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      05-16-2019, 09:35 PM   #1
bananaleaves
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First time BMW owner with a new 330i

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Hello all and greetings,

This is my first time posting. Hopefully I can make it worthwhile.

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased my first BMW and I am proudly in the BMW family. I got a new 2019 330i, Msport package, Alpine White with Black Interior, and a few other things. We also have an Audi Q7, which for an SUV, handles pretty amazingly.

My first car was a 1984 Pontiac Sunbird. The speedometer stopped at 85mph. I would read and dream about owning a BMW, at least a 3-series to start.

I graduated to a Pontiac Sunfire, a Honda Civic, then a Honda Prelude – back in 2001, just before they were discontinued. Loved the Prelude but I needed a back seat. After that, I drove an Acura TSX before switching to a few different family SUVs and then finally a Camry. These were all either a FWD car or some sort of SUV. I never owned a RWD sports car, especially a German one.

Before I got the 330, I agonized over this car, an A4, & an A5 (Coupe and Sportback). I was pretty sure I wanted the 330, but I wasn’t sure until I drove it.

It was instant love. I’ve driven an A4, A5, 5-Series, and of course the Q7. This was something special. For me, the size and proportions are just right.

I went in thinking I wanted the analog dash. I just like the old-fashioned dials – I wear an analog watch, not a smartwatch - and I wasn’t crazy about the reverse tach. But during the test drive, I already liked it. Now that I’ve had it for awhile, I actually like the digital cluster because of the flexibility and the incorporation of the radio/infotainment controls.

So, speaking of tech and infotainment. Unfortunately, this is where the problem is. The cluster and controls are fine. The touchscreen display (even though I don’t touch it) is beautiful. I don’t need all the customizations that you can get on my Audi. For me, it does enough and it all looks nice, well-crafted and sporty.

My problem is with the Bluetooth and Apple Car Play integration. It’s a nightmare. I could write pages and pages about all the things I have tried and it’s just horrible.

Mind you, I work in technology. I’m pretty tech savvy. Following all the troubleshooting steps of removing other devices and then re-installing the connections; removing and re-establishing WiFi, etc. are all easy for me. I did most of that before even consulting the help guides. I’ve also tried USB – that was a whole different mess.

It’s still not fixed. I’ve called and been told by both BMW and the dealer that it’s due to the server migration – but articles online say this was all resolved already. So…I’m still waiting it out. But if it’s not the server issue, we have a serious problem. Either my car has a defective Bluetooth receiver, or there is an inherent software issue that is causing all of this.

It’s not the phone. It works just fine in the Audi and my Camry worked flawlessly with two generations of iPhones. Got the new BMW and suddenly it’s a game of roulette every time I start the car – will it find the phone or not? It does about 50-60% of the time. I truly hope it’s the server migration issue because if it’s an ongoing software problem with BMWs (and I have read that it is), we’ve got a serious problem here. To be honest, it’s rather heartbreaking to finally, finally get my 3-series and then have to deal with this about half the time I get into the car. Talk about a major, major letdown.

Now, when it works – or I’ve had enough waiting and just switch to the radio – it drives like a dream. I love the way it handles. The engine is powerful enough for me and I haven’t even pressed it real hard yet. I love the sound of it. It’s all that I expected. The handling is magnificent. I’m not too crazy about the Sensatec (I’d rather just have old-fashioned leather because it breathes), but the rest of the interior is great.

I really love this car. It drives like no other vehicle I have ever owned before. Now, if they could just fix that iPhone connectivity issue…
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      05-16-2019, 09:42 PM   #2
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Welcome and great looking car!
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      05-16-2019, 10:24 PM   #3
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Congrats! It's a sharp looking car. I hope you're able to resolve the tech issues.
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      05-16-2019, 10:26 PM   #4
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Welcome and congratulations. Great car. Enjoy it!

About CarPlay ... I also found the user experience counter intuitive as if the process to integrate CarPlay with BMW iDrive failed and the decision to release it was made out of frustration. I ordered my vehicle without CarPlay.
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      05-16-2019, 11:29 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cfm56d7b View Post
Welcome and congratulations. Great car. Enjoy it!

About CarPlay ... I also found the user experience counter intuitive as if the process to integrate CarPlay with BMW iDrive failed and the decision to release it was made out of frustration. I ordered my vehicle without CarPlay.
Same. CarPlay stinks
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      05-17-2019, 12:51 AM   #6
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Congrats
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Currently: '24 Mercedes G63 | '24 Porsche GT3 RS | '24 Volkswagen GTI
Previous BMWs: 340i, 740i, 745Li, M3, M4
Previous Others: Audi, Ducati, Honda, Infiniti, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen
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      05-17-2019, 02:10 AM   #7
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Congratulations and hang in there with the Bluetooth and Apple Car Play integration, it works !!! I am using the iPhone 8



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      05-17-2019, 01:15 PM   #8
bananaleaves
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Thanks everyone for the kind replies!!

Today it’s working flawlessly - perhaps it was related to the server migration. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!!
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      05-17-2019, 03:52 PM   #9
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Congrats! I’ve had the same issues with apple car play. Hoping it sorts itself out. This was also my first BMW (which I have been obsessing about owning a BMW since I was 16 years old) so I’m very pumped about it too!
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      05-17-2019, 04:30 PM   #10
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FYI here’s my black sapphire metallic M-sport. Got Xpel PPF up front and Modesta BC04 ceramic coating.
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      05-18-2019, 12:33 AM   #11
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Congrats. Very nice looking car.
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      05-18-2019, 10:50 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pneumodoc View Post
FYI here’s my black sapphire metallic M-sport. Got Xpel PPF up front and Modesta BC04 ceramic coating.
How much for Ceramic coating if you don’t mind me asking? I will also be a first time BMW owner have M340i in production.
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      05-18-2019, 11:31 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bananaleaves View Post
Hello all and greetings,

This is my first time posting. Hopefully I can make it worthwhile.
How do you find the ride over rough surfaces coming from an Audi? And generally how are the roads in your area?
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      05-18-2019, 11:37 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cosmo_Kramer View Post
How much for Ceramic coating if you don’t mind me asking? I will also be a first time BMW owner have M340i in production.
1695 for coating. I got Xpel PPF as well which was 1800 and 300 worth of paint correction. I received one quote that was a little cheaper (within a few hundred bucks) but really liked the installer, so went with them.
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      05-18-2019, 05:18 PM   #15
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I have 540 (so iDrive 6), I don't use CarPlay a lot but for the time I have used it's pretty decent, can see why you pick 3 over 5, if I didn't have kid I would probably get M340 instead (more toss able, lighter, smaller and in all honest at the same time current 3 series is like E39 5 series big so plenty big enough)
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      05-18-2019, 06:29 PM   #16
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I actually think the apple CarPlay interface works well enough and integrates with idrive well, but it intermittently drops out. Hopefully updates and works better soon.
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      05-18-2019, 08:42 PM   #17
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BMW still has Airplay and Bluetooth issues? It's so annoying we just stopped using CarPlay in our X5. BMW really needs to ditch wireless Carplay. I usually plug my phone in anyway to charge it up since using the GPS kills the battery. The CarPlay in a GMC Acadia we drive sometimes is rock solid. Luckily my X5's Bluetooth seems to be pretty stable but the Bluetooth in my 335i is annoying.

One thing i've noticed is that if I use Apple Music, my Bluetooth connection seems to be more reliable and when I use Spotify it's a crapshoot. For me, it seems like BT is not connected, but it actually is and the music just doesn't play. Usually if I switch the input to radio for a couple seconds then back to bluetooth, it will start playing. But if I just use Apple Music, the music almost always plays just fine.

The problem is that I use Spotify so this is really frustrating.
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      05-18-2019, 11:04 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nik14 View Post
How do you find the ride over rough surfaces coming from an Audi? And generally how are the roads in your area?
Good question, but it's not really a fair comparison because the Q7 is an SUV on 20" tires. The Audi has nice, tight handling but it's definitely a softer ride. The 330i M-sport on the 19" run flat tires feels every little road imperfection. It's OK for me but my wife, riding as a passenger, has said she can feel a big difference between my car and her Audi. Kinda bumpy. But she likes to drive the 330.

The roads in my area are great condition, except in construction areas. The infrastructure is relatively new, and it's almost all concrete boulevards / residential streets with curbs.
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      05-18-2019, 11:09 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clee1982 View Post
I have 540 (so iDrive 6), I don't use CarPlay a lot but for the time I have used it's pretty decent, can see why you pick 3 over 5, if I didn't have kid I would probably get M340 instead (more toss able, lighter, smaller and in all honest at the same time current 3 series is like E39 5 series big so plenty big enough)
I have two boys, not teenagers yet so it's not a problem. We mostly use the Q7 for family anyway.

I took some co-workers to lunch last week, and they said they had plenty of room back there. Of course, they could have been just being polite.

Last edited by bananaleaves; 05-19-2019 at 01:29 AM..
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      05-18-2019, 11:10 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pneumodoc View Post
FYI here’s my black sapphire metallic M-sport. Got Xpel PPF up front and Modesta BC04 ceramic coating.
Beautiful car!
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      05-19-2019, 09:57 PM   #21
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New car looks great! Sorry to hear about the apple play issues, hopefully bmw comes with a software patch to resolve
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      05-22-2019, 09:08 PM   #22
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Unfortunately the Bluetooth issues continue. I have an appointment with a Genius on Saturday but I don’t know what he/she will do that I haven’t already tried. We’ll see...
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