[Wild Blue]

You guys may be sick of me lurking, as I've been here on Bimmerpost stalking the X7 since back when the model was only a rumor. You may have seen my early-on threads with preliminary pictures and reviews when it finally got released. But my own X7 is FINALLY about here! (about time)

I'm moving on from my beloved 2004 330i w/ZHP with much reluctance. Has been a perfect unicorn vehicle (and still under 100k miles), bought new when I was stationed in Germany. But more than it just being 17 years old, I'M getting old, and need an auto tranny and higher sitting height. This year hit me hard, physically, too, getting sick when my company mandated that I travel internationally during the height of the COVID outbreak.

This X7 is a VERY special car to me. Because of a muscle disease, and that I obviously keep my cars long-term, this will be the last car I'll ever drive. I've wanted to do it right. I don't have a ton of extra money to spend on a car, so I've been saving up for more than 10 years, and doing a ton of research, to be able to get the exact perfect car that I want. Hence, why I've been here the last couple years, as I save up the rest of the funding.

I had pre-ordered a Dark Shadow X7 in July, but had a very bad experience with BMW of Anchorage, and they canceled my order after they waited until it was already enroute to the dealer. Details in this post here. So I tried to order an M50i from a broker here on Bimmerpost, but was told there were no production slots open, and any eventual discount would be small. I waited for a slot from the broker, but never got one, so eventually I moved on. Got a great deal from another dealer, with a production slot, and 10% off before incentives.

So the order just hit the third dot on the BMW order tracker yesterday, "Production Begins". Likely not actually physically started, but no worries. It was originally a Week 5 production, that got delayed to Week 9, but must have been moved back up some.

Fully loaded 2021 X7 M50i, in Mineral White, black interior, and Ash Grain matte wood trim. 22" wheels. Nothing too different than what ya'll have done, but again, this car's very special to me. I'm disappointed that with the 2021 deletions I wasn't able to get Night Vision, Ambient Air, and Full Black Leather, but... oh, well. The time was right for me to buy, and didn't want to wait any more, on the hope those items return. Was even hoping BMW would return those features in 2021.5 models in December, but... apparently not.

I'm doing a Performance Center Delivery, and got my confirmation date of Feb 24th. Based on others' great PCD experiences, I'm anticipating a wonderful couple days. And after picking up the X7, she's going right around the corner the same day to Extreme Colors Auto Spa for full PPF, ceramic coating, window tinting, and more, which will take a little less than a week. Then it's going to be a massive, massive road trip, literally cross-continent, back to Alaska. I'll do a separate thread documenting the PCD and road trip with pictures, as I'm guessing people will be interested to see.

Planning lots of accessories, too. Programming, mods. Will discuss

Finally happening! Can't wait!

[m-prsev]

Congratulations! The PCD sounds like it will be quite an experience. Looking forward to seeing the posts to come.

[x7bmw23]

Awesome and congrats. I took delivery last week and I was stuck on "Production Begins" on the website for like two weeks. Following that darn dot EVERY day was painful! Then it would move three dots in a day! I'm thankful that they're manufactured here in the USA instead of Germany. I couldn't imagine trying to track a ship and the route it takes to get here.

Sounds like you have a little wait on your hands but you'll be over the moon when it arrives.

[jasheaer]

I didn't realize they were still doing PCD as an option ... I figured with COVID that would be cancelled...

I should have asked...

Jay

[760Lifan]

Well, what can I say....

CONGRATS and.....FINALLY!

[MystroX5]

Welcome to our “cult”....I mean club. THE best luxury/muscle full size SUV. Obviously you did your research and know you are really getting a special rig. I too plan on keeping my X7 long term.

[bradythedog12]

Congrats, Wild Blue!!

[Luminor513]

Congrats on the M50. Sorry about all your troubles but it led you to this awesome Mineral
white M50. Gonna be a gorgeous car, please share pics when you do PCD. Enjoy your new beast when it arrives.

[MystroX5]

Blue,

What tire/wheels are you taking your trip back?? Reason I ask is the winter weather you are going to hit going through the mid west will need at least AS tires. I travel from PA to Florida every year on vacation in Feb and winter weather is not a factor from North Carolina down but Virginia on north is usually everything from slop to snow.

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by MystroX5

Bill,

What tire/wheels are you taking your trip back?? Reason I ask is the winter weather you are going to hit going through the mid west will need at least AS tires. I travel from PA to Florida every year on vacation in Feb and winter weather is not a factor from North Carolina down but Virginia on north is usually everything from slop to snow.

(I assume you meant me) Yeah, you hit a key point. The road trip will be in March, after a week of PPF and ceramic coats. I'll probably be taking a southern route across the lower 48, but sooner or later will turn north. And even if Canada doesn't let me drive through (have kept a pulse on this the last 4+ months) and I have to ship the car from Washington State to Alaska, I'll still need winter tires up here in AK.

So at some point, I'll need to get those winter wheels. BMWUSA still shows the all-black 752 winter set in stock, which is what I would want. Just have to figure out at what point to take delivery and put the winter wheels on, and put the summers in the trunk. Whether at the SC dealer closest to the PCD, or wait until further West, when I start turning north. I assume the set of 4 wheels will fully fill the trunk on their own.

All part of the big delivery and road trip planning I'm doing.

[MystroX5]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

(I assume you meant me) Yeah, you hit a key point. The road trip will be in March, after a week of PPF and ceramic coats. I'll probably be taking a southern route across the lower 48, but sooner or later will turn north. And even if Canada doesn't let me drive through (have kept a pulse on this the last 4+ months) and I have to ship the car from Washington State to Alaska, I'll still need winter tires up here in AK.

So at some point, I'll need to get those winter wheels. BMWUSA still shows the all-black 752 winter set in stock, which is what I would want. Just have to figure out at what point to take delivery and put the winter wheels on, and put the summers in the trunk. Whether at the SC dealer closest to the PCD, or wait until further West, when I start turning north. I assume the set of 4 wheels will fully fill the trunk on their own.

All part of the big delivery and road trip planning I'm doing.

O.k, I was hoping you had a snow contingency plan.

[LittleJoe]

Congratulations. What a road trip that will be, you will have over 5000 miles on your new rig until you get it back home.

[Wanderer73]

Huge congrats! I know you've been at this for a LONG time. That is going to be a hell of a road trip! I'm jealous. I picked my M50i up on the east coast and drove it 1,600+ miles to CO solo. It was too much fun. I don't know how you drive, but my Uniden R6 was my trusted friend.

Cheers!

[Savoy2001]

Congrats dude. Just curious though since your taking such a trek and ultimately ending up in Alaska in winter yet why not order the car with the 21as? At least you wouldn’t have to worry about changing out and installing and carrying 4 rims/tires on this journey. Wouldn’t trust have been much easier?

[LimaSierra]

Gonna be sweet! Grats!



--Nate

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by Savoy2001

Congrats dude. Just curious though since your taking such a trek and ultimately ending up in Alaska in winter yet why not order the car with the 21as? At least you wouldn’t have to worry about changing out and installing and carrying 4 rims/tires on this journey. Wouldn’t trust have been much easier?

Excellent point. I debated for a long time, going with 21's, if nothing else, than being consistent when swapping out with a 21" winter tire set. Regardless, I did want to go with a second winter set, for true winter performance, and true summer performance. (goes back to the principle of "All Season tires are No Season tires")

So, if I was getting a second winter set anyway, I eventually just decided to go with the 22" summers. I think they look better, and they're no cost on the M50i, so... heck with it.

If I end up deciding not to pack a second set of rims/tires on the road trip, I think I could get away with the 22", doing a southern route to LA, then I-5 due north to WA State. Then ship the car from WA to AK, and get the winter rims/tires at the AK BMW dealer. (I've had good experiences with their service, even if it was bad with sales)

[djbonsu]

Congrats from a fellow Mineral White owner!!

[unfoundnemo]

Finally! Congrats!

I'm hoping I could do a PCD for my next car. I've said that the last two times, but I think I really might maybe mean it this time.

Once I get close to the end of a lease, and being a short drive from both NYC and Philadelphia with a ton of dealers, I'm usually able to find something close to my build spec that's been sitting around for a while, so I end up with a unicorn deal and lose my chance. Horrible, I know.

[jasheaer]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

Excellent point. I debated for a long time, going with 21's, if nothing else, than being consistent when swapping out with a 21" winter tire set. Regardless, I did want to go with a second winter set, for true winter performance, and true summer performance. (goes back to the principle of "All Season tires are No Season tires")

So, if I was getting a second winter set anyway, I eventually just decided to go with the 22" summers. I think they look better, and they're no cost on the M50i, so... heck with it.

If I end up deciding not to pack a second set of rims/tires on the road trip, I think I could get away with the 22", doing a southern route to LA, then I-5 due north to WA State. Then ship the car from WA to AK, and get the winter rims/tires at the AK BMW dealer. (I've had good experiences with their service, even if it was bad with sales)

Same thought process I've had for my last 2 Xs. Just so you're aware, when I sold my X5d to a guy in Pennsylvania last month, we packed up the summers in the back and they fit fine laying down with the seats folded and wrapped in blankets, so no doubt they would fit in the X7 if you decide to do that.

Jay

[Cocogrey1985]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

Excellent point. I debated for a long time, going with 21's, if nothing else, than being consistent when swapping out with a 21" winter tire set. Regardless, I did want to go with a second winter set, for true winter performance, and true summer performance. (goes back to the principle of "All Season tires are No Season tires")

So, if I was getting a second winter set anyway, I eventually just decided to go with the 22" summers. I think they look better, and they're no cost on the M50i, so... heck with it.

If I end up deciding not to pack a second set of rims/tires on the road trip, I think I could get away with the 22", doing a southern route to LA, then I-5 due north to WA State. Then ship the car from WA to AK, and get the winter rims/tires at the AK BMW dealer. (I've had good experiences with their service, even if it was bad with sales)

Just so you know, going I5 north, you're gonna have to go through the pass which is usually pretty nasty in the winter. I live in Oregon and do the I5 drive every winter down to San Diego where my family is and more often than not, the roads are pretty bad through the pass.

[wesleyan92]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

You guys may be sick of me lurking, as I've been here on Bimmerpost stalking the X7 since back when the model was only a rumor. You may have seen my early-on threads with preliminary pictures and reviews when it finally got released. But my own X7 is FINALLY about here! (about time)

I'm moving on from my beloved 2004 330i w/ZHP with much reluctance. Has been a perfect unicorn vehicle (and still under 100k miles), bought new when I was stationed in Germany. But more than it just being 17 years old, I'M getting old, and need an auto tranny and higher sitting height. This year hit me hard, physically, too, getting sick when my company mandated that I travel internationally during the height of the COVID outbreak.

This X7 is a VERY special car to me. Because of a muscle disease, and that I obviously keep my cars long-term, this will be the last car I'll ever drive. I've wanted to do it right. I don't have a ton of extra money to spend on a car, so I've been saving up for more than 10 years, and doing a ton of research, to be able to get the exact perfect car that I want. Hence, why I've been here the last couple years, as I save up the rest of the funding.

I had pre-ordered a Dark Shadow X7 in July, but had a very bad experience with BMW of Anchorage, and they canceled my order after they waited until it was already enroute to the dealer. Details in this post here. So I tried to order an M50i from a broker here on Bimmerpost, but was told there were no production slots open, and any eventual discount would be small. I waited for a slot from the broker, but never got one, so eventually I moved on. Got a great deal from another dealer, with a production slot, and 10% off before incentives.

So the order just hit the third dot on the BMW order tracker yesterday, "Production Begins". Likely not actually physically started, but no worries. It was originally a Week 5 production, that got delayed to Week 9, but must have been moved back up some.

Fully loaded 2021 X7 M50i, in Mineral White, black interior, and Ash Grain matte wood trim. 22" wheels. Nothing too different than what ya'll have done, but again, this car's very special to me. I'm disappointed that with the 2021 deletions I wasn't able to get Night Vision, Ambient Air, and Full Black Leather, but... oh, well. The time was right for me to buy, and didn't want to wait any more, on the hope those items return. Was even hoping BMW would return those features in 2021.5 models in December, but... apparently not.

I'm doing a Performance Center Delivery, and got my confirmation date of Feb 24th. Based on others' great PCD experiences, I'm anticipating a wonderful couple days. And after picking up the X7, she's going right around the corner the same day to Extreme Colors Auto Spa for full PPF, ceramic coating, window tinting, and more, which will take a little less than a week. Then it's going to be a massive, massive road trip, literally cross-continent, back to Alaska. I'll do a separate thread documenting the PCD and road trip with pictures, as I'm guessing people will be interested to see.

Planning lots of accessories, too. Programming, mods. Will discuss

Finally happening! Can't wait!

OP your post really touched my heart. I don't know you but I am genuinely happy for you. Look forward to getting updates on the build, and most importantly, hearing about the road trip home.

[Cocogrey1985]

Originally Posted by wesleyan92

OP your post really touched my heart. I don't know you but I am genuinely happy for you. Look forward to getting updates on the build, and most importantly, hearing about the road trip home.

Originally Posted by wesleyan92

OP your post really touched my heart. I don't know you but I am genuinely happy for you. Look forward to getting updates on the build, and most importantly, hearing about the road trip home.

Touched my heart too OP. I'm looking forward to seeing your pics and the amazing adventuring you're going to do!