Preparing to buy our first BMW. Questions!

[OBS3SSION]

Jon,

First of all, I wanted to say I'm fairly familiar with the auto enthusiast scene. Being a VW Passat owner, and member of ClubB5.com has made me really appreciate the guidance of fellow enthusiasts. I feel that this board is a great step in the direction of my becoming a BMW enthusiast and helping me towards my purchase of my first BMW. :thumbup:

Now, with that said, I'm hoping you can answer a few questions I have about the purchase of my first BMW. I figured I'd ask them all in one place, rather than post of slew of threads. Several aspects of this BMW purchase are new to me: I've never had the ability to order a car before. I've never taken delivery somewhere besides the dealership I purchased from. I've never leased before, and am contemplating it now.

FYI... What I plan to order: 2003 330i with Premium, Sport & Cold packages, Xenons and Steptronic. Colors will be Tourmaline Violet (I've figured out the secret to get this color!) and Black Leather.

So... on to the questions:

1) I live in Massachusetts and plan to take performance center delivery in South Carolina while on vacation in Florida. The plan is to travel to SC and take delivery on February 3. Then drive to FL for a week and a half, then put the car on the auto train back to the northeast. The vacation is already booked and Feb 3 is the date "set aside" for picking up the car. What do I need to do to assure Feb 3rd as our delivery date? When do I need to order the car? (I'm thinking this or next week.) If we can't pick up the car in SC on the 3rd, our entire vacation will need to be changed! :eek:

2) As mentioned above, I already know how to get the car in Tourmaline Violet. Looking forward to the uniqueness that color will provide. However, while the Style 68M wheels that come standard on the car are "okay", what I really want is the Style 42 Cross Spoke II (bolted 17" wheel)... the same style as on a 530i with Sport. What do I have to do to get these? I don't want to have to buy them as a second set of wheels after taking delivery and then having to sell a set of "used" 68Ms. :eeps:

3) I'm still not sure if I'm leasing or purchasing yet. How does the timeframe for lease/financing work out? Especially with a PC delivery? When is car price settled, lease/finance rate determined, trade-in value determined, etc.? Do we finalize the financing at the dealership or the PC? I'm really clueless here... :dunno:

4) What's the best way to acquire the "goodies". Garage door opener, alarm (why doesn't a $40K+ car have one standard?), floor mats (does the car come with them?), wheel locks (again, standard or no?), warning triangle, etc. Any other goodies I'm forgetting? :)

Thank you for providing such a great service to enthusiasts like us. I apologize for being a total noob here, and for the length of my post. Your responses will be greatly appreciated.

Oh... and I'm not ruling out the possibility of purchasing long distance, if you know what I mean. ;) Just give me some reasons...

Sincerely,
Eric

[Jon S.]

Eric,

This is really a long series of questions, and I am running out of time this morning, so please excuse my brevity.

point-by-point:

1. What do I need to do to assure Feb 3rd as our delivery date? When do I need to order the car?

What you need (pragmatically speaking) is either a late
December of early January production. You might shoot
for December just to play it safe. Dealer were just allocated
November build slots, so be prepared to place your order in
about a month.

2. Style 68M wheels that come standard on the car are "okay", what I really want is the Style 42 Cross Spoke II (bolted 17" wheel)... the same style as on a 530i with Sport. What do I have to do to get these?

There is no way to do this (wheel swaps) other than to bite
the bullet and purchase the ones you want, and then sell
the "take-offs" back to your dealer, or to a private party.

3. I'm still not sure if I'm leasing or purchasing yet. How does
the timeframe for lease/financing work out? Especially with a
PC delivery? When is car price settled, lease/finance rate determined, trade-in value determined, etc.? Do we finalize the financing at the dealership or the PC?

Everything should be worked out at your dealer as soon as
possible. The **only** business to be handled at the Performance Center is delivery. Settle and finalize all of
the terms right away...

4. What's the best way to acquire the "goodies". Garage door opener, alarm (why doesn't a $40K+ car have one standard?), floor mats (does the car come with them?), wheel locks (again, standard or no?), warning triangle, etc.

Unfortunately, BMWNA (bastards) is too damn cheap to include
floor mats on some models... :mad: Can you imagine paying
$68K for an X5 4.6 and having to pay for them?? :banghead:
:flipoff: It pisses me off so!!! You have no idea!!!
Eric, you can't get what you don't ask for. You should be
up front with your Client Advisor and let he/she know
whatever "goodies" you expect to be included with your deal.

You know, I would love to be able to help you personally with
this deal. Experience shows that Cross-country deals
are usually not viable, though...

However, I do appreciate the consideration.

I have to run for now.

Best regards,
--Jon