[Carmody]

Hello all,

Here is another new member with a new 2023 M550i order. I have been driving 2016 Audi S6 for the last 7 years. I would probably drive it for a few more years (love the car), but found out recently that the only reasonable V8 option in a new car, M550i, is about to expire. I also thought about Audi RS6, but could not justify spending $35k more to get a harsher ride in a heavier car.

Thus I decided to part with my dear S6 now and, on August 15, ordered a new 2023 M550i configured as follows:

235Q M550i xDrive Sedan
C4F Arctic Race Blue metallic
LZFK Black Nappa Leather with contrast stitching
248 Heated Steering Wheel
300 Space-saver spare
416 Power rear sunshade & rear side window shades
453 Front ventilated seats
4HA Front and Rear Heated Seats
4LH Fineline Cove Matte Finish Wood Trim
4M5 Leather Dashboard

The dealer did not have an allocation at the time of the order, but promised one in September. Indeed, on September 13, I received an email from him with a production number. I called BMW Genius and found out that the production is scheduled for week 41 (the same week as reported by Greywall).

The dealer says the car should be here in the second half of December -- so my wait for this very nice Christmas present begins!

[H_T]

Originally Posted by Carmody

Hello all,

Here is another new member with a new 2023 M550i order. I have been driving 2016 Audi S6 for the last 7 years. I would probably drive it for a few more years (love the car), but found out recently that the only reasonable V8 option in a new car, M550i, is about to expire. I also thought about Audi RS6, but could not justify spending $35k more to get a harsher ride in a heavier car.

Thus I decided to part with my dear S6 now and, on August 15, ordered a new 2023 M550i configured as follows:

235Q M550i xDrive Sedan
C4F Arctic Race Blue metallic
LZFK Black Nappa Leather with contrast stitching
248 Heated Steering Wheel
300 Space-saver spare
416 Power rear sunshade & rear side window shades
453 Front ventilated seats
4HA Front and Rear Heated Seats
4LH Fineline Cove Matte Finish Wood Trim
4M5 Leather Dashboard

The dealer did not have an allocation at the time of the order, but promised one in September. Indeed, on September 13, I received an email from him with a production number. I called BMW Genius and found out that the production is scheduled for week 41 (the same week as reported by Greywall).

The dealer says the car should be here in the second half of December -- so my wait for this very nice Christmas present begins!

Congrats! You might want to add the parking package that includes the 360 cameras. It is one of my most frequently used features (besides wireless car play).

[BMW012]

Yes! Finally an artic race blue!! Can't wait to see the pics.

Hmm no HUD package? Its pretty nice to have.

[Carmody]

Originally Posted by H_T

Congrats! You might want to add the parking package that includes the 360 cameras. It is one of my most frequently used features (besides wireless car play).

Thank you for the advice! I did not include the parking package originally because the sales advisor at the dealership pushed me a bit too hard in this direction, primarily emphasizing autonomous parking, which I am not interested in. I have checked now other features of the package and what people are saying -- it is indeed very worthwhile, so I have just emailed my sales advisor asking to add the parking package. I hope it is not too late now!

[Carmody]

Originally Posted by BMW012

Yes! Finally an artic race blue!! Can't wait to see the pics.

Hmm no HUD package? Its pretty nice to have.

I did not realize that arctic race blue was not a popular color. I will post pictures when I have the car.

I experienced HUD for the first time when I rented a 530i this summer for 8 days. I drove that car for about 1,000 miles. I liked HUD at first, but after driving more miles and days I noticed that it distracted me. Besides, when you drive wearing polarized glasses, the image almost disappears. As the result, sometimes I was driving with my head leaned to a side. I know many people like HUD, but I did not enjoy the experience.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by Carmody

I did not realize that arctic race blue was not a popular color. I will post pictures when I have the car.

I experienced HUD for the first time when I rented a 530i this summer for 8 days. I drove that car for about 1,000 miles. I liked HUD at first, but after driving more miles and days I noticed that it distracted me. Besides, when you drive wearing polarized glasses, the image almost disappears. As the result, sometimes I was driving with my head leaned to a side. I know many people like HUD, but I did not enjoy the experience.

It's especially useful for navigation guidance.

[BMW012]

Originally Posted by Carmody

I did not realize that arctic race blue was not a popular color. I will post pictures when I have the car.

I experienced HUD for the first time when I rented a 530i this summer for 8 days. I drove that car for about 1,000 miles. I liked HUD at first, but after driving more miles and days I noticed that it distracted me. Besides, when you drive wearing polarized glasses, the image almost disappears. As the result, sometimes I was driving with my head leaned to a side. I know many people like HUD, but I did not enjoy the experience.

Its new for this year for the 5 series. Haven't seen one in pics nor in person yet.

[Greywall]

Originally Posted by Carmody

Hello all,

Here is another new member with a new 2023 M550i order. I have been driving 2016 Audi S6 for the last 7 years. I would probably drive it for a few more years (love the car), but found out recently that the only reasonable V8 option in a new car, M550i, is about to expire. I also thought about Audi RS6, but could not justify spending $35k more to get a harsher ride in a heavier car.

Thus I decided to part with my dear S6 now and, on August 15, ordered a new 2023 M550i configured as follows:

235Q M550i xDrive Sedan
C4F Arctic Race Blue metallic
LZFK Black Nappa Leather with contrast stitching
248 Heated Steering Wheel
300 Space-saver spare
416 Power rear sunshade & rear side window shades
453 Front ventilated seats
4HA Front and Rear Heated Seats
4LH Fineline Cove Matte Finish Wood Trim
4M5 Leather Dashboard

The dealer did not have an allocation at the time of the order, but promised one in September. Indeed, on September 13, I received an email from him with a production number. I called BMW Genius and found out that the production is scheduled for week 41 (the same week as reported by Greywall).

The dealer says the car should be here in the second half of December -- so my wait for this very nice Christmas present begins!

Hey, congrats fellow week 41'er! Good thing you were able to get the allocation pretty quickly, some of the dealers around here were talking about wait lists of up to 5 months.

I bet that S6 has been an amazing car! I wanted one when the new gen came out but wasn't keen on the fact that they went v6/hybrid instead of the V8, so the M550i was it. I'm coming from a 2013 A6 "project car" modded with Revo stage 2, S6 suspension, S6 wheels, upgraded swaybars, and RS7 intake.

Cool, you're also in MD. The estimate I got was delivery around end of November or early December. Maybe overly optimistic, but I guess a couple of weeks here or there won't make a huge difference after 3 months of waiting. Is yours also coming into port at Baltimore?

[Carmody]

Originally Posted by Greywall

Hey, congrats fellow week 41'er! Good thing you were able to get the allocation pretty quickly, some of the dealers around here were talking about wait lists of up to 5 months.

I bet that S6 has been an amazing car! I wanted one when the new gen came out but wasn't keen on the fact that they went v6/hybrid instead of the V8, so the M550i was it. I'm coming from a 2013 A6 "project car" modded with Revo stage 2, S6 suspension, S6 wheels, upgraded swaybars, and RS7 intake.

Cool, you're also in MD. The estimate I got was delivery around end of November or early December. Maybe overly optimistic, but I guess a couple of weeks here or there won't make a huge difference after 3 months of waiting. Is yours also coming into port at Baltimore?

Thank you! Your dealer may be more optimistic than mine, but it seems likely that our cars will arrive in the U.S. on the same ship on the same date. Where did you get the info about the port?

My S6 is also modified: APR ECU Stage 1, Boosted Euro TCU, Eurocode drive train stabilizer and sway bars. This car is a joy to drive!

I fully agree with you on the current generation S6. If they had kept the V8, my next car would probably be another S6.

[LuvMyE92]

I have not seen that new color, it looks great!

I found that the HUD in a former Corvette (C6) was very distracting, but I've gotten used to the BMW implementation and now I can't live without it.

I've also had to get special non-polarized sunglasses, but that's a small price to pay compare to the $85K-ish car.

Congrats on the new car!

[Carmody]

Originally Posted by Carmody

Thank you for the advice! I did not include the parking package originally because the sales advisor at the dealership pushed me a bit too hard in this direction, primarily emphasizing autonomous parking, which I am not interested in. I have checked now other features of the package and what people are saying -- it is indeed very worthwhile, so I have just emailed my sales advisor asking to add the parking package. I hope it is not too late now!

I have now received a confirmation that the parking package has been added to my build.

Apart from nice 3D/surround views and distance sensors, the parking package has something called "drive recorder". Does it function like a standard dash cam?

[Carmody]

Originally Posted by LuvMyE92

I have not seen that new color, it looks great!

I found that the HUD in a former Corvette (C6) was very distracting, but I've gotten used to the BMW implementation and now I can't live without it.

I've also had to get special non-polarized sunglasses, but that's a small price to pay compare to the $85K-ish car.

Congrats on the new car!

Thank you! My polarized sunglasses have prescription lenses, so they are a bit more expensive . More seriously, polarized lenses can be invaluable when driving on a wet pavement against the sun.

[HerkHealer]

Originally Posted by Carmody

I have now received a confirmation that the parking package has been added to my build.

Apart from nice 3D/surround views and distance sensors, the parking package has something called "drive recorder". Does it function like a standard dash cam?

You definitely want the Parking Assist package. It does all kinds of cool stuff to include the drive recorder. It is a life saver in parking lots because you get a "birds eye" 360 view showing you a wide viewing area. It makes backing out of spots a breeze. My favorite feature is the Remote 3D view however.
Through the MyBMW app, you can remotely view your car and everything around it from anywhere. It's really neat.

Get this package.

[Greywall]

Originally Posted by Carmody

Thank you! Your dealer may be more optimistic than mine, but it seems likely that our cars will arrive in the U.S. on the same ship on the same date. Where did you get the info about the port?

My S6 is also modified: APR ECU Stage 1, Boosted Euro TCU, Eurocode drive train stabilizer and sway bars. This car is a joy to drive!

I fully agree with you on the current generation S6. If they had kept the V8, my next car would probably be another S6.

Your dealer rep should be able to send you a screenshot of the "Vehicle Inquiry: Status" page in their system. Along with status and many other tid bits, it shows up as Port Loc:

[H_T]

Originally Posted by Carmody

I have now received a confirmation that the parking package has been added to my build.

Apart from nice 3D/surround views and distance sensors, the parking package has something called "drive recorder". Does it function like a standard dash cam?

It records 20 seconds before and 20 seconds after an accident, or when the app is pushed. It does not continually record like a DVR.

[Carmody]

Originally Posted by Greywall

Your dealer rep should be able to send you a screenshot of the "Vehicle Inquiry: Status" page in their system. Along with status and many other tid bits, it shows up as Port Loc:

Thank you, I have found it -- it is also Baltimore.

[Carmody]

Originally Posted by H_T

It records 20 seconds before and 20 seconds after an accident, or when the app is pushed. It does not continually record like a DVR.

The automatic recording option with "20 seconds before the accident" seems a bit too ambitious (unless the system has a direct communication line to God), while manual recording start does not seem very useful. I would prefer continuous recording like in a standard dash cam instead of all this.

[LuvMyE92]

Originally Posted by H_T

It records 20 seconds before and 20 seconds after an accident, or when the app is pushed. It does not continually record like a DVR.

Originally Posted by Carmody

The automatic recording option with "20 seconds before the accident" seems a bit too ambitious (unless the system has a direct communication line to God), while manual recording start does not seem very useful. I would prefer continuous recording like in a standard dash cam instead of all this.

I think HT mis-wrote when he/she said it does not continuously record like a DVR. It does continuously record, it's just that the buffer is only 40 seconds.

Once you do something that it detects as an accident then it saves the current buffer and the next 20 seconds off to a file. When you "start" the app, it then saves that past 20 second buffer and the next 20 into a file.

I don't know how many files it can save, but it's not much.

I too would prefer a nice 128Gb video storage like my dash cam, but this has the advantage of being integrated and using 1,2 or 4 cameras. Everything is a trade-off.

[HerkHealer]

Ask your Dealer if soft close doors is available. It's quite the gimmick, and probably a nerdo kind of thing to have, but hearing the little robots inside my doors pull it into place is just awesome to me. I intentionally dont close the door all the way to make those bitches go to work. LOL

[Carmody]

Originally Posted by LuvMyE92

I think HT mis-wrote when he/she said it does not continuously record like a DVR. It does continuously record, it's just that the buffer is only 40 seconds.

Once you do something that it detects as an accident then it saves the current buffer and the next 20 seconds off to a file. When you "start" the app, it then saves that past 20 second buffer and the next 20 into a file.

I don't know how many files it can save, but it's not much.

I too would prefer a nice 128Gb video storage like my dash cam, but this has the advantage of being integrated and using 1,2 or 4 cameras. Everything is a trade-off.

I am afraid H_T is right: in the automatic mode no recording occurs until an "accident situation" is detected by the car. Here is a snapshot from the BMW video kindly posted by HerkHealer.

[M550iWoW]

Originally Posted by Carmody

Hello all,

Here is another new member with a new 2023 M550i order. I have been driving 2016 Audi S6 for the last 7 years. I would probably drive it for a few more years (love the car), but found out recently that the only reasonable V8 option in a new car, M550i, is about to expire. I also thought about Audi RS6, but could not justify spending $35k more to get a harsher ride in a heavier car.

Thus I decided to part with my dear S6 now and, on August 15, ordered a new 2023 M550i configured as follows:

235Q M550i xDrive Sedan
C4F Arctic Race Blue metallic
LZFK Black Nappa Leather with contrast stitching
248 Heated Steering Wheel
300 Space-saver spare
416 Power rear sunshade & rear side window shades
453 Front ventilated seats
4HA Front and Rear Heated Seats
4LH Fineline Cove Matte Finish Wood Trim
4M5 Leather Dashboard

The dealer did not have an allocation at the time of the order, but promised one in September. Indeed, on September 13, I received an email from him with a production number. I called BMW Genius and found out that the production is scheduled for week 41 (the same week as reported by Greywall).

The dealer says the car should be here in the second half of December — so my wait for this very nice Christmas present begins!

Congrats!!! Mine is on order as well with build week 42. I'm down in Miami. That's what I was told as well by Christmas time frame should be here. Just checked the status when from order received to scheduled for production.

[Greywall]

Originally Posted by HerkHealer

Ask your Dealer if soft close doors is available. It's quite the gimmick, and probably a nerdo kind of thing to have, but hearing the little robots inside my doors pull it into place is just awesome to me. I intentionally dont close the door all the way to make those bitches go to work. LOL

Haha, that's a great gimmicky option. I looked at the pricing guide and I didn't see it listed for the M550i, but available on the M5 and M8. I'm going to ask if my dealer can add it in on his end. It's option code 323. Were you able to add it to yours?