[djbonsu]

I need to experience this!! Awesome build and Congrats!! Looking forward to hearing and seeing more of your journey!

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by somberlaine

since you will be driving through Albuquerque, check out Dog House. it's nothing fancy but it's the best damn hot dogs i ever had. This place was also featured in Breaking Bad.

Awesome, will do! Just wish I could do Los Pollos Hermanos.

Originally Posted by F8SEVEN

I just did PCD back in December with my new M2C and drove home across the South. It's not ED, but it's still amazing. Also went to Extreme Colors! Enjoy. One question...how on earth do you plan on getting into Canada during Covid?

So, I've been monitoring the Canada border situation for a year. They're not letting in foreigners, but have an exception for Alaskans transiting through. Currently has to be "non-discretionary travel" to do so. I've called and talked to the CBP about it--not totally clear if I'd be allowed. And they're changing the rules every month. So, if I get to the border and get turned away, backup plan is to ship the car from WA to AK. This happens all the time.

[Fugly M3]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

Awesome, will do! Just wish I could do Los Pollos Hermanos.



So, I've been monitoring the Canada border situation for a year. They're not letting in foreigners, but have an exception for Alaskans transiting through. Currently has to be "non-discretionary travel" to do so. I've called and talked to the CBP about it--not totally clear if I'd be allowed. And they're changing the rules every month. So, if I get to the border and get turned away, backup plan is to ship the car from WA to AK. This happens all the time.

Interesting. I guess if you're going home, that's non-discretionary. Come up with a way for the car not to have been shippable.

[Wild Blue]

Day 1 of Road Trip
Greenville-Ashville, NC
Miles: 134

Oh, my dear forum friends, do I have a treat for you tonight. Make sure you watch this video, and then the pictures are eye candy. Massive credit for the video goes to Brian at Extreme Colors, made while doing the work on my car. Way above and beyond. All I did was futz with iMovie a bit, adding the music and such. Because this post will be visual overload, I'll put the rest of today's update with travels into tomorrow's post.

And enjoy the pics too

[obliterate]

Story of the Month for me to follow. Thank you, OP, good luck with everything and enjoy the ride!!

[John-M007]

As of today, the X7 has eliminated the Laser Lights, Cool/Heated Cup Holders, Glass Controls, and the LED Sky Lounge.

X5 will NOT get the Harman Kardon Sound, Automatic Soft Close Doors, Glass Controls, LED Sky Lounge, and Cool/Heated Cup Holders.

The 5 series will not get the Automatic Soft Close Doors. Soon Harman Kardon will be eliminated. The 540i no longer get the auto on/off button and there is no way to turn it off.

The 3 series will not get the Harman Kardon, only on the M340i. Head Up Display is eliminated for the 330i.

The Head Up Display is next. BMW is blaming the supplier. ??? Some orders midway were changed unbeknownst to the clients. A friend of mine told me some people just canceled their orders.

[JF01]

Such an amazing and interesting story!

We don't have anything like this "PCD program" here in Russia, unfortunately.

And btw, the trip you are having right now (across the whole country!) is kind of a dream of my life.

Can't wait to see continuing of your journey.

Привет от BMW Group Россия.

[wesleyan92]

Blue - what did you do for the 7 days while the X7 was being prepped/wrapped?

[sahajesh]

Cuddle cushions - are they BMW items or 3rd party? If BMW, do you have the part numbers as I guess/hope they will fit the X5 as well.

Thanks for the fantastic write (and photo) up!

[Auricom]

Originally Posted by John-M007

As of today, the X7 has eliminated the Laser Lights, Cool/Heated Cup Holders, Glass Controls, and the LED Sky Lounge.

X5 will NOT get the Harman Kardon Sound, Automatic Soft Close Doors, Glass Controls, LED Sky Lounge, and Cool/Heated Cup Holders.

The 5 series will not get the Automatic Soft Close Doors. Soon Harman Kardon will be eliminated. The 540i no longer get the auto on/off button and there is no way to turn it off.

The 3 series will not get the Harman Kardon, only on the M340i. Head Up Display is eliminated for the 330i.

The Head Up Display is next. BMW is blaming the supplier. ??? Some orders midway were changed unbeknownst to the clients. A friend of mine told me some people just canceled their orders.

As a courtesy to the OP and his delivery experience thread, recommend creating a new post to discuss changes to X7 option availability.

[Game]

Thanks for sharing this journey with us! Looking forward to seeing the rest.

[Ibiza]

Great write up so far Wild Blue. Noticed you have the Bowers & Wilkins stereo, but the speakers aren't lit up. Not sure if this is by choice, as you can also light em up to either white or the selected LED color. This is how the blue https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=26820696 looks (last photo down) as the settings are found in the iDrive menu.

[Luminor513]

Absolutely EPIC write up Wild!! Incredibly job documenting the entire PCD experience and the PPF/detailing process. Enjoy and be safe on your journey home. BTW, love the pic of the 330i buried in Alaska snow.

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by JF01

Such an amazing and interesting story!

We don't have anything like this "PCD program" here in Russia, unfortunately.

And btw, the trip you are having right now (across the whole country!) is kind of a dream of my life.

Can't wait to see continuing of your journey.

Привет от BMW Group Россия.

Привет! Thanks--have spent much time in Russia myself. Good to have you here.

Originally Posted by wesleyan92

Blue - what did you do for the 7 days while the X7 was being prepped/wrapped?

An art company I work with invited me to an event. COVID sucks--but doing what you can to see some awesome art is a good filler while you're waiting for a car.

Originally Posted by sahajesh

Cuddle cushions - are they BMW items or 3rd party? If BMW, do you have the part numbers as I guess/hope they will fit the X5 as well.

Thanks for the fantastic write (and photo) up!

Yeah, cuddle pillows are BMW OEM, come with captain's chairs on X7. Yes, you could put them on an X5, but would require some mounting modifications, the way they wrap around the headrests and attach. Sorry, I don't have the part numbers offhand, but do know that others have posted them here in Bimmerpost!

Originally Posted by Ibiza

Great write up so far Wild Blue. Noticed you have the Bowers & Wilkins stereo, but the speakers aren't lit up. Not sure if this is by choice, as you can also light em up to either white or the selected LED color. This is how the blue https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=26820696 looks (last photo down) as the settings are found in the iDrive menu.

Ah, yes! Wish I could claim credit for some of those awesome pictures, but that big batch was actually taken by Extreme Colors. Now that I've picked up the car and started to play with it during the road trip, I'm noticing that the B&W speakers don't light up unless the audio is actually playing. I'm guessing the Extreme Colors fellas didn't have audio going when they took the pictures. I've got it going now!

[Wild Blue]

Day 2 of Road Trip
Asheville, NC - Biloxi, MS
Total Miles: 736

I hope everybody saw that Youtube video above of the car undergoing work at Extreme Colors. That floored me that they made that, on top of doing the actual work.

Sorry yesterday's post was a video and pic overwhelm. Saved some of yesterday's stuff for today's update. First, before and after pics. Things to note:
- Window Tint
- paint PPF and coating
- Front Orange reflector delete, by front wheels.
- Front and rear mudflaps
- Black trunk badging (why isn't this standard for M50i?)
- Rear black BMW marque plate and frame (temp tag in window)
- Hitch cover
- Interior coatings

Really like the reflector delete. The car looks awesome in white, with black accents. And then hints of blue in the roundels, the wheel roundels, the brake calipers. The rear red is normal for a car. But orange just doesn't fit in the color scheme. Looks cleaner without it.

Big props to IND Distribution (supplied reflector delete set and one of the black badges) and GetBMWParts. Both of them were great to work with, getting parts to me and Extreme very timely for the install. Good customer service.

Before:





After:





Before:





After:





Before:





After:





More after pics showing mudflaps. The mudflaps are the "cheapest" mod pieces, coming from Amazon, and definitely not OEM or high end aftermarket productions. I was rather unsure about it--rubber is okay, but not high quality. The front mudflaps screw right in to existing car hardware. The rears though would have required drilling through the paint in small wrap-around pieces inside the wheel well. Instead of doing this, Extreme used double sided tape.

They actually turned out well. Not perfect, but if nothing else, I'll use them for road spray protection during the road trip, and then take them off in Alaska if I have to. If that happens, no huge loss. For now, though, they're already working great in the road trip.











Yesterday, after pickup, I drove to Asheville, NC, which is almost a mandatory trip after a PCD, just over an hour away driving direct. I wanted to do the Blue Ridge Parkway, but large sections are closed for the late winter. So instead, I drove over the Ceasar's Head Mountain and State park.





Lots of winding roads and switchbacks. Fun, and good for the break-in period, taking it slow with varying engine RPM's. I think Blue Ridge would have been better though.





Then it was to the Biltmore Estates in Asheville. Lovely place. Enjoyable house tour.











Catching up, today was what will be the longest drive of the whole trip. I chose to do a little more today, to get set up for a big day Friday. (you'll see soon). Long drive, getting familiar with all the little details of the car. It was a little brutal, doing the break-in, with every single car passing me on the highway, not using cruise control, etc.

I had hoped to make Biloxi for dinner, but the slow break-in speeds added time. I got hungry in AL, and decided to give BMW Assist a try. Here's an abbreviated version of the car call to BMW Assist:

"Hello, thanks for contacting BMW Assist, this is Ashley. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to today?"

"Hi, this is XXXXXX. Just got a new X7, and am new to BMW Assist. I understand you do dinner reservations?

"We do! Where are you looking for?"

"Great! I'm on I-65, 25 minutes out from Mobile, Alabama, and don't know any eateries there. Could you find me a good Southern eatery not too far from I-65?"

"Sure. I see your location here. I found a good place, The Noble Southern, and am sending the location direct to your car."

All I did was accept the location in the car, which put the destination straight into the car GPS, and bam... I'm set for dinner. Got to try the parallel parking with the 4 wheel steering (very nice), and then set up the parking lights on the street. That's kind of a European thing i picked up while living in Germany for 4 years. Helps so other cars on the street see mine just a bit more and don't scrape it as they drive by.








Wonderful dinner of smaller courses. Deviled eggs with bacon. Seared Scallops. Red Snapper. So yummy. What a great experience with BMW Assist and a good meal enroute.





And ended up in Biloxi, MS. Have had some fun here a few times over the years.

[MashinBenzin]

Epic thread. Going to enjoy this!

[TXSchnee]

Love the Imperial symbol tow hitch cover. Enjoying the write up and checking daily.

[Auricom]

Latest update has me hungry for scallops...

and ja X7 photos are cool too

I wasn't able to stick around long enough in Spartanburg/Greer for the guys at Extreme Colors ceramic and PPF front for the drive home - next time!

Great to see their work.

[Rublezz]

Wild Blue, it is real dream! Dream car + dream trip. Car looks really awesome.

Greetings from Azerbaijan!

[mikeoz]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

Reserved

Great Write up. You have a lot of people in UK reading this now.

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by mikeoz

Great Write up. You have a lot of people in UK reading this now.

Oh yes. That one was my favorite post too.

[weingarm]

Wild Blue - you say pillows are standard with the captains chairs on the X7. They are also included with the bench seat X7 as well. See pic.