Not the last E46 325xiT, but close enough!

[blockpavick]

Just took delivery of my new 325xiT last Wednesday. Production date was 23 November 2004. My first BMW since a 2002 in the early seventies. Been in a VW or Audi product since a 1975 Scirocco. Last was a 1995 Passat GLX wagon(for sale if you want it!). The 325xiT is fantastic. The color combination is great too! Picked it up in the middle of a major snow storm. The dealer even closed about an hour after I left, the snow was so bad! Hate to get a new vehicle so dirty and messy like that on the virgin run, but that is what all wheel drive is for. The car handled great, I had to resist not passing people in a heavy snow! Even the OEM Michelin's seemed adequate. No problems I can find, but reverse seems a bit stiff to enter. I assume that will loosen up a bit. The roads are still a mess, so no photos yet as it is filthy, although maybe I'll snap a few anyways. Put a few lousy delivery photos on another thread here. After much research, I got a Cingular Motorola V551 bluetooth phone. Pairing was pretty simple. Address book exchanged (took a while), but seems to work great. I really wanted a CDMA phone for greater roaming coverage (got a place in rural Wisconsin with analog coverage only), but there is none yet that is fully bluetoothed with OBEX. I'll deal with this GSM for a while. This board has already been a great help, so thanks to all.
Joe B.
325xiT Oxford Green/Natural Brown leather
5 speed manual
Premium
Cold
Full spare.

[Arkady]

Welcome and congrats :thumbup:

[LMC]

Congratulations and welcome to the ultra-exclusive Touring Club!

Bad timing, though -- Bob just found an Orient Blue one. Otherwise you could've resold it immediately to him for $5,000 over what you paid! :bigpimp:

[Bob Clevenger]

Congratulations and welcome to the ultra-exclusive Touring Club!

Bad timing, though -- Bob just found an Orient Blue one. Otherwise you could've resold it immediately to him for $5,000 over what you paid! :bigpimp:

Hey! I wasn't THAT desperate --- or maybe I was. :yikes:

We'll have to compare photos! I pick mine up in the morning -- flying up to No Cal at "Oh-Dark-Thirty" to get it. Then it's driving 400+ miles home (what a shakedown run,eh?) trying to remember to vary the revs. Thence to get the nav retrofitted. Lotsa fun! :)

[equ]

PICS! Enjoy... I love manual tranny wagons.

[santiago]

Congratulations and welcome to the Touring Club.

[blockpavick]

Hey! I wasn't THAT desperate --- or maybe I was. :yikes:

We'll have to compare photos! I pick mine up in the morning -- flying up to No Cal at "Oh-Dark-Thirty" to get it. Then it's driving 400+ miles home (what a shakedown run,eh?) trying to remember to vary the revs. Thence to get the nav retrofitted. Lotsa fun! :)
Bob, congrats on your new 325xiT. Glad you got close to what you wanted. Maybe after you picked up the car in Northern CA. you detoured over Donner Pass to use the AWD. I heard they have a bit of snow there!
Joe B.

[Bob Clevenger]

Bob, congrats on your new 325xiT. Glad you got close to what you wanted. Maybe after you picked up the car in Northern CA. you detoured over Donner Pass to use the AWD. I heard they have a bit of snow there!
Joe B.
Oh NO! Although I have driven over Donner Pass in light snow.
I just wanted to get home withoug falling asleep -- Mission Accomplished.

Wow. that Orient Blue looks BLACK at night in the rain!
It's dark and raining -- photos will have to wait 'til tomorrow.
OB and Nat Brown Leather look great together!

I discovered that in 2004 the premiun pack apparently didn't include the lumbar support -- major problem, but probably fixable. The good news is that my back doesn't hurt more than usual after driving 425 miles. :thumbup:
Had the dealer install the Garage door opener and the auxiliary audio input. Coulda saved significant labour costs by installing them myself, but wanted the aux-in for the drive down, It helps keep me sane!

Let's see, must talk to the tech at Crevier BMW about the nav system retrofit, lumbar retrofit, and I need to check out the Bluetooth threads to see what I have to do to make it work.

Can you tell I'm just a little excited? And a whole lot tired!

[hecklerz]

Had the dealer install the Garage door opener and the auxiliary audio input. Coulda saved significant labour costs by installing them myself, but wanted the aux-in for the drive down, It helps keep me sane!
!

You're not kidding about the insane labor fee for the Aux input. $300+ to install a $39 part at my "Nor. Cal" dealer
:mad: . Made me reconsider just on principal I guess. I'm after the Pioneer Mp3 CD changer instead. BTW, big CONGRATS to both of you :thumbup: !

[Bob Clevenger]

You're not kidding about the insane labor fee for the Aux input. $300+ to install a $39 part at my "Nor. Cal" dealer
:mad: . Made me reconsider just on principal I guess. I'm after the Pioneer Mp3 CD changer instead. BTW, big CONGRATS to both of you :thumbup: !

Well, I made up for it a little by getting the 6-year/100k mile extended service for the "Bimmerfest Good Guys" price of $995 instead of the $1395 they were quoting me.

I want to get the garage door opener wired to a place that stays "hot" all the time. It's annoying to pull in the garage, shut the engine off, restart the engine, shut the garage door, then shut the engine off yet again. I know the dealer won't do that, but I have a little skill in that area. I've already located the wire to use! I'll put this in a DIY when I get to doing it.

I'm hoping that all I have to have done for the BT is reprogramming. I have the password with my car's papers. I suppose I ought to figure out all the key customizations that I want to have done and get that done at the same time. Hell, I don't even know what half of them are yet!

BTW, she got 25.3 mpg on her maiden voyage according to the trip computer. That was the run from Santa Nella to Ontario on the I-5.

[blockpavick]

Bob, sounds like a great initial drive! I believe our prodution numbers are 101 apart! Do you know the actual date of production?
Congratulations again!
Joe B.

[uter]

Congrats. Welcome to the manual 325xit club!

Lets see some pics!

Here are some recent ones of mine with the birch trim and NB. (http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82452)

[gojira-san]

Nice cars both of you! Good to see you finally found one Bob! :)

uter, that nat brown and birch is the way it should have come from the factory -- looks great! :thumbup:

[Jim Seattle]

325xiT Oxford Green/Natural Brown leather

Oxford and NB...we definately need to see pics! Who cares that it is dirty.... :thumbup:

[uter]

uter, that nat brown and birch is the way it should have come from the factory -- looks great! :thumbup:

Imagine trying to get Tulley BMW to order that for you :rolleyes:

[LMC]

I discovered that in 2004 the premiun pack apparently didn't include the lumbar support -- major problem, but probably fixable.

I special ordered lumbar on my '04 325iT -- the sticker said 450 list (and invoice was 410.) If you decide to do it after the fact, you may choose to do it for driver seat only to save labor cost (if not DIY.)

I took a quick look at the ETK and there is a page for "retrofit kit for lumbar", but it does not have a valid part number. More research required...

Congrats on the new touring and pics, please!

[gojira-san]

Imagine trying to get Tulley BMW to order that for you :rolleyes:
:rofl: Very true. :rofl:

[RichardP]

Changed my 2002 (Oxford Green II) touring to a new one (Le Mans Blue) in September, I had them both for a week or so.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/richard.parkinson7/BMW/DSC_2129A.jpg

[Three20FivexiT]

There's an Ontario in California?? :dunno: Nonetheless, welcome...enjoy the wagon. :thumbup:

[Jeff_DML]

Changed my 2002 (Oxford Green II) touring to a new one (Le Mans Blue) in September, I had them both for a week or so.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/richard.parkinson7/BMW/DSC_2129A.jpg

those are some nice looking wagons :jawdrop:

[gordo325xiwagon]

Welcome aboard... This is a great forum, especially if you work on your own car. There are lots of good ideas on this site.

My Touring is just like everyone's, except I removed the roof rails, and installed a blackout grill surround with OEM chrome fins.

http://gordonrichards.net/bmwgrill1.jpg

[LMC]

Changed my 2002 (Oxford Green II) touring to a new one (Le Mans Blue) in September, I had them both for a week or so.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/richard.parkinson7/BMW/DSC_2129A.jpg

Oh my! LeMans Blue 330dT with M sport.... could I come look at it? :bow:

Or -- if that's too inconvenient, could I come admire the shadow it casts on the ground?

[markl53]

I want to get the garage door opener wired to a place that stays "hot" all the time. It's annoying to pull in the garage, shut the engine off, restart the engine, shut the garage door, then shut the engine off yet again. I know the dealer won't do that, but I have a little skill in that area. I've already located the wire to use! I'll put this in a DIY when I get to doing it.

Congrats on the car -- oh, BTW, you don't have to actually restart the engine, just move key to position 1. (or pos 2?)

[santiago]

I special ordered lumbar on my '04 325iT -- the sticker said 450 list (and invoice was 410.) If you decide to do it after the fact, you may choose to do it for driver seat only to save labor cost (if not DIY.)

I took a quick look at the ETK and there is a page for "retrofit kit for lumbar", but it does not have a valid part number. More research required...

Congrats on the new touring and pics, please!

Terry Kennedy did a retrofit of the lumbar kit:

http://www.tmk.com/lumbar/index.shtml

[RichardP]

Oh my! LeMans Blue 330dT with M sport.... could I come look at it? :bow:

Or -- if that's too inconvenient, could I come admire the shadow it casts on the ground?

You're welcome to come, but the price is that you have to clean in between the twin spokes of those 135M styling wheels! :D It's a real p.i.t.a. the gap is about 1/4 inch at the narrowest point.

[SARAFIL]

Congrats on the car, Bob! Sounds great!

Oh, and you're welcome! ;) What did they say when you inquired about that car and already knew that they had it in stock?

[LMC]

What did they say when you inquired about that car and already knew that they had it in stock?

What they SHOULD HAVE said was "Who is this guy SARAFIL and what's his address so we know where to mail the check?" :D

[Bob Clevenger]

Congrats on the car, Bob! Sounds great!

Oh, and you're welcome! ;) What did they say when you inquired about that car and already knew that they had it in stock?
Not much actually. It seems that if I had waited another hour someone else would have bought it!
I did explain how I found out about it and they were rather impressed.

[Bob Clevenger]

OK, it's stopped raining.
Here are three quick shots of the new baby.

[roach]

I am new to this forum, so Hello. I am picking up my new 325iT manual, sport, zenon, OBC, heated seats, alum trim, silver grey metallic on Friday. It came off the last production line for the tourings (December '04). This will be my first beamer. I am coming from a '96 VW GTI-Vr6. I will post a pick when I get the car home. :)

[Jeff_DML]

OK, it's stopped raining.
Here are three quick shots of the new baby.

nice, I like the new(for me) sport pack wheels :thumbup:

[blockpavick]

OK, it's stopped raining.
Here are three quick shots of the new baby.
Bob, very nice. We actually had a buyers order on a 2005 same color, but the dealer would not trade so we got the Oxford Green one we found. I like the Orient Blue with NBL! Enjoy. I will try to get some decent pictures posted if my wife will ever bring the car home in daylight!
Joe B.

[SARAFIL]

What they SHOULD HAVE said was "Who is this guy SARAFIL and what's his address so we know where to mail the check?" :D

:rofl: :thumbup:

I'm not looking for anything other than seeing another happy BMW owner out there. If I was in it for the money, I could find better ways to spend my time other than being a bimmerfest-reading slacker. ;)

[TeeZee]

Welcome to the group and congrats on the new touring. :thumbup:

Quick question- why not a new Passat wagon? What made you buy the BMW? I only ask because I was torn for a while between the two (coming out of a 90 Jetta GLX). In the end, I felt the VW felt a bit heavy and to be frank, I could not stand the blue interior lights.

Anyway, nice color choice, mine is Oxford Green over Sand. I love it.

And RichardP- very nice estates! The blue is very sharp. :thumbup:
Now I want M'Technic bumper and side skirts!

[Jeff_DML]

Welcome to the group and congrats on the new touring. :thumbup:

Quick question- why not a new Passat wagon? What made you buy the BMW? I only ask because I was torn for a while between the two (coming out of a 90 Jetta GLX). In the end, I felt the VW felt a bit heavy and to be frank, I could not stand the blue interior lights.



wife preferred a audi or bmw over the vw. I kind of liked the passat since it seemed like a more functional larger wagon plus they are pretty cheap. Driving standpoint the bimmer is way better so I didnt mind getting it ;)

[blockpavick]

Welcome to the group and congrats on the new touring. :thumbup:

Quick question- why not a new Passat wagon? What made you buy the BMW? I only ask because I was torn for a while between the two (coming out of a 90 Jetta GLX). In the end, I felt the VW felt a bit heavy and to be frank, I could not stand the blue interior lights.

Anyway, nice color choice, mine is Oxford Green over Sand. I love it.

And RichardP- very nice estates! The blue is very sharp. :thumbup:
Now I want M'Technic bumper and side skirts!
Well TeeZee, we wanted a wagon with manual and all wheel drive. By the time we got very serious about a new car, there were no more Audi Avant with manuals available, and plus, the engine choices kinda stunk with the Audi. Coming from the 2.8 VR6, we would not have wanted the 1.8 four, and the Audi 3.0 is not all that exciting. We like the Audi's though. A new Passat wagon was a good choice but no more manuals in the GLX trim pack. The car which came closest to our wants besides the BMW was the Volvo V50. This is a very nice car, AWD, 6 speed manual available, nice 5 cylinder turbo around 220hp. Very attractive interior, less $ than the BMW. Problem was all the Volvo dealers around here were clueless, none had manuals to test drive, weird integrated radio, so no way to connect an I-Pod or integrate a cell phone, both of which were important to us.
Finally, we had a great BMW salesman who was fairly knowledgable, just aggressive enough, found a car we liked, at a price we liked, and let's face it, a BMW is probably the best drivers car of all. I much prefer a rear wheel drive chassis. Great safety rating. Realizing the E46 tourings were ending production, we knew we had to move right away. So we did, and it is a great car. No regrets yet!
Joe B.

[Bob Clevenger]

We actually had a buyers order on a 2005 same color, but the dealer would not trade so we got the Oxford Green one we found.
Joe B.That's rather ironic. I wanted an Oxford Green Touring with NBL, but couldn't find one! Wanna swap? :rofl:

[blockpavick]

That's rather ironic. I wanted an Oxford Green Touring with NBL, but couldn't find one! Wanna swap? :rofl:
All right, can you make it to Denver by the morning?! Just kidding! No trade Bob, we already got attached to this one, and I am sure you to yours. Besides, my wife picked up a couple of cement garden mushroom stools which tumbled in the back, scattering cement dust and scuffing the trim!
This car may never be clean!
Joe B.

[santiago]

I am new to this forum, so Hello. I am picking up my new 325iT manual, sport, zenon, OBC, heated seats, alum trim, silver grey metallic on Friday. It came off the last production line for the tourings (December '04). This will be my first beamer. I am coming from a '96 VW GTI-Vr6. I will post a pick when I get the car home. :)

Yeah, but is it THE LAST E46 TOURING. Just teasing (not you, another "last production" owner).

Congratulations and welcome to the Touring club. Seems like quite a few Bimmerfesters have taken recent delivery of Tourings and have gone through quite a lot to make sure they got their car.

Makes you wonder if BMWNA and BMW CA isn't overlooking a bigger market.

[jcatral14]

Congrats but where are the pics?

[UncleDon]

Yeah, but is it THE LAST E46 TOURING. Just teasing (not you, another "last production" owner).

Congratulations and welcome to the Touring club. Seems like quite a few Bimmerfesters have taken recent delivery of Tourings and have gone through quite a lot to make sure they got their car.

Makes you wonder if BMWNA and BMW CA isn't overlooking a bigger market.

I really don't know if it's the last U.S. spec Touring or not. I purposely waited until the last minute to order my car and then had the dealer assign it with a low priority. The reason is I don't plan to drive this car in the Winter, so it will be at least two months yet before I will start driving it. My Winter car is a '98 Subaru Legacy Wagon AWD with an Automatic, so even a 325 is going feel like a Rocket Ship after that ride.
It really is great following all the stories of you guys ordering and getting your cars.

As far as THE LAST TOURING goes, my car was produced on 12/21 and so far no one has claimed a later build date for a U.S. spec car. I wonder if there is any way the check this?

BTW...The Liberty makes port this Sunday 01/16... it's getting closer.

[santiago]

I really don't know if it's the last U.S. spec Touring or not. I purposely waited until the last minute to order my car and then had the dealer assign it with a low priority. The reason is I don't plan to drive this car in the Winter, so it will be at least two months yet before I will start driving it. My Winter car is a '98 Subaru Legacy Wagon AWD with an Automatic, so even a 325 is going feel like a Rocket Ship after that ride.
It really is great following all the stories of you guys ordering and getting your cars.

As far as THE LAST TOURING goes, my car was produced on 12/21 and so far no one has claimed a later build date for a U.S. spec car. I wonder if there is any way the check this?

BTW...The Liberty makes port this Sunday 01/16... it's getting closer.

Don't take my comment seriously. I was just having fun. I do love my Touring so I can see how you're excited about yours.

[blockpavick]

I finally got a clear day, the car clean and some daylight. About 5 degrees F when these pictures taken! Not very good photos, you can barely tell it is Oxford Green, but here you are. Someday I will post good photos! The car has been great so far. The only weird thing is the thermostat for the cabin Heat/AC temperature regulation seems inaccurate. It gets hot in the car with the temperature set to 68! Any one else ever have this problem? Granted it has been very cold out, but still seems off. We have to set the temperature to 64 to keep it comfortable. Will give it more time to test in milder weather before complaining back at the dealer. Thanks one more time to this forum. It has been a great resource!
Joe B.

[Bob Clevenger]

...The only weird thing is the thermostat for the cabin Heat/AC temperature regulation seems inaccurate. It gets hot in the car with the temperature set to 68!
Have your dealer check your key memory programming. There is a key memory option called "Correction Set Temperature" that may be set wrong.

[BahnBaum]

Have your dealer check your key memory programming. There is a key memory option called "Correction Set Temperature" that may be set wrong.My e46 was the same way. The key memory change did the trick.

Alex

[blockpavick]

Thanks for the information, I then checked that on the list of 'memory' features set by the dealer, and have to assume it is set 3 or so degrees higher than the HU display. Why would this feature be available? Just seems to cause confusion. If I wanted the temperature higher or lower I would just adjust.
JB

[markl53]

Thanks for the information, I then checked that on the list of 'memory' features set by the dealer, and have to assume it is set 3 or so degrees higher than the HU display. Why would this feature be available? Just seems to cause confusion. If I wanted the temperature higher or lower I would just adjust.
JB
I just got my 330i in December and I also notice the cabin is too warm at settings I'm used to with other climate controls -- I also keep it around 68 (instead of 71). The 3-degree memory adjustment is so you can have the temperature dispay calibrated to your preference, like we all seem to feel 68 is really showing a temp lower than we feel it is. It's kind of like calibrating the thermostat on an oven so the display matches the real temp. Of course, you can just keep the setting lower than you normally would. I'm also waiting to see how the temp behaves with the A/C on in the summer....

[be-em-veh-808]

Don't take my comment seriously. I was just having fun. I do love my Touring so I can see how you're excited about yours.

BMWNA.com still lists the 325iT in their Euro Deliv section, so I imagine there's still some more producton runs to go.

[Bob Clevenger]

BMWNA.com still lists the 325iT in their Euro Deliv section, so I imagine there's still some more producton runs to go. I tried to order one in late December and was told I was too late.

[mweine]

Hi, I should be picking up my Saphire Black on Black Montana leather 325XIT at the end of this week. It is loaded and has the M Executive pack; except it is missing Nav and Assist. I see retrofits in it's future. :-) She's a beauty!! Are there any E46 touring clubs on line?? :thumbup:

[mweine]

I tried to order one in late December and was told I was too late.
BMW was building the E46 touring up until May 2005. Orders were allowed up until April 2005.

[Bob Clevenger]

BMW was building the E46 touring up until May 2005. Orders were allowed up until April 2005. Perhaps it was just the manual trans E46 touring that was cut off early. Auto trans was a definite no-no for me.

[mweine]

Manual transmission was available up until the last production date. From what I know the last E46 Touring was built in May 2005 for Canada Delivery.

Mine was built in December 2004. It has a manual tranny. Sweet!!

[Bob Clevenger]

Manual transmission was available up until the last production date. From what I know the last E46 Touring was built in May 2005 for Canada Delivery.

Mine was built in December 2004. It has a manual tranny. Sweet!!
I wonder why my order was refused???
It's a moot point now, as I am happy with my Orient Blue '04 325XiT.

[AGDriver]

What size wheels are on your blue touring and is it lowered?