[nZtiZia]

geez, sounds like your CA is lazy!

[jiggie]

My guess is that dealerships don't want you to do PCD because they'll never get their hands on the car to try to push their add-ons. I reached out to the PCD and they told me they were absolutely doing the deliveries, but a few dealerships I spoke to said it was no longer an option, etc.

The one I ended up ordering from had no issues scheduling us, and even got us a date beyond the usual PCD requirements.

[G05 7074]

My CA told me they stopped doing PCD during the pandemic and that he hasn't seen anyone do it since he's been with the dealership.

He told me BMW will ship the car to North Carolina* and pay for me to go. He said lodging and airfare for my +1 will be out of pocket. He told me I have two weeks to let him know if I want to do it (he placed my order last week).

*Yes, he said North Carolina…

Should I call PC directly for more information and to try to schedule?

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by G05 7074

My CA told me they stopped doing PCD during the pandemic and that he hasn't seen anyone do it since he's been with the dealership.
[…]
Should I call PC directly for more information and to try to schedule?

maybe at the very beginning of the pandemic, but that was 2020. plenty of folks have done PCD since. show him the multiple threads here

[jiggie]

Originally Posted by G05 7074

My CA told me they stopped doing PCD during the pandemic and that he hasn't seen anyone do it since he's been with the dealership.

He told me BMW will ship the car to North Carolina* and pay for me to go. He said lodging and airfare for my +1 will be out of pocket. He told me I have two weeks to let him know if I want to do it (he placed my order last week).

*Yes, he said North Carolina…

Should I call PC directly for more information and to try to schedule?

I would. You might need to escalate within the dealership as well, find another CA or another Dealership if needed, but they absolutely are doing PCD.

Here's my email confirmation from them from a few days ago...

[BeMyWingman]

Trigger pulled! Fox 1! Order away!

[XGoober]

Congrats BeMyWingman

Just one thing to consider regarding your seating choice. While researching my build, I saw comments that claimed the ventilated seats were not as comfortable as the non-ventilated. The multi-contour is a very good upgrade over the stock seats, but if you spec them outside of the luxury seating package you can drop the ventilation. It'll be cheaper and possibly a little comfier.

The ventilated seats are pretty anemic in comparison to most buyers expectations anyway. They are not actively cooled. They circulate cabin temp air, not cooled air. The effect is very subtle and can be useful in a very hot climate, but if that doesn't apply to you then they are of very limited value.

I had them on my previous gen X5 when I lived in AZ and I was very glad to have them, but even then the effect was subtle. Basically I would not be soaked in sweat getting out of the car, but I did not feel particularly cooled by them in hot weather. Effective, just not the effect most expect.

Unless your order has already gone into production I'm sure you could make a change if this makes sense for your circumstances.

I have not had the chance to try the seats myself so all this is based on other peoples comments.

[E91toG05]

So….. I see heated seats as a no-cost option. I thought you had to separately add even with the luxury seating package? Or is the standalone option for adding the steering wheel and armrests?

[E91toG05]

Originally Posted by E91toG05

So….. I see heated seats as a no-cost option. I thought you had to separately add even with the luxury seating package? Or is the standalone option for adding the steering wheel and armrests?

Answered my own question. Heated front seats are indeed standard. The $250 option is misleadingly named "Heated Front Seats, Armrests & Steering Wheel". The subtext explains it: Experience ultimate driving comfort during the cold, winter months. Just like the standard heated front seats, the optional heated front armrests and steering wheel quickly warm up to a cozy temperature at the touch of a button.

It would be more accurate to call the $250 option "Heated Armrests & Steering Wheel".

[BeMyWingman]

Originally Posted by XGoober

Congrats BeMyWingman

Just one thing to consider regarding your seating choice. While researching my build, I saw comments that claimed the ventilated seats were not as comfortable as the non-ventilated. The multi-contour is a very good upgrade over the stock seats, but if you spec them outside of the luxury seating package you can drop the ventilation. It'll be cheaper and possibly a little comfier.

The ventilated seats are pretty anemic in comparison to most buyers expectations anyway. They are not actively cooled. They circulate cabin temp air, not cooled air. The effect is very subtle and can be useful in a very hot climate, but if that doesn't apply to you then they are of very limited value.

I had them on my previous gen X5 when I lived in AZ and I was very glad to have them, but even then the effect was subtle. Basically I would not be soaked in sweat getting out of the car, but I did not feel particularly cooled by them in hot weather. Effective, just not the effect most expect.

Unless your order has already gone into production I'm sure you could make a change if this makes sense for your circumstances.

I have not had the chance to try the seats myself so all this is based on other peoples comments.

I live on the CA central coast, so it's always 70 degrees here I was planning to go by the dealer this week to see if they will let me play around with the iDrive a bit. I'll try to see if they have any vented seats I can test sit. But this is my first Bimmer, so everything will probably feel a step up (for a few years at least). Honestly, I'm just happy I fit in the seat (6'5"). The X5 is overkill for my fam (1 kid, 1 dog, 1 wife). But we tested the X3 and I was so uncomfortable in that thing. I figured if the X3 was an economy row seat, the X5 would at least be an exit row upgrade. But I was first-class impressed by the space, comfort, and adjustability! Huge gap in quality/luxury between the X3 & X5, imo.

[BeMyWingman]

Wow, what a frickin' ordeal that was... but I think it turned out for the best!

So I placed my order on Feb 26th with a local dealer, but when I checked in on the the allocation status, the dealer said a broker placed 2 orders the same weekend and they gave the allocations to the broker. So I got bumped to the next round of allocations in Apr. I was a bit pissed, but the HK sound came back, so I added that to my build and decided it would be worth the extra month wait.

Then the stupid 32W automatic tailgate delete dropped on my allocation (was a must have for us). So I canceled with that dealer and started looking at used 2021 X5s or a Volvo XC90. After about a week or two of aftermarket searching and Volvo research, a different dealer about 2 hours away from me who I had spoken with earlier, contacted me and said one of his customers decided to go full electric (Audi e-Tron) and cancelled his 45e order that was in production. The car they built was almost the same build as mine, with the exceptions of the adding the Exec pkg, Climate pkg, 21" wheels, & Coffee interior. BUT most importantly, it was built before the tailgate delete debacle. While it was over-optioned for us and a different color interior, those were all things we could live with... so I jumped on it immediately! To my surprise (and the SA's), the car got dropped off at the dealership 2 days later!

It was a crazy couple months of highs and lows... I went from shopping for car accessories and spinning the image of my build around on the BMW website, to frantically scouring the country for a used 45e and researching Volvos, then driving off in a beautiful brand new, fully-loaded 45e a few weeks later!

Overall, we are extremely happy with the vehicle! Just an amazing looking, well refined, and fun to drive SUV! The Coffee interior actually looks great with the Carbon Black (aka Dark Navy Blue) paint. And our 7yo daughter's "favorite thing ever" is the color-changing Sky Lounge moonroof (so I guess the extra $3k for the Exec pkg was worth it, haha!).

The only complaint I have so far is the Hi-Fi Sound system. I thought the complaints about it may have been exaggerated, but man, that is a beyond basic, dull sounding system. Not sure what BMW was thinking with that decision. I don't bump music like I used to in my youth, but damn BMW... this car starts at $63k... come with something a little better than that. At least give us more EQ settings than just Tre & Bass. I'd would have preferred the HK Sound AND the auto tailgate, but I had to take the tailgate over the stereo (frickin' spoiled AF dog, haha!)

All and all, I think it worked out well (considering the current economy) and I'm looking forward to lurking the forums now for aftermarket stereo solutions!

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by BeMyWingman

Wow, what a frickin' ordeal that was... but I think it turned out for the best!

Sounds like it did, congratulations. Good luck, enjoy and be safe.