To make a long story short, I decided to swap out the dark maple wood interior trim for the "matte titanium" (aka plastic with metallic gray paint) trim. I couldn't order it this way because I got a 3.0i and the matte titanium is only an option for the 2.5i. So I ordered the pieces and did it myself! Whew! The doors were easy, but the center console was a solid 2 hours of taking the entire center area, from vents to shifter, apart. Here are some before and after pics. I like the silver SO much better! (And yes, I've only had the car for 3 days now!)

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2005 X3 3.0i, manual, mystic blue, matte titanium interior trim, gray leather (premium pkg), heated seats, chrome exhaust tips!