[LittleJoe]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

Extreme Colors Auto Spa is doing the work for me, just down the road from the BMW factory. Taking it straight there from the PCD. They're using XPEL products for all the protection.

How many days will they need to complete all the work? I'm also curious of the cost. PM me if you'd rather not post it. Thanks

P.S. There is an XPEL shop about 30 minutes from my home and I know the owner.

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by LittleJoe

How many days will they need to complete all the work? I'm also curious of the cost. PM me if you'd rather not post it. Thanks

P.S. There is an XPEL shop about 30 minutes from my home and I know the owner.

No worries. Total cost under $6k for all the work, with PPF being the biggest cost. I bumped up the window tinting and coating to the high-end XR Plus, even though I won't really need it in Alaska. But it gives me capabilities for the rest of the country too. I toyed with the idea of wrapping the whole vehicle, but cost really went up, and I shouldn't need the rest of it wrapped, other than maybe door dings. Won't be able to prevent the dings, but it would prevent scratches.

They originally said about 5 days. I'm dropping it off on a Wednesday after the PCD, and they're using the weekend as part of the cure time, so I'm picking it up the following Tuesday. Anticipating that it'll still have some final cure time and I still won't be able to wash it for some days after, if I get it dirty starting the road trip.

BTW, LittleJoe, I love that you switched your avatar to the Alpina logo. Exciting stuff coming for you!

[Wild Blue]

Actually, I'm curious. Has anyone had issues with leather coating products (XPEL or otherwise) clogging up the seat perforations with the ventilated seats? I asked Extreme Colors about this, and they said no problem.

[LittleJoe]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

BTW, LittleJoe, I love that you switched your avatar to the Alpina logo. Exciting stuff coming for you!

Thanks for sharing. My build is still on the first dot 'Order Received' and may not move until March. I'm considering ceramic coating inside and out.

[jmciver]

So out of curiosity, how often do you plan to routinely wash your X7, especially in the winter with the extra road grime and salt? If it involves traditional touch automatic car washes, you are wasting your money on a ceramic coating because a touch automatic car wash will scratch the coating and significantly shorten its lifespan.. But even touchless automatic car washes only go so far when maintaining your ceramic coating (and your car clean). Also, even if you plan to hand wash your X7, going weeks between washes, especially with major dirt/grime buildup in the winter, is still not good for ceramic coatings.

Ceramic coatings offer great protection and can make your car look great. But they are not indestructible and require routine maintenance/cleaning if you hope to get the max life out of them. And of course, they are not cheap if you get it done properly.

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by jmciver

So out of curiosity, how often do you plan to routinely wash your X7, especially in the winter with the extra road grime and salt? If it involves traditional touch automatic car washes, you are wasting your money on a ceramic coating because a touch automatic car wash will scratch the coating and significantly shorten its lifespan.. But even touchless automatic car washes only go so far when maintaining your ceramic coating (and your car clean). Also, even if you plan to hand wash your X7, going weeks between washes, especially with major dirt/grime buildup in the winter, is still not good for ceramic coatings.

Ceramic coatings offer great protection and can make your car look great. But they are not indestructible and require routine maintenance/cleaning if you hope to get the max life out of them. And of course, they are not cheap if you get it done properly.

Oh, no, no touchy scratchy car washes ever. This is a big conversation I'll be having with Extreme Colors, for proper washing and periodic maintenance of the detailing. Will only be doing good 2-bucket washes, or at worst, touchless washes.

For emergency washes on the road trip if I can't get to wash bays, this is the top-rated waterless wash:

[x7bmw23]

Originally Posted by jmciver

So out of curiosity, how often do you plan to routinely wash your X7, especially in the winter with the extra road grime and salt? If it involves traditional touch automatic car washes, you are wasting your money on a ceramic coating because a touch automatic car wash will scratch the coating and significantly shorten its lifespan.. But even touchless automatic car washes only go so far when maintaining your ceramic coating (and your car clean). Also, even if you plan to hand wash your X7, going weeks between washes, especially with major dirt/grime buildup in the winter, is still not good for ceramic coatings.

Ceramic coatings offer great protection and can make your car look great. But they are not indestructible and require routine maintenance/cleaning if you hope to get the max life out of them. And of course, they are not cheap if you get it done properly.

Ceramic coatings are cool initially but most folks think it will last gory and you barely have to ever wash your car. That's not the case.

That why I just stick with the wash and wax old school method. I use a waterless wash by Wolfgang and it's awesome. Run the wet sponge across vehicle, dry off with a chamois, done. Even in the winter. I may spray some Wolfgang on it to loosen up some grime and salt and then wet 🧽 and chamois dry right in the garage. If there's a lot of salt, dirt mud and grime....then obviously take it to a wash bay to get the muck off but for casual routine washes.....in the garage with a bucket. I've washed her approximately 8 times like this only since 1/15/21 and not scratches on white X7 under detail light. I've been using this method for years and works great for me. I personally detail all my vehicles. I always do a four step cleaner, polish, wax and sealant a couple times in Spring/Summer. I never trust the labels sayings the wax/sealant will last for 6 months.....besides, I like feeling her up and every now and again. After all, she's my girl!! 😂

[LittleJoe]

Originally Posted by x7bmw23

I never trust the labels sayings the wax/sealant will last for 6 months.....besides, I like feeling her up and every now and again. After all, she's my girl!! 😂

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by x7bmw23

Ceramic coatings are cool initially but most folks think it will last gory and you barely have to ever wash your car. That's not the case.

That why I just stick with the wash and wax old school method. I use a waterless wash by Wolfgang and it's awesome. Run the wet sponge across vehicle, dry off with a chamois, done. Even in the winter. I may spray some Wolfgang on it to loosen up some grime and salt and then wet 🧽 and chamois dry right in the garage. If there's a lot of salt, dirt mud and grime....then obviously take it to a wash bay to get the muck off but for casual routine washes.....in the garage with a bucket. I've washed her approximately 8 times like this only since 1/15/21 and not scratches on white X7 under detail light. I've been using this method for years and works great for me. I personally detail all my vehicles. I always do a four step cleaner, polish, wax and sealant a couple times in Spring/Summer. I never trust the labels sayings the wax/sealant will last for 6 months.....besides, I like feeling her up and every now and again. After all, she's my girl!! 😂

Chamois for drying? Now that is old school. In fact, chamois are not recommended now by the "experts" as they can supposedly leave scratches when compared to a modern high GSM drying towel. I actually purchased one of those drying towels. Not that expensive and I can dry my entire X7 and the towel will be hardly wet. The thing can soak up a few gallons of water when completely dry - it is ridiculous!

Ever since COVID hit, I have become more of a car wash/detail enthusiast than in the past. So much so I am about to paint correct and ceramic coat my M3 using 3D One one step polish and AvalonKing ceramic coating (very DIY friendly). Then, for my X7, paint correct using a ceramic infused synthetic wax one step (Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Polish and Wax). I am looking forward to putting my Harbor Freight DA polisher to good use.

If the ceramic coating works out well on my M3, then I will put it on the X7 after the ceramic wax wears off in approx 9 months or so. But I figured my first ceramic coating attempt would be best on my smaller M3.

[Wild Blue]

Woot! Since I'm doing a PCD, my order just jumped from dot 11 to the final dot 15, "At the Dealership". Ready for the PCD a full 2 weeks early.

Just spoke to my CA, setting up the money and paperwork over the next week. Hopefully still keeping it all straightforward, even though it's all remote and distanced. Looks like I'm going to have to go find a notary.

Doing tons of road trip and accessory planning

[icemanjs4]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

Woot! Since I'm doing a PCD, my order just jumped from dot 11 to the final dot 15, "At the Dealership". Ready for the PCD a full 2 weeks early.

Just spoke to my CA, setting up the money and paperwork over the next week. Hopefully still keeping it all straightforward, even though it's all remote and distanced. Looks like I'm going to have to go find a notary.

Doing tons of road trip and accessory planning

OOOOoooooh so exciting! Can't wait to hear about your PCD experience and the first miles behind the wheel! Best of luck to you.

[LittleJoe]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

Woot! Since I'm doing a PCD, my order just jumped from dot 11 to the final dot 15, "At the Dealership". Ready for the PCD a full 2 weeks early.

Just spoke to my CA, setting up the money and paperwork over the next week. Hopefully still keeping it all straightforward, even though it's all remote and distanced. Looks like I'm going to have to go find a notary.

Doing tons of road trip and accessory planning

Sounds like great fun, enjoy your new M50i and post lots of pics.

[Socal2025]

Originally Posted by LittleJoe

Sounds like great fun, enjoy your new M50i and post lots of pics.

Are you flying there earlier or are you sticking with the 24th?

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by Socal2025

Are you flying there earlier or are you sticking with the 24th?

I'm doubtful they'd let me move up the PCD earlier. Plus, I've already put all sorts of plans in place based on the original date, so yeah, I'm sticking with the 24th. So far all the pieces are coming together for the whole house of cards. I fly out the night of the 22nd. 11 days before the odyssey starts!

[nynd]

Sounds like a very long scenic drive back home, did I mention long? Sound be a great experience. If on your return trip home leads you into any part of the Yukon (Canada), you may want to review Covid entry rules. They just imposed the need to show a clear covid test to cross at a land border.

[Wanderer73]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

Oh, no, no touchy scratchy car washes ever. This is a big conversation I'll be having with Extreme Colors, for proper washing and periodic maintenance of the detailing. Will only be doing good 2-bucket washes, or at worst, touchless washes.

For emergency washes on the road trip if I can't get to wash bays, this is the top-rated waterless wash:

My local service ran my X7 through their car wash even after I've been telling them for years not to wash my car (even have a sheet of paper on the dash). They scratched the hell out of the vehicle from front to back. They're now paying for round two of paint correction and ceramic.

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by nynd

Sounds like a very long scenic drive back home, did I mention long? Sound be a great experience. If on your return trip home leads you into any part of the Yukon (Canada), you may want to review Covid entry rules. They just imposed the need to show a clear covid test to cross at a land border.

Yeah, thanks. I've been monitoring the Canadian Border Services information for about 6 months, regarding Alaskan transit through Canada. They cracked way down, and it's only gotten worse, not better. The last time I called the Mounties, they said they would probably consider my travel discretionary. So I can try, but it's fairly likely Canada will turn me away at the border. So I may have to ship the car from WA to AK. We've only got a month left now, not too likely things get much better by then.
https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/tr...ictions/border

[Wild Blue]

1 week to go! Making final plans and coordination.

Big props to IND Distribution, and GetBMWParts.com. Both really came through, when parts I had on order (black badging) got further delayed. It looks like all the parts I'll need will make it on time for the body shop work right after the PCD delivery.

Think I've got a winter wheel/tire solution worked out.

Now, central USA, burn off all that snow and ice the next 2 weeks before I come through!

[-JLT-]

very excited for you and can't wait to follow your journey!

[-JLT-]

oh, quick question: can you give me more info on the mudflaps?

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by -JLT-

oh, quick question: can you give me more info on the mudflaps?

BMW doesn't make OEM mudflaps, so they're only aftermarket like Amazon, Ali Express, and eBay. I'm trying these out:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


They seem okay, but I don't have super high hopes. They don't appear to require permanent modification, so I'll try them out, and take them off if they don't work out. If nothing else, maybe just get the extra protection for this road trip.

One Amazon reviewer posted pictures there. They look so-so.

[ppagiga]

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!

Congrats on moving forward Blue. You’ve had super positive energy here from day 1 and really happy to hear how special this moment is to you. Enjoy it