[GEP77]

With an enormous wait for my car my mind has started wandering regarding making the odd change to it. The dealer has said this is not possible as I've ordered individual leather - which I'm not convinced by especially as I've still got 4 months to go.

What have other people's experiences been regarding this? Particularly those who have got individual leather as one of the options.

[nickcooluz]

I was told that if I make a change they will have to re-allocate another build slot which may cause delays. My changes were to do with interior trim and nothing to do with leather though but thought I might share my experience anyway if it could be any help..

[GEP77]

Originally Posted by nickcooluz

I was told that if I make a change they will have to re-allocate another build slot which may cause delays. My changes were to do with interior trim and nothing to do with leather though but thought I might share my experience anyway if it could be any help..

It was the trim I wanted to change - ordered the same as what I've got at the moment but thought it would be nice to go for Carbon Aluminium now I've seen better pictures of it. Not the end of the world but at 4 months out a little annoying they can't/won't change it.

[Steven1077]

Just tell them to cancel it, they should be able to make changes with 4 months before it's being built espicaially something like the trim

[Grant_7]

Check the status on Genius to see where you're at. If before 1200 then you should be fine.

FYI I changed my order a few times, changing the trim and also adding things like Elec mem seats & Lumbar etc. Made no difference to my wait (which was ages - >6 months - but that's another story!).

[GEP77]

Originally Posted by Grant_7

Check the status on Genius to see where you're at. If before 1200 then you should be fine.

FYI I changed my order a few times, changing the trim and also adding things like Elec mem seats & Lumbar etc. Made no difference to my wait (which was ages - >6 months - but that's another story!).

Mines at 1100 at the moment. Dealer has point blank said can't change because of the individual seats.

[NotGotABimmer23]

Originally Posted by GEP77

Mines at 1100 at the moment. Dealer has point blank said can't change because of the individual seats.

That sounds ridiculous to me. The order can be altered on the system up to stage 5000 when it is locked in. I changed mine twice with no negative impact.

[Crash-magnet]

Originally Posted by GEP77

Mines at 1100 at the moment. Dealer has point blank said can't change because of the individual seats.

Phone up the BMW Customer Services team (Geniuses) & see what they say. Tell them your dealer's not playing ball.

[Grant_7]

Originally Posted by GEP77

Mines at 1100 at the moment. Dealer has point blank said can't change because of the individual seats.

Sorry to say it, but your dealer is talking bollox.

[ajfoggy]

Individual leather does lock the car down earlier. But not sure if restrictions apply with build status numbers

[Richtw]

Happened to me on an F36! Individual merino locked my build down about 3 months out! I only wanted to add blue brakes! In the end BMW UK offered me a set of the big M Sport brakes at a similar cost! Not quite sure why but it does lock it down early!!

[GEP77]

Originally Posted by Richtw

Happened to me on an F36! Individual merino locked my build down about 3 months out! I only wanted to add blue brakes! In the end BMW UK offered me a set of the big M Sport brakes at a similar cost! Not quite sure why but it does lock it down early!!

I believe I must be in a similar situation. Thankfully the change is such a mnior one I can't be arsed with any hassle over it. I'll just have to put that effort into saving a bit for an MPPSK now.

[nickcooluz]

Originally Posted by GEP77

It was the trim I wanted to change - ordered the same as what I've got at the moment but thought it would be nice to go for Carbon Aluminium now I've seen better pictures of it. Not the end of the world but at 4 months out a little annoying they can't/won't change it.

Exactly what I wanted, the carbon trim but they said it wont be available till June/July anyway :/ and the build slot would need to be re-allocated - this was when the status was "scheduled"

Spoke to genius and they kept telling me to speak to the retailer and i was going around in circles so I just settled with fineline wood.

[JustChris]

With 4 months to go, seems reasonable for spec changes BUT I've not experience of ordering Individual though, perhaps this gets locked down straight away. I see a few who did order indiv answering that you should be able to change though....

[mcoops]

Dealer is giving you half the story to save themselves hassle.

My dealer told me that any Individual option requires a special build slot. Apparently this means that any changes need to be explicitly authorised by BMW rather than the dealer just being able to update it on their system.

That said, this is still absolutely possible to do. I had specced Individual Piano Black trim, and changed my mind. The dealer squared it with BMW (which did take a few days), and it resulted in a new build slot. If you delete Individual options, it can actually bring the build forward in some cases if you're lucky.

So - it is different, but they can do it and sounds like they just can't be arsed.

[KS_340i]

Originally Posted by mcoops

Dealer is giving you half the story to save themselves hassle.

My dealer told me that any Individual option requires a special build slot. Apparently this means that any changes need to be explicitly authorised by BMW rather than the dealer just being able to update it on their system.

That said, this is still absolutely possible to do. I had specced Individual Piano Black trim, and changed my mind. The dealer squared it with BMW (which did take a few days), and it resulted in a new build slot. If you delete Individual options, it can actually bring the build forward in some cases if you're lucky.

This is correct and was my experience.

Any individual stuff on an order needs BMW head office to approve changes with BMW HQ etc.

I made a small change to mine I think 4 days after ordering. Dealer asked BMW UK to make the change. What the dealer did not know was that to do this, BMW have to take the car out of the ordering system, and then slot it back in. By which time, my original slot was lost, and resulted in an extra 6 week wait for the car. I got a free service pack as recompense however from BMW UK who acknowledged that they didn't tell anyone, including the dealer, of the risk of the date being lost for a minor change.

[mcoops]

Originally Posted by KS_340i

This is correct and was my experience.

Any individual stuff on an order needs BMW head office to approve changes with BMW HQ etc.

I made a small change to mine I think 4 days after ordering. Dealer asked BMW UK to make the change. What the dealer did not know was that to do this, BMW have to take the car out of the ordering system, and then slot it back in. By which time, my original slot was lost, and resulted in an extra 6 week wait for the car. I got a free service pack as recompense however from BMW UK who acknowledged that they didn't tell anyone, including the dealer, of the risk of the date being lost for a minor change.

Good point - the advice really depends on what options you are deleting vs. keeping. Moral probably is that if you still have individual options in your order, be very wary about changing. However if you delete them and only have normal factory options left, it probably won't make much difference, or might even bring it forward. In my case there wasn't much in it.

[teaston]

I added electric seats pretty late and they said it would put it back 2-3 weeks, but in the end it was built a couple of weeks before the original date!

If there is something extra if you really want then add it!

[ajfoggy]

Individual leather does lock the car down earlier. But not sure if restrictions apply with build status numbers