[GunnerYank]

Hi all,

I have bought a few weeks ago a new 328i Gran Turismo in Midnight Blue, which I really love so far. I bought what they had on the lot, rather than putting a custom order in, as it allowed me to negotiate pretty significantly on price. The car had pretty much everything in it that I would have wanted (Cold Weather package, Driver Assistance package, Premium package, Technology package), but there was one thing which was not included in the lot vehicle which I really wanted: The Lighting Package.

I have been told by the dealership that it's not an option to get the Lighting Package installed after the car has been built. But, the did say quietly that if I got OEM Xenon lights, although they may not be 'adaptive', I could possibly have them put in. However, they said it would likely void the part of the warranty that covers the lights (though, perhaps if they're OEM BMW Xenon HIDs, they might not void it).

My question: has anyone on this board done such an adjustment after-market? If so, is there a recommended place to buy them, and way to get them installed? Are there problems, or reasons why I could not / should not make this adjustment?

I just think that the car would look so much sharper, and the night time field of view ahead would be that much sharper too, if the vehicle had the Xenon HIDs.

I will greatly appreciate any thoughts and guidance!

Thanks!

[Richbot]

Failboat time. You can probably retrofit but it would seriously be cheaper to find a car with the right options or order one. Housings alone are $800 per side on the much higher volume F30 which has smaller less complicated housings. Bound to be be $1300 or so per side just for parts by the time you add bulbs ballasts and other sundries. Then figure 3-5 hours so $400+ of shop time to install and code the car and after all that they won't auto level or have any other adaptive features

Or you could go the high school kid route and buy a $200 xenon retrofit kit, code out the bulb error, and blind oncoming traffic with xenon bulbs in your halogen housings which were never designed for them ( this has also been known to melt stuff)

Or the "I don't mind cutting up my stock lights and have tons of free time" route and spend about $1000 cutting holes in your existing housings and installing projectors from an Acura or the like as some have done on older cars

[GunnerYank]

That was kind of what I was fearing. Buying a different car is too far gone at this point - I've already been in this one for 3 weeks, and I'd lose too much on the trade to make it worth it. I knew it would be expensive to retrofit, but was really wondering if it would be worth it, even if they would not be adaptive. Sounds like, from your perspective, it would be a waste of cash. I did manage to negotiate a great price on this one, taking what they had on the lot, and I love the car in all other areas... just not the bland halogen headlamps. Oh well...

In any case, thanks for your time and thoughts in the reply.

Originally Posted by Richbot

Failboat time. You can probably retrofit but it would seriously be cheaper to find a car with the right options or order one. Housings alone are $800 per side on the much higher volume F30 which has smaller less complicated housings. Bound to be be $1300 or so per side just for parts by the time you add bulbs ballasts and other sundries. Then figure 3-5 hours so $400+ of shop time to install and code the car and after all that they won't auto level or have any other adaptive features

Or you could go the high school kid route and buy a $200 xenon retrofit kit, code out the bulb error, and blind oncoming traffic with xenon bulbs in your halogen housings which were never designed for them ( this has also been known to melt stuff)

Or the "I don't mind cutting up my stock lights and have tons of free time" route and spend about $1000 cutting holes in your existing housings and installing projectors from an Acura or the like as some have done on older cars

[Richbot]

Been there done that bought the t-shirt. Sucky situation to be in. I would not take my word for it but the OEM headlight assemblies are so ludicrously expensive that it seems like a hopeless waste. But I will never go back to living without HID headlamps, if you call that living