[billyboym3]

Hi All, I have finally ordered my 320d. I have been extremely in-decisive but got there in the end with gritted teeth,

I had a choice of car which I narrowed down to three, The Bmw, audi a4 black edition and a merc C220 sport plus. I test drove all three, the Audi did look good however was least exciting to drive, I found the merc very tempting, however just didnt feel right, the interior was dull i felt.

My Car at the moment is a BMW E36 3.0 m3 so I wanted to keep some element of fun but with the new refinement. Oh and a cut in the fuel bill.


In the end I have kept the m3 for play days and gone for:

320d
M Sport Plus
Auto
Mineral grey
Model Delete
Front heated seats
Business Nav

I have a delivery date of the 1st week in January which is FOREVER!

I went for the sport plus to get the tinted glass, HK, M sport Brakes, 19s and the Xenons. Really looking forward to listening to the HK I must say,

Things I am worried about already:
1) the car I test drove had the premium nav and it was awesome, then when I asked the dealer what the differences was apart from the obvious, It didnt seem I needed the premium as audio wise I stream my music via bluetooth from my phone. Now reading this forum It seems I wont be able to do this?

2) The hardest decision was the interior colour, I opted eventually for the Red. I really hope this pays off because at the minute I am really thinking I have made a mistake.

3) The 3rd thing i am not sure about is what will I be missing with not having the black panel display? I think the car I test drove was fully loaded, no Im wondering what I will be missing. mmm

All in all roll on January!!!!

[cr55]

Hi,

Just ordered mine today also,
Been working on it for the last week or so, trying to get the best "numbers" I could,
Traded my E70 X5 M Sport and got a great deal, to good not to sign up,

330d M Sport xDrive
Professional Media
M Sport Plus package
Visibility package
Front heated seats
Rear heated seats
Service inclusive
Rubber mat set
Full tank on collection
Cherished plate transfer

Car should be available for mid December as dealer had a slot booked,

Have spent all weekend on this site looking at the official colour threads and had concocted All sorts of combos,, in the end went for White and black,, fairly safe but also think the white shows off the shape very well,,,

Will be sad to see the X5 go, but looking forward to the new one,,

Had a 330d coupe a few years back and it was an awesome machine,, I hope this delivers the same fun,,,

[batty]

hi, I know what you mean with the red interior. I "gambled" on it and I'm well chuffed. It's not a bright crimson red by any means (gladly), but it definitely lifts the interior with a bit of contrast.
My other gamble was the burr walnut trim, and I'm pleased with that as I didn't fancy the silver. However, I would definitely like the carbon and alcantara performance kit trim - just waiting for a decent discount on it.

[PurpleTT]

Hi to both of you!

This should be two threads so you both get your moment of pleasure to yourselves! That sounds weird but you know what I mean.

BillyBoy I note your strategy there, Plus Pack will make it look the bees knees with a respectable and efficient powerplant, with the M3 for weekends. In the words of Barry Norman "...and why not".

I've seen a few MG with red on here and frankly it's a winning combo. You can always change it up to a point, interesting that I've seen a dozen new cars ordered on this forum since joining, and I think I'm right in saying no-one has ordered Black! Good on you all - the car park at my office is 75% black cars! Jeez wake up you lot! Oh and no-one has anything but black inside!

Which brings me to cr55 who has gone black inside but with white exterior. You're right about that combo, classic with a twist. Nice

Actually your deal prompted me to start the "cherished plate transfer" thread, can you answer it?

Also I see you've gone 330dx, and have a pretty full spec, so the budget must have been a teeny bit flexible. So here's my burning question, why not 335dx?

[MWA]

What is it with M3 drivers including myself seem to wanting to part ex for a 320d lol? Glad I went for a larger engine in the end though. It's good you're keeping the M3..

If you want to stream music via Bluetooth, you can.. Just add the enhanced Bluetooth conectivity. I've got that in mine and it's best way to go on about it! 'Wireless'

[matk]

Mineral grey and coral red is awesome. I ordered mine from Afghanistan so was a massive gamble and I was skeptical until the day I picked it up. HK is really good, make sure you look at the threads on here regarding the equalizer settings, im still not convinced mine is perfect but have a play and see what you think. Enjoy the new car!

[matk]

One more ting add the vis pack onto the sportplus it is a must for £210 quid much better than the E91 adaptive system

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by PurpleTT

.... and I think I'm right in saying no-one has ordered Black! ....

I've ordered black.

I think I've seen pics of another black car on here.

Its a stealth colour.

[PurpleTT]

Originally Posted by dopper99

I've ordered black.

I think I've seen pics of another black car on here.

Its a stealth colour.

Lol I love it in black, it's looks so ... yeah, stealthy.

But after years of recession and austerity I'm in the vanguard of making Britain a brighter place so I'm on an anti black campaign! Of course that's cars!!! Either that or I just want to be "a bit different" which explains my tangerine leather 3 piece suite! And my moniker on here - I was a member of the TT Forum a few years ago and I had (at the time) one of only 4 Merlin Purple TTs in the country. Or so I told everyone.

Did you see my post on tracking by VIN using Zooberoo's link to BMW archive. How close are you Dopper, soon?

[dopper99]

I will be picking mine up on Monday.


I did fancy white exterior with red seats, put the missus wasn't so keen and wanted to play it "safe" (again!). I don't mind as I like black.

[d4springer]

Billyboym3 - The black panel display just provides a digital panel at the bottom of the main instrument cluster, it cuts through the right hand dial and replaces the analogue type mpg needle on the standard display with a digital graphical type thing which changes colour when you select ECO Pro, Sport Mode etc... when you operate the driver experience switch. The middle part, between the two main dials, shows more detail, such as your telephone contacts list, or music tracks, warning triangles and so on depending on other options the car has, again it changes when you select different modes for ECO Pro etc...

Looking forward to seeing some side-by-side comparison phots with your E36 and F30 (I would love an E36 M3 for weekends, 3.2 Evo in purple!)

Cr55 - The best combo obviously (that's what I have!), white does show off the contours, my last car was black and although I loved black you couldn't see the detail very well at certain times, but white does look stunning (also my missus wanted white, so that was that!)

[billyboym3]

Thanks for all your replies, It has put me at ease a little about the red, I was very concerned when I seen a MG with red for the 1st time a few days ago and I must admit I didnt like it, although It may be because this one didnt have tinted glass. Im hoping the privacy glass and the red compliment each other.

I presume this bluetooth issue is not just a case of coding and i need the extra kit?

The black panel display also seems like a must have as it was these little qwerky bits I loved over the merc on test drive, think I may need to call the dealer....

I opted for the brushed Aluminium trim as I was not sure on the hex and the wood only seemed to compliment the cream leather. only my opinion obviously.

I am looking forward to listening to the HK, I must admit I wasnt aware you could play about with the equaliser so much. I did love the Banger and Olufson in the Audi, but when I heard the HK, Im sure it has the edge.

The M3 is Arctic silver and really is raw compared, not even traction control! I will get some pics up in Jan

[matk]

I have brushed aswell, it looks good!. I had the hex in my old one and i was not fussed on it. Your interior will be the same as mine. Dont forget to pull the dealer for the black grills as part of the deal mate. Finishes the front end off in my opinion.

[Jim-Bow]

There's a decent pic of the black panel in this thread.
http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=650900

In my eyes it's like the dash is missing something without it, and for the couple of £ difference they should make it standard in all models - then they could introduce a proper "full" black panel (a la 6 series) and the real geeks in us could upgrade to that!

[billyboym3]

MatK, have you any pics of your interior? and the black grills? I take it you dont regret the colour choice? Are the grills an extra you get from the dealer then?

Jim-Bow thanks for that, this is the problem with test driving a car that is fully loaded, If I knew that as missing I would have definitely definitely of ordered it. I wont be happy if I cant get that now.

[cr55]

Purple TT,, grab a cuppa !! the journey started out when I requested an early settlement quote from BMW on my E70' purely out of curiosity and nothing more, I started to value the x5 for part ex on Various websites and working on the "cap" website valuation I thought I was wasting my time,
when I received the settlement figure and comparing it against my settlement figure I thought no chance,
About 1 hour after receiving the settlement figure the supplying dealer was on the phone asking if they could help with anything !
I gave them a rough criteria without being model specific, essentially just playing the game, but it had to be xdrive with big wheels, nav, heated seats, auto lights / wipers, service pack etc, any away an hour later they are on the phone with a deal with a stock car ticking all the boxes, the biggest surprise was the part ex value on the X5, I initially thought it was a mistake, but to my surprise I was sitting pretty, they were obviously keen to shift their stock car and had cut a very aggressive deal to tempt me,,
They offered me a 320d Msport xDrive, with all I had requested including PRO nav,,, I was weighing up the fact that my X5 had reached 49k miles, needing tax, service in 4000 miles, MOT in 5 weeks and was out of warranty and thought I might as well play the game to see where I could get,
I then decided to phone a previous dealer I had bought from and spoke with the same salesman, told him what I had been offered and he went about his business to come back with a deal, they came back with the 330d Msport xDrive option but business nav and no heated seats, I advised my part ex expectation based on first dealer quote and I heard him fall of his seat, but they matched it,,,
This is where it got interesting,,, I played the spec game and in the end I ended up getting the 330dx and all the trimmings for less than the initial price of the 320d option, which when considering the part ex position I could not say no,,, and also particularly after spending some time in their 330d demo on Sat just passed.... What helped swing it was the fact they had a build slot which meant I should expect the car mid December,,
I had a budget and stuck to it, essentially getting more car and spec than I should have,, I was very fortunate to cut what I did, but being honest there was nothing left in the deal never mind stretching it to the 335d big brother,,,,,,
On the whole I am delighted, numbers are too good to be true and having had a 330d 3 BMW's ago, I am comfortable that it is more than capable and has more than enough grunt for what I need,, perhaps next time !!
This whole process has been over no more than 6 days, from start to finish,, playing one dealer against the other,
I have had 11 BMW's over the past 9 years or so, some owned longer than others, so no stranger to the badge or the game of "change" winning some deals and losing others along the way,,, but this one I can defo say is a result...

D4springer,, any photos of yours that you could share would be appreciated,, where abouts in Scotland are you ??

Billyboym3,, apologies for hijacking your thread

[matk]

Originally Posted by billyboym3

MatK, have you any pics of your interior? and the black grills? I take it you dont regret the colour choice? Are the grills an extra you get from the dealer then?

Jim-Bow thanks for that, this is the problem with test driving a car that is fully loaded, If I knew that as missing I would have definitely definitely of ordered it. I wont be happy if I cant get that now.

I will put some on on the weekend i plan to start a thread with a bit of a review and pics of the car with black turbines on, im supposed to be revising for exams at the moment lol. The black performance grills are about 75 quid and they are dealer supply. they look great!

[PrinceBarin]

Definitely need to option Enhanced BT if you want wireless audio. I didn't get this on my 320d and regretted it.

The black panel display is neat but there's a charm about the standard 'old school' cluster - you still get phone contact & track info in the smaller standard cluster.

HK is fantastic but I would echo comments here about EQ settings to get it really singing.

[PurpleTT]

Ah cr55, the old momentum-fuelled deal. You had them in the palm of your hand and squeezed over a week or so and struck while the iron was red hot. Gottit. They're good weeks those aren't they

The danger in any negotiation is that you push too far and the process gets tainted and not fun anymore. Well I've been there and and it just plain spoils it - never burn bridges.

I took a different line, I knew what car I wanted (apart from colours and options etc) and I had my high-mile 123d trade in. I simply stated what I wanted to pay pcm (on BMW select) and how many miles pa. We started out about £100pcm higher than my target per month but ended up with it where I wanted. Although at handover I do have to give them a small cheque for less than a grand. But I had added Service Pack and deleted sliding armrest and internet. I failed to delete Online Entertainment in time (much to the amusement of many on here - you know who you are!) otherwise I'd have been almost exactly where I set out to be - a place I targeted initially with tounge firmly in cheek! Good on ya, sounds like you won that one!

Andy

[d4springer]

Originally Posted by cr55

D4springer,, any photos of yours that you could share would be appreciated,, where abouts in Scotland are you ??

Billyboym3,, apologies for hijacking your thread

Cr55 - Here's a link to my original intro thread, has some phots of the car just after the M Performance parts were fitted:

http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=881608

I'm in Fife, but most of my work is Edin/Glas and everywhere else below, didn't really want X Drive and so I hoping I won't need it!

[billyboym3]

Thanks PrinceBarin, I am 100% in need of the enhanced bluetooth. my dealer also tells me if I got a Y cable it would work, however not for a Samsung.

Cr55 no worries lol, makes v interesting reading as my dealer seemed absolutely stuck on prices.

So here is where I am at now, quick call to the dealer and I can still change the spec if I am quick, so

choice 1

Enhanced bluetooth £430
Black panel display £140 Total £570 (plus £8 pcm finance)

Choice 2

Enhanced Bluetooth £350
Pro Nav inc BPD £990 Total £1340 (plus £19 pcm finance)

Decision Time !

[matk]

Pro nav will hold the be better when it comes to getting rid of the car. Also the bigger screen in the dash will be more pleasing from your point of view when your driving. I would go without a beer a week (or whatever your guilty pleasure) to have the Pro nav buddy.