[Ingobingo]

I just received a call from my CA that my car was released to the trucker today. He did get the update form the Manager who released form the "Specials" lot to the trucker, the trucker did yet not confirm or update the system. I hope it will get on a truck today thus I can still pick it up Saturday -man that would be sweat. Otherwise it will be Tuesday (can't Monday)
I'll keep you posted - keep crossing youir fingers,pleaaaase!

[HERR FSTIR]

Ingobingo - I hope it comes in Saturday for you. Thats when I'm picking up mine, and it would be a nice conclusion to this thread to finish up on the same day.

Thanks for your thoughts on the break in. I agree with your analysis, particularly given the advances in manufacturing and the fact the engine testing done is done in the factory.

[MWTPDE]

HERR FSTIR, IngoBingo-I can't think of any good reason to purposely baby the during the break in period. I do agree with Ingobingo in that the manufacturing technology has improved tremendously over the years. Thus, careful, regimented break in procedures are probably a thing of the past. During the delivery my CA recommended generally keeping the revs below 5500. But he suggested you can treat yourself to sporadic blasts above that level but in moderation. Most folks I have spoken with adhere to the "break it in hard" approach. I don't feel comfortable bouncing off the rev limiter right away because mentally it is a brand new car and it feels like you are abusing it right out of the box. At the end of the day it boils down to what you are comfortable with....either approach probably has little to no effect on the engine, short or long term.

As for the oil change, I am planning on an oil change at 1200 miles. The production process still involves machining components which are then assembled into an engine. I believe there will be production related debris that may or may not be visible in the oil regardless of how carefully each part is cleaned during the production process. I would also suggest that contemporary production processes enable a tighter fit tolerances between moving parts. In my mind, this makes it even more important to change out the oil sooner rather than later. Yes, the manufacturer recommends an oil change interval at 10-15000 miles, but I don't think it would hurt to do it at 1200. On a turbo motor, this early oil change gives me peace of mind if nothing else.

Ingobingo- I hope you get your car Saturday!

[Ingobingo]

Originally Posted by MWTPDE

HERR FSTIR, IngoBingo-I can't think of any good reason to purposely baby the during the break in period. I do agree with Ingobingo in that the manufacturing technology has improved tremendously over the years. Thus, careful, regimented break in procedures are probably a thing of the past. During the delivery my CA recommended generally keeping the revs below 5500. But he suggested you can treat yourself to sporadic blasts above that level but in moderation. Most folks I have spoken with adhere to the "break it in hard" approach. I don't feel comfortable bouncing off the rev limiter right away because mentally it is a brand new car and it feels like you are abusing it right out of the box. At the end of the day it boils down to what you are comfortable with....either approach probably has little to no effect on the engine, short or long term.

As for the oil change, I am planning on an oil change at 1200 miles. The production process still involves machining components which are then assembled into an engine. I believe there will be production related debris that may or may not be visible in the oil regardless of how carefully each part is cleaned during the production process. I would also suggest that contemporary production processes enable a tighter fit tolerances between moving parts. In my mind, this makes it even more important to change out the oil sooner rather than later. Yes, the manufacturer recommends an oil change interval at 10-15000 miles, but I don't think it would hurt to do it at 1200. On a turbo motor, this early oil change gives me peace of mind if nothing else.

Ingobingo- I hope you get your car Saturday!

I find your assessment well though through and regarding the oil, it for sure will not harm / kind of a Spa event for the bimmer
Saturday would be very cool but I do not count on it since I have had no update on the trucker yesterday. Best case, just no update but the car comes in this morning by surprise and my CA can get the work done which I would not expect being trivial without the respective scheduling. Or it's getting on the truck today and than Tuesday is the day. Either way I am very close and excited to see the car in real very soon.
I am sure that our activity in the forum will drop significantly as soon as we have the cars and we did post the first set of photos. Nevertheless, you guys are awesome and I hope that we will cross roads somewhere / some when again - latest at our next BMW order as soon as the M3 convertible is launched - just kidding.
I will update you as soon as I have a word from my CA

[Ingobingo]

It looks like Tuesday pretty much, I just saw an email form my CA form yesterday night and it does list 11/12/07 as the delivery date to the dealer
You guys enjoy your rides and especially HERR FSTIR - inhale the experience on Saturday and have a joyful and exiting drive back home with your new car. Don't forget to post pics!
All the best Ingobingo

[Ingobingo]

The car is supose to get on the truck within the next two hours, that would be arrival at the dealer on Saturday and service/programing on Monday. Tuesday it is - final confirmation on Monday. My CA was told that it is a special truck due to the Aero Package front. The car is a bit lower there and not all trucks are able to do the job thus it took longer until one of the right trucks became availible?!
HERR FSTIR - enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MWTPDE]

HERR FSTIR-Enjoy every moment of your delivery tomorrow! The drive back home is going to be fantastic!

Ingobingo-Well at least you know now with some certainty when you will get your car!

Make sure you guys don't forget to post some pics when you get it!

[HERR FSTIR]

Unfortunately it seems unlikely that I'll take delivery tomorrow. I called late today just to make sure everything was a go and my CA told me they hadn't received the snow tires yet. I am very irritated because I specifically asked them to order the tires a month ago to avoid this very problem.

I seriously doubt they will get the tires this weekend, and as a result I will have to wait until next weekend. To add insult to injury I have to pay $75 rebooking fee on my airline ticket.

URGH!

[Ingobingo]

HERR FSTIR,
I am sorry hearing that - that is such a big disappointment. If you ordered those tires that long ago, they don't have them and you have to double check, somebody dropped the ball big time. Did they at least apologized and understand your issue?
When do you think that they have the tires in? Discount tire has almost all tires in stock and if not, it takes about 2-3 days to ship i.e. Bridgestone’s from CA to where ever. Any idea when you can pick it up? Are Saturdays your only chance?
Again, I am very sorry for your situation. At one point you have to tell me what HERR FSTIR stands for, In German Herr stands for Mr. (I am sure you do know) but I can not figure FSTIR except you have a Harley but I don't know of an FSTIR model?
I keep my fingers crossed for you and me to get over the finish line very soon.
Cheers

[MWTPDE]

HERR FSTIR-So sorry to hear about the tires! That has to be extremely frustrating!

What kind of snows did you get? I take it you are mounting them on the factory wheels? Any thoughts on a whole new set of "beater" winter wheels with snow tires? I am thinking about a set of snows and I would like to hear your thoughts on what works well.

[HERR FSTIR]

I asked them to put Blizzak LM-25 tires on a set of 17" BMW wheels (I ordered the car with the 18" sport wheels/tires).

On my old 330 I had used a set of cheaper aftermarket wheels, which was fine - they looked okay and they were inexpensive. However, since I was spending so much on this car I figured I wanted to get a nice set of winter wheels since I use them 6 months a year.

The Blizzaks are great tires. I have not used the comparable Dunlop tire. The LM-25 is the sport version of the tire.

[HERR FSTIR]

Just a quick update. The guys at the dealership found the tires and I just took delivery. Wow. A beautiful car. More later with pics.

[Ingobingo]

Wow thats awesome - congratulations - big time!!!!

[MWTPDE]

Congrats HERR FSTIR! I am dying to hear how you like it. I will definitely take a look at the Blizzaks...coming from you Alaska folks your recommendations on snow tires carries a lot of weight! I might look into a set....

[HERR FSTIR]

I just got back from Anchorage - 365 miles. It was snowing hard in Anchorage and the roads were in horrid shape. However, xdrive performed very well without as much as a hiccup. After about 150 miles the skies cleared and the road improved - I could actually see asphalt. After babying the car I decided to have a little fun.

It goes without saying that the car is fast and handles extremely well. I was shocked how quickly the car gets up to 80 MPH (basically when you shift from 3rd to 4th). Also amazing was that it is rock solid at 100. In my e46 I knew when I got over 80 mph, you could just feel it. This car carries speed very well and in a stealthy fashion. At this rate it is crystal clear that I will get a speeding ticket in this car within a few months.

My only complaint was that every once in awhile the rear would seem just a little loose - almost like a little hop - but I am fairly sure this was either the effects of snow tires (which I also noticed on my 330) or perhaps a little left over ice/snow on the road reminding me to be more careful.

The steering is very good. It is different from my 330, and seems to lack some of the tactile feel, but it has a very direct and predictable response to steering input.

The interior is very much to my liking. I do have two criticisms. First, the shift knob seems too long. I think it needs to be about 1-2 cm shorter. Second, the center console needs to be angled towards the driver. I know I am not the first to complain about this. In my e46 it was mildly angled, and now it's just flat. It's not a big deal, but I notice when I reach for buttons on the far right side that I need to take my attention off the road. Too bad they have moved away from the cockpit style of e36.

Lastly, the color is awesome. I am very happy with montego blue. The creme beige interior with aluminum is a perfect compliment for the blue exterior. However, it's too bad that they did not put dark brown or black on the floor and make it two tone like the European option of Jade Gray. That would be seriously cool aesthetically and also help hide dirt.

I would take a picture but the outside is very dirty from the drive. In fact, the car is still thawing in the garage.

So overall I am very satisfied. The e9x is clearly an improvement over the e46, and the car feels very sophisticated and obviously is much faster. Unfortunately I will have to wait several months until the snow melts to fully experience the power and handling of this car.

Ingobingo I hope your car comes in ASAP. Looking forward to hear your first impressions.

[HERR FSTIR]

After a quick wash down here are some quick pictures. I was playing a little with the lighting since the montego blue is so dynamic under different lighting conditions.

[MWTPDE]

HERR FSTIR your car looks awesome! That color combo really looks sharp! Congrats!

I am going to be joining you on the “customer of the month” board down at the State Patrol office! It is going to be very difficult to avoid tickets in this car! Speed creeps up so easily and quietly that you don’t realize how fast you are going. I haven’t been faster than 80 yet but I am sure 100 feels just as solid. After driving an A4 3.0 for the last few years this car is a rocket and the handling is extremely sharp in comparison. I would agree that it is a handling step up from my old E46 as well, although I would say that the steering is bit more sensitive. On the freeway, I noticed that this car requires a bunch of tiny twitchy corrections to keep it on line. My old E46 seemed much more stable in a straight line. Not sure if you noticed that as well, although with the smaller snow tires, I would think this would be minimized. I agree with you on the dash design. I really liked the angled E46 center stack. However, I do like the technology on the new car, hill hold, steering headlights, Bluetooth, and the auto on headlight control. All these features are nice improvements over the E46. Neither my Audi or my old E46 had any of these features, so on a daily commute basis the new car is a real pleasure to drive….

I also think the paint on the E46 was better. I noticed a lot of orange peel on the new car that wasn’t visible on my old E46. Perhaps the dark color of the new car contributes to this…my old E46 was titanium silver, so perhaps the orange peel wasn’t as visible…I just don’t remember seeing it as pronounced as it is on the new car.

The transmission is taking some time to get used to as well. This is my first car ever with an auto. I never thought I would ever own an auto in a sporty car. However, the traffic scene around here is really getting bad and the paddle shifters seem like the wave of the future. After driving it around, I miss the stick a little, but I am happy with the auto. The paddles are fun to use and very responsive. So I think I made the right choice. I am still a little embarrassed to admit I drive an automatic, but over time I think I will get used to it!

IngoBingo-What is the latest status? Delivery tomorrow?

[Ingobingo]

Well - I try to stay "above the line" - no delivery tomorrow, the car was not picked up until today and is "on it's way" no reason to believe that before the car is not physically at the dealer site, it really sucks!!!! (By the way my CA is great and we are in one boat)
I now hope for Wednesday but have no rational reason to believe that this will be the day - why?
I sound frustrated and I apologize but I am getting sick of managing my emotions. Bottom line that is the only thing I can do anyway.
HERR FSTIR, your car looks awesome - congratulations!!! I am sure you enjoy every time you are getting into the car, smell the NEW and push the start bottom.
I'll keep you updated and hope it is not ending in a homo- or suicide.

[HERR FSTIR]

The auto in this car is one of the best available and if I lived in a densely populated area it would be a definite consideration. The shift time is amazingly short. Thankfully I don't have to deal with Seattle traffic (anymore - I lived there for 3 years and miss everything except I-5/405/90 and the 520 bridge).

I didn't notice too much wandering. If anything I was impressed by how well the car stayed pointed in the same direction. As you suggest, this probably relates to the snow tires. My e46 had some pretty big michelin pilot sports which made the car follow whatever slight groove was in the pavement.

The orange peel is quite conspicuous. My e46 was titanium silver too, and it had very little orange peel. I believe the problem relates to different paint that is now being used which is more environmentally friendly, but I could be wrong about this.

The window buttons seem about 1 inch too far forward, and I miss them being on the center console.

Ipod integration is pretty good. As far as I can tell there is no voice recognition for controlling the ipod. This is unfortunate because standard methods for navigating ipod contents in a car are fundamentally flawed. You simply cannot effectively navigate through 1000s of songs in a speedy manner. I would like to be able to say "play song ....".

Ingo - hang in there. Keep in mind that my dealer came through at the last minute, and I hope they get your car to you tomorrow. It is short drive from LA area to Tucson.

[MWTPDE]

HERR FSTIR-yes the freeway traffic in Seattle is really tough. Especially in the winter with the kids in school and all the wet weather. Hmmm the BMW paint must have gone downhill a bit. I have seen a bunch of complaints about it elsewhere, I just didn't have a good grip on it until I saw it in person.

Ya I liked the window controls on the center console too. Much easier to access. I didn't get the iPod option, since I don't have an iPod. I feel like I am the only person on the planet that doesn't have one! I may have to breakdown and get one someday soon! For the time being I still have the audio port in the glovebox that I can use.

Ingobingo-Hang tight it should be there Wednesday if it left on a truck today. That isn't a long drive from LA out to your place! The dealer will make every effort to get your car cleaned up and delivered in an expedited manner...especially if they know you are interested!

[Ingobingo]

HERR FSTIR, MWTPDE, thank you very much for your support, isn’t it funny how much this waiting does influence your mood and emotions – unbelievable if you think about it.
I would agree that the car should arrive today and will be ready tomorrow. What makes me being skeptical is the experience over the last couple of days. The trucker (dispatcher) did tell us on Friday that the car will be picked up in the late afternoon and it wasn’t. In addition, the BMW system did schedule 11/12 as delivery date and it did not come in yesterday. Bottom line, its just unclear what is going on. If the car doesn’t arrive today, I am alerted because it would not make any sense anymore. My CA did call the trucking company yesterday twice. In the morning they said that the car went on the truck in the morning. As my CA asked for the GPS coordinates they stated that it “just left” He called again in the afternoon to get the coordinates and they did not want or couldn’t provide him with this info. The dealer does usually accept delivery until 5.00 PM and even did make an exception for yesterday and extended the window up to 8.00 PM (what a service) but no car?!
Call me paranoid (and you are right) but it stinks. My CA is off today so I am not sure what I will hear or not. In that regard the forums are a bad influence because you read about all those rare events such as lost cars, accidents etc. I am pretty confident that today is the day it does arrive or things will turn bad due to what ever happened during the last couple of days.
I will keep you updated, enjoy your driving and if you are not driving and can keep your fingers crossed – I do appreciate it very much!

[Ingobingo]

It has arrived, finaly at 6.02 PM I have got the update form my CA
I can probably pick it up tomorrow but are waiting for an update tomorrow morning from my CA. Guys many thanks for the "crossing fingers"
I will post picks as soon as possible - hopefully tomorrow
Thanks