My dealer has just informed me that it's time to place my order. I had Carbon Black on my e39 M5 and my e46 M3 and I absolutely love the color. Does anyone know if we can order Individual colors in the US, and what the price premium is?
No, you cannot. If you really want a custom color like carbon black, I'd order black and then pay for a premium custom paint job. You'll end up paying about the same, and you'll have your car sooner.DrKevM5 said:My dealer has just informed me that it's time to place my order. I had Carbon Black on my e39 M5 and my e46 M3 and I absolutely love the color. Does anyone know if we can order Individual colors in the US, and what the price premium is?
Wolverine said:No, you cannot. If you really want a custom color like carbon black, I'd order black and then pay for a premium custom paint job. You'll end up paying about the same, and you'll have your car sooner.
US dealers generally won't do a Euro delivery on an M5. They lose the allocation and money. You don't save any money, as there is no discount. Also, the Individual program is a separate thing, and BMWNA so far isn't accepting Individual orders on the M5, no matter how the US car is delivered.philippe said:That brings up an interesting question. Can you get individual custom colors with European delivery?
Philippe
That's funny. I wrote a priority email to them (the first email I sent was unaswered, or lost, or something), and they wrote back the normal non-response that I must contact my dealer for information on the Individual program. I was requesting an exception to their current ruling that Individual is not allowed on US cars. I have argued with BMWNA that this normal response to contact the dealer is not acceptable...to pass the buck of responsibility for my question to the dealer. If they feel the dealer should be handling the inquiry, BMWNA should take ownership of the issue, contact my dealer with the answer, and have the dealer contact me.m630 said:...in my continual battles with BMW NA and their lack of support for Individual program as well as other things, this is their latest response a week ago:
BMW of North America, LLC does not offer the Individual
ordering program on our vehicles.![]()
This does not seem to be a reasonable excuse. They simply can prohibit changes to specifications at whatever stage they decide. If they need some kind of security, they can require sizeable deposits. Also, it is hard to believe that US customers are that much more fickle that those in other countries.Gustav said:It ll has to do with the pattern of US buyers: alot of owners tend to change their colour specs a few weeks before production, now this is impossible with Individual, since Individual must be specced well in advance.
I agree - this can't be the reason. It sounds like there are quite a few of us who would do individual if we were offered the option. This is an expensive car, many people are willing to pay a bit more to get what they want. Certainly, it would benefit everyone if we were given more options.MRichmond said:This does not seem to be a reasonable excuse. They simply can prohibit changes to specifications at whatever stage they decide. If they need some kind of security, they can require sizeable deposits. Also, it is hard to believe that US customers are that much more fickle that those in other countries.
m5-black said:Perhaps it a timing and logistics problem- maybe they have looked at the order pipeline and decided that to based on previous US ordering behaviour it would not be a simple matter to build a high percentage of custom orders - it would be interesting to know if and by how much an individual spec car - deviates in time and processs from a standard m5.
It may simply not be efficent in the early roll out stage of the M5 to have too high a mix of standard and "deviant" cars.
There must be someone out there who can explain the production differences (time,complexity,cost) between cars coming down the standard production run and cars with individual specification.
I expect when first stage orders have been met, we'll see BMW's line soften and they will start offering individual.
Although I know from someone (not an American) involved in the food business in the US, that he resents some people in the US view that a menu or list of choices is often viewed as an indication of what they might order, rather then a definitive list of what they can order.
This is nonsense. I have specced a Individual exteriour and interiour (Mineral Silver metalic / Merino Platin) for my M6. I have seen this color combo on a regular 6 series and it looks great I have an appointment at the Inidvidual center in germany next month (didn't fit my schedule any earlier) to look at some other colors.Gustav said:It ll has to do with the pattern of US buyers: alot of owners tend to change their colour specs a few weeks before production, now this is impossible with Individual, since Individual must be specced well in advance.
Will Harvey said:I have also been experiencing similar frustrations with BMW NA. My E60 M5 is scheduled to be built in November. I ordered the car without the badges and the top speed limiter. BMW says they will not remove the top speed limiter and there is not a badge delete option. The diesels are breaking 150 mph...give me a break!!! I want this car to be able to run with the big dogs. I think I may postpone my order until the manual transmission is available. Maybe by then the car can be optioned as requested. Will e28,e34,e39 M5's
I suspect debadging will not be difficult, with the possible exception of the small badges on the gills. I also would be surprised if BMW NA ever offers the option to delete the speed limiter as long as a speed limiter remains part of the picture. It will not be long before various tuners (Dinan, et al) offer this service.