In my post I was merely stating that from London to New York it takes 5 days. So I gave an additional 3 days because The Car leaves from Germany and arrives in South Carolina. So I gave it an additional 3 days for a total of 8 days. Are you shore the Car doesnt travel by train from south carolina to the west coast. Shipping by boat is very inefficent, train shipping is not to bad and probable faster. In anycase I do agree that it would probalbe take 2 times as long to get to the west coast. From what I heard all BMW arrive in South Carolina and then go ou from there.
Anyone try the confort access yet? is it worth the $500 not to have to use your key outside of your pocket? It would have been cool if they had made the key way smaller.
I can not find one thing I do not like about the BMW 3 series.
1) Well, are the steering wheel controls alluminated?
2) Blue tooth, if you push the phone buttom I wish I would not call automatically, and would just take you to the telephone menu, or simply the address book.
Here is the best part of the car
CHICK DIG BMW's, I wish I had one of these when I was younger!!!!!!
Does anyone have experience with a dealer-sold extended warranty program? My dealer now sells one extending coverage to 72 months/100,000 miles through the GE Warranty program, which I believe is a major player.
I'd like to buy a set of BMW OEM wheels off of ebay and put on the runflat snow tires by Dunlop. Does anyone know if there would be issues buying a 17" wheels from a E46 and using them on the E90. If so, I will probably buy wheels and tries from Tirerack but I was wondering if anone had ideas. What are the exact specs needed for the E90 clearance and offset?
Also, How will this affect my runflat tire sensor, will it?
Well, that's tough then.... It's virtually a new car, and a popular, in-demand car, at that. When you add in the fact that you get an extra 2 year and 50k miles for a warranty, there is really no reason the car couldn't sell at close to the original purchase price. The extra warranty alone is worth a couple thousand dollars....
I tried putting on my E46 2002 330xi 17"x8" wheels on my 2006 330i for my winter tires. They would fit but would require spacers because of the different offset of the E46 and E90 wheels. The spacers and different hardware would have cost me about $250 Canadian to fit the E46 wheels on.
I ended up selling my E46 wheels and buying M5 replica wheels for my 2006 330i.
I got my Blackberry 7290 from Cingular today. Took me about a minute to pair it with my '06 325 i. Worked like a charm. Made a couple of calls hands free. No problem. The person at the other end mentioned there was some static, but otherwise the conversations were pretty clear.
The BB handheld version was 4.0.0.219 ( not the 4.0.2 that BB mention in their website for BMW's Motorolla made BT).
Got my winter wheel pkg from Tirerack. Tires were $72 a piece winterforce that I was very pleased with last winter with my rear-drive MPV. The wheels were $75 a piece. The pkg came to 650 incl 65 for S&H.
I intend to park one of the regular wheels in my trunk for winter. The handling may be a bit soft, but I drive slow anyways in winter. I will upgrade to RFT next year if the winterforce are not good. A $300 experiment. We'll see.
Honesty im thinking not. Because i was actually looking at 5 er wheels as an option before I picked up a 330i set. Shipo could probably correct us on this, but it seems for what ever reason the E90 has a unique offset to all the other Bimmer wheels.
I back into the garage and my DH puts his 7 series in going forward. Gives us a wider area to get in and out of the doors that way (driver door to driver door). Our garage is a two car garage and we've used the entire perimeter for storage. We have a refrigerator in the garage and as good as I can back in, I can get the car within a 1 inch difference with the PDC guidance. It takes getting used to, but, I can assure you, I won't need to take the refrigerator to the body shop. I use the side mirror to avoid the trash cans we are required to keep there.
I also have the SG but the grey interior and poplar trim. I get more compliments on it. I have BMW stock wheels which the dealer had chromed.
Love the split seats. Great for my Costco shopping trips and hauling my dogs (small guys) so I don't scratch up the leather with grocery boxes and dog crates.
The factory-backed extended warranty. It's equivalent to the CPO warranty, except doesn't require resale and certification of the car... It's available to the original owner only and extends the 4 year / 50,000 mile warranty to 6 years / 100,000 miles. I think it's about $2000. You can also get an extended maintenance plan that pays for the regular services up to the same time and mileage limits, which I think is around $1000. Not all dealers sell the BMW-backed plan, so you may have to call around. You can buy it from any BMW dealer that sells it, separate from the car.
You have up until the 4/50 warranty/service plan expires to purchase the extended ones.
Does anybody have a good way to clean the inside windows? It's very hard to completely remove the film which builds up on the windshield. A Windex product just seems to create smearing.Thanks
Put a drop or two of dishwashing soap in a spray bottle with distilled water; works well even for spot cleaning the car itself. Caution, the solution should be extremly dilute. An alternative for windows only is vinegar and water.
Forget I even said anything. Called tire rack today. My Mom's E60 530iA has larger brakes than the E60 525i and the 16" wheels won't clear the brake calipers. I was hoping to be able to go minus 1 on her car, but I guess not.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD, 2025 Toyota Camry SE AWD
I know how to look up where you boat is exactly in the Pacific/Atlantic, however, based on my experience, its just easier to call your dealer. They know what boat its on and when it will be in. That is your best bet.
I am seriously considering purchasing the 325xi (currently drive a VW beetle so it will be QUITE a change)....however I am confused...is remote keyless entry standard? or is is an option? what exactly is comfort access? is comfort access different from remote keyless entry?
anyone know where to check out "real life" pics of the car in different colors? Particularly the dark blue, dark green, and white?
All current BMW has keyless entry. Comfort Access allows you to enter the car and drive away in it without taking you keys out of your pocket/bag. This one is an option.
For photos, do a search online or just go to a dealer and take a look.
I just discovered one minor issue. The wireless unit with keyless entry (standard) comes with a rechargeable battery that is recharged when it's inserted into the ignition. The wireless unit with Comfort Access (optional) does not come with a rechargeable battery, so the battery needs to be changed periodically. I'll have to wait and see how long the battery lasts. The car will tell me when it gets weak.
Purists may consider the added convenience of Comfort access not worth the $500 ($1000 on the 5 Series), and they're probably right. However, it's fun to use, and the car is about fun.
I, too, was intrigued with the Barrique red but wound up getting the sparkling graphite with Terracotta interior and aluminum trim....it looks beautiful if any one hasn't seen in person!
Yeah the 525i was comming with 16" and everone pitched such a fit they switched to 17" so i was not sure. All the complaining about the E90 16's ( way better imo that the E46 base wheels) perhaps they will change as well down the line.
I'm a big guy as well 6' 225 with a long torso and I prefer the sport seats over the regular seats, but I'm a more sports car oriented person.
I have a 2006 325i with automatic. I highly recommend the sports pkg and manual transmission unless all you want is a cruiser. I really don't care for my care and it does not have the sports pkg. BMW played with the spring a dampening settings to civilize the ride with the run flats and for me the result is a very quirky ride. Additionally the 205/55R16 tires are too small for this car.
From what you said in your original post, you'll probably like the car. If you want a fun to drive sports sedan, look elsewhere.
(This post is from somewhere else, but it helped me find my cars exact location. Yeah I had some time on my hands)
Once you place your order and give your dealer a deposit, they can then put your configuration into the ordering system and it will give you a production number. If they were able to modify an existing order (for example change color etc.), then your car will initially show up with different options, but it will eventually change.
You can take your Production Number and go online to track your vehicle’s status. Keep in mind that this system is usually a week behind. BMW Owner’s Circle (OC) http://www.bmwusa.com/OwnersCircle/ gives you very little information to simplify the waiting process (and no, we don’t like that, we like detail!) and break the order process into 5 stages:
On Order As soon as your dealer gives you your production number, it shows up in OC as ‘On Order.’ You should also get a Production Week Number when your car will be produced. One thing to note, that when you go online right after you get your production number, the options you selected when you placed your order will not show up. In fact, it will never show up in OC, ever. The other thing, so that you don’t freak out initially, is that sometimes a dealer can modify an incoming order destined for their dealership, which ends up showing as another color under OC. However, this only takes a few days to update. For example, when I placed my order for Sparkling Graphite, it initially showed up as Alpine White with Terra Leather interior.
Scheduled For Production Approximately three days prior to your car going into production, OC will reach this stage. The 800 automated information number is much more accurate than Owner's Circle (by two days or so), so use it with your production number to figure out what's going on with your car. The number is 1-800-831-1117; say “Vehicle Production Status” and then read out your production number. If your car production is complete, it will say “Your vehicle production is complete.” This whole stage takes a week or less.
Awaiting Transport Your car gets loaded onto a train and is then driven to Bremerhaven, where it is unloaded and then has to wait for a ship. This is the painful part; you have no idea how many cars are ahead of yours in line to get on a ship, so you have to just keep hoping it doesn’t take too long. Mine took 8 days from production completion to getting on the ship. A ship sails every 3-4 days destined for the United States East Coast. Not sure how different things are for the West Coast.
En Route As soon as your status changes to “In Transit” on the 800 number, or to “En Route” on the OC, check the shipping company’s website (Schedules) to figure out what ship your car is on. Or just call your dealer; they know exactly what ship your car is on, and the estimated times of when it will arrive and leave the Prep Center. The dealer has a tool that tells you everything, so leverage this to get the name of your ship so you don’t have to guess.
For east coast deliveries, the shipping company’s website (Wallenius Wilhelmsen) is http://www.2wglobal.com/www/WEP/index.jsp. They update their schedule in real-time and changes the color of the ‘stops’ to Red after the ship arrives at different ports, signifying that the ship has docked. My ship took exactly 11 days to get from Bremerhaven to New York City. Sometimes, if your ship reports its status, you can track your ship while it makes its way across the pond. Go to http://www.sailwx.info/ and search by ship name. Keep in mind that my ship never showed up, so its really luck that you may see it.
For west coast deliveries, the shipping company's website (NYK Lines) is http://www2.nykline.com/home/index.html. You can also use http://www.dbh.de/index.php?id=151&L=0 to track the departure of your ship from Bremerhaven to Port Hueneme. Apparently NYK Line doesn't make it easy to find your ship. After that, if you want to know when your ship is planning to dock in San Diego, San Diego Marine Information Systems will give you the arrival schedule for Port Hueneme (west coast delivery) at http://www.sdmis.org/schedule/.
At Preparation Center Depending on how much time has lapsed between your ship docking and your car getting off the ship, it may take a while to show up at the Vehicle Preparation Center. A lot of wait times in this area is due to the number of cars ahead of yours, and the time it takes to actually wash off all the foreign soil of every vehicle that comes off the ship. Generally, this takes about 7-14 days.
At your BMW Center Once your car reaches your dealer, they have to PDI your vehicle, which basically means remove shipping blocks, remove the plastic on the inside, check the vehicle from top to bottom, add any dealer installed options (CD Changer, Tint, Aluminum Pedals etc.) and finally, call you up to come pick up your new baby.
Hey, I currently own an E-46 325i w/sport package and have test driven both the E90 325 with and without the sport package. I must say that even though the E90 is more responsive, BMW worked religiously to take the harshness out of the ride and it is much more compliant than the E46 with the sport package.
I prefer the sport seats actually, and though not quite your size, I'm about 6' and 195. Also know that BMW made the bolsters adjustable in the E90 sport package, so you can adjust the snugness of the seats to your liking.
The road noise with sport package is a non-issue. The E-90 is much quieter than the E-46 equipped with the sport package or not.
I don't think you can go wrong either way, but I would vote SPORT!
I have an E-46 with Xenons and I absoluetely love them. They light up the road better, they look cool and you will ALWAYS win a low-beam/high-beam war with oncoming traffic.
Anything special I need for changing over to my winter tires/wheels package? I'm going to do this for the first time by myself, probably over Thanksgiving weekend. I want to make sure that I have everything that I will need.
Since the new 3 comes with run flat tires, not only is there is no spare tire but there are no tools (jack + wrench) for changing tires. I'm thinking of using the tools that came with my Honda Odyssey minivan. I'm looking for confirmation that there'd be no problem with that. Probably not, but for all I know there could be some special jack and/or wrench that should be used for BMWs in general or the new 3 in particular.
I am thinking of getting a 2006 330xi through the European Delivery program. Does anyone have any experience with this? Does it save any money? The website says youget the car for 7% below MSRP, is that a good deal?. Any help would be great.
Is it just me or do most people have a tough time using the accelerator pedal. I only use the bottom quarter of the pedal. My foot does not rest completely on it.
Also do people feel that the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are to close. Sometime I press the brake pedal and accelerator pedal at the same time.
I mean its not a deal breaker, but Germans usually account for things link this.
Also do people feel that the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are to close. Sometime I press the brake pedal and accelerator pedal at the same time.
Well in the case of a six speed manual you often - especially right before a corner, do a clutch in, brake, rev with same foot, downshift, clutch out..hit the corner and explode out the otherside.
the web site lies. you can get about 5-6k ff msrp. Never work off the website's ED numbers. You will negotiate off ED invoice munich pick up. Usually you give the dealer 1k-1.2k profit. If you go by those silly bmw site numbers the dealer will make ~3k for doing absolutely nothing.
There's an ED forum here...sorry don't have the link. A more helpful forum is at another bimmer website but I'm not allowed to post its link.
Thanks again to all who contributed information and personal opinion to my decision making process. There were quite a few very helpful postings.
The final decision was (for those interested): 2006 325i, sparkling graphite, premium package with black leather interior, poplar wood trim, xenon lights, and satellite radio prep.
there is a $1,000 difference in favor of the Audi...and I hear Quattro is a lot better than the all wheel drive offered by BMW....any comments on this? I am just wondering before I put a deposit down on the BMW as all wheel drive is important to me...
Figure approximately $20/mo on a purchase and $30/mo on a lease for each $1000.... If the difference is $5000, then figure a change of $100 for a buy and $150 for a lease.
A payment difference of $60 that you stated is really more like $3000 on a purchase and $2000 on a lease.
thanks for the info...but the dealer gave me the $60 difference per month on a bmw select finance...so that IS the price difference... at least for my finance plan:) ?
BMW Select is actually a balloon payment financing setup. It's not traditional financing...... You'll get payments lower than traditional financing, no mileage restrictions or excess wear charges that leases have.... But at the end of the term, you'll have a balloon payment that you either need to pay off or refinance.
Did your salesperson or finance person go over what BMW Select is all about?
Comments
Anyone try the confort access yet? is it worth the $500 not to have to use your key outside of your pocket? It would have been cool if they had made the key way smaller.
I can not find one thing I do not like about the BMW 3 series.
1) Well, are the steering wheel controls alluminated?
2) Blue tooth, if you push the phone buttom I wish I would not call automatically, and would just take you to the telephone menu, or simply the address book.
Here is the best part of the car
CHICK DIG BMW's, I wish I had one of these when I was younger!!!!!!
No the cars go to 3 places where they have VPCs - NJ, SC and Port Hueneme (LA).
Is it Certified?
Also, How will this affect my runflat tire sensor, will it?
I ended up selling my E46 wheels and buying M5 replica wheels for my 2006 330i.
The BB handheld version was 4.0.0.219 ( not the 4.0.2 that BB mention in their website for BMW's Motorolla made BT).
I intend to park one of the regular wheels in my trunk for winter. The handling may be a bit soft, but I drive slow anyways in winter. I will upgrade to RFT next year if the winterforce are not good. A $300 experiment. We'll see.
thanks.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD, 2025 Toyota Camry SE AWD
DL
I back into the garage and my DH puts his 7 series in going forward. Gives us a wider area to get in and out of the doors that way (driver door to driver door). Our garage is a two car garage and we've used the entire perimeter for storage. We have a refrigerator in the garage and as good as I can back in, I can get the car within a 1 inch difference with the PDC guidance. It takes getting used to, but, I can assure you, I won't need to take the refrigerator to the body shop. I use the side mirror to avoid the trash cans we are required to keep there.
I also have the SG but the grey interior and poplar trim. I get more compliments on it. I have BMW stock wheels which the dealer had chromed.
Love the split seats. Great for my Costco shopping trips and hauling my dogs (small guys) so I don't scratch up the leather with grocery boxes and dog crates.
You have up until the 4/50 warranty/service plan expires to purchase the extended ones.
Got till the first to get my car othervise I got to start paying for a rental :-(
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD, 2025 Toyota Camry SE AWD
anyone know where to check out "real life" pics of the car in different colors? Particularly the dark blue, dark green, and white?
thanks... :shades:
For photos, do a search online or just go to a dealer and take a look.
Purists may consider the added convenience of Comfort access not worth the $500 ($1000 on the 5 Series), and they're probably right. However, it's fun to use, and the car is about fun.
http://www.2wglobal.com/www/wep/index.jsp
If you know your VIN you should be able to track it down. Sometimes you'll have current information before the dealer does.
DL
I have a 2006 325i with automatic. I highly recommend the sports pkg and manual transmission unless all you want is a cruiser. I really don't care for my care and it does not have the sports pkg. BMW played with the spring a dampening settings to civilize the ride with the run flats and for me the result is a very quirky ride. Additionally the 205/55R16 tires are too small for this car.
From what you said in your original post, you'll probably like the car. If you want a fun to drive sports sedan, look elsewhere.
Once you place your order and give your dealer a deposit, they can then put your configuration into the ordering system and it will give you a production number. If they were able to modify an existing order (for example change color etc.), then your car will initially show up with different options, but it will eventually change.
You can take your Production Number and go online to track your vehicle’s status. Keep in mind that this system is usually a week behind. BMW Owner’s Circle (OC) http://www.bmwusa.com/OwnersCircle/ gives you very little information to simplify the waiting process (and no, we don’t like that, we like detail!) and break the order process into 5 stages:
On Order
As soon as your dealer gives you your production number, it shows up in OC as ‘On Order.’ You should also get a Production Week Number when your car will be produced. One thing to note, that when you go online right after you get your production number, the options you selected when you placed your order will not show up. In fact, it will never show up in OC, ever. The other thing, so that you don’t freak out initially, is that sometimes a dealer can modify an incoming order destined for their dealership, which ends up showing as another color under OC. However, this only takes a few days to update. For example, when I placed my order for Sparkling Graphite, it initially showed up as Alpine White with Terra Leather interior.
Scheduled For Production
Approximately three days prior to your car going into production, OC will reach this stage. The 800 automated information number is much more accurate than Owner's Circle (by two days or so), so use it with your production number to figure out what's going on with your car. The number is 1-800-831-1117; say “Vehicle Production Status” and then read out your production number. If your car production is complete, it will say “Your vehicle production is complete.” This whole stage takes a week or less.
Awaiting Transport
Your car gets loaded onto a train and is then driven to Bremerhaven, where it is unloaded and then has to wait for a ship. This is the painful part; you have no idea how many cars are ahead of yours in line to get on a ship, so you have to just keep hoping it doesn’t take too long. Mine took 8 days from production completion to getting on the ship. A ship sails every 3-4 days destined for the United States East Coast. Not sure how different things are for the West Coast.
En Route
As soon as your status changes to “In Transit” on the 800 number, or to “En Route” on the OC, check the shipping company’s website (Schedules) to figure out what ship your car is on. Or just call your dealer; they know exactly what ship your car is on, and the estimated times of when it will arrive and leave the Prep Center. The dealer has a tool that tells you everything, so leverage this to get the name of your ship so you don’t have to guess.
For east coast deliveries, the shipping company’s website (Wallenius Wilhelmsen) is http://www.2wglobal.com/www/WEP/index.jsp. They update their schedule in real-time and changes the color of the ‘stops’ to Red after the ship arrives at different ports, signifying that the ship has docked. My ship took exactly 11 days to get from Bremerhaven to New York City. Sometimes, if your ship reports its status, you can track your ship while it makes its way across the pond. Go to http://www.sailwx.info/ and search by ship name. Keep in mind that my ship never showed up, so its really luck that you may see it.
For west coast deliveries, the shipping company's website (NYK Lines) is http://www2.nykline.com/home/index.html. You can also use http://www.dbh.de/index.php?id=151&L=0
to track the departure of your ship from Bremerhaven to Port Hueneme. Apparently NYK Line doesn't make it easy to find your ship. After that, if you want to know when your ship is planning to dock in San Diego, San Diego Marine Information Systems will give you the arrival schedule for Port Hueneme (west coast delivery) at
http://www.sdmis.org/schedule/.
At Preparation Center
Depending on how much time has lapsed between your ship docking and your car getting off the ship, it may take a while to show up at the Vehicle Preparation Center. A lot of wait times in this area is due to the number of cars ahead of yours, and the time it takes to actually wash off all the foreign soil of every vehicle that comes off the ship. Generally, this takes about 7-14 days.
At your BMW Center
Once your car reaches your dealer, they have to PDI your vehicle, which basically means remove shipping blocks, remove the plastic on the inside, check the vehicle from top to bottom, add any dealer installed options (CD Changer, Tint, Aluminum Pedals etc.) and finally, call you up to come pick up your new baby.
Dom1
I currently own an E-46 325i w/sport package and have test driven both the E90 325 with and without the sport package. I must say that even though the E90 is more responsive, BMW worked religiously to take the harshness out of the ride and it is much more compliant than the E46 with the sport package.
I prefer the sport seats actually, and though not quite your size, I'm about 6' and 195. Also know that BMW made the bolsters adjustable in the E90 sport package, so you can adjust the snugness of the seats to your liking.
The road noise with sport package is a non-issue. The E-90 is much quieter than the E-46 equipped with the sport package or not.
I don't think you can go wrong either way, but I would vote SPORT!
Since the new 3 comes with run flat tires, not only is there is no spare tire but there are no tools (jack + wrench) for changing tires. I'm thinking of using the tools that came with my Honda Odyssey minivan. I'm looking for confirmation that there'd be no problem with that. Probably not, but for all I know there could be some special jack and/or wrench that should be used for BMWs in general or the new 3 in particular.
Thanks
Also do people feel that the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are to close. Sometime I press the brake pedal and accelerator pedal at the same time.
I mean its not a deal breaker, but Germans usually account for things link this.
Well in the case of a six speed manual you often - especially right before a corner, do a clutch in, brake, rev with same foot, downshift, clutch out..hit the corner and explode out the otherside.
There's an ED forum here...sorry don't have the link. A more helpful forum is at another bimmer website but I'm not allowed to post its link.
http://www.kline.com/PCC-RoRo/scheduleatlanticshuttle.asp
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25
This site has extensive information on ED.
The final decision was (for those interested):
2006 325i, sparkling graphite, premium package with black leather interior, poplar wood trim, xenon lights, and satellite radio prep.
Thanks again for all who helped out.
Besides lovin' the drive, I'm getting 27mpg in combined, mostly city driving.
A payment difference of $60 that you stated is really more like $3000 on a purchase and $2000 on a lease.
?
BMW Select is actually a balloon payment financing setup. It's not traditional financing...... You'll get payments lower than traditional financing, no mileage restrictions or excess wear charges that leases have.... But at the end of the term, you'll have a balloon payment that you either need to pay off or refinance.
Did your salesperson or finance person go over what BMW Select is all about?