Let's try to clear up the confusion on Saddle Brown in the US
 

There are still some conflicting/confusing information from the members here on the availability of Saddle Brown for the 2008 MY in the US. So I am starting this thread and hoping that anyone who knows anything one way or the other would participate here and try to clear things up.

One thing to note is that I am only concerned with everyone's input in trying to order Saddle Brown in the last few weeks since the 2008 MY price release. I know there is someone on bimmerfest that succeeded in ordering SB on a 2007 a few months ago where his CA was able to convince someone at BMW NA to allow it, but for the purpose of this thread I am only asking about recent experiences with the MY 2008 X5.

Many of us (including me) have been to the BMW dealers and have seen that there is no Saddle Brown selection available in the interior section of the dealer's ordering system. They can only click on options that are shown, they can't type in anything that is not shown on the list.

Yet in some other threads there have been posts by members that imply different things. Member brian5 has said that as far as he knows SB has "limited availability" and can be ordered but will delay the car's production. Then member Investor responded to him by saying "It doesn't delay your order".

So.....brian5, Investor, or anyone else for that matter, if you know anything more about this please respond in this thread with more details.

brian5......can you find out from your dealer (who I presume was the person who told you that SB is "available on a limited basis" exactly what he means and how does one go about ordering one. Assuming he was correct about the availability of SB on a limited basis I would assume that he would know how to process that order or who to contact at BMW NA to get it done. Would he be willing to provide that info to you so that you can share it with the rest of us. We are all spread out around the country and can't all buy our E70's from him, so if he can share the knowledge many of us would greatly appreciate it.

Investor.....you implied that ordering SB does not delay an order. I assume that if you know for a fact that it will not delay an order then you may also know more information that you may have learned from your dealer. It would be greatly appreciated if you could share anything you know with the other board members here.

Again, if anyone has more info on ordering SB please share it in this thread from now on so that all the info is in the same thread instead of being buried in multiple threads.

Thanks in advance to all who participate....

rodybmw, thank you for organizing this thread! I was sort of inquiring about the same thing about an hour ago.
http://www.xoutpost.com/387046-post14.html

yes , u can order saddle brown in US but u can't get SD with ZAV package

Yes, ZAV is only available in black and beige worldwide (even on the E60).

I'm glad to see another person say that you can order SB in the US, but do you have any information on how to do it? BMW's net system that the dealers use does not have any selection for Saddle Brown. Is there a specific person at BMW NA that they have to go through?......or any specific paperwork/ordering method that has to be used?

Monty....I have been meaning to start this thread for a few days now, but I keep forgetting or putting it off. Seeing your post in the other thread is what reminded me to do it.:thumbup:

For reference:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...2&postcount=31 (US saddle brown pics)

Yes, that's Osarda's car (the one I was referring to in my original post). I have been in contact with him and he told me who he got his car from. Since I live only about 40 or so miles from the dealership that he used I could always go there and try to order it through his CA. However, I would rather find out if it can be done any other way because if there is a way to do it then we can all use our own dealers and CA's. I have bought all my BMW's from the same person for about 15 years now and would rather deal with him again, rather than anyone else.......including Osarda's CA.

remember one thing guys and not to sound like a jerk o-- "its not what you know but who you know"

Although I bought my X5 in Germany, they are all made in the same factory in the US. I took over an open order early August and opted for the Saddle Brown (the original had been ordered in black). The car was built late September and I got it last week. There didn't seem to be any delay caused by the choice. I actually even got the car one week before the date originally set when I signed.

Seeing that it is the same factory and supply chain: Dont expect any delay due to the Saddle Brown. Irrespective of where you are. (Unless your other option is to buy a unit that is standing on some dealers show room floor already)

And it looks just GREAT ! Yes the rear of the seats are black. But that just makes it more stylish. And if it had been all SB, it would have been too much and would have spoiled it....

You CAN get saddle brown in US, but your dealer has to really want to help you. If they make enough calls and talk to appropriate people, it CAN be ordered without any extra charge.
Sorry, cant be more descriptive on how he has done it, as I feel that my dealer done enough and I should not bug him any more after calling and driving in for over a month about my interior request.