After 9 months of waiting for my car and reading so many other people's delivery stories FINALLY I am able to do the same.
First there are three things that caught my attention
1) Reviews would talk about the 1M's super stiff suspension. I've never driven a track or race car, but if this is considered "SUPER STIFF" count me in! Maybe I have a bit more cake in my rear than others, but this is no stiffer than a friend's 135i Msport that I've driven.
2) Drone? Come on, this is what I expect from a performance car with an exhaust. From my experience, it is not annoying or tiring at all and hearing it only heightens my experience.
3) Great sound system. Yes I got the Harmon Kardon, If I were to get only a single option on this car, the sound system would be it.
As soon as all the paperwork was done and the car was handed to me I...
1) Started her up/ waited for warm up
2) Slid a CD in
3) Listened to some Black Keys, first song...
hahaha
4) Had the time of my life sitting through an hour of traffic home
I am absolutely in love with this car, but had a very odd feeling the first couple days. After looking at almost every video, and every post in this 1M section of the forum for the past 9 months while waiting for my car to arrive, I have grown to understand, learn and know almost every little detail about this car. The interior, exterior, engine bay and trunk space were somethings I memorized due to my long wait and addiction to this forum. So when I received my car, I would look at it in the driveway and think... "yea, there's my 1M, whatever, cool", but then I would take a second glance and think "Wow, THIS IS MY 1M!, I can't believe its finally here!" haha. She came delivered with 7 miles on the clock, and I've just checked to find 299 on the odom. I am very happy, but can't wait to hit the 1200 mile service so I can let her loose. For some reason, maybe this is just me but I feel as if the exhaust is getting louder and more burbly than the time I picked it up.
Like many I pre-ordered the car. My search began in mid February and I placed my first order in early March... at Pacific BMW. Bad idea. At that time all was fine and deposit was put down, order sent in. After never hearing from my sales rep Simon Lee, and calling many times I eventually received a response saying our deal is off unless I was willing to pay mark up on the car unlike the MSRP agreed. We threatened to bring in the suits, they said they couldn't get allocation. W/e didn't put the work into it and I guess they got bad press eventually anyways haha Suck it Pacific. Then I went to South Bay BMW which is where I eventually received my car! I placed an order with an original delivery date of September. Some how later I heard that this was not possible and allocation was not available. I began to give up because by now waitlists were plentiful and mark ups were just beginning to appear. Most around the 2500 to 5000 mark which seems to be a great deal today.
Many wonder how I hear about so many allocations and available cars and question if I'm some sort of broker... let me finally fill you in haha.
My search for this car has been an experience. In my search I've questioned my sanity for trying this hard just to purchase a car and why I was doing this all myself.
In the past 9 months I have put down about a dozen orders and have been placed on twice as many waitlists. In the beginning I was told I was secured an allocation then updated to hear later that I was not so... I contacted every dealership on the West Coast with 1 thing in mind. MSRP. I received a few, but once again followed up with "sorry...etc." So...... I contacted every dealer in the US... yes this is about the time I considered my sanity haha.
As you can imagine I received a lot of feed back. Many available for MSRP, many saying yes then no, and a few mark ups. Why didn't I take a few MSRP? because of shipping, might as well pay mark up around my area than pay same amount for shipping from east coast. At the end of this ordeal I had secured a 1M from East Coast dealership Flynn BMW for courtesy delivery to LA and a 1M from Camp BMW in Washington for October delivery. Then in September a week from production I received a call from South Bay, "HEY we have an allocation would you still like it"... No shipping issues, no 800 mile drive, but two extra months wait? ...Why not sure. So I called the other dealers off. Gave them away to forum members and snagged mine up from Torrance.
So as you can imagine, I'm still unsubscribing from all the dealers emailing list and my phone was going off the charts with their "follow up calls/ what about another BMW calls". Eventually a few 1M's became available in one of the US dealers, I received the call, asked if I could give to a friend, and posted on this forum for a few lucky forum members.
On the first day, I...
1)Stalled once
2) Slightly scrapped the front on a dip
3) Received my first freeway race request by a convertible e46 M3
4) on the down low... had a private, silent burst of joy in the car while leaving the dealership
I am very happy with the car and the wait has probably made this experience that much greater. Thank you all for posting your European Delivery stories, PCD stories, and even Normal Deliveries. Your photographs, comments and reviews are what inspired me to continue my search and eventually get my car. Happy to finally join the club. See you all out on the open road
