[cncmastr]

Originally Posted by puma1552

haha id be the same way.

worried theyd prep the car poorly leaving swirls, worried about having to park it in tight congested areas everywhere on my trip, and worried about sloppy cleaning and repackaging the car for shipment and redelivery. basically i want the dealer touching the car as little as possible, so when it comes out of the factory all wrapped up, i want to undo the wrapping myself and take it to the safety of my home immediately and fully detail it.

i realize im ocd and dont represent most people, so, to the OP - congrats!

You make some compelling arguments. I think I too would be really worried traipsing around Europe with my new baby. Don't get me wrong, I am sure it'll be fun, but for all the reasons you brought up, it would worry me too much.

[AlexN]

congrats on both of your new babies :-)
Your story reminds mine in so many ways.
Me and my wife did our ED back in Aug 2011.
I too spent many hours reading and researching on the process and recommended CA's and ended up going with David (who was still working in MD at the time).
I couldn't agree more about your comments about David. He was great to deal with and that was one of the easiest car purchase experiences I had.
My wife was 7 months pregnant at the time we picked up or car, so we couldn't be too active on our ED, but we still spent 2 weeks driving the car through Germany, Italy, Monaco and France.
To this day (our daughter just turned 2 a few weeks ago) we have tons of great memories and we enjoy thinking back of that vacation.

[EHDEN]

sick photos!! def on my bucket list to do.

[Explorer3253]

Originally Posted by AlexN

congrats on both of your new babies :-)
Your story reminds mine in so many ways.
Me and my wife did our ED back in Aug 2011.
I too spent many hours reading and researching on the process and recommended CA's and ended up going with David (who was still working in MD at the time).
I couldn't agree more about your comments about David. He was great to deal with and that was one of the easiest car purchase experiences I had.
My wife was 7 months pregnant at the time we picked up or car, so we couldn't be too active on our ED, but we still spent 2 weeks driving the car through Germany, Italy, Monaco and France.
To this day (our daughter just turned 2 a few weeks ago) we have tons of great memories and we enjoy thinking back of that vacation.

Thanks! We are looking forward to both of our deliveries! Haha.
David was great! I'd recommend him to anyone in a heartbeat and hope he is still around when it's time for our next car.

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by greekcs

Do they offer American Delivery for European buyers of the X3,X5,X6?

Yep and instead of winding through the German countryside and taking pictures of ancient castles, you get to drive by McDonald's and Walmart.

A good question but I just can't imagine that "American Delivery" would be nearly as exciting, given where BMWNA is located here in the States.

[raleedy]

Originally Posted by ybbiz34

Yep and instead of winding through the German countryside and taking pictures of ancient castles, you get to drive by McDonald's and Walmart.

A good question but I just can't imagine that "American Delivery" would be nearly as exciting, given where BMWNA is located here in the States.

PCD.

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by raleedy

PCD.

Yeah that's something entirely separate and distinct from the European Delivery experience.

I was trying to come up with something analogous to ED. But it was in jest.

I think the PCD is an awesome opportunity. AMG offers something similar in that whenever you purchase or lease a new AMG, you're awarded a free trip to the AMG Driving Academy of your choice (Laguna Seca, Circuit of the Americas, etc.)

OP, congratulations on your recent European Delivery experience!

Looks like you had an amazing time. I'd love to take advantage of that opportunity one day myself.

[snowghost]

Originally Posted by ybbiz34

Yep and instead of winding through the German countryside and taking pictures of ancient castles, you get to drive by McDonald's and Walmart.

A good question but I just can't imagine that "American Delivery" would be nearly as exciting, given where BMWNA is located here in the States.

Oh you can drive by McDonald's and even Subway in Germany.

[TAL2GK]

My wife and I just returned from a European Vacation and you know I had to stop by the Welt as part of the trip. For us, this wasn't an ED as my Z4 is an original model year and was built in SC. (There's no reason to believe that traveling the American countryside is any less interesting for Europeans as touring Europe is for Americans).

Anyway, regarding renting a BMW when you travel to Europe ... I tried my very best to do it. We were spending two weeks in Europe driving the entire time - so I had contacted a rental broker prior to the trip and paid double what a basic car would cost so that I could get a BMW 3-series to drive. The price wasn't horrible - about $450 for 14 days - but I could've had a Golf for $220. I know how rental car companies work, and you pay for the class not a specific model. Still, I was told that I'd get a BMW 3-series, a Mercedes C-Class, or an Audi A4 ... not all perfect but all would be worth the upgrade over a Golf.

Imagine my utter disappointment when I arrived at Avis in Frankfurt and they had me in a Peugeot 508 station wagon! The Peugeot is a perfectly solid car and had plenty of technological gadgets, but a BMW owner doesn't fly to German to drive for two weeks in a French car! It was horribly underpowered and as a front-drive station wagon, handled like a truck. I had planned on driving the Nurburgring but my disappointment was mitigated by the 'ring being closed for the winter when I arrived on December 17.

We drove to see Ludwig's castles, as you did, and the highlight of our trip was spending time in the Swiss, Bavarian, & Austrian Alps. Garmisch-Partinkirchen was a cool town (though we preferred nearby Mittenwald). Munich was a bit of a let down, though we enjoyed the Welt and the Christmas Market at Marienplatz as well.

It was great to read your writeup. We were able to get direct flights from Charlotte to Frankfurt, but the flights were still torture for someone that flies 70 segments a year domestically. I wouldn't do it again unless I was willing to pay for Envoy. Otherwise, ED sounds like a great experience and a way to save some money. If/when we successfully add to our family, I'd consider getting a 435i convertible or maybe a 650i convertible as a more practical alternative to my Z4.

[TAL2GK]

Oh, for the record, as much as I hated my Peugeot - I managed to coax it up to 222 kph on the autobahn driving up from Garmisch to Frankfurt (via Rothenburg) on Christmas day. There was very little traffic, as you might imagine that day, but anytime I had to slow down for someone in the left lane (which was rare) it took forever to get her back up over 200.

I wish all American drivers could spend some time in Germany so they knew how to treat the left lane. It was very refreshing to see that you could actually pass in the left lane and there were not any lingerers in the left lane. Very impressed!

[snowghost]

Originally Posted by TAL2GK

My wife and I just returned from a European Vacation and you know I had to stop by the Welt as part of the trip. For us, this wasn't an ED as my Z4 is an original model year and was built in SC. (There's no reason to believe that traveling the American countryside is any less interesting for Europeans as touring Europe is for Americans).

Anyway, regarding renting a BMW when you travel to Europe ... I tried my very best to do it. We were spending two weeks in Europe driving the entire time - so I had contacted a rental broker prior to the trip and paid double what a basic car would cost so that I could get a BMW 3-series to drive. The price wasn't horrible - about $450 for 14 days - but I could've had a Golf for $220. I know how rental car companies work, and you pay for the class not a specific model. Still, I was told that I'd get a BMW 3-series, a Mercedes C-Class, or an Audi A4 ... not all perfect but all would be worth the upgrade over a Golf.

Imagine my utter disappointment when I arrived at Avis in Frankfurt and they had me in a Peugeot 508 station wagon! The Peugeot is a perfectly solid car and had plenty of technological gadgets, but a BMW owner doesn't fly to German to drive for two weeks in a French car! It was horribly underpowered and as a front-drive station wagon, handled like a truck. I had planned on driving the Nurburgring but my disappointment was mitigated by the 'ring being closed for the winter when I arrived on December 17.

We drove to see Ludwig's castles, as you did, and the highlight of our trip was spending time in the Swiss, Bavarian, & Austrian Alps. Garmisch-Partinkirchen was a cool town (though we preferred nearby Mittenwald). Munich was a bit of a let down, though we enjoyed the Welt and the Christmas Market at Marienplatz as well.

It was great to read your writeup. We were able to get direct flights from Charlotte to Frankfurt, but the flights were still torture for someone that flies 70 segments a year domestically. I wouldn't do it again unless I was willing to pay for Envoy. Otherwise, ED sounds like a great experience and a way to save some money. If/when we successfully add to our family, I'd consider getting a 435i convertible or maybe a 650i convertible as a more practical alternative to my Z4.

I had a trip originating in Paris a few years back and my 3 Series Class car turned out to be a Renault. It was a POS.

Drove it down to Austria and we were in a multi-car pile up on the Autobahn just outside Vienna on the way to Munich. The car was drivable and when I got back to Munich called Hertz and asked what they had in a 5 Series. They located one at the airport, and that was that (thank you Mastercard

My trip last summer started out in Munich and I was there a few days before needing the car. So I bugged Hertz everyday for a BMW 3er and it paid off by us getting a 320d.

[e30Racer]

Can anybody doing ED park in the BMW garage? Or did you have to set this up in advance or when you got there? Is it free or cost money? Is there any time restriction for length of stay or pick or drop off times? Thanks in advance. Im doing a Euro delivery in April.

[Explorer3253]

Originally Posted by e30Racer

Can anybody doing ED park in the BMW garage? Or did you have to set this up in advance or when you got there? Is it free or cost money? Is there any time restriction for length of stay or pick or drop off times? Thanks in advance. Im doing a Euro delivery in April.

If you picked up your ED vehicle and are close by, you can ask for a few vouchers. They gave me 2 when I was leaving with my car. They were more than happy to give me a few to get me through the week.

[e30Racer]

Originally Posted by Explorer3253

If you picked up your ED vehicle and are close by, you can ask for a few vouchers. They gave me 2 when I was leaving with my car. They were more than happy to give me a few to get me through the week.

Thanks for the reply. I think ill be in Munich for about 5 days and off to Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. Anybody else have good places to park in those cities? Please let me know. Thanks

[drkeng]

did you have winter tires on? I heard they're required in Germany in the winter months and you can be in big trouble if you get in an accident without them?
(heard they're rentable)

congrats on the upcoming family addition!
nice car, too. the baby will be fine in the backseat for a few years.