[mehb]

Just picked up my new X3. Here are some images of my rare to find in Canada special order options. Complete specs can be found in my signature.

[TN_3]

Wait, so how did you get the staggered M-Sport rims? I thought Canada and US both had 245s all the way around.

[Be_Dubya]

I am looking to buy a 2012 model in the next few weeks but on the BMW.ca website we cannot get the 40:20:40 back seat. Can you tell me the special order code for it and the price?

[XRP]

How did you get staggered WHEELS!!!!!!

[XB101]

$$$ will get you staggered wheels

I asked about swapping the 369 with the 310 and my agent said it would be $4000. Crazy talk!

[Marketor]

Lucky man!

I also did a special order to get the 40:20:40 seats (800$ to get this...).

How much did you pay to get the rear seats heating?

The headlamp washer comes standard now in Canada doesn't it?

[Marketor]

Also, I would like to get your feedback on the Rear Sunshades... since my 2-years old daughter is always complaining about the sun at the back.

Worth the investment?

Do you have pictures?

[Beyu]

Originally Posted by Marketor

Also, I would like to get your feedback on the Rear Sunshades... since my 2-years old daughter is always complaining about the sun at the back.

Worth the investment?

Do you have pictures?

Depending on what your local laws are regarding how dark you can tint your windows tinting may or may not be better than rear sunshades. If your laws only allow very low tints then rear sunshades should be worth it as not only do they block out the sun but also provide privacy. Is it worth the investment is up to you.

[Nahoa]

Keep in mind that sun shades do block sun from being directly on you, but they allow much more of the radiation into the vehicle. Works great if that's you're goal, but if you want it to help overall cooling or keep UV out, they don't help much. Once the light's all the way through the glass it doesn't matter much whether the next surface is 2cm or 30cm away, it still mostly reflects around inside.

I have the rear sunshades on the doors but not the attachable ones for the small rear windows and the rear window itself. I do like them and I like that you can put them down (manually) whenever you want. A downside vice tint is that it's definitely different than looking through a tinted window and the effect bothers some people.

[mehb]

I purchased my car with the help of an auto broker. He did all the leg work and used his experience in dealing with BMW to get the car ordered to my specs. I was quite surprised that he got me all the options I asked for. On top of that I got an excellent deal as well.

PM me if you are interested and I can get you in touch with him.

BTW The cost of getting the M-Sport staggered wheel set-up is much less than you think

[cer2225]

While the staggered setup looks great it actually promotes understeer. The greater the stagger the more understeer. Ideally you want a square setup for best handling and balance. Although with an SUV it really makes little difference as it really isn't a track day vehicle.

It does look sweet though.

Enjoy...

[epiphone3]

can we see a pic of the car as a whole from the rear and 3/4 rear to get a feel for how the staggered wheels look?

[sfax]

Originally Posted by Marketor

Also, I would like to get your feedback on the Rear Sunshades... since my 2-years old daughter is always complaining about the sun at the back.

Worth the investment?

Do you have pictures?

I recommend you get the BMW sun blinds and the sun protection glass. I have both and a one year old. Sun protection glass on its own is not enough.

[clarka@csolve.net]

I am totally jealous that you were able to get all the extras that the rest of us in Canada couldn't get! We have our first BMW on order and as excited as I am about it, I can't help but feel ripped off by BMW Canada. We pay much more for the X3 compared to our US neighbors and don't get heated rear seats, adaptive headlights, headlamp washers, cargo nets, or production timelines or videos! Since ordering, I have discovered 1 feature per week that we won't be getting.

How did you place a "special order"? This may be helpful info for us in the future. I am interested in how much extra you paid for these features, especially heated rear seats. Although I would love to have these extra features, I think I would feel worse paying additional costs for them!

[drtdvl]

Mehb - great looking cars and photos!

To clarka@csolve.net (and others) - You can special order from your dealer for a $400 charge. I was able to get the 40:20:40 for my X3 for the $400 charge. I didn't get the M wheels but staggered wheels come with the Sport package.

[Nahoa]

Originally Posted by cer2225

While the staggered setup looks great it actually promotes understeer. The greater the stagger the more understeer. Ideally you want a square setup for best handling and balance. Although with an SUV it really makes little difference as it really isn't a track day vehicle.

It does look sweet though.

Enjoy...

And the car detects understeer and compensates.

[Nahoa]

Originally Posted by clarka@csolve.net

I am totally jealous that you were able to get all the extras that the rest of us in Canada couldn't get! We have our first BMW on order and as excited as I am about it, I can't help but feel ripped off by BMW Canada. We pay much more for the X3 compared to our US neighbors and don't get heated rear seats, adaptive headlights, headlamp washers, cargo nets, or production timelines or videos! Since ordering, I have discovered 1 feature per week that we won't be getting.

How did you place a "special order"? This may be helpful info for us in the future. I am interested in how much extra you paid for these features, especially heated rear seats. Although I would love to have these extra features, I think I would feel worse paying additional costs for them!

BUT, our Canadian neighbors have national health care, maternity and paternity leave, so it all works out in the end -- you pay one place or the other.

[Dr Stig 2]

Originally Posted by Nahoa

BUT, our Canadian neighbors have national health care, maternity and paternity leave, so it all works out in the end -- you pay one place or the other.

And dont need to carry guns in their cars for protection...

[Nahoa]

I'm sure you meant "get" to carry . . .

[Dr Stig 2]

Originally Posted by Nahoa

I'm sure you meant "get" to carry . . .

Maybe... Who can tell from so far away?

There was a thread on the Z4 e89 pages on all the defence armaments carried by those in the South of the US to ward off potentially hostile stalkers...

But lets face it, many in the US think we have kangaroos as pets in the back yard and emu's walking down the city streets.

(I only have wallabies - they are smaller and less aggressive - seriously)

What's life without a bit of gross exaggeration in a little bit of brevity hidden behind the anomnity of web based enigmatic banter?

[clarka@csolve.net]

Originally Posted by Nahoa

BUT, our Canadian neighbors have national health care, maternity and paternity leave, so it all works out in the end -- you pay one place or the other.

The only people that get "free" healthcare in Canada are those on welfare and we are not having kids so no mat/pat leaves for us. Now I'm being punished by BMW Canada...I can't win!

[faston]

Clarka, just rub the salt in your wound a bit more, we don't get brakes or windshield wipers covered under the 4 year warranty, we only get BMW connected for 1 year instead of 4 and we have the pleasure of paying almost 3 times as much for freight and PDI.