Hey guys. This may be a dumb newbie question, but I've had my 5er for all of two days, so forgive my ignorance. What exactly is BMW Individual? Can anyone order a car with BMW Individual options and paint/trim schemes? Is this only available for non-US market? Thanks for any info you have!

 

if you are in the us of a, no luck .

 

What's the reason for the shut out on the American market?

 

What's the reason for the shut out on the American market?
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I'm not really sure, but I've heard a couple of things . . .
- It's one more f***-up by BMWNA
- US consumer protection laws allow customers to break a car deal at any time before delivery, and since these are custom build cars, dealers don't want to be stuck with a one-off car.

 

I think hinckley has hit the nail on the head with the US consumer protection laws issue. You can order some outlandish colour combinations with Individual and no dealer is going to want to be stuck with a very personalised car.

You can see a taste of what Individual can offer here at BMW Individual website

Individual cannot be retrofitted and is only available on new factory order cars. It is sold in 3 levels - Equipment packages 1, 2 & 3. Eq 1 is the highest level and includes all interior surfaces (dashboard, doors, seat backs and facings, sunvisors etc) trimmed in leather with special dash trim options such as Piano gloss black. It also includes an alcantara headliner and BMW Individual alloy wheels. You can also specify an Individual exterior paint colour at additional cost. The other 2 packages reduce the content and cost of the options progressively. Eq 3 is basically a choice of different leather colours over the standard factory options for example.

 

AND, they do whatever you want apart of the packages - but, booooooy that is pricey!

 

What's the reason for the shut out on the American market?
[/quote]

I'm not really sure, but I've heard a couple of things . . .
- It's one more f***-up by BMWNA
- US consumer protection laws allow customers to break a car deal at any time before delivery, and since these are custom build cars, dealers don't want to be stuck with a one-off car.
[/quote]

Porsche has a similar program call Porsche Exclusive, and it's not available in the US for the same reason.

 

Damn, being an American sucks.

Thanks for the answers, guys. It makes total sense that they wouldn't want to bother with US consumer protections laws. It makes me wonder what happens in the Europe when someone purchases a car that's pretty "individualized" and then backs out of the sale? Is the dealer then left holding the bag?

 

You can't just back out of the sale.
In the moment you sign the contract, it is a valid contract and you have to take the car.

 

not when you see the prices of gasoline and cars in europe .