[Grand Moff Alpina]

Ladies and Gentlemen... we got it.

Snagged the very last MY21 X3 order slot that my closest local dealer had. So coming soon to a driveway near me is:

X3 M40i

• Carbon Black Metallic
  Black Vernasca leather
  Shadowline
  Executive Pkg.
  Carbon Fiber trim
  Wireless Charging
  HK audio
  M Adaptive Suspension
  19" All-Seasons

A few notes to head off potential up front questions
1. Closest pre-LCI in Carbon Black (or Blue, our back-up color) with Adaptive Suspension and at least upgraded leather was located in Chicago. The $1200-1400 transport fee was a turn off, plus it had stuff we didn't really want (window shades, 21" wheels)

2. They had both X3s and X4s on the lot with the pass. seat lumbar/bolster adjustment delete, as we expected from their website. We sat in both, and compared multiple times. If we squinted we felt a slight difference in the feel of the driver seat vs. passenger side, but we agreed that it wasn't enough to concern us, and the driver seat having these adjustments was more critical anyway.

3. Their ordering person suspects ours will squeeze in with some last pre-LCI builds, so expect ~2 months. Seems reasonable to me.

4. Not to keen to use Gesture Control, but getting Exec. was numerically cheaper than going Premium + Park Assist to avoid gesture control.


Anyway: this is going to be our first BMW ever. We're super excited! Maybe a tad nervous too, stepping up to such a tech heavy vehicle, but we're confident the X3 isn't going to be as fragile/issue prone as something like the Alpinas or some of the late model V8/10 cars. (at least based on what you see on youtube, lol)

[vincentjanv]

Congratulations! Looks like a nice build!

Side question: how does the tax part compares to less powerful engines (eg 20i etc..)? here in Belgium, taxes are through the roof with an engine like that. Especially the yearly tax (aside from the tax we pay to register the vehicle)

[Grand Moff Alpina]

Originally Posted by vincentjanv

Congratulations! Looks like a nice build!

Side question: how does the tax part compares to less powerful engines (eg 20i etc..)? here in Belgium, taxes are through the roof with an engine like that. Especially the yearly tax (aside from the tax we pay to register the vehicle)

I'm no tax expert, but I'll try to answer as best I can.

When we pick up the vehicle, we'll pay the following taxes/fees: (I'm not counting the usual factory destination/documentation fee)

Sales Tax: For my state (Washington), tax is calculated as a percentage of final sale after all rebates. incentives, trade, etc - and is somewhat influenced by the city the selling dealer is located in. (meaning: The Sales Tax percentage for a dealer in Seattle will be slightly higher than a BMW dealer in <insert tiny town name here>.

Vehicle Registration: Often called "tag fee", this is the cost to register and plate the vehicle. The fee structure (and the method in which a buyer pays it) varies A LOT by state. We're relatively new to Washington state, but I can say the sales tax and Registration fee setup here is VASTLY different than it was back in Missouri.

But bottom line: In the US, tax does not change based solely on engine size or power level. the only time this comes into play is with the so-called "gas guzzler fee", but that's determined by the average MPG ratings on a vehicle more than raw power. Though it takes a very low MPG rating to be impacted by this. (personal note: most of the time, the people buying cars here that get the gas guzzler fee have too much money already to care about the fee)


Hope that helps!

[chicagofan00]

Congrats!

[vincentjanv]

Thanks for the summary!

Yeah here tax is calculated on total price (without received discounts etc..) and CO2 exhaust. Now with all the hybrids, the battery capacity must also exceed xx% compared to the weight of the car.
A few years ago that was nog the case, which led people into buying like Porsche hybrids (with really small electrical capacity) and never charging the battery. The could almost 100% deduct this from their taxes, despite running on 450hp+ . A tax benefit (again) only benefiting those ago could afford one to begin with. They switched it to make sure only ‘true’ hybrids get some benefits.

[M40i4me]

Congrats, you won’t be disappointed.

[briguy80]

Very nice!

Other than the lumbar support, was there any other options/features that had been restricted/removed that you were in the market for?

Did you get the spare or not? What was your reasoning either way?

[Bimmer Phriend]

Congratulations! I have been driving my new 2021 X4 M40i for 3 days now, and let me tell you, you are going to love your new car! A couple of comments -
- In terms of the Tech, it is awesome and so easy to learn - coming from an 8 yr old Audi A6, the Tech updates and functions are really impressive.
- this is my first BMW too - so happy to make the switch - so much more fun, responsive, now I understand the meaning of "Ultimate Driving Machine".
-My car has the passenger lumbar/bolster deletion, my wife said it doesn't phase her at all.
- make sure you check on the wireless charging - my car was supposed to have it as standard installed, yet the factory "forgot" to put it in - not sure yet if it is because of chip shortage.
- One decision I changed after ordering was moving up to 20" Wheels with non-runflat tires. After spending an hour consulting with a tire expert, I was convinced to make the choice, here are some of his and my observations: 1) imo, car rides smoother and quieter on non-run flats, I test drove 19" run flat, 21" run flat, and can hear and feel difference with 20" non-run flats 2) non-run flats have many more choices for eventual replacements 3) non-run flats are cheaper to replace 4) non-run flats can sometimes be repaired where run-flats cannot. 5) I love the look of the 20" wheels. 5) even though you will lose some under deck cargo space (due to spare) , for me, the trade off was worth it.
Just some food for thought, whatever your choices, once you have your car, all these considerations will fade away into rapid speed bliss!

[Grand Moff Alpina]

Originally Posted by briguy80

Very nice!

Other than the lumbar support, was there any other options/features that had been restricted/removed that you were in the market for?

Did you get the spare or not? What was your reasoning either way?

1. Salesman confirmed with their order guy in the back: those are the only restricted features at this time. (of course they'll contact me if that changes for some reason, and I did confirm we can cancel the order at any point, esp. should more shortages occur)

2. No spare. Haven't had one for a while due to Dodge giving you inflator kits for most any Charger/Challenger model. Between keeping one of those around + AAA we feel pretty covered if a bad blowout does happen.

[Grand Moff Alpina]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Phriend

Congratulations! I have been driving my new 2021 X4 M40i for 3 days now, and let me tell you, you are going to love your new car! A couple of comments -
- In terms of the Tech, it is awesome and so easy to learn - coming from an 8 yr old Audi A6, the Tech updates and functions are really impressive.
- this is my first BMW too - so happy to make the switch - so much more fun, responsive, now I understand the meaning of "Ultimate Driving Machine".
-My car has the passenger lumbar/bolster deletion, my wife said it doesn't phase her at all.
- make sure you check on the wireless charging - my car was supposed to have it as standard installed, yet the factory "forgot" to put it in - not sure yet if it is because of chip shortage.
- One decision I changed after ordering was moving up to 20" Wheels with non-runflat tires. After spending an hour consulting with a tire expert, I was convinced to make the choice, here are some of his and my observations: 1) imo, car rides smoother and quieter on non-run flats, I test drove 19" run flat, 21" run flat, and can hear and feel difference with 20" non-run flats 2) non-run flats have many more choices for eventual replacements 3) non-run flats are cheaper to replace 4) non-run flats can sometimes be repaired where run-flats cannot. 5) I love the look of the 20" wheels. 5) even though you will lose some under deck cargo space (due to spare) , for me, the trade off was worth it.
Just some food for thought, whatever your choices, once you have your car, all these considerations will fade away into rapid speed bliss!

Thanks for the info! So we did think about the 20" rims, but tbh my wife and I both liked the look of the 19s better than the 20s. (we have 20s on our two Chargers so we're not opposed to big rims per se)

Also: test driving multiple vehicles, we found the 19s provided the best comfort. That makes sense, since smaller wheel = more sidewall. But we didn't feel a handling drop off either compared to the 20s. We were fortunate to be able to test cars w/without Adaptive too, and the 19s + Adaptive felt amazing.

As for tires, I absolutely plan to swap to non-RFT tires asap, whatever wheels we had ended up with. At least we'll start with all-seasons. If we had perf. tires they'd be useless here in WA by October. xD

[methodtim]

Awesome, congrats! They black on black on black is going to look mean! Window shades are a key option for me, but I have kids and I taught them to talk, so...

[briguy80]

Originally Posted by Grand Moff Alpina

1. Salesman confirmed with their order guy in the back: those are the only restricted features at this time. (of course they'll contact me if that changes for some reason, and I did confirm we can cancel the order at any point, esp. should more shortages occur)

2. No spare. Haven't had one for a while due to Dodge giving you inflator kits for most any Charger/Challenger model. Between keeping one of those around + AAA we feel pretty covered if a bad blowout does happen.

One last question… how did you do on pricing and % off of MSRP? I've heard from a few (incl. my dealer that they can't do more than about 6% off on an M40i vs closer to 9-10% on the x30i).

[Grand Moff Alpina]

Originally Posted by methodtim

Awesome, congrats! They black on black on black is going to look mean! Window shades are a key option for me, but I have kids and I taught them to talk, so...

Thanks, Tim!

[Grand Moff Alpina]

Originally Posted by briguy80

One last question… how did you do on pricing and % off of MSRP? I've heard from a few (incl. my dealer that they can't do more than about 6% off on an M40i vs closer to 9-10% on the x30i).

Good question. We obviously asked about that and our dealer indicated that we'd be getting into the weeds on the numbers once the car gets here and we sit down with finance. Right now we know we get a 2500 rebate for financing at least, and we've been told that we'll get any/all other incentives active at the time the car arrives. (we also have costco cards, so they did acknowledge they can work with the costco auto program)

Comparing our 3 metro area dealers, seemed all of them were pretty much on the same page: If ordering, we can massage the price when it gets closer to delivery but for now we need only agree that we want vehicle <x> with configuration <y> and the build system says the start price is <z>.

I like to think we did enough homework here, but did I mess something up here? :\

[Bimmer Phriend]

Originally Posted by Grand Moff Alpina

Thanks for the info! So we did think about the 20" rims, but tbh my wife and I both liked the look of the 19s better than the 20s. (we have 20s on our two Chargers so we're not opposed to big rims per se)

Also: test driving multiple vehicles, we found the 19s provided the best comfort. That makes sense, since smaller wheel = more sidewall. But we didn't feel a handling drop off either compared to the 20s. We were fortunate to be able to test cars w/without Adaptive too, and the 19s + Adaptive felt amazing.

As for tires, I absolutely plan to swap to non-RFT tires asap, whatever wheels we had ended up with. At least we'll start with all-seasons. If we had perf. tires they'd be useless here in WA by October. xD

Makes total sense, well thought out!

[Swordpenguin]

Congrats! I'm waiting to pick up my build sometime this week. Went with the exact same build you have except carbon black and cognac leather. Mine also has the same passanger lumber delete. But I still can't wait to get mine. And no fomo with the LCI's new front grill. Enjoy!

[briguy80]

Originally Posted by Grand Moff Alpina

Good question. We obviously asked about that and our dealer indicated that we'd be getting into the weeds on the numbers once the car gets here and we sit down with finance. Right now we know we get a 2500 rebate for financing at least, and we've been told that we'll get any/all other incentives active at the time the car arrives. (we also have costco cards, so they did acknowledge they can work with the costco auto program)

Comparing our 3 metro area dealers, seemed all of them were pretty much on the same page: If ordering, we can massage the price when it gets closer to delivery but for now we need only agree that we want vehicle <x> with configuration <y> and the build system says the start price is <z>.

I like to think we did enough homework here, but did I mess something up here? :\

Thanks! Yes, I'm interested in what Costco can do w/r/t the auto program as well. As much as it may be heresy to say - I'm waiting for the LCI as I want some of the expected upgraded tech. The question for me is going to be if I end up "having" to go with the M40i to get the Driving Assistance Pro & HK Audio.

[Grand Moff Alpina]

Originally Posted by Swordpenguin

Congrats! I'm waiting to pick up my build sometime this week. Went with the exact same build you have except carbon black and cognac leather. Mine also has the same passanger lumber delete. But I still can't wait to get mine. And no fomo with the LCI's new front grill. Enjoy!

Same here. We were anxiously awaiting a look at the LCI, but the oddities on the front and back end def. killed any FOMO fear we had with going pre-LCI.

[Swordpenguin]

Originally Posted by Grand Moff Alpina

Same here. We were anxiously awaiting a look at the LCI, but the oddities on the front and back end def. killed any FOMO fear we had with going pre-LCI.

Yeah. My fiance and I saw it and were glad (from an exterior perspective). How long were you quoted on build time?

[M40i4me]

Originally Posted by Grand Moff Alpina

Same here. We were anxiously awaiting a look at the LCI, but the oddities on the front and back end def. killed any FOMO fear we had with going pre-LCI.

If you belong to BMWCCA don’t forget your $500 dollar check from them. Only took 3 weeks to get mine from delivery.

[Grand Moff Alpina]

Originally Posted by 3284me

If you belong to BMWCCA don’t forget your $500 dollar check from them. Only took 3 weeks to get mine from delivery.

Well that's cool to know! Thanks!

We're not members yet, but is it too late to sign up and take advantage of the benefit?

[Grand Moff Alpina]

Originally Posted by Swordpenguin

Yeah. My fiance and I saw it and were glad (from an exterior perspective). How long were you quoted on build time?

Dealer estimates about two months to roll off the factory line, then 7-10 days to get out here to WA state.

All an estimate of course. Pretty sure we'll be in one of the last pre-LCI batches though. The other two dealers in our metro area said they were totally out of order/inventory slots for pre-LCI vehicles. I think the only reason we got the one we did was because someone had called earlier in the day and canceled an order.