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Thread: new to BMW. Thinking about getting a 2021 330e but I have a few questions.

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Lex GS350/Pacifica hybd

    new to BMW. Thinking about getting a 2021 330e but I have a few questions.

    Hi!
    I haven't posted here in years. I was thinking about getting a 2021 330e and I have a few questions that I hope people can answer. So here's the thing. It doesn't HAVE to be a BMW. What I do want is a hybrid (gas/electric plug-in). I looked at the new Hyundai 2021 Sonata Hybrid. Of course cars from Toyota/Lexus, Audi, Mercedes and other manufacturers. I'm looking for something under 60k. And I love technology that comes with a new car.
    The Sonata was nice, loved the turn signals have cameras to show what's next to you in your dash display. But I'm not a fan of the look of the front end of the car. Audi looks ok, but for the price, it was more expensive than the 330e. Mercedes didn't have a car in the price range.
    The car needs to be able to be driven in electric mode for at least 10 miles. My wife has a Pacifica Hybrid. Having the 30mi range on electric is awesome. My work is close where 10miles would be good enough. And there's a electric charger I could use at work. So if it's anything like the Pacifica, it could go for months without filling up the gas tank.

    Ok, so I have a few questions since I never owned a BMW. And the questions pertain mostly to the new 330e model. If I could find a driver's manual, I could get most of these questions answered, but I haven't found one.

    1) On the BMW website, you can build your own. Is it possible to get it for the price on the website? Or is most dealers gonna mark it up a lot? How long would delivery take? With this whole pandemic, are orders taking MONTHS to build and ship? Or is that the normal length of time for a car to be built and shipped?
    2) The M steering wheel that you get with the M Sport option, it that the type of wheel with the flat bottom?
    3) Is the steering column electronically adjustable for telescoping and up/down? And if so, can the car memorize settings?
    4) Is the M Sport option the only way to get the LED fog lights on the front?
    5) Active driving Assistant and Pro. If there's no increase in price between them, why not always choose the Assistant Pro?
    6) If adding the Executive trim, is the "Icon Adaptive LED Headlights with Laserlight" are they the same one you see in youtube where it'll block your light on incoming cars so not to blind them yet still give a wide view of lighting? Or is the USA model not the same? Also, what does the term "Icon Adaptive" mean?
    7) The Head-up Display, will it display only things from the BMW car? Or if I have a android/iPhone plugged in, will it show the maps from Waze or Apple Maps or Google Map? What else does the display show? Music that's playing from the radio only? Or will it show carplay information?
    8) The seating adjustments, besides Lumbar, up/down, front/back, reclining. Does it also support adjustment of the seat base? Like to make it longer? And while not related to seating, can the pedals be adjusted (as in to move closer or farther away)?
    9) When selecting the Executive, it automatically add the "Dynamic Handling Package" which has the Adaptive M Suspension. Would having this help if I wanted a "soft" ride since it include air suspension? The town I live in has bad surface road. But once out of town, the roads are fine. So I would hate getting the M suspension if all it does is make the ride even firmer.
    10) When selecting the Executive, do I loose the "open trunk by foot" option? I thought that open was there when I selected the Executive, but then I see a "power tailgate" option for $250. So it's not included?
    11) Adding Ambient Lighting the only way to get the lighted doorhandles/puddle lighting, and illuminated footwells? If I don't get it, then only the ceiling light is on for the inside of the vehicle, and no exterior lighting?
    12) Is the side mirrors power folding as standard? Does it unfold when I start the car?
    13) When approaching will the car light up? I guess if I get the Ambient lighting package? Lexus would do this, when I approached the vehicle, puddle lights would light up.
    14) I like my music, is the Harman Kardon Surround sound worth it? Surround sound, does this mean the car is capable of playing video? Like my Lexus would play DVDs or the Pacifica would play Blu-Ray.
    115) Silly question, but everything on the displays and infotainment system is in English right? Many of the videos I saw had screen in German, so I didn't know if some screens was that way or not.

    This would be the most expensive car I bought. But wondering if all the technology is worth it?

    So I'm looking at something like this:

    2021 330e Sedan
    $44,550
    Design
    M Sport
    $3,800
    Exterior
    Portimao Blue Metallic
    $550
    19" M Double-spoke bi-color jet black wheels, style 791M with performance run-flat tires

    Interior
    Black SensaTec

    High Gloss Fine Wood Ash Grey-Brown Trim

    Options
    Driving Assistance Professional Package
    $1,700
    Dynamic Handling Package
    $1,400
    Executive Package
    $2,600
    Parking Assistance Package
    $700
    Ambient Lighting
    $250
    Harman Kardon surround sound system
    $875
    Additional Costs
    Destination & Handling
    $995
    Total Price (MSRP)
    $57,420
    Last edited by starstreak; 10-10-2020 at 04:57 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    honolulu,hi
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    Lex GS350/Pacifica hybd
    Oh, another thing.
    16) There's an app that can be used with the car, right? Is that something that must be purchased on a monthly basis to use?

  3. #3
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    A well informed salesman, or a BMW genius (yes, that's a job title at the dealership) would be able to answer most of your questions. I can answer a few:

    2. No, the sport steering wheel does not have a flat bottom.
    3. No, the steering column on the three series is not electrically adjusted, it is manual adjust. Not available on a 3 series
    7. I think the HUD will only display stuff from the car, but I could be wrong.
    8. The base model seats do not have the thigh extension. The sport seats do and I think the comfort seats as well. On a 3 series, it is manual, not electric. The pedals are not adjustable on any BMW that I know of.
    9. There is no such thing as air suspension on a 3 series. I'm not even sure if it's an option on 5 series. Definitely on X5/7, and 7 series.
    12. Not sure if the power mirrors are standard or not. I think you can turn the feature on/off to fold/unfold them when you lock/unlock the car. That's how the 5 and 7 works, I don't know if the 3 is the same way.
    15. Yes, of course all the displays are in English.
    ASE and BMW Master Certified Technician

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    honolulu,hi
    Posts
    24
    My Cars
    Lex GS350/Pacifica hybd
    White94RX- Thanks for answering some of the questions. Here where I live, there's only one dealership. So I really don't want to bother them until I'm sure what I'm looking for, which is why I was asking about my question #1. I mean, if they are going to tack on a thousand because they are the only dealership, I could fly to the mainland and have a CA dealership, ship a car to me once I place a order. I mean, the local BMW still has to cover all warranty even if I don't buy from them.

    questions 2&3. How weird they never made it powered on a car that's over 35k.
    #8- Ah ok. I thought that thigh extension was a good feature.
    #9- Sorry I didn't mean it was a full air suspension. There was an option called: Adaptive M Suspension, which says: "The Dynamic Damper Control and air cushioning on the rear axle are tuned to deliver exceptionally sporty driving characteristics." So it sounded like it was a type of air suspension.
    #12/15- thanks!

    Update, I did find a drivers manual. It did answer how to use some of the features. But being just a manual, it still couldn't answer some questions still like:
    #1
    #2 To add, what difference is the steering wheel between M steering wheel and the regular. Except for the M logo, they look like they have the same buttons/locations.
    #4
    #5
    #6 Doesn't really say if any feature is missing or the lights are dimmer for the US version of the car.
    #7
    #9
    #10
    #11 I didn't see what standard lighting consist of. BTW, as for exterior lighting, I've seen where there's a strip of lighting next to the door as you "unlock?" the car, and I read there's another when you open the door that from the door it shines a light on the ground (Some videos had BMW logo)? Are they all included with the Ambient lighting pkg?
    #13 I didn't see in the manual if the lighting comes on as you approach the car.
    #14 I read in the manual the CD player can play BOTH DVD and Blu-ray? Is that true? Will it play on the front screen if the car is not moving?

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