[Zen]

Originally Posted by red_eagle

Yeh individual takes ages to come -- I ordered mine in June and it's due to arrive in Nov. The dealer told me that it will now arrive in Dec instead (that's like 5-6 months)..........

It's 323i with Azurite black individual paint, M-Sports + Innovation + other goodies. It has piano black trim but I decided not to get the dark blue individual leather (syrah blue??), couldn't justify the cost and chose dakota black leather instead. Yes, with the Individual anthracite roof liner and high-gloss shadow line, it's gonna be an all-black car, in and out, which would be quite interesting!

I was thinking to get 325i but couldn't justify the additional cost too... With Sydney CBD traffic, I can't drive too fast anyway.............

Glad to see Peter's car cos I chose the same exterior packs (aside from the azurite paint) -- looks very nice indeed!

BTW, Mario, what's that high pitch electrical noise that you guys were talking about? Is this specific to 323i or also happens to other models???

How much did the car with individual spec cost u?

[red_eagle]

Originally Posted by Zen

How much did the car with individual spec cost u?

The paint costs $3500 extra and the piano trim costs $800 extra (excl tax/LCT/GST).

[John_01]

Originally Posted by red_eagle

Yeh individual takes ages to come -- I ordered mine in June and it's due to arrive in Nov. The dealer told me that it will now arrive in Dec instead (that's like 5-6 months)..........

It's 323i with Azurite black individual paint, M-Sports + Innovation + other goodies. It has piano black trim but I decided not to get the dark blue individual leather (syrah blue??), couldn't justify the cost and chose dakota black leather instead. Yes, with the Individual anthracite roof liner and high-gloss shadow line, it's gonna be an all-black car, in and out, which would be quite interesting!

Even though I spent some money on the 325i, I didn't go for some other options. No sunroof, non metallic paint, no xenons, no innovations pack etc. So its just different choices for different people I guess. I actually don't see the value those other options, but I can sure understand that others appreciate them.

It wasn't possible to order the individual trim unless I got individual paint or individual leather. The individual leather is merino leather, so I guess it might be quite soft and prone to damage. Dakota leather is probably a good choice. The best thing about "BMW Individual" is the final assembly is done in Germany. I think that might be worth the added cost premium. My car is made in South Africa, but I haven't found any quality problems so far.

My 325i is June 2009 production and I haven't noticed any funny noises from the interior. I am guessing it might be related to the disc drive that comes with the innovations pack or maybe the cooling fan for the computer. Mine has the Business navigation, but there's no disc drive.

[red_eagle]

Completely agreed on the differences in priorities -- everyone has different wants and needs. It's my first BMW and I'm still fascinated with those little options here and there.....

Individual -- I saw the azurite and ruby black in person and I just fell in love! haha... It's very hard to describe in words, very different to carbon black... the sparkle is very deep I guess? Quite expensive though.................... try not to think about that haha

Final German assembly -- ah cool, I'll make sure to mention that when I sell the car in the future! I heard that the SA plant is pretty good too... They should have the same level of quality control, if not better to offset people's negative perception...

[mario123]

Peter it looks like we have similar taste. Black trim interior as well.

[mario123]

BTW, Mario, what's that high pitch electrical noise that you guys were talking about? Is this specific to 323i or also happens to other models???[/QUOTE]


Not sure...i'll guess it would be on all 3 series as it seems to be electrical relating to locking or unlocking the car.

[red_eagle]

Originally Posted by mario123

Peter it looks like we have similar taste. Black trim interior as well.

Noooiiiiceeee

[JamieA]

Welcome to the forum, and the pics of your car look great.

To answer some of your questions, even though I do agree that the glovebox is too small, the manual is meant to be stored in the little tray in your boot on the right hand side with the pic of the spanner on it. Kind of think of it as BMWs way to encourage you to contribute to the 50:50 weight distribution

Secondly there is no temp gauge because the car runs an on-demand coolant pump, and the computer takes advantage of this to run the car at wildly varying temperatures depending on engine load, and other operating requirements. BMW decided that fitting a temp gauge would freak owners out when they saw the temp moving around so much. If you do a search, you will find many threads on this topic. The only pain is knowing when the car is properly warm if you want to go on fang, but for this oil temp is more reliable, which the 323 doesn't have either, but the 335 does.

Hope you enjoy your car, I will have had mine for 4 years on Remembrance Day, and I still love getting into it each day