juventus

Why is it that the rest of the world gets a choice of all the different interior and exterior trims available, whereas, here in the US, we are allowed only limited options? I thought that the US was the largest 5 series customer.

EBMCS03

If you want to pay as much as the rest of the world I think BMW will give you the option too.

vegastrashed

I agree with EBMCS03. I'd rather pay less for my Bimmer than cry foul about not getting individualized options.

vegastrashed

Technically, Europe as a whole is BMW's largest customer, I think.

znod

My quess is that shipping is at least part of the issue. BMW has to sort of quess what sets of options those in the US might want. Then, they can send more cars sooner rather than waiting for special orders. Basically, supply and demand might be easier to manage across an ocean without many special orders to deal with. As said, just guessing. And, anyway, we have European delivery. Why don't those in Eruope have a US delivery option?

ImolaRedM

Most of the US sales are special order. They just don't happen to have the wide list from BMW Individual. There has been talk of bringing the program to the US. Some people have been lucky in getting special options but it's hit and miss. You can get a wider range of exterior colors already. Just because it's not in the catalog or on the "Build your BMW" online doesn't mean you can't get it. Look at the ventilated seats and Anthacite headliner as an example. Expect to pay $2000+ for a special color. Just don't be shocked when the dealer asks for full payment in advance for the car when you order that hot pink E60.

I wouldn't say we're a step child. We do get better warranty coverage than most other areas.

my530i

Some dealer will do special individual order with $2500 fee.

rodybmw

First of all we should differntiate between BMW Individual, real "special orders", and just regular options not available in the US.

BMW Individual has a totally different set of colors and options available as well as the ability to get real custom colors not available even in the BMW Individual pallette. BMW NA has been hinting of allowing (at least limited) BMW Individual options in the US since the time before I placed my M3 order.....that was almost 12 year ago and they still have not done anything about it.

There are also some "special orders" such as ordering the car in a color that is a standard BMW color but is not available on the E60 (not just in the US but worldwide). This is done much easier by people in other countries than in the US.

Then there is just being able to order options and colors that are available on an E60 worldwide, but not offered in the US. For example a Truffle Brown interior or a paricular wood or Aluminum trim which are regularly available options on the E60 in other countries, yet BMW NA does not let people order these options. I have visited the Dingolfing factory and asked them about this and they have said it is a non-issue for them because all the colors and options are available to them and are assigned by their computers to that appropriate car on the assembly line. They would have no problem doing it but it's BMW NA that does not want to deal with it. In many cases (such as picking Truffle Brown as the interior color) there wouldn't even be a price difference as it costs the same as other color Dakota leathers and all BMW NA needs to do is submit the code for this color interior, yet they refuse to do so.

Someone mentioned the ventilated seats and anthracite headliner as an example of things that can be special ordered. Those are regularly available options on the E60 worldwide and should not have to be a "special order". They are a couple of hand picked items that have been chosen by BMW NA and are called Priority1 options (they used to be called that anyway, but I have not checked recently). They even have one or two exterior colors on some BMW models designated as Priority1 options, but again it's ones that they have picked instead of letting you choose the color from BMW's pallete. If you check the options/order sheet for the E60 the vented seats and headliners are listed there just like any of the other options. It's like BMW NA saying that we will let you do a special order as long as you choose from the list of two options that we have allowed to be ordered....and by the way, these are regular options everywhere else but we are going to charge you twice as much as everyone outside the US pays for these "regular" options. In other countries the Nazca perforated leather that is used on the ventilated seats costs the same as the Dakota leather, so you would think that since the cost of the Dakota leather is included in the price of a US E60 they should only charge you the cost of the ventilated seats alone, not double charge you for both the Dakota AND Nazca leather before they would even let you order the ventilated option for more money. That is not how it works everywhere else.

Instances where people have been able to truly "special order" a color from BMW NA (and I am not even talking about BMW Individual colors, just regular BMW colors) are few and far between. BMW NA refused to allow me to order other "standard" BMW colors for my 1995 M3, 2001 X5, and 2005 545i, however, they did let me order European cloth seats for my 1997 528i. It has become even harder to order anything out of the ordinary from BMW NA now because the dealers have to order using the online BMW network system which has a bunch of clickable options and drop down menus which don't allow for even requesting anything out of the ordinary. But I have heard that it may be improved in the future with direct link to the factory. I'll believe it when I see it.

ImolaRedM

In my understanding BMW Individual gets a ///M VIN. Please correct me if this is not the case.

Regular options are what's offered in the catalog or web site. Advertised options.

Special order means not taking a pre-made vehicle off a dealers inventory. This is why I say *almost* all BMWs sold in the US are special order.

There are still more options that fall inbetween. This includes the special colors, Priority one options, and getting BMWNA to agree on colors or options offered in other countries. These are not BMW Individual.

525iSE

You complain there... try coming to a Thailand and dealer and try to negotiate for a car... btw, bring your set of arm and leg cuz you're gonna have to give those too when you pay for your car...

1. They don't know jack about their car that they're selling...
2. They hardly speak any english... (just a bonus, some speak reali good english)
3. Try getting service after you buy your car...
4. Try retrofitting anything on your car... (First word you'll hear is... Warranty... then you'll hear (from me) BUT ITS A BMW OEM PART!!! or "Sorry sir, we don't know how to put that on your car")
5. Try getting a loaner when they keep your car for 3 days...
6. No extra options besides ones that they already put on the cars.
7. Dont wanna bore you guys anymore...

Had to show the world about BMW Thailand... after paying 110,000 USD for a 525iSE. (I STILL LOVE MY CAR though...)