[hinckley]

In the past I've read that special order interiors are not available for US market 3 Series (although they have been successfully ordered for 4 Series). However, this weekend, my dealer showed me a document from BMW Exclusive that said special order interiors were available for both the 3 and the 4 Series. So we requested either Amaro or Cognac nappa. Both were rejected, and now I'm suspecting that they will reject any upgraded nappa interior as those two seem pretty standard.

So my question to the group - has anyone in the US ever successfully ordered an upgraded nappa leather interior for a 3er?

btw, they did approve a San Marino blue exterior!

[the_phew]

You mean Merino leather, and no, no one in the U.S. has taken delivery of a 3-series with Merino (plenty of 4-series have, though).

BMW is going all Volkswagen on the U.S. market lately (denying the best options, late availability of engine upgrades, etc). With the strong dollar, it's ridiculous that they don't prioritize the U.S. market.

[hinckley]

Originally Posted by the_phew

You mean Merino leather, and no, no one in the U.S. has taken delivery of a 3-series with Merino (plenty of 4-series have, though).

Yes, thanks for the clarification. I do mean Merino.

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by hinckley

Yes, thanks for the clarification. I do mean Merino.

The best anyone has done is an Individual color for the exterior and for the interior, but I don't know of anyone who has been able to get merino in a 3.

[SDH]

Thought I'd do a quick internet search on why the leather upgrade is not easily available state side. Didn't find any answers but I'm curious...

What the hell is all this vegan car stuff about. Google search goes ape s**t with people avoiding leather in the states in their quest for a vegan car! A vegan car; WTF?

Sorry OP this is a little OT

[hinckley]

Originally Posted by SDH

What the hell is all this vegan car stuff about. Google search goes ape s**t with people avoiding leather in the states in their quest for a vegan car! A vegan car; WTF?

Sorry OP this is a little OT

LOL! It's ok. Now back to my burger in my nice leather interior . . .

[the_phew]

I want cloth seats in my BMW. Not because I want my car to be vegan or whatever, but because they look awesome:

[Versipellis]

So merino is fine for the 4, but not the 3? :

(Also, probably a silly question, but what is BMW Exclusive?)

[hinckley]

Originally Posted by Versipellis

(Also, probably a silly question, but what is BMW Exclusive?)

Ya, my nomenclature was pretty bad in my OP. Guess I have Audi on my mind. It was a BMW Individual doc.

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by Versipellis

So merino is fine for the 4, but not the 3? :

(Also, probably a silly question, but what is BMW Exclusive?)

He meant Individual. And yes, 4s can get merino, 3's can't here in the US. Makes no sense, but this is the same company that makes the 5GT. I kid!

[Adamr916]

I'd be down for the Alcantara seats, not a big fan of leather or the sensatec most of them get.

[Jim E.]

You need to at least personally know the sales manager, owner of the dealership and have special ordered cars from that dealership to even have a chance, which is still not guaranteed.

[bjcarls]

I would pay for nappa or merino as an option, or at least seat ventilation. It's a shame.

[JCV816]

Merino leather is not "crash tested" in the US. The side impact airbags are mounted in the seats.

[cptcrunch]

I tried to order Merino leather on my 340i and was told no by BMWNA. BMWNA said that no 3 series has merino leather in the states as its not offered even through the individual program. It is available on the 4 series though at a (quoted) $500 upcharge.

[NewM3driver]

My dealer looked into it for me and has an email from BMWNA saying the merino full leather will be available on the 3 series for the 2017 allocations.... So, we are waiting until the middle of the month to order my 340 and I have been told it will not be a problem at that time.

I asked for full merino black. I'll let you guys know what happens.

[Jim E.]

Originally Posted by NewM3driver

My dealer looked into it for me and has an email from BMWNA saying the merino full leather will be available on the 3 series for the 2017 allocations.... So, we are waiting until the middle of the month to order my 340 and I have been told it will not be a problem at that time.

I asked for full merino black. I'll let you guys know what happens.

You can do this now as a "special order." If your dealer means that BMW NA will now allow dealers to use the order system directly then that's a different story.

Right now things are done manually.

Everyone needs to please stop with the "it's not available" response. Granted, not every single thing you may want is available but you can make special orders/individual requests.

What people don't seem to understand is that most SA's are utterly clueless when it comes to this, don't know special option codes, don't want to be bothered etc.... Just because you are adding options doesn't' mean they are making more money either so what is their real incentive to add complication to the order and have it potentially go wrong? And at the end of the day, the SA doesn't have the final word because the owner of the dealership (or one of if there are multiple) has to actually sign off on that special order and once it's confirmed and accepted it is not cancellable.

So now perhaps this puts my prior post above in context in that you nee to have a relationship with your dealership etc....

I have a 20+ year relationship with my dealership even though they are nowhere near my residence. In turn, I have 6 individual/special orders that I have made through them. And yes, I did ALL the legwork each and every time.

Oh, and to the post above about "crash tested." That was the excuse with the E90. Perhaps that was also the excuse used for the F3X when they first came out but that's not the case today. Frankly that's just an excuse as there is no DOT or FMVSS standard that requires crash testing of different leathers that I have been able to find.

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by Jim E.

You can do this now as a "special order." If your dealer means that BMW NA will now allow dealers to use the order system directly then that's a different story.

Right now things are done manually.

Everyone needs to please stop with the "it's not available" response. Granted, not every single thing you may want is available but you can make special orders/individual requests.

What people don't seem to understand is that most SA's are utterly clueless when it comes to this, don't know special option codes, don't want to be bothered etc.... Just because you are adding options doesn't' mean they are making more money either so what is their real incentive to add complication to the order and have it potentially go wrong? And at the end of the day, the SA doesn't have the final word because the owner of the dealership (or one of if there are multiple) has to actually sign off on that special order and once it's confirmed and accepted it is not cancellable.

So now perhaps this puts my prior post above in context in that you nee to have a relationship with your dealership etc....

I have a 20+ year relationship with my dealership even though they are nowhere near my residence. In turn, I have 6 individual/special orders that I have made through them. And yes, I did ALL the legwork each and every time.

Oh, and to the post above about "crash tested." That was the excuse with the E90. Perhaps that was also the excuse used for the F3X when they first came out but that's not the case today. Frankly that's just an excuse as there is no DOT or FMVSS standard that requires crash testing of different leathers that I have been able to find.

Do you have merino in a 3 then?

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by the_phew

I want cloth seats in my BMW. Not because I want my car to be vegan or whatever, but because they look awesome:

Swap in the F80 seats

One thing to be aware of, if this stuff matters to you, is that some people will think your car is a base model and be underwhelmed by the interior of your car (like most are with my F80 cloth interior)

The oyster leather in my wife's old E90 got a lot more compliments, and only really hardcore enthusiasts appreciate cloth

[Jim E.]

Originally Posted by spuntyb

Do you have merino in a 3 then?

f31 on order and approved with documentation. It's a Z1XX order if you know what that is along with extra options such as VSS.

About a 14 week lead time plus it took me 1.5 months to negotiate and get it the way I want. I'm guessing that's a non-starter for about 99% of the people.

Could they come back in the future and tell me we changed our minds? Sure I guess they could. Fingers crossed...

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by Jim E.

f31 on order and approved with documentation. It's a Z1XX order if you know what that is along with extra options such as VSS.

About a 14 week lead time plus it took me 1.5 months to negotiate and get it the way I want. I'm guessing that's a non-starter for about 99% of the people.

Could they come back in the future and tell me we changed our minds? Sure I guess they could. Fingers crossed...

Nice. Same here - fingers crossed.

[hinckley]

Originally Posted by Jim E.

You can do this now as a "special order." If your dealer means that BMW NA will now allow dealers to use the order system directly then that's a different story.

Right now things are done manually.

Everyone needs to please stop with the "it's not available" response. Granted, not every single thing you may want is available but you can make special orders/individual requests.

What people don't seem to understand

Wow, dude. You're making a lot of assumptions about what you know and what others know. You seem very close to the old adage about what happens when you "ass-ume".

So could you post some pics of your special order (did I get that term right, coach?) 3 Series interior?