Order Placed! (Struggling to finalise an order, need help on options!)

[325_bucks]

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

Meant to mention that I'm properly jealous of the ceramic controls, that will be something tactile you feel and enjoy each time you drive! ^

Yeah I love the way it feels especially on the idrive controller

[Pelo Cat]

S850A Dummy-SALAPA

S850A ZUSƒTZL. TANKF‹LLUNG EXPORT

means "extra fuel tank contents for export" which could be either A) use a larger fuel tank, or B) put additional fuel in the tank when it leaves as it is an export vehicle, for whatever reason.

and:

S8KAA Dummy-SALAPA

No listing...hard to translate that one, I'll go with: "we have ways of making you guess!"

[Pelo Cat]

Originally Posted by FastLaneJB

No need to get the tape measure out. I already checked that you can fit a body in there. Probably two even

I was trying to figure out what you could possibly have said to get him to voluntarily go in there...then the penny dropped:

'No, honestly, there's a game console in there...have a look!'

[Pelo Cat]

Originally Posted by 325_bucks

Yeah I love the way it feels especially on the idrive controller

Yeah, had it once on a rental (not a 7 though) and I loved the way it felt...properly luxurious instead of plastic. That together with the new touch controls in this generation of 7 make a stunning pair.

BTW, I read somewhere that this generation of 7 is the first (at least BMW) to have only LED lights in it (everywhere, not just headlights). I'll need to check that I haven't got that wrong but found that cool as well personally.

[FastLaneJB]

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

I was trying to figure out what you could possibly have said to get him to voluntarily go in there...then the penny dropped:

'No, honestly, there's a game console in there...have a look!'

Nothing that complex. He's a bit simple and wanted to see if he'd fit

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

Yeah, had it once on a rental (not a 7 though) and I loved the way it felt...properly luxurious instead of plastic. That together with the new touch controls in this generation of 7 make a stunning pair.

BTW, I read somewhere that this generation of 7 is the first (at least BMW) to have only LED lights in it (everywhere, not just headlights). I'll need to check that I haven't got that wrong but found that cool as well personally.

Yeah the ceramic controls are a nice little touch.

I wonder how it goes in France where your supposed to have a spare bulb. Can you get away with saying they are all LED? Do you need to carry a spare laser?

I was looking at the headlining today. As I've got it now according to the configurator it'll be black I believe. Seats are Cashmere and then the floor is black again (So won't show muddy footprints, etc). Looks like if you pay £145 or so I think that turns the headliner to a white. I believe both are Alcantara because for instance if you try to remove the tick from the Alcantara headliner after ticking it, it wants to remove the Cashmere option as well.

The lighter colour might be nicer to make it a bit more airy however it's a different colour from the cashmere as you can see. So think I'll stick with the black. The pictures show you what I mean.

The problem with waiting is you start to wonder if you should tweak the configuration a bit!

[Pelo Cat]

Originally Posted by FastLaneJB

Nothing that complex. He's a bit simple and wanted to see if he'd fit

Originally Posted by FastLaneJB

I wonder how it goes in France where your supposed to have a spare bulb. Can you get away with saying they are all LED? Do you need to carry a spare laser?

I checked my manual to see what it says about spare bulbs and it says no user serviceable parts, see a qualified dealer...so, I'd show that to them first, then failing that...pull out the lasers...and dump the body in the boot. Sorted.

Originally Posted by FastLaneJB

I was looking at the headlining today. As I've got it now according to the configurator it'll be black I believe. Seats are Cashmere and then the floor is black again (So won't show muddy footprints, etc). Looks like if you pay £145 or so I think that turns the headliner to a white. I believe both are Alcantara because for instance if you try to remove the tick from the Alcantara headliner after ticking it, it wants to remove the Cashmere option as well.

The lighter colour might be nicer to make it a bit more airy however it's a different colour from the cashmere as you can see. So think I'll stick with the black. The pictures show you what I mean.

The problem with waiting is you start to wonder if you should tweak the configuration a bit!

Yeah, I can imagine the temptation to tweak must be powerful...

Personally I'd stick with black (which is the opposite of my usual preference of wanting lighter colours and a brighter interior)...the reason: a simple one but may not come to bear with yours...

dirty hands (yours or others) when getting in or out...I don't mean grease from the workshop, rather just daily dirt from kids, relatives that don't value the car like you do, etc...using the A Pillar to help them get in or out of the car, especially if they are older...and after a few times, you can see small smudges. I had it in a.n. other brand of German car and I had to look at the dirt (as I couldn't get it to come off) for over a year before I could switch the company car... (I mention this as the A / B pillar area can be the first point of finger contact in such cases so any dirt does go there instead of on the seat, door handles, etc..I realise we will both have light coloured interiors and these could also show dirt but the pillars where the headlining can be different is a common gripping point...hope that explains my logic!)

If that is not an issue, I'd go for the lighter colour, it will be brighter and I think look far better when you do have the ambient lighting on with the sky lounge glass sunroofs, etc...but definitely a personal preference.

I'm sure both you and 325_bucks are aware but just in case, you both realise that you also get 5 years or 50k miles service inclusive with the 7? (a nice benefit over other cars IIRC)...depending on your mileage this can be a great boon.

[FastLaneJB]

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

I checked my manual to see what it says about spare bulbs and it says no user serviceable parts, see a qualified dealer...so, I'd show that to them first, then failing that...pull out the lasers...and dump the body in the boot. Sorted.

And remember not to use a car wash after you've dumped the body. You've got to look after the paintwork remember

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

Yeah, I can imagine the temptation to tweak must be powerful...

Personally I'd stick with black (which is the opposite of my usual preference of wanting lighter colours and a brighter interior)...the reason: a simple one but may not come to bear with yours...

dirty hands (yours or others) when getting in or out...I don't mean grease from the workshop, rather just daily dirt from kids, relatives that don't value the car like you do, etc...using the A Pillar to help them get in or out of the car, especially if they are older...and after a few times, you can see small smudges. I had it in a.n. other brand of German car and I had to look at the dirt (as I couldn't get it to come off) for over a year before I could switch the company car...

If that is not an issue, I'd go for the lighter colour, it will be brighter and I think look far better when you do have the ambient lighting on with the sky lounge glass sunroofs, etc...but definitely a personal preference.

That's a really solid good reason. I'm not too worried about the kids as they know dad loves his car more than he does them so they better not dirty it up

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

I'm sure both you and 325_bucks are aware but just in case, you both realise that you also get 5 years or 50k miles service inclusive with the 7? (a nice benefit over other cars IIRC)...depending on your mileage this can be a great boon.

No I didn't know this, is there a link on this? I believe BMW dropped their warranty levels on their service package since you brought it as they are 3 years or 36,000 miles now. Not quite so trusting of their handy work anymore

https://www.bmw-service.co.uk/service_packs

Having said that I did notice my sales guy didn't add a service pack to my order which I've yet to discuss with him. He normally has slipped them in on the past because I've always had them however now with the new pack and the lower mileage I'm not sure it makes so much sense.

As an example my M5 needs its first service in around 1,500 miles and I'll have had it for 2 years on 1st March. So it's possible I might end up handing it back before I've had to take it in for a single service the service pack covers. The 1,200 mile oil change M cars need is always free regardless so not counting that one which obviously it's had done.

[Pelo Cat]

Originally Posted by FastLaneJB

No I didn't know this, is there a link on this? I believe BMW dropped their warranty levels on their service package since you brought it as they are 3 years or 36,000 miles now. Not quite so trusting of their handy work anymore

https://www.bmw-service.co.uk/service_packs

Having said that I did notice my sales guy didn't add a service pack to my order which I've yet to discuss with him. He normally has slipped them in on the past because I've always had them however now with the new pack and the lower mileage I'm not sure it makes so much sense.

As an example my M5 needs its first service in around 1,500 miles and I'll have had it for 2 years on 1st March. So it's possible I might end up handing it back before I've had to take it in for a single service the service pack covers. The 1,200 mile oil change M cars need is always free regardless so not counting that one which obviously it's had done.

https://www.bmw.co.uk/pdfs/price-lis...nuary_2018.pdf

Yes, you can find references on the above pdf for new 2018 models (last page) as well as the BMW UK website...it does say 3 years 36k for most models but later down it shows for 7's that it is 50k 5 years. All come with it standard.

[325_bucks]

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

https://www.bmw.co.uk/pdfs/price-lis...nuary_2018.pdf

Yes, you can find references on the above pdf for new 2018 models (last page) as well as the BMW UK website...it does say 3 years 36k for most models but later down it shows for 7's that it is 50k 5 years. All come with it standard.

Yep definitely 5 years/50k on the 5 series, inclusive, which is a great cost saver

[Pelo Cat]

It's a bit hidden but here as well:

https://www.bmw.co.uk/bmw-ownership/...vice-inclusive

Scroll down to the part where it talks about 7 series...

[FastLaneJB]

Thanks guys. Clearly I didn't do enough research on some of this. I just thought it was awesomely fast and I needed one in my life

I have to say I do love some of the perks of having the top end car models. They'll probably put an extra sugar in my tea while they service it as well for free

[Pelo Cat]

Originally Posted by 325_bucks

Yep definitely 5 years/50k on the 5 series, inclusive, which is a great cost saver

It's a big factor for me as a company car allowance point...compared to a 5 series for example...mind you I end up doing 100k in 4 years so blow through the 50k mark too quickly, still nice to have.

[Pelo Cat]

Just to wind FastLaneJB up a bit after saving him some money...

Have you guys seen the BMW Individual FaceBook / Instagram posts where they are clearly driving his car around Portugal and showing it off elsewhere? (on a serious note, stunning colour, assume this is the colour you ordered? and do you get the 'manufactured' notes on the door sill and dash as well? (A big note to say the pics are obviously copyright BMW Individual!)

[FastLaneJB]

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

It's a big factor for me as a company car allowance point...compared to a 5 series for example...mind you I end up doing 100k in 4 years so blow through the 50k mark too quickly, still nice to have.

I can see why you went for a 730d then if it's a company car. The BIK on a M760Li probably blows the roof off your tax bill.

There's a guy down the road that's an IT contractor, self employed with all the normal tax benefits those kinds tend to find. He's driving a Tesla Model X (Had a Model S before) and as much as he swears by them, I know really it's because it's all electric and tax wise it'll work out really well for him.

Me on the other hand being a perm with no car allowance can go right the other way without being penalized by it. The government has even shot itself in the foot with how they tax cars now.

If you close your eyes, stick your fingers in your ears and sing out loud so the £2k first year tax bill flies right on by (299gm CO2 in this bad boy) for the rest of the years it just makes no real difference if you ask me.

£140 for being petrol or diesel + £310 because the car is over £40k = £450 a year.

Electric car like Tesla is going to be £310 a year because it's over £40k, not that much of a saving really.

My BMW M5 renewal just came though and that's £520 a year on the old car tax system. So the new car tax rules means I can switch to a stonking V12 and pay less car tax in the following years than the M5 costs. How's that a tax scheme geared to helping the environment?

And the final funny thing about this is you can buy a new V8 Mustang for less than £40k. So you can just pay £140 to tax it now vs the £520 it would have been like my M5 before. The engines in those aren't all that refined so the CO2 output is pretty damn high if I remember right. It's less than an electric Telsa.

Also the greater than £40k thing is just a means of taxing people with more money obviously but it's not geared in any way to helping the environment. It stands to reason that generally a more expensive car will have more technology thrown at it so if it's a like for like model it's probably better for the environment. I'm pretty sure they don't go to the ends of the earth on engine design on a car that costs £10k new. A car of the same size but just over £40k is I would hazard a guess going to have a much more refined engine.

Bravo UK government, bravo

P.S. I've just remembered you've a job around this kind of thing don't you? I hope your not planning to chain yourself to my car to try and save the environment.

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

Just to wind FastLaneJB up a bit after saving him some money...

Have you guys seen the BMW Individual FaceBook / Instagram posts where they are clearly driving his car around Portugal and showing it off elsewhere? (on a serious note, stunning colour, assume this is the colour you ordered? and do you get the 'manufactured' notes on the door sill and dash as well? (A big note to say the pics are obviously copyright BMW Individual!)

That's the colour but door sills have V12 on them

This video shows you the colour a bit but indeed it's the most amazing blue colour on a car I've ever seen. It's reasonably different from the EB2 blue M Sport 3 series you often see on the roads but to the average person once I've debadged the car and put on a 320d badge they'll never know

P.S. I think I've just seen something that suggests you can fold out the sides on the headrests like you can on the M5. I do quite like that on my M5.

[Pelo Cat]

Beautiful. Even I wouldn't take that colour through a car wash. I'm not sure I want to meet up anymore if its going to be hard to get back in mine!

Yeah, UK tax (strategy) changes are just like the Brexit strategy...non existent.

For that reason, it added to the argument for me to buy a year old approved used model before the April 2017 changes this time around.

The wife needs a new daily though...so will try to talk her into the need for a V12... (she did say she wanted an automatic this time and a big boot...)

Job wise, although a meteorologist, I'm no longer with a national weather service doing operation meteorology (forecasting and the like) as it was turning into an IT job and all the analysis was being done by the computers (still is) with humans only looking into where it goes wrong and then modifying the code to improve that. Great work if you like it but not for me so went over to private industry and help them design better instruments to measure the weather.

It's great as each day is a new application or industry and use case, and I still get to travel a fair amount (but not as much as the poor sales chaps that are always on the road). We do work with car manufacturers and aerodynamics / wind tunnels but I can't say more than that due to NDA's.

We also manufacture very exacting products that provide the reference parameter that CO2 is measured against for national green house gas monitoring and budgets, so you can blame me I guess!

Anyway, getting closer for delivery for you both, different cars but both stunning vehicles that you'll both love.

[FastLaneJB]

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

Beautiful. Even I wouldn't take that colour through a car wash. I'm not sure I want to meet up anymore if its going to be hard to get back in mine!

Yeah, UK tax (strategy) changes are just like the Brexit strategy...non existent.

For that reason, it added to the argument for me to buy a year old approved used model before the April 2017 changes this time around.

The wife needs a new daily though...so will try to talk her into the need for a V12... (she did say she wanted an automatic this time and a big boot...)

Job wise, although a meteorologist, I'm no longer with a national weather service doing operation meteorology (forecasting and the like) as it was turning into an IT job and all the analysis was being done by the computers (still is) with humans only looking into where it goes wrong and then modifying the code to improve that. Great work if you like it but not for me so went over to private industry and help them design better instruments to measure the weather.

It's great as each day is a new application or industry and use case, and I still get to travel a fair amount (but not as much as the poor sales chaps that are always on the road). We do work with car manufacturers and aerodynamics / wind tunnels but I can't say more than that due to NDA's.

We also manufacture very exacting products that provide the reference parameter that CO2 is measured against for national green house gas monitoring and budgets, so you can blame me I guess!

Anyway, getting closer for delivery for you both, different cars but both stunning vehicles that you'll both love.

If your wife is anything like mine she won't even know what V12 means. I once told her my M5 is a DCT and she refused to drive it since as it's not a normal automatic. You need to keep the complexity to 4 wheels, pedals and a steering wheel

when I was a kid I always remember the weather man predicting snow, getting excited and it never arriving. I was sure they just had one of those big wheels with a needle on and just spin it for the days weather. They could get away with being wrong because people expected them to be wrong

These days the weather is so much better forecast. As you say it's probably just a lot more computer power and better models that allow them to forecast it all better. Plus our knowledge of weather as a whole is improving over time.

Even in IT we have to reinvent ourselves as IT makes our current IT skill sets redundant or less required. It's a never ending battle to be honest.

Tis a little off topic but personally I lean towards the whole AI and automation of jobs as a huge threat. Some people say anytime some major industrial revolution comes it creates new jobs to replace the ones it's removed. However once we finally get AI to a good enough level, it'll be able to replace all jobs pretty much if want to let it. Will take time but even the 30% of jobs being made redundant in 20 - 30 years is a scary thought. Especially as my field is somewhat helping that happen.

Hence I figure if I can destroy the planet first with my V12 I can avoid having to carry that guilt

[Pelo Cat]

Originally Posted by 325_bucks

Thank you. Between the two lashing eyes would be great as that’s the dimension I measured on mine.

Sorry it took so long, work has kept me busy today! That dimension is 78 cm, lashing eye to lashing eye. I checked that this did not get smaller in dimension further back and it doesn't. I also measured the height of the boot near the seats where the parcel shelf tapers down and is lower than at the boot lip and that is a minimum of 51 cm high. The final dimension you may want is the length of the boot space, which is 111 cm but beware that this is not cubic, in the sense that the rear seats slope towards the top (into the boot space so you lose some of that length as you move up the boot...(it is likely no less than 100 cm at the top for length but I am guessing it is 10 cm slope over the 51 cm height. Hope that all makes sense and is of use. A picture says a thousand words so here are the three main dimensions you asked for. I didn't measure the width (max. at the boot opening or width of that space as I assume you don't need that info but let me know if you do want that as well. Curious how it compares in these dimensions to the 6 you have and the M5 of FLJB...I would have thought the boot dimensions to be the same on all three but maybe I am wrong? HTH, Cheers, Pelo!

[FastLaneJB]

I'll grab a measurement myself probably tomorrow. However my gut feeling is the width once inside the boot is wider on the M5. Maybe the room needed to fit in extras like air springs, rear wheel steering?

Might be why the rear passenger space is a bit cramped vs the 5 series? They've lost some width on the boot so had to extend the length to make up for it?

[325_bucks]

Thanks so much @pelo_cat! This is perfect, you’ve given so much help it’s really appreciated.

The width of my 6 is 88cm, so quite a lot wider. Those air suspension parts are huge!

[tyzer]

Originally Posted by 325_bucks

Thanks so much @pelo_cat! This is perfect, you’ve given so much help it’s really appreciated.

The width of my 6 is 88cm, so quite a lot wider. Those air suspension parts are huge!

I had a six before my seven and you do notice how much smaller it is. Its funny as the arse of the seven is huge but the space inside is not. It's like the opposite to the tardis!

[325_bucks]

Originally Posted by tyzer

I had a six before my seven and you do notice how much smaller it is. Its funny as the arse of the seven is huge but the space inside is not. It's like the opposite to the tardis!

Yeah. On the other hand the height and depth of the boot is quite a lot bigger in the 7, which is good

[Pelo Cat]

Originally Posted by FastLaneJB

If your wife is anything like mine she won't even know what V12 means.

heh, well she does know quite a bit about motors and loves engineering but I know what you mean about spouses not taking to our passion like we do!

We were in a BMW dealer today in fact looking to see what she might get next...no conclusion yet but looks like a BMW is still favourite anyway. ^

Originally Posted by FastLaneJB

when I was a kid I always remember the weather man predicting snow, getting excited and it never arriving. I was sure they just had one of those big wheels with a needle on and just spin it for the days weather. They could get away with being wrong because people expected them to be wrong

These days the weather is so much better forecast. As you say it's probably just a lot more computer power and better models that allow them to forecast it all better. Plus our knowledge of weather as a whole is improving over time.

Yes, we are now at a point where over 85% of the time we can forecast conditions 72 hours out correctly, whereas a decade ago, it was only 24 hours out that we could have 85% accuracy.

Two issues still continue to affect this, even in the days of such processing power: 1) Chaos theory: even when we know what the start state is and the end state for the weather, we can't forecast it as the conditions are chaotic and you won't always get the same result as crazy as that sounds. It's what makes me so love this branch of science. ^ 2) The outliers (the other 15% of the time we get it wrong, it tends to be wildly wrong as the small details matter and can wildly affect the outcome. For this reason weather forecasting is now the best gambling algorithms going. Typically we use numerical weather forecasting and ensemble forecasting to try to see what we think is most likely to happen no matter how much we tweak it but when the pattern doesn't fit, it can be wildly different so the public notices that as you have also noted!

I can imagine the IT branch does have to keep ahead of the curve and indeed reinvent itself continuously. I don't envy you that but very interesting changes always occurring.

Originally Posted by FastLaneJB

Maybe the room needed to fit in extras like air springs, rear wheel steering?

Might be why the rear passenger space is a bit cramped vs the 5 series? They've lost some width on the boot so had to extend the length to make up for it?

Interesting points, could very well be the reason as the F01 didn't have full air suspension (at least my 2011 that did have more rear seat room) even though it was 2.5 cm shorter than the current G11.

Originally Posted by 325_bucks

Thanks so much @pelo_cat! This is perfect, you’ve given so much help it’s really appreciated.

The width of my 6 is 88cm, so quite a lot wider. Those air suspension parts are huge!

Very happy to have helped, no worries. Thanks for the kind words. ^

Regarding G11 to G12 space and differences in seat / leg room:

In the showroom today I could sit in a 760 Li (G12) to see how much leg room I'd have in that and compare to my own G11...the difference is not as marked as I would have thought, but as FastLaneJB mentioned, it is only 13 cm difference in length outside. I put the seat where I think I would drive in the 760 (and as good as a guess at where I sit in mine as well) and then sat in the back and put the rear seat in the 'default' position (using the button for this) and then look some pictures to show the difference. No tape measure with me but it was certainly no more than 10 cm, my feeling is that it was actually less but somewhere between 8-13 cm indeed.

I must drive in 'gansta' mode with the seat as far back as it goes and maybe others are more 'proper!'...

Anyway, here are the two seats of pics: My G11 spacing in same seat positions, as you can see only a few 2-5 cm distance to seat back when I sit 'behind myself'. Then the bottom two are the G12 760Li same conditions. More space but not the 20-30 cm that I remember from the F02 or E66 models...that has definitely changed and so something to be aware of (although both have plenty of space, when once considers this would be two 6'1" people behind each other. Also, worth noting that this was in the exec lounge seating that seems to be everywhere in the show room 760Li's so these may be more forward or in a different position that the 'standard' rear seats when no exec lounge seating is chosen. A point of conversation about spacing, not a criticism or whinge!