Just Ordered my '13 650i xDrive!!!

I have $1200 in my mind, but I may be making that number up. I don't think I have that in my paperwork from the sale.

Any (non-ridiculous) amount is worth it, I think, if you go with Opal. They say it covers anything aesthetic or structural (i.e. scuff marks or leather breakdown).

It looks like my build will occur during week 31 (end of July - beginning of August). I'm hoping to do Performance Center Delivery the last week of September. Is this possible given the build date?

I would think you could do that - assuming they have a PCD opening then. They get booked pretty fast. Mine took just over a month from start of production to delivery, and it got held up in the factory for about 7 days due to closing for Christmas. I think your timeline works, it just might come down to the PCD schedule.

I received this update today. Doesn't look like I'll be getting a Performance Center delivery. The explanation is pretty interesting.

Dear Arnold,

Thank you for submitting a Performance Center Delivery reservation for NM650DB. Unfortunately, this production number is a new model or new model year and we cannot offer a delivery date at this time. EPA and CARB Certifications are issued by the government and must be obtained for every model every year, regardless of any change (or not) in the production of the vehicle. The vehicle will remain at the VDC/VPC until approvals are received and all holds are removed. It will not ship to The BMW Performance Center or your BMW Retail Center.

Please inform your client that we will contact you with a delivery date as soon as all EPA and CARB Certifications have been received by BMWNA and the holds have been removed. Should the client wish to cancel you will need to submit a cancellation form which can be found on CENTERNET.

Thank you for your patience!

BMW Performance Center Delivery Team

Very interesting indeed. I don't think this means you can't do PCD for the car. They just can't distribute the cars to the PC or dealers until the paper pushing, government BS is complete to prove that the car meets the US pollution criteria.

I don't think any of the new V8 valvetronic engines are actually in the US yet (aside from media/show vehicles perhaps). There was a Netherlands dealership that had a 650i GC being delivered. I'm thinking the hold-up is due to the US government and not BMW production.

Getting back on topic, I interpret the letter as saying that they can't give you a PCD slot because they don't know for certain when they can release the vehicles, thus they won't allow these cars to be scheduled for PCD until they are sure they can release the cars. The PCD schedule is packed with very few openings, and a government hold on the distribution of the new 5, 6, and 7 (_50i) would be disastrous to their tight schedule.

Just my interpretation on their words. I'm not sure about any of what I said, but that's my best guess. I wouldn't give up hope.

The problem is that there's only one week that will work for me for PCD. The car is being built this week and they need to know now whether the car is going to be shipped to the East Coast (PCD) or the West Coast (my dealer). Since they don't have a firm delivery date, I have to opt for West Coast delivery.

On a positive note, the dealership is going to explain my predicament to BMW NA and see if they'll pay for me to go to BMW Performance Driving School instead.

You could do the One-on-One program - that's what I did. You do everything the PCD people do (hotel, meals, tour, etc.) except for the actual delivery component. The dealership has to pay for it - as opposed to BMW NA - but they might waive the dealership fee given the situation.

I think that would be the best option. They might ship it to the east coast for PCD and hold it, but you might end up having to wait a long, long time (I took delivery on 1/31 and did One-on-One 2/10, and they said if have to wait until mid-March to do real PCD).

My build is now complete! Hope I get the car sometime in September!

That's great news. Amazing once it's built the reality set's in. Congrats.

Keep us informed as you learn shipping updates.