Only Tera trim for USA for 1st 3 months?

My dealer told me today that for the first 3 months, only the Tera trim level will be available for order in the US. All other options are freely added as desired.

Anyone else hearing this, or is he blowing smoke?

Buskraut said:

My dealer told me today that for the first 3 months, only the Terra trim level will be available for order in the US. All other options are freely added as desired.

Anyone else hearing this, or is he blowing smoke?

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It's possible. With such limited production the first 6 months or so they *may* make large batches of each trim level at a time. I believe they do this with a lot of new products when they first launch and called it the "HEA Premium Package". Basically the first two or three months of production are just fully loaded cars. By making them basically all the same except things like color and wheel options it helps speed up production when they have a car in high demand.

I'm not saying that is what they are doing, but it does sound like that if your dealer said so.

Buskraut said:

My dealer told me today that for the first 3 months, only the Terra trim level will be available for order in the US.

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If so, that'd be a shame. Giga has features worth paying for. But the only difference going up to Tera is a darker, more claustrophobic interior. I'd pay more for Giga than Tera.

(Depending on the dealer, a suspicious mind might wonder if it'd be the dealer who would only accept fully-loaded orders, not the factory.)

I'm highly skeptical that they are only producing/selling Tera in the initial few months. Down here in OC, I have an order in with Crevier for a Giga. I was originally planning on a loaded Tera, but the leasing costs, lack of baking in full $7500 credit and not having the sun roof option in the US models made me back off on principle alone. Crevier is one of largest BMW dealerships on the West Coast, and I heard that they have a pretty good allocation (80 cars, but I don't know if that's per month or annual). Find a reputable dealer that's going to sell you the car at MSRP and not jack up the money factor.

I'd check around with a few other dealerships. (Maybe the BMW of Fremont or Mountain View BMW might give you a better/different answer.)

Good luck,
D

I'm relatively certain you're going to find out this is the case. The first three months of US production will be Tera World, loaded with every option. The only thing you get to select is color and if you want the 20" wheels. You'll need to wait three months for the full custom ordering

I'll assume you're making a distinction between what they produce versus what's possible to order. It's conceivable that they'd crank out a bunch of Teras in the first few months but preventing potential buyers from placing non-Tera orders doesn't make sense to me. As for ordering, I just know that the order I placed was a Giga model and there were no restrictions on which "World" I could choose when ordering.

As long as I don't have to wait the entire year for my car to arrive, I'll be okay with that. (I'm on a month-to-month lease extension with my Volt.)

While limiting variants to ramp production is a manufacturing tactic, in fact BMW is producing i3s with all the variants already. Look no further than the reports from European customers. So the logic in this thread doesn't hold water.

If you think about it, BMW NA has reduced production and inventory complexities by making items that are optional in other markets standard here (heat pump and LED lights for example) while eliminating others (Atelier dark cloth interior). Now US dealers may opt to order only fully loaded vehicles initially. But that would be a decision based on maximizing profits not manufacturing issues.

Even then it doesn't really make sense for a business to forgo an order for a slightly less expensive configuration, especially if from an established customer, in order to have a unit that needs to wait for a buyer to come along.

stumbledotcom said:

Even then it doesn't really make sense for a business to forgo an order for a slightly less expensive configuration, especially if from an established customer, in order to have a unit that needs to wait for a buyer to come along.

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Not just an established customer. BMW will lose new ones.

I never considered owning a BMW before this. If I could get a Giga i3 today, I'd grab it.

But there are enough negatives (no discount on a new model; CA HOV stickers running out for the REx) that although my heart says i3, my head says grab a Volt with a green sticker and wait until the perfect EV shows up, whether it's an REx on reasonable terms or another manufacturer's product.

It's not an easy decision, but if my only i3 choice is Tera with the extra cost and ugly interior, that's another factor against the i3.

davidrshelton said:

I'll assume you're making a distinction between what they produce versus what's possible to order. It's conceivable that they'd crank out a bunch of Teras in the first few months but preventing potential buyers from placing non-Tera orders doesn't make sense to me. As for ordering, I just know that the order I placed was a Giga model and there were no restrictions on which "World" I could choose when ordering.

As long as I don't have to wait the entire year for my car to arrive, I'll be okay with that. (I'm on a month-to-month lease extension with my Volt.)

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Yes. You can order the car any way you want it, but you'll wait a little longer.

I have official confirmation on this now. For the first three months every i3 that comes to the US will have the "Launch Package" which basically is every option. Here is what the package has:

ZTW- Tera World
ZPK- Parking Package
ZTD- Technology+ Driving Assistant Package
4U7- DC Fast Charging capability (SAE DC Combo)
494- Heated front seats
674- Harman Kardon premium sound

The color choices are Solar Orange, Laurel Grey, Ionic Silver, and Andesite Silver.
You can also get the 20" Sport wheels if you want.

All of the US production in March, April & June will be the Launch Edition vehicles, except for the ActiveE drivers vehicles. We can order A la Carte and we also get some other unique items and baging. Custom ordered i3's (Not the Launch Edition) will begin production in June.

BTW, this isn't new to BMW, they have done these "Launch Edition" cars when beginning production on other models before.

Configurating those packages on the web site comes in at $56025 less government subsidy so I can't wait to see the price of the."limited edition" i3. I also notice that further options like adaptive LED, sun roof, enhanced telephone Bluetooth and keyless entrance are not available.

BoMW said:

I also notice that further options like adaptive LED, sun roof, enhanced telephone Bluetooth and keyless entrance are not available.

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I haven't fully studied all of the options yet, but as I mentioned earlier, I've read that the sunroof is not an option on any of the US model variants. :evil: The keyless entry should be part of the Giga and Tera Worlds, but not the Mega World, hence my decision to go with at least Giga.

I have a Giga on order for March production here in VA based on what my salesman told me today. While I am inclined to believe Tom (I think you are right!), I hope it is not the case! But if it is true, I will just wait a little longer as I have my LEAF until the end of the year. Not real interested in having a loaded i3 with the (too dark) Tera.

Mike74jcw said:

I have a Giga on order for March production here in VA based on what my salesman told me today. While I am inclined to believe Tom (I think you are right!), I hope it is not the case! But if it is true, I will just wait a little longer as I have my LEAF until the end of the year. Not real interested in having a loaded i3 with the (too dark) Tera.

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I feel for the people with deposits that expected a spring delivery and now have to wait an additional 3 months unless they accept the Launch Edition loaded i3. I'm sure there are a lot of people with expiring leases that figured the timing would be great and now have to figure out what to do. Not cool

TomMoloughney said:

I feel for the people with deposits that expected a spring delivery and now have to wait an additional 3 months unless they accept the Launch Edition loaded i3. I'm sure there are a lot of people with expiring leases that figured the timing would be great and now have to figure out what to do. Not cool

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Also kills any chance for HOV stickers for REx orders in CA, unless they accept the loaded version with the Terable interior.

Not unusual. Heck, if I remember right weren't ALL the first year Volts fully loaded?

cab said:

Not unusual. Heck, if I remember right weren't ALL the first year Volts fully loaded?

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Actually, that's not true. My made-to-order 2011 Volt is close to a base model. (I truly like the black cloth interior.) The only options I purchased were the Viridian Joule metallic paint (signature color for the car) and the backup camera. They really didn't have too many options in the first year; most were standard features of the car.

David
2011 Volt (#0031)

davidrshelton said:

They really didn't have too many options in the first year; most were standard features of the car.

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Haaa - meaning, your car was fully loaded for that moment!

Muhv said:

davidrshelton said:

They really didn't have too many options in the first year; most were standard features of the car.

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Haaa - meaning, your car was fully loaded for that moment!

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In a word, no. There was a more expensive interior option package (between $1K-$2K) that included leather seats, interior graphics, and the front heated seats. I chose not to include that when I ordered the car.

BoMW said:

Configurating those packages on the web site comes in at $56025 less government subsidy so I can't wait to see the price of the."limited edition" i3. I also notice that further options like adaptive LED, sun roof, enhanced telephone Bluetooth and keyless entrance are not available.

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LEDs, bluetooth and keyless features are standard in the Mega (base) US configuration.

stumbledotcom said:

LEDs, bluetooth and keyless features are standard in the Mega (base) US configuration.

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The Dec. 23, 2013 i3 US pricing guide lists keyless entry as a Giga/Tera World option, and the equipment list on the BMW USA web site shows it as an option.

That, plus the garage door opener and the interior, make Giga the sweet spot IMO.