[mde83]

Hi all.

I am going to my dealer to do the Hunger test drive event (qualifies for $1,000 credit from BMW) and will be placing an order as follows:
Phytonic Blue
20" 699M wheels
Oyster Vernasca Leather
Aluminum Rhombicle Trim *
Driving Assistance Pkg
Driving Assistance Plus Pkg
Premium Pkg
Executive Pkg
Adaptive M Suspension
H/K surround system

I lease my BMW's, this will be my 4th (BMW leasing is becoming less attractive all the time unfortunately). Pretty typical build except the Oyster interior. I did not want Cognac because my current 2016 X3 35i has pretty much the same color interior...and I want a change. I live in Florida, so black seats are out. I strongly debated between the Oyster and Mocha... I skipped the Ventilated seats due to reviews related to comfort of non adjustable bolster seats. I skipped the Trailer Hitch because I have a 2004 Jeep Wrangler that I can tow with. I skipped the Wireless Charging, as I rarely charge my phone in the vehicle anyway...and $500 was (IMHO) just too much for that and advanced bluetooth.

Looking forward to this one as my 2016 seemed rather pedestrian (Alpine White, no X-Line, no M-Sport).

I am a bit concerned about the recent post saying BMW might not be accepting orders with Aluminum Rhombicle trim! Based on the Blue Exterior, White Interior, does anyone have any suggestions for the trim if I cannot get the Rhombicle???

After I get the vehicle I intend to code some things. ASS remembering last setting, Alpina dash, and a few others. I am set up for E-Sys. But have not coded with it since I first got my 2016 X3. And there are no cheat sheets available anymore to allow one to dig deep into the various possible coding options. So I likely will go with Bimmercode this time and code the basics.

Also looking into possibly using my 2016's (BMW brand) all weather mats and cargo floor cover in the m40i if they fit reasonably well or can be altered to fit well. Otherwise Ill buy new ones.

Finally, looking at key covers because I have always had issues with BMW keys and accidental opening of the trunk in my 535i and the hatch in my X3. There are a few nice inexpensive ones on Amazon that I have my eye on.

I have read through just about all of the 57 pages of threads here in the G01 section of the forum...

[jjrandorin]

Our build is similar, with the exception that wife wanted black with blue stitching seats (I wanted the oyster but its her car) and we are getting the wireless chargin because it comes with the enhanced bluetooth ( and the additional mic in the car, and seems to come with a connection to the shark tooth antenna for wireless signal per what markym posted earlier today. We are also getting the 21s because the wife liked those better.

$500 is the list, if you lease you are residualizing it, so even if you were paying list price for the option (which I doubt) you would only be paying $500 X 41% (residual is 59 percent for 36/10), or 205 dollars for the option... or $5.70 a month.

Others are also reporting that no texts in idrive without enhanced bluetooth.

The low cost on a lease is why I added it. Its not even a McDonalds meal a month (but I get that money is money).

Nice build btw!

[skier219]

I got the gray poplar wood trim with Oyster interior and Phytonic blue, and it looks great to me (I am always partial to the BMW gray colored wood grain trims).

I briefly considered the aluminum rhombicle trim until I saw it in person. Reminded me of the fake-aluminum trims many mainstream cars are using nowadays -- nothing special. If you have seen it and really like it, then that's a different story, but for me it looks too generic and out of place on a $65K BMW.

[jjrandorin]

Originally Posted by skier219

I got the gray poplar wood trim with Oyster interior and Phytonic blue, and it looks great to me (I am always partial to the BMW gray colored wood grain trims).

I briefly considered the aluminum rhombicle trim until I saw it in person. Reminded me of the fake-aluminum trims many mainstream cars are using nowadays -- nothing special. If you have seen it and really like it, then that's a different story, but for me it looks too generic and out of place on a $65K BMW.

Wife really liked it. We originally wanted the grey poplar but went to go see it on another X3 and it wasnt grey... it was brown. It looked like the burl walnut from X5s.

We checked (and re checked, and RE RE checked) the monrony sticker on the X3 we were looking at, because we WANTED it to be grey... but it was brown.

We even looked at another car with it and same thing. I have seen pictures online of people having it, and they say its grey, but I see brown. Wife and I were wondering if this was like that "what color is the dress"? thing online, or the "laurel or yanni" thing that was going around online.

WE see brown, and didnt want brown, we wanted grey.

She said she liked the aluminum rhombocile because it "looked sporty". Frankly, to me, it looks like fake carbon fiber... not bad, just fake. I pushed for the matte cove, she said " it looks fake, I dont like it".

Its her car, so .. shrug aluminum rhombocile it was (lol)

[mde83]

Originally Posted by jjrandorin

Our build is similar, with the exception that wife wanted black with blue stitching seats (I wanted the oyster but its her car) and we are getting the wireless chargin because it comes with the enhanced bluetooth ( and the additional mic in the car, and seems to come with a connection to the shark tooth antenna for wireless signal per what markym posted earlier today. We are also getting the 21s because the wife liked those better.

$500 is the list, if you lease you are residualizing it, so even if you were paying list price for the option (which I doubt) you would only be paying $500 X 41% (residual is 59 percent for 36/10), or 205 dollars for the option... or $5.70 a month.

Others are also reporting that no texts in idrive without enhanced bluetooth.

The low cost on a lease is why I added it. Its not even a McDonalds meal a month (but I get that money is money).

Nice build btw!

Thanks for your reply. I have talked to you in the past on the other BMW forum. I get what you mean about residualizing the cost of the wireless charging. For me it would be $5.37/month (36/12k...LOL)... (I'm getting 8% under MSRP before incentives, almost 12% after). I really have been trying to justify the wireless charging. Its just that I never use texts through iDrive in my current x3. Carplay, sort of has the messaging option (but its terrible). I only have an iPhone 7+ right now but surely will upgrade in the next year. I guess I will see what I decide in the moment tomorrow

Hey what do you think a good second choice for trim would be on my build if I cant get Rhombicle?

[jjrandorin]

Originally Posted by mde83

Thanks for your reply. I have talked to you in the past on the other BMW forum. I get what you mean about residualizing the cost of the wireless charging. For me it would be $5.37/month (36/12k...LOL)... (I'm getting 8% under MSRP before incentives, almost 12% after). I really have been trying to justify the wireless charging. Its just that I never use texts through iDrive in my current x3. Carplay, sort of has the messaging option (but its terrible). I only have an iPhone 7+ right now but surely will upgrade in the next year. I guess I will see what I decide in the moment tomorrow

Hey what do you think a good second choice for trim would be on my build if I cant get Rhombicle?

I remember you from the 'fest (one of the reasons I felt comfortable chatting with you about the cost of the wireless charging).

I happen to like the Matte cove, and what I originally wanted to get was the photonic blue, matte cove, and oyster. As I mentioned, wife nixed the matte cove.

She also nixed the oyster, even though we both loved it because she was concerned with jeans transfer. She said "If you want to get the oyster, go ahead"... which was code for "If it looks even a little bit dirty I am going to nag you incessantly until you clean it... and you better hope that it comes out of my seats".

Im joking, because I love my wife (been married 34 years now) but she definitely would nag me every time she saw something on the oyster seats, and I didnt want to deal with that.

as for texting in the car, right now we only do that using a combination of siri and idrive (we put our phones inside the center console when driving). Our 2016s dont have carplay but I like idrive (or have gotten used to it over the past 10 years or so, lmao).

We long press to get to siri, and dictate texts when needed (with hands on the steering wheel). Then we short press and say "messages" and use idrive to retrieve them when we see the envelope on the screen.

We are used to this workflow, and I wanted to ensure that we can still do it in this new X3, coming from her X5 with most of the same options (DA, DA+, tech pack, lighting pack, multi contour seats, etc etc).

[DavidLE46/F36]

Here is a good shot of oyster interior. 👍🏼

[mde83]

Originally Posted by skier219

I got the gray poplar wood trim with Oyster interior and Phytonic blue, and it looks great to me (I am always partial to the BMW gray colored wood grain trims).

I briefly considered the aluminum rhombicle trim until I saw it in person. Reminded me of the fake-aluminum trims many mainstream cars are using nowadays -- nothing special. If you have seen it and really like it, then that's a different story, but for me it looks too generic and out of place on a $65K BMW.

Thanks for your rely. Was trying to reply to this last night when the site went down. I kind of like the looks of the grey poplar, but am a little hesitant because it is shiny, like my current wood trim, which means it will scratch if you look at it wrong. I am hoping when I go to the dealer today they will have a vehicle around (any model) that has that trim to check it out.

[mde83]

Originally Posted by jjrandorin

Wife really liked it. We originally wanted the grey poplar but went to go see it on another X3 and it wasnt grey... it was brown. It looked like the burl walnut from X5s.

We checked (and re checked, and RE RE checked) the monrony sticker on the X3 we were looking at, because we WANTED it to be grey... but it was brown.

We even looked at another car with it and same thing. I have seen pictures online of people having it, and they say its grey, but I see brown. Wife and I were wondering if this was like that "what color is the dress"? thing online, or the "laurel or yanni" thing that was going around online.

WE see brown, and didnt want brown, we wanted grey.

She said she liked the aluminum rhombocile because it "looked sporty". Frankly, to me, it looks like fake carbon fiber... not bad, just fake. I pushed for the matte cove, she said " it looks fake, I dont like it".

Its her car, so .. shrug aluminum rhombocile it was (lol)

Again, Thanks for your reply. Would have replied sooner but the site went down last night and it was nighty night time for me. I was looking at the fineline matte cove trim on the vehicle builder last night and I kind of like it. Maybe not as "sporty" as the aluminum rhombicle, but I like that it is actually textured and not shiny. Hoping that means it will wear better than the shiny wood trims.

So far if no aluminum rhombicle next choice is the fineline matte cove, then the grey poplar. I want to look at both at the dealer later on today. But if I cannot see either, then will go with the fineline.

So when did you order your m40i and when do you expect it to be delivered? I bet you....er...I mean your wife...is excited. I'm sure you will have it in time for Christmas. Makes Christmas present buying for you...er I mean your wife...easy...mats, key covers, etc, etc. Congrats. Sounds like we are going to have very similar builds...

Oh, and I think I decided to get the wireless charging. Was discussing with the Missus last night, who is usually very uninterested to discuss anything about cars. But she thinks we ought to get this. She just got an iPhone x. LOL... But this is my vehicle darn it...she can have her Terrain Denali...

[mde83]

Originally Posted by DavidLX3M40i

Here is a good shot of oyster interior. ����

Thanks for the pic. Love the Oyster interior. I won't always love cleaning the leather, but I will enjoy it every time I open the doors. Any idea what trim that is? Looks like shiny so its either the grey polar or the other wood one...

[verysideways]

Originally Posted by mde83

Thanks for the pic. Love the Oyster interior. I won't always love cleaning the leather, but I will enjoy it every time I open the doors. Any idea what trim that is? Looks like shiny so its either the grey polar or the other wood one...

Shiny means either oak or poplar - in this case, it's oak.
The poplar is more of a black/grey, and the other wood option is open pore (i.e. not shiny).

As an aside, i love my oyster (with aluminium rhombicle).

[bmwgrande]

I've got the gray poplar and love it. And it's definitely gray/black.

[jjrandorin]

Originally Posted by bmwgrande

I've got the gray poplar and love it. And it's definitely gray/black.

See this is what I mean, lol...

We looked at two different cars with it, and it was definitely brown to me, my wife, AND the CA we looked at it with. Thats why we checked (and re re re checked) the sticker and it was the grey poplar.

It didnt look ANYTHING like the configurator to me, and didnt look grey at all in 2 different vehicles. Can you take a picture of your trim and post it? I want to see if I see brown when you see grey/black in your specific trim.

mde83

We wont have the car till near the end of January actually, as we were told there is a parts shortage on the parts that go into the parking assist (exec pac) we ordered, so cars with that feature wont be produced till december instead of now.

I trust the CA, so dont think thats false information, but it means that I...err... she... wont get the car until after the first of the year. My car is week 51 which ends Dec 17. Could get moved up since its a priority 1 customer sold car.

[mde83]

Originally Posted by jjrandorin

See this is what I mean, lol...

We looked at two different cars with it, and it was definitely brown to me, my wife, AND the CA we looked at it with. Thats why we checked (and re re re checked) the sticker and it was the grey poplar.

It didnt look ANYTHING like the configurator to me, and didnt look grey at all in 2 different vehicles. Can you take a picture of your trim and post it? I want to see if I see brown when you see grey/black in your specific trim.

mde83

We wont have the car till near the end of January actually, as we were told there is a parts shortage on the parts that go into the parking assist (exec pac) we ordered, so cars with that feature wont be produced till december instead of now.

I trust the CA, so dont think thats false information, but it means that I...err... she... wont get the car until after the first of the year. My car is week 51 which ends Dec 17. Could get moved up since its a priority 1 customer sold car.

Wow I hope that’s not the case with the delay. Lease on my current x3 ends 1/23. Planning to roll the MSDs already with BMW into the current deal. Don’t really want to wait a month or more to get my MSDs back and have to cone out of pocket for the amount of the MSDs to do the current deal in the meantime.

[mde83]

Originally Posted by jjrandorin

See this is what I mean, lol...

We looked at two different cars with it, and it was definitely brown to me, my wife, AND the CA we looked at it with. Thats why we checked (and re re re checked) the sticker and it was the grey poplar.

It didnt look ANYTHING like the configurator to me, and didnt look grey at all in 2 different vehicles. Can you take a picture of your trim and post it? I want to see if I see brown when you see grey/black in your specific trim.

mde83

We wont have the car till near the end of January actually, as we were told there is a parts shortage on the parts that go into the parking assist (exec pac) we ordered, so cars with that feature wont be produced till december instead of now.

I trust the CA, so dont think thats false information, but it means that I...err... she... wont get the car until after the first of the year. My car is week 51 which ends Dec 17. Could get moved up since its a priority 1 customer sold car.

So I ended up placing the order last night. The dealership was having issues with the BMW order site, so they are going to input the order today supposedly (we will find out if any issues).

But the final word on the trim was ...wait for it...grey poplar. I was on the fence between that and the fineline matte...my CA advocated for the grey poplar so that's the way the wind blew.

Oh, and yeas, I did order the wireless charging too. Otherwise all was configured as indicated in my initial post.

I guess the only boxes in my build that were not checked were the m differential, the trailer hitch, ventilated seats and the rear heated seats (kids grown and gone - dog rides in the hatch area). So I am excited, I will be even more excited when my CA emails me the order and I sign it and send it back.

For anyone who may be interested, in Florida, fees are crazy for leases. In addition to the acquisition fee, dealer fees are outrageous (about $800 for each of the 4 nearby BMW dealers). So for my $67,020 BMW I paid $61,658, less $2,500 in rebates incentives (loyalty and Hunger test drive event)...that's roughly 12% under MSRP after incentives. Not the best, but it is Florida, not CA, and I am fine leaving a little meat on the bone for the dealer and CA. Got buy rate locked in at .00182. I know the conventional wisdom not to put money down on a lease, but I had $5600 in MSD's on deposit. With the reduction in discount for MSD's (to .00005 each or roughly 0.84% return on investment) I decided to apply those as drive-offs instead. With $900 in points money on a credit card that will be applied to the deal, total drive offs will be $6,500, monthly lease payment of $688...

Now I just need this vehicle to be built and delivered by 1/31 or I lose the test drive event money...and my current x3 lease ends 1/23... I am hoping since I am on the east coast that this does not become an issue. I sure will be happy to get a production number then a build week so I can gauge...

[jjrandorin]

Congrats! I still think you will get it right around when you need it (mid to end January). I am going to guess you will be build week 51 along with me. Let us know,

Did the grey poplar look actually grey and black to you or did you look at it?

[bmwgrande]

Originally Posted by jjrandorin

See this is what I mean, lol...

We looked at two different cars with it, and it was definitely brown to me, my wife, AND the CA we looked at it with. Thats why we checked (and re re re checked) the sticker and it was the grey poplar.

It didnt look ANYTHING like the configurator to me, and didnt look grey at all in 2 different vehicles. Can you take a picture of your trim and post it? I want to see if I see brown when you see grey/black in your specific trim.

mde83

We wont have the car till near the end of January actually, as we were told there is a parts shortage on the parts that go into the parking assist (exec pac) we ordered, so cars with that feature wont be produced till december instead of now.

I trust the CA, so dont think thats false information, but it means that I...err... she... wont get the car until after the first of the year. My car is week 51 which ends Dec 17. Could get moved up since its a priority 1 customer sold car.

Here's some pics of it on the doors. I was getting a lot of reflection off the house, which washed out the dash when I tried for a pic of that.

[mde83]

Originally Posted by jjrandorin

Congrats! I still think you will get it right around when you need it (mid to end January). I am going to guess you will be build week 51 along with me. Let us know,

Did the grey poplar look actually grey and black to you or did you look at it?

It looked ashen to me. Meaning straight on it was black and grey. From certain angles it had a slightly brown tinge to it I guess. I would not like the color with anything but white or black seats though.

I’m still waiting for the dealer to confirm the order etc...

[jjrandorin]

bmwgrande

Thank you very much for taking the time to take those pictures, I really appreciate it. My wife and I both looked at your pictures and we see light brown, with a hint of grey.

If it means anything, we both wear glasses (lmao)... but seriously for us this is one of those things like the "what color is the dress" thing, since we see only small hints of grey in the light spots, and brown almost everywhere else.

Thank you again for posting the pictures!

[mde83]

My order has officially been placed and I have a production number...yay!

jjrandorin
According to BMW Genius, my vehicle is scheduled for a week 49 build. Yikes, I might actually have the thing y the end of the year... Not sure why mine would be built 2 weeks before yours when you placed your order a week or two ahead of me.