor), which made it appear to be a next day job. The part came on time, but then they had computer problems. It got to the point where my wife sensed irritation when she would make a daily call to inquire if the car would be ready for her to pick up after work. Their attitude was pretty much this - don't call us, we'll call you; in the meantime, just stay in the loaner car. Well, my wife and I had to make daily stops at the gas station to put gas in the loaner car that we thought we'd have for a day but ended up having for a week.
I'm looking forward to my weekend driving.
David
Doh, if I do ED, my destination is northern italy as that's where my friend lives.
Some say it's not profit. That's not true.
You negotiate a sale price $2000 off sticker - we'll say 35k, 37k msrp. That means the dealer has 35k coming to him. With the sale the dealer must pay for the car, the electricity, the salesman's comission, and advertising/MACO. So lets say after all that the dealer has a net profit of $200. Well if the dealer suddenly tacks on a $350 MACO fee that extra $350 goes directly to padding his bottomline. Do not for a second believe that MACO is an extra fee. It's a cost of doing business. And it should not be tacked on after the handshake for the deal.
I have not owned a BMW before as I have had the Mercedes C580 which I have liked and which I bought several years ago in high 30's. I was not expecting to have to pay over $47,000 to get a BMW 330. Am I over optioning the car that it is this high? Do I need a 330 versus a 325? I want the all wheel drive but I expected to be in low versus high 40's. Is this a fair price offered by my dealer?
Any advice would be helpful. I like this car but don't want to get a bad deal.
* A fully loaded 330i (not AWD) stickers over $50,000.
* I assume you meant C280. What year? Prices have gone up since then.
* You don't "need" the 330 vs. the 325, but with both an automatic and AWD, performance will suffer more on the 325. That said, depending on the year of your C-class, the 325i may be in the same arena as it.
* You should be able to get a lot more than $1200 off on a loaded 330xi. Try getting internet quotes from several dealers. Check out the Prices paid boards here on Edmund's.
Amir glad to see you exploring colors because there a lot of combos that work nicely even though they are not popular. And they are not popular because people are afraid to order them and the company is afraid to stock them. They’re looking for sure sales bets. But if you are leasing I suggest going with your heart's desire because resale will not enter the picture.
Beige goes with anything but I don’t care for it with very dark colors. It’s kind of like wearing a dark suit with white or light shoes.
Silver and neutral grays also go with anything.
I think your first choice of Silver/Beige is a good one, real good one. Even though you hardly see this combo on BMWs (I have seen it several times) it is more common on other cars including Ferraris although the Ferrari silvers I have seen are darker in density and have some hue (color) to them. BMW silvers are pretty colorless.
Combos that really interests me are Titanium/Terra, Sparkling Graphite/Terra and also your choice of Sparkling Graphite/Beige However, I need to see these in the flesh or ample-size swatches to see what actual hues are in both the paint and leather. I believe Silver/Terra would also be a good one.
On thing that turns me off is the Black/Color splits in the interiors so a case can be made for anything that comes in color unison. Interiors are busy enough with texture and woods without having to slather on color splits.
Whatever you decide, remember, the most sophisticated car combos have subtle complimentary (and sometimes contrasting) color. Why are they the most sophisticated? For the same reason that color TV is more sophisticated than B&W TV.
You can also make the point that B&W photography is sophisticated. True, but the texture and layout of the subject had better very darn interesting a la Ansel Adams and other notables. As such, a spectacular car design will always look good in Silver and Black.
Yep, I like every color in the spectrum and could see going with any one they make as long as it gets the proper interior because there are indeed some bad combos. Can’t go through them all because this would go on forever, and it’s enough of a rant as it is!
:shades:
can it me programmed to warm up the cabin in the morning at a specific time?
The functions include audio: setting stations (12 for each band) and speed sensitive volume, setting Nav.and its screen's options, setting car options such as how to lock and unlock the doors, how long to keep on the lights and door knob external courtesy lights and programing of two of the steering wheel mounted buttons. It also controls the Bluetooth making of calls. Anyone else? Am I missing something?
Not being an electronics greek or gearhead, I have found the I-drive not to be difficult and have found it to be fairly intuitive. The only thing I have against it is the need to go through the menu to do simple things which it would be nice to go directly to. One example would be the inability to select a radio station not in order when scrolling (as is done with the steering wheel up or down buttons). It would be nice to directly select the button of the station you want when you want it in addition to the wheel buttons.
There's a place for an i-pod (or cell phone) with an on and off switch for ventilation to it.