Just the Facts:
•BMW is encouraging customers to special-order a new 2011 X3.
•The X3 is now being built in the U.S. at the Spartanburg plant.
•With factory delivery, a custom-ordered X3 can be had in as little as a week.


TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan — BMW's 2011 X3 crossover is being built in America for the first time, and that's a distinct new advantage for customers here.

First, BMW is encouraging interested buyers to special-order their X3 to get it exactly the way they want. That's the way it works in Europe, but Americans historically have not liked to wait for a special-order car. Now that X3s are being built in BMW's newly expanded Spartanburg, South Carolina, assembly plant, the company says the special-order delivery times can be drastically cut — to a point that can satisfy even impatient Americans.

How fast can BMW build your new X3? If you're willing to pick it up at the Spartanburg plant (and BMW has a nifty program that takes care of all the details), company officials say you can take delivery just a week after the factory gets the order.

Consider the fact that it usually takes a minimum of a few days for a dealer to get a car off the lot from a dealer in another state, waiting a week for an X3 built exactly to your specifications seems like a no-brainer, and a trip to the Spartanburg assembly plant is a bonus for any true fan of the brand.

The company says special ordering saves most customers money because they're not buying a car off the lot with typically unwanted options or equipment.

From: Inside Line