Background on Car and Purchase
So a couple of months ago, I decided to do ED on a 335i M Sport. The specifications I decided upon were as follows:
335i M Sport
403M Wheels
Glacier Silver Metallic
Black Sensatec with Hexagon Aluminum/Piano Black trim
Tech Package
Sport Auto
Heated Front seats
HK sound
This would be our fourth BMW. My wife owned a 2006 325i Auto. I've owned a 2009 328i ZSP 6MT, and a 2011 M3 DCT. I’ll get more into comparisons later, but I was looking for something faster than the 328i and something more commuter minded than the M3. My daily commute is ~65 miles mostly highway. After driving the 335i for ~920 miles, I realize I should have went straight to the 335i and skipped the 328i and M3. I’ll explain more later.
As for buying the car, I would highly recommend dealing with Tom Herald at Momentum BMW in Houston. I got ED pricing on the spec's above from Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Dallas stores. Not only did Tom beat them all, but he was a pleasure to deal with. He constantly kept me informed regarding status, and checked in before I left and when I got back to make sure everything was ok. If you need a BMW in Texas, go through Tom. I will definitely be going through Tom for my future purchases.
http://www.momentumbmw.net/dealership/staff.htm
Tom Herald
Internet Sales
tom.herald@momentumbmw.net
713-596-3160
Trip Planning
We planned to spend two weeks in Europe. We would leave Corpus Christi on a Friday, and arrive in Munich on a Saturday. We would spend Saturday and Sunday adjusting and sight-seeing in Munich. Monday was scheduled for the ED. We would then drive from the Welt to Prague, where we would spend 1 week. The plan was to drive back to Munich from Prague. We would then take day trips to Fussen, Garmish-Partenkirchen and Berchtesgaden. We would use the rest of the time to piddle around Munich
The Trip
I typically fly Continental (now United) domestically. However, I think you’ll find that the non-domestic carriers have a leg-up on the US carriers. We flew from Houston to Toronto, and caught an AirCanada flight from Toronto to Munich. Friendly staff, good food, free booze, more seat-room, nice entertainment centers in each seat…I’ll always fly AirCanada over any domestic if I have the chance.
We arrived in Munich at ~1030 local time. We’ve found the best thing to do is to stay up all day, and do not go to sleep until the evening. This can be very difficult, but I think it’s the best way to get acclimated. On Sunday, the weather was beautiful, especially coming from ~100F in South Texas. We visited Olympic Park and the Welt/BMW Museum. I would recommend going up into the Olympic Park Tower. The views are amazing. The pictures don't do it justice.
I had a tough time going to sleep Sunday night. Monday morning was the ED, and that’s all I could think about. After a long night of tossing and turning, the time had come.
The ED lounge is pretty sweet. I tried my best not to see the car prior to delivery, but as soon as I walked into the lounge I noticed a Silver F30 M sport out of the corner of my eye. I couldn’t help but go look once I had caught a glimpse. We had plenty of time before ED, so we walked around the Welt taking pics. The ED process is really neat. After the delivery, we went on the factory tour. I would also do this if you have the time. It's a ~2 hour tour, but well worth it in my opinion. You will get to see the production line(s) for the 3 series and 4 series.
Next, to Prague. I have heard many times that Prague is the most beautiful city in Europe. Based on my limited experiences in Europe thus far, I would have to agree. You need to see Prague castle, Petrin Park, Landa Park, and Old Town Square. The beer is great, and you need to try a roasted pork knuckle. Sounds gross, but it's delicious. My wife wouldn't try it. I probably ate 4 of them while we were there.
Prague is really neat.......however, I would not recommend driving in Prague. I consider myself lucky that I was able to leave that city with the car unscathed. Tight streets, people everywhere, bikes, crazy drivers, trains, etc…
Back to Munich. We made Munich our home base for the next part of the trip. We would do day trips to surrounding areas. We started with Fussen to get the obligatory photos in front of Neuschwanstein Castle.
Next, to Berchtesgaden and Eagle's Nest. BEFORE YOU DRIVE INTO AUSTRIA, be sure to buy the highway sticker. To get to Berchtesgaden, the GPS took me about 5 miles into Austria, then back to Germany. When I exited to head back towards Germany, there were police stationed on the exit looking for these stickers. 120 Euros later, I was pissed.
I highly recommend visiting Eagle’s Nest (Kehlsteinhaus)…..the views are outstanding. My wife is from South Texas, and has probably only seen snow twice in her life....so she enjoyed the snow covered peaks here.
Our last few days in Munich were spent visiting the Zoo, Nymphenburg Palace, and other sites. We also spent a lot of time at the beer halls and beer gardens. My wife doesn't drink beer, but I got her to try German beer. No luck. Then came the day I had to turn the car back in. Like others, I stopped at the AGIP at the Munich airport to clean up the car. I brought my own wash mitt and drying cloths. Washing the car in the self wash bay cost me ~15 euros. I would recommend that you arrive way early for your drop-off. When I arrived to the Munich airport drop-off location, there were no parking spots left. I parked across the street and went inside. The people working there were struggling to keep up with customers. It took me ~30 mins before I could secure a parking spot and speak to someone to get the drop-off process going.
Car Talk
I was very impressed with the F30 335i. It's got torque all over the place, and the sport auto transmission is outstanding. I find the M Sport aesthetics very attractive, and the interior is a big step up from previous BMW's I've been in (in my opinion).
I was a little torn on transmission choice, but the sport auto is excellent. It reminds me a lot of the DCT from the E90 series M3. I've always been an MT guy, but I'm glad I went with the sport auto. It just feels right in this car. The transmission is just so immediately responsive to changes in driving conditions.
For my day to day driving, this will be a better car for me than my previous E92 M3. I'm not saying it's a better car (and I don't want to argue about what's "better"), but what I am saying is that this car is more suited to my driving needs. Sure, the M3 has a much more sporty feel, but I never have and do not plan to track my car. The S65 is a great engine, but I personally found the low-end torque to be an issue. I loved how the engine would wind up into the higher RPM’s, but I felt like it wasn't really doing much under 4k. In most of my daily driving, I don’t have the ability to wind the engine up all the time like that. The N55 does not seem to have the same issue. For my day to day driving, I appreciate the lower end torque that the N55 provides. Fuel economy is also an issue for me with my commute, and I will obviously see a nice benefit there. Given the miles I will be putting on the car, maintenance costs will be much easier to swallow as well (assuming the N55 proves to be more reliable than the N54). Again I really don't want to argue the M3 vs 335i......I realize the M3 is a "better" overall car. To reiterate, I'm saying that the F30 335i is a better car for me than the M3.
In comparing the F30 335i to the E90 328i, there are three obvious differences I detect in driving the cars. The first is in the acceleration. No explanation necessary. The second is in the feel of the cabin. The F30 has a much more refined feel to it (controls, materials, displays, etc.), and it seems to be more driver oriented. The third difference is in the steering. As noted in many reviews, the steering in the F30 is a bit softer than in the E90. I find it to be quite comfortable and to have a nice weight to it, but I can tell it’s a little bit softer.
Wrap-up
So now it’s a waiting game. I dropped the car off at the Munich airport on 6/6/14. I’m figuring the car should be back in Houston mid-July timeframe. This was one of the best vacations I’ve ever had. I would absolutely do it all over again. I’m a tad anal about my cars, so I did tend to get stressed out from time to time during the trip over the car (parking, road conditions, limited self-wash bays, etc.). If I were going to buy another new BMW down the road, I would definitely do ED again. It is quite the experience.