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(Very) Individual M6

492K views 890 replies 125 participants last post by  Mark Carson 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Finally, the wait is just about over - the production code is now 155 - Production Complete.

After being a member of the M5/M6Board for almost 5 years, my M6 is becoming a reality.

2010 BMW M6 Coupe (U.S. Spec)
European Delivery (at the BMW Welt on 13 October, 2009)

Normal U.S. Options:
Comfort Access keyless entry
Soft-close automatic doors
Automatic high beams
Head-up Display
iPod and USB adapter
Enhanced Premium Sound
(no satellite radio or heated steering wheel as I live in Hawaii where it's warm and there is no satellite radio coverage)

Individual Options:
Ontario Gold exterior (a special request paint)
Full Merino Leather with contrasting stitching (dash, seats, etc.)
Bi-Color leather interior (Champagne and Gold Brown)
Champagne alcantara headliner
Champagne velour floor mats (leather trimmed)
Hawaiian Koa wood interior trim (I supplied the veneers to BMW)

This "project" started in July 2005 when I visited BMW M / Individual at Garching unannounced during the European Delivery trip of my 2005 645Ci. At that time there was no Individual program in the U.S. (which they politely explained - and I already knew). I did leave a small sample of Hawaiian Koa wood veneer with them (with my name laser engraved on the back of the wood). I expected the wood to find its way to the trash can in short order.

The next year, on 27 July 2006, I posted mock-ups of a bi-color leather interior (and koa wood trim) on the M6Board. The mock-up picture was made by compositing 2 images from the BMW Individual visualizer (champagne and oxide brown leathers) plus a few other changes.

During a business trip to Berlin in September 2008, I decided to take an extra day and drive to Munich where I had made a prior appointment with the regional manager of BMW M / Individual for North and South America. He and three others were very gracious hosts and showed me paint and leather samples at the M Studio in Garching. I had already emailed my mock-ups to them so they knew what I had in mind before I showed up.

Some of the things I "photoshopped" into my mock-ups were not feasible (or should I say cost effective - most anything can be done for a price). I left with a clear idea of the leather colors to be used but I was completely undecided on the exterior paint. I had too many favorites (Moonstone, Azurite Black, Brilliant White, Diopside Black, etc.) and the dilemma was what would go well with the interior leather. At that time I was exploring a Gold Brown leather dash (which proved to be too expensive as it would have required R&D of a new dash material/color) so the interior/exterior match was a concern at that time.

I was totally surprised during my meeting with BMW when they pulled out the piece of unfinished koa veneer I had left 3 years before. The found it interesting and kept it. After I phoned and emailed them to arrange an appointment, they put 2 and 2 together and pulled the wood out and had it ready to show me with their other materials when I arrived.

After I left, they went to work on the feasability of what I was looking for. I purchased some raw koa wood veneer when I got back home to Hawaii which I sent to them in October for testing. Just before Christmas 2008, they sent 3 samples of my koa wood back to me to review. Two pieces were flat samples about a half a square foot each mounted on aluminum boards. The third sample was a fully formed trim piece mounted on its aluminum backing (the trim piece that goes below the driver's arm rest).

Meanwhile they suggested "Ontario Gold Metallic" paint to me. I had not seen that color when I was at Garching, but they sent me a couple of photos of a customer's Individual 650 that was being produced. I knew I had found the color for my M6. BTW - this color is now more generally available (according to the BMW.com worldwide website) on 6 and 7 series Individuals cars. And no, it does not look like the color shown in the visualizer on bmw.com.

By January 2009 the PowerPoint proposals started to arrive. After a few refinements and revisions, the bad news came in April 2009. I got the price for everything, including the proposed Gold Brown leather dash. It was way over what a working stiff like me can afford, so I considered forgetting the whole thing. After a couple of days, I started working on "Plan B" which was a scaled back set of Individual options that made more sense for me. Once again, my primary contact at BMW M / Individual, who I had been working with these many months, was completely supportive and worked with me to price a more reasonable (for me anyway) set of options which is what I've ordered (and is listed above).

In May, I sent more Hawaiian Koa wood veneer to them to be used for the actual production. In July, I pre-qualified for financing and put down a modest (but non-refundable) deposit with BMW of Honolulu. I had been working closely with BMW in Garching but I had kept my local dealership informed as things progressed. They got more involved around April when the retail pricing had made its way through BMW NA and the BMW regional sales office and down to them.

Normally, you would just work with your dealership in the U.S. who will work with their regional sales manager who then works with BMW NA who then works with BMW M / Individual. Since this is the first Individual for my dealership and because it's more extreme that the standard "Composition" packages offered by the Individual program, the only way to make it happen was for me to get involved as I did. While I've enjoyed working with the folks at BMW Individual, I recommend the "normal" procedures for U.S. customers now that the Individual program is gaining traction in America.

I will only have a week for this European Delivery in October (my third ED) as I'm working around my daughter's school schedule so she can accompany me.

"The light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long" -- said to Roy the Nexus 6 android in Blade Runner. (Meaning this will be a quick but fun trip.)

Then I have to wait for 9 to 10 weeks for the M6 to arrive in Hawaii. If I'm lucky, I will get it in time to be a Christmas present to myself. And no, it won't even be broken in by then as I'm only able to put about 600 miles on the car in Germany and France.

Photos will follow delivery on October 13th. Gustav will probably beat me in posting photos :)

----- 600th Post -----



Update below by Gustav:

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#7 ·
Got that right



Yep, I can hardly wait. But then I've been at this for over 4 years. I will admit the wait is getting harder as time goes on.

Once I get my week of "Joy" (the new BMW marketing slogan) driving in Europe, the wait will begin anew while it floats over the ocean to me for local re-delivery. That will be a really long 9 - 10 weeks.

And here is the funny part, BMW has the VIN and the status code is 155, but they are still working on the invoice so my salesman can't have me sign for the car yet. And we are well under the normal 15 day minimum contract period for a European Delivery. They did call him and confirm that the car is fine and the invoice will be ready next week (before I leave the U.S.).
 
#6 ·
....what a story Mark, congrats!!!!!:trophy_bronze:

I cant wait to see pix of the color as well as the interior, sounds amazing, and looks like you've made some great connections with M and Indi!
 
#9 ·
As you may have deduced from my first post and Gustav's following post, he will be there for the delivery at the Welt. So we hope he will be able to video and take pix of the process.

I say hope, as BMW will have a film producer making a video for BMW-TV (their website videos) which probably won't be ready until early 2010 as the current plan is to have them also film the local re-delivery in late December.

We will have to stay our of their way with our photos/filming. This should be similar to the M6 Individual cabrio video they made 2 years ago (in German) of a German lady's "Colored Gold Metallic" (orange) M6. It also had bi-color leather but reversed pattern light/dark to mine. I'm assuming the new video will be aimed at the Individual program in English speaking markets.
 
#11 ·
Making your own luck



After the new Nav and HD-based entertainment system was announced for the 3 and 7 series, it was announced that the Spring refresh for the 6 series would get the system (and be released as early model year 2010 cars).

So back in Jan 2009, I told my BMW-M/Individual contact that I wanted no sooner than a March 2009 production date in order to get the updated electronics.

Recently, I did sit in a new 750Li at the dealership and plugged my thumb drive (with all of my music on it) into the USB port to confirm everything would work. It did - even though I have an odd directory structure on it. This is the memory stick I currently use in my 2008 Mini Clubman.

I even have the soundtrack for the "BMW Individual" video ripped and put onto it. This is the soundtrack playing in the background on a recent video Gustav shot at the Welt in the Individual room.
 
#12 ·
Awesome story, and congrats on individualizing such a unique M6. I can't wait to see pics.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Mock-ups: yes but no

There are mock-up pictures that BMW-M/Individual prepared as a presentation to me for approval, but I've decided not to post them as they may not be 100% the same as the actual car. Plus, I don't want to upstage the actual delivery photos :biggrin:

What is kind of funny is that they sent me a photo of another customer's Individual 650Ci in Ontario Gold in order to show me the color. I then "photo-shopped" it, effectively turning it into an M6 (changed the wheels, added a carbon fiber roof, etc.). I then emailed my mock-up to them.

Later when they sent me their proposal, they included my mock-up as what "they" proposed to built for me. That was too funny :confused3

After that they even prepared very detailed mock-ups of the interior, including contrasting stitching! Needless to say, the desktop wallpaper on my PC has had these pictures on them for a number of months.
 
#17 ·
:D That is funny :D

Later when they sent me their proposal, they included my mock-up as what "they" proposed to built for me. That was too funny :confused3

After that they even prepared very detailed mock-ups of the interior, including contrasting stitching! Needless to say, the desktop wallpaper on my PC has had these pictures on them for a number of months.
 
#19 ·
Since they plan to film both the delivery at the Welt and the local delivery in December, BMW won't have a video to post to BMW-TV for a while. I'd guess January 2010. I will be sure to link to it when it happens (unless one of you sees it first)!

Gustav, being the speed-posting freak that he is, will no doubt have something posted before the car clears the exit door at the Welt.

OK, not really, but I expect he will post something within 24 hours knowing him.
 
#20 · (Edited)
In other news, for those who live in the Southeastern U.S., the former BMW-M/Individual Regional Manger for the Americas (based at BMW M in Garching, Germany) is now with BMWNA in the Central Atlantic/Southeast regional office (in Atlanta, GA) as of October 1, 2009.

This is good news for anyone in that part of the country who wants an Individual BMW as that BMWNA regional office now has someone who really knows the Individual program from the inside out.

I'm not providing his name or email as your dealer will be the ones to contact him if you are trying to order an Individual. Gustav has met him in Garching at the M Studio.

He was my host when I visited the M Studio in Sep 2008. Great guy and he certainly deserved the promotion (if you call working in the U.S. a promotion).
 
#22 · (Edited)
Mr Mark Carson

Congrats! This is a true Individual M6 whereby you took all the time (you certainly have a lot of patience) and thought into composing your very own unique M6. Can't wait to see the pictures! For me, Individual takes the already very good standard trim and paint choices up a notch, but you sure took it to a very personalised level. It all sounds very well put together and the whole experience must have been fun.

Proof again that almost anything is possible with Individual if you have the resources, including patience.
 
#23 ·
@Fahrenheit

Yep, lots of patience for this one. As someone who has a champagne interior, I think you will appreciate the end result when we get some photos posted in a week and a half.

For those who have not seen it, champagne has more color (sort of a light buttery color) than beige which is grayer in comparison. I went with the older Individual leather color "GoldBrown" as opposed to the current color Oxide Brown to get a bit more contrast with the champagne.

While the dash (and door tops) will be the standard black leather, it will have contrasting champagne stitching (as will the GoldBrown leather pieces). The champagne pieces will have GoldBrown stitching.

It will either look very cool or very bizarre. I can't wait to see which.
 
#24 ·
Come see it at the Welt

Oh yeah, the delivery at the Welt is scheduled for 10:20 on Tuesday 13-OCT-2009. So anyone in the Munich area who wants to see the car, that will be your chance :byee55amg

No sure anyone cares, but the finish on the interior wood trim will be a satin finish (not glossy) so as to match the typical finish of a Hawaiian Koa jewelry box. Actually, I sent a jewelry box to BMW-M so they would match the finish (which they did with the samples I got back in Dec 2008). Sadly, they wanted the samples back. Go figure ouich

In the attached picture is another jewelry box and the 3 samples pieces they sent to me. The koa wood that will be used for production is nicer than the samples and more inline with the jewelry box.
 

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#27 · (Edited)
Flame Koa



Yeah, the very curly koa is also known as "flame koa". The curls are the features in the wood that roughly run 90 degrees to the grain. They "move" (change color) as you change your point of view. They are in effect sort of polarized. Some other woods have this also, but curly koa is famous (in Hawaii anyway) for it.
 
#28 ·
Again, this sounds amazing, can't wait to see the results, do take lots of pix of all the intricate details Mark, I think the stiching with the two tones and the wood are really gonna pop! :checkeredflag:
 
#43 ·
BMW Individual can always haev a look at Porsche. But this time BMW Individual really have gone very far towards the customer and superseded the customer expectation with being able to have you own type of wood. GREAT JOB BMW M!

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#31 ·
wow I especially can't wait to see how the wood looks installed. How AWESOME that it was SUPPLIED by you and now it's going to be in a factory built car. Unreal :)
 
#32 ·
Yeah, pretty neat to have you own wood in your car. But BMW did say that there is NO warranty on the trim pieces. They had me send enough veneer for about 4 sets. They will put one set on the car or course, and they will DHL a spare set to me after delivery at the Welt (in case of any damage/collision needs I have down the road).

I'm assuming the extra wood they asked for is in case they have problems during construction/production. But they are committed to producing 2 sets. And don't ask what it costs...Individual is not a money losing operation for BMW M GmbH from what I can see.
 
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