Guest

Whoa, Doc, that's a stiff price. And about your new avatar -- do you ever need a bigger hammer?

Doctor Diesel

Only for the ones that won't lie down!

dont forget gas prices in uk...$6.50 a gallon !!!!

still, at least healthcare is free at the point of (ab)use

paasan

Yes I believe you can. They fit our 520i - but there is extremely little space between the calipers and the inner rim. I believe the brake discs on the 530i are even bigger than on the 520i? The 16" wheels may fit, but beware of stones and ice coming in between the wheel and the caliper.

This winter we experienced a nasty sound coming from one of the wheels, and it turned out to be a stone covered in ice, stuck on the caliper or somewhere around the brake shield. This caused quite a few scratches to the inner part of the rim - however nothing visible unless you jack up the car or remove the wheel.

16" wheels may be beneficial during winter - however - it would not matter that much if they aren't studded. Studded tyres benefit from a higher profile, whereas regular winter tyres probably won't be hampered by a lower profile and a wider tyre - it's even likely to improve grip.

As a conclusion; 16" will fit - but it may turn out not too good looking and slightly inconvenient on a regular winter tyre.


-paasan

crabman

I really hat the fact that we cant get a many of the options for this car in the USA. The most galling to me are the good leather and the ventilated seats. These are major options and I want both. The 530i my wife purchased last fall is the first BMW we have owned and I have been amazed by how far out of touch BMW is with its customers. While I am aware of their sales increases I think they are in for a fall if they don't start listening to the desires of the folks who are buying their cars. I have been considering a 545 for myself and been looking into buying a Canadian car and Americanizing it but its not too promising. Time will tell and I have some of that since I wont be buying until all the quirks are worked out. Already made that mistake with the wifes car.

JDN

If BMW listens to this customer, they will leave the product pretty much as is. Car was delivered in prisitine condition, not one glitch in the first 1500 miles, handles better than I could ever have imagined and quicker than a water bug.

As a side benefit, the 18" 124 wheels actually measure 19.5" OD.

Rudy

Crabman, I understand your frustrations but I don't think these issues are limited to just BMW.

There are many factors that go into a new model launch. Now I'm not saying I know what they all are, but I've seen this kind of stuff happen many times with many manufacturers.

Every brochure I've seen has a standard disclaimer that implies that not all options will be available in all areas, etc.

Some options are delayed by legal or regulatory issues, some options are delayed based on supply chain issues, and maybe some options are delayed on purpose because they're either not ready or they want to control things a bit more in the early going. I'm sure there are more reasons but either way, I think you get my point. It's important to realize that a sales brochure needs to be printed well in advance of these issues being sorted out. The cost of recreating these brochures each time something is released would be cost prohibitive.

I know for sure that MB has done similar things with options in the past. Distronic, Keyless Go, etc. were all delayed for whatever reasons and don't think they haven't had issues with software too!

I don't feel cheated by anything I read in any brochures because a brochure is just an overall "big picture" kind of document. What's more dissapointing, at least to me, to not be able to get something that was "orderable" like factory Sirius with Nav, etc. What BMW should have done in that case was to not show it as something available until the bugs were worked out. Heck, my $600 CPT9000 phone is pretty much useless right now at the current version of software -- that's something I paid for that I'm not able to use.

Am I pissed? Not really. Why? Because my expectations weren't ever set too high due to my experiences with these types of things. Have my expectations been exceeded? Absolutely! The rest of the car, driving dynamics, etc., have far outweighed the little frustrations that I've experienced. Also, I've learned in life to "not sweat the small stuff" -- it keeps my stress level way down and I feel much better doing things that way on a daily basis.

I think that an important rule to follow when buying a new car is to say to yourself, "If I buy a car in the first model year, am I willing to deal with some issues/glitches or not?" If the answer is no, then wait a year or buy something else. If the answer is yes, enjoy the car for what it is and understand that a little patience and understanding may be needed to make the overall experience enjoyable. (Keep in mind that the above rule may not apply to Japanese cars! )

crabman

I have to agree with that Rudy. I counseled my wife to wait but she wanted the car and that was all there was to it. Believe me when purchased I was educated on the pitfalls with these cars. This would be my first BMW but I have owned many new cars, several in the first model year and I am well acquainted with the problems one can face when buying such a vehicle. I wish I would have been more firm with my wife who was unrealistically expecting that everything would be worked out in short order. Truth be told though she got weak in the knees at first sight and was not to be swayed. So much for wearing the pants in the family. I was getting a little off topic though because what I was referring to were options that could be and are available, just not in the US. I cant for the life of me see why we can not get the ventilated seats or the better leather. I asked BMWNA these questions and could not get an answer. My own guess is that they are afraid that this might cut into the sales of the 7 series but the proportion sold in the USA and elsewhere where these options are available seem about the same, the way I read the sales reports, so this doesn't appear to hold water. These cars IMO are aimed at different buyers and I don't see one taking from the sale of the other. Still its the only thing I could think of that might be keeping them from offering these options. Back to the brochure question I have to agree that it is misleading. While errors and omissions have to be expected the 5 brochure has more than its share. As an example when I purchased a new 03 Dodge truck (my most recent new model before the BMW) nearly everything in the brochure was actually available to be purchased as stated and shown. This was from many months before the truck was released. This all segues into BMWs disconnect from its customers. I don't recall ever dealing with a company that is so removed from the people with whom it wants to do business. It shows in things like a brochure that BMW must have known at the time of printing was unrepresentative of the product folks would actually be able to purchase. This is a great car and my wife is very happy with it so don't get me wrong. As I said I was thinking of getting one for myself. They would IMO improve their customer relations a great deal if they would just listen to their customers. I simply don't get the impression they are doing so.

Tuga

Bluetooth is working in Portugal.
But the BMW ASSIST isn't.......

GarryF

For you people is the US go to www.bmw.co.uk and add in all the options you get as part of the sports pack. It ends up coming to something in the region of $7000-$8000 and you guys can get it for $3300 I think.

we may get more options in Europe but as DD says we sure do have to pay for them, I'd take your price with less options any day

gdavis

it's true about the pricing of the packages offered in the US. By comparison they are a much better 'deal' than if you price them out in any country in Europe. It's just frustrating that we can't also break them down and pick the features we want. Especially when we go to pick up the car in Munich, it isn't like we are selecting from on the dealer's lot.

We also then end up with other features in these packages that we may not want, but have to pay for as part of that group.

Altogether though we are lucky to have the prices as they are here, and the major reason is all the intense competition of so many car companies from around the world....