I am a tall guy at 6'6", so I love the 20-way comfort seats in the new 5 series. My girlfriend leased a 530i and I am able to drive it fairly comfortably after thoroughly adjusting the seats. I have to set the seats to their lowest and tilt the seat (base) backwards quite a bit. This makes for a reclined driving position. All in all it is quite comfy, if you ignore the difficulty of getting in and out of the car. I have to grab onto the roof or the door and pull myself out. Unfortunately, my hair still touches the ceiling of the car just enough to make me feel boxed in. It unconsciously makes me lean slightly to the right to avoid the edges of the moonroof.

If only there was one extra inch of headroom, the car would be the best fit I've seen so far in this price range. So I wondered: could I, by any chance, delete the moonroof option and get that extra inch of headroom?

I am told that can't be done and all 530's come with moonroof. But then again, the european order sheet lists moonroof as optional. I asked friends in Germany and they confirmed that BMW is perfectly happy to build a 530i without a moonroof. Why is my dealer insisting that it is impossible to order it that way from the US? I am sure it's not any safety concern.

I also noticed there were other options that are not offered in the US: automatic soft close doors, climate comfort glass (reduced infrared penetration), factory installed M aero kit, backup camera, etc. These options would make the 5 a much more competitive luxury sedan, especially when you consider the recent offerings from Lexus, Audi and Infinity. Why are they not available in the US? Just for fun I checked some other countries. Mexico has them. Canada has them. South Africa has them. Hmm...

I called BMWNA and they said it was up to the dealers to order euro options. The dealer said it was up to BMWNA and they couldn't do anything about it.

Can anyone shed some light on this?

 

All I can say is try another dealer. I've heard of others ordering no moonroof in the E39 so may be possible in the E60. Some dealers are more helpful than others. And to their credit, some sales people may not even know it's possible.

 

I would also try another dealer. Many dealers dont know about a lot of things that can be done.

I order my car back in late 2004 and not many people nor dealers knew you can order Auburn with Silvergray. that combination is not possible on the BMW configurator but my dealer was able to try and order it for me. THEN now look at this board... many have been able to order options / combinations that dealers never knew existed.

Let the dealers know you spoke with BMW NA and they said it was possible. Make them try.

 

"moonroof" this is the 1st I hered of this so this is a US word right.
the hole world calls it sunroof.

 

Here, a sun roof is the metallic type like what was used in the E34, E28, and E12. In the E39's and E60's a dark glass roof is used making it a moon roof.

 

And the whole rest of the world drives on the "right" side of the world too.

 

If you can look up and see out without it being open, it is called a moonroof.

 

Funny, I was just thinking of the word for it in Spanish (MX) it is usually referred as "Quemacocos", a literal translation for that would be Coconutburner...

 

right i see

 

You can also look up and see out of a "sunroof" without it being open.