options and how often

S

stephendutton1963

Member
Hello guys, been thinking about the options on my car i never or hardly ever use. We seem to cherish fully or heavily spec'd cars but have been thinking,my car has TV now defunct in my area,Electric memory seats, i am the only driver so never use,Rear PDC i always tend to park nose in, 6Cd Player prefer radio 5 live :D Cruise control used twice in 14 months, Auto lights i do use because am lazy same with auto wipers, Sat Nav use car mainly for work etc so again used twice,Bluetooth could not live without.I did not buy car new so can only assume previous owner needed or just wanted to have them. Reason got to thinking have been tempted by a E89 Higline edition in White with next to no kit on in comparison, question is would i miss any of the stuff, is it important to have on just because of resale value and desirability ? Biggest question would going from a 3.0 se to an sDrive23i be seen as a downgrade ? Sorry for the ramble, thanks as always in advance Steve
 
I guess it's horses for courses, my Zed has these which I wouldn't be without:

Heated seats
Rear PDC
Bluetooth
MFSW
Auto lights
Auto wipers

It also has a CD changer which I would happily live without, no sat nav either but I prefer a TomTom.

Not bothered about electric seats but I would really like cruise control!

Very few of these options add anything to residuals though.
 
mine is a base spec really no heated seats ( would have been nice),no TV (?),no satnav (tom tom £90),has pdc (reverse up and round into garage every day would have scraped it by now),no cruise control,has auto lights (why) and I am happy with it bar the seats.
 
I regularly use:

Cd changer (love the 10 speaker upgrade)
Auto lights & wipers (I'm also lazy ;) )
Cruise
Heated seats :thumbsup:
Auto dim mirror (not through choice)
Folding mirrors (I think it looks mean when parked up, but don't use it to protect mirrors)
Hardtop (winter mainly)
Xenons - happy to have them

The only thing that doesn't really get used is memory seats as I'm the only driver. Although I do have a relaxed seat position for long motorway stretches.

Could really use a MFSW, I miss the one I had on my 3 series :headbang:


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Can live without some things, though minimum spec i must now have is...

Xenons
Cruise
Bluetooth - think this should be mandatory on all new cars
Auto lights/wipers only because with this they self adjust to rain intensity
Sports & Heated seats ...

... Plus mandatory minimum of 200bhp petrol, 170bhp diesel under the hood
 
Sat nav on an E89 is essential in my view, since it's basically the whole entertainment centre, Online office, text messaging, car status etc.

I stongly recommend that you sit in a car with this and have a play before you decide.
 
Horses for courses I guess.

Memory seats a must - Mrs CJ drives it almost daily :(
Sat Nav - a must for integration, display, etc.
Bluetooth - use it for the phone all the time - really good :)
xenon's - vital to see with
Heated seats - allow roof down in cold
Hard top - nice for Winter / Summer change
Cruise control - use it on long runs on the motorway and average speed cameras - too easy to slip up.

PDC - waste of time
TV - never had it and waste of time (had it on an X5 and can't recall really watching it
Auto lights - not bothered - I can do that stuff

In terms of value - speccing hem new can make a real big bill and loss of value, buying used without many of them just doesn't make sense as they don't add much value but make the car more desirable and saleable.
 
CD Changer - used twice in 3 yrs
MFSW - very rarely use
Folding mirrors - couldn't be without
PDC - couldn't be without
Memory seats - very rarely use
 
Hmmm, interesting thread as I do like my toys but let's see if I need them...

Electric memory seats - Mrs Bing drives the car rarely, but I do like to be able to adjust my driving position on long journeys, which I do a fair few of
Heated seats - no brainer in a roadster, as is
Wind deflector :thumbsup: , though I guess not essential
PDC - very useful, as I reverse park all the time now to negate my natural incompetence... And of course for the rare ocassions when Mrs Bing drives :D
Satnav - I use a fair bit as I travel a to new customer sites, or on roads from hell like the M25 where I may need to divert. When I get round to integrating my iPod it will be very useful. Oh, and Mrs Bing can't find her way anywhere outside routes she's travelled at least 100 times :oops:
- all that said, I used a Garmin in my last car which was fine, just kept forgetting to re-charge it :headbang:
CD multichanger - yep, used whenever the radio's rubbish, currently loaded with Adamski Beats :wink: ; that said if you have all your music on an MP3 player (I don't, yet) then not essential if you have an iPod aux
Auto wipers and lights - lazy, but also just sensible in my view - and I am a believer that there's some things a car should just do for you other than spend your money
Bluetooth - can't live without because of work, though the mic is not very well placed for shorties... Agree it should be standard (safety feature) in all new cars
MSFW - used for controlling phone, and stereo volume etc whilst motorway driving, could live without the paddles but they are fun

If you use the car a lot, especially on long / busy journeys or commutes, I think a basic spec has to be anything that stops you buggering about and being distracted because it's safer for you and everyone else - so Bluetooth, auto wipers / lights, electric seats, MFSW etc.

Things I wish I had :

Xenons - for seeing, as said above, though brighter bulbs may well be fine
Cruise - THE one thing I really want, which fortunately I'll be able to do when I have some readies
Hard top - but then the e89 has one of them ; for mine I considered buying Tikamaks, but really couldn't justify it
Cup holders - not essential

That's me though - I can find a justification for most toys that I want that I can afford (after all I am typing this on a iPad that I still haven't found a properly legitimate reason to own after having it 9 months). I am currently trying to work out why I should have an M, and where I am going to steal the money for it from :evil: Seriously though, perhaps it depends on what you can afford to have ?

I think the biggest 'downgrade' that you'll have an issue with will probably be the power of the new car - but then there might not be much in it as I haven't driven a 23i.

Sorry - bit of a ramble from me back at you Steve, hopefully not entirely useless :oops:

However it would appear most of my toys are justified, for me :yeah:
 
stephendutton1963 said:
Hello guys, been thinking about the options on my car i never or hardly ever use. Reason got to thinking have been tempted by a E89 Higline edition in White with next to no kit on in comparison, question is would i miss any of the stuff, is it important to have on just because of resale value and desirability ? Biggest question would going from a 3.0 se to an sDrive23i be seen as a downgrade ? Sorry for the ramble, thanks as always in advance Steve
Click to expand...

It's almost certainly because the salesman at the time will have suggested that options = good resale. Plus most new cars in this league are bought on finance and adding a few £k to the price doesn't significantly affect the repayments up to a point. I know this as when I specced up a 335i last year I specifically optioned 18" alloys and a CD changer, as that was what I wanted (and still do). Salesman thought I was mad and indeed proved to me that the residuals were better with a car on 19s, offsetting most of the cost of the upgrade, even though for three years the ride would have been sh*t. :headbang:

Anyway, if you don't use these options, I really wouldn't worry about it. Reading a few of these lists shows we are all different. I couldn't live without a CD changer, and MSFW, but do happily live without SatNav and heated seats. Everyone gets so wrapped up in residual worries and it's making the car marketplace really dull. Every big engined car is an auto, everything german is in silver or black, everything's a sodding diesel - there's no variety anymore. Which is why, if I win the lottery tonight, I will order a 550i manual in Dakar Yellow!

Rant over.
 
Keep the rants coming :D Bing wish i had your eloquence,james hope you win the lottery as i would like to see that 550i :rofl: <guys this is what i love about this forum everyone entitled to their opinion without to much mockery aka pi** taking. Cheers again Steve
 
The only things that I really want are heated leather seats. The other things that are nice to have are a convertible roof, xenon lights and parking sensors. A pure luxury item that is fantastic that I would love to have is a heated steering wheel.

I had an e89 for a couple of weeks but I thought the satnav was rubbish, you can't even put full postcodes in, whats that all about? I much prefer my £100 garmin.
 
CD Changer :thumbsdown:
MFSW :thumbsup:
Heated seats :|
PDC :thumbsup:
Memory seats :|
Bluetooth :thumbsup:
Satnav :|
xenon's :|
Auto lights :|
Metal Roof :thumbsup: :wink:
 
stephendutton1963 said:
Keep the rants coming :D Bing wish i had your eloquence,james hope you win the lottery as i would like to see that 550i :rofl: <guys this is what i love about this forum everyone entitled to their opinion without to much mockery aka pi** taking. Cheers again Steve
Click to expand...

Thanks Steve :oops:

Would have been much faster and more forum-friendly with the 2dogs approach though, which I like a lot :thumbsup:
 
Bing - good shout with wind deflector! I use mine whenever roof is down

MFSW = multi function steering wheel :)


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rhodesey35iM said:
OK, I'm a newbie so got to ask, what does MSFW mean???
Click to expand...
Thought it was a fair question as Bing said:

Bing said:
MSFW - used for controlling phone, and stereo volume etc whilst motorway driving, could live without the paddles but they are fun
Click to expand...

:wink:
 
The things I really need: -
Heated sport seats
Cruise
USB
Up graded speaker system
Xenon's
Auto dimming mirrors
Cup holders

Things that I find useful: -
Auto lights
PDC
Electric seats

Things that I don't need: -
Sat Nav
Bluetooth, doesn't work brilliantly, had so many complaints that I now use an in ear device which is significantly better and can use it with the top down
19" alloys
TV function
Electric folding mirrors
CD changer
 
What? SARS! Electric Folding Mirrors on the Z are a must!! You'll be telling us you're not fussed by the long bonnet!
 
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