European Delivery next week, a few questions

[griptruk]

Passing and being passed on the ring:
I've read a few times to stay to the right if you are going to be passed or to pass on the left. However, in at least a few videos I've seen people pass on both sides, so I'm wondering if passing on the left is the real rule and if it's honored or if it's more of a off-line/ on-line kind of thing like it is at a lot of tracks.

-Jer

[elgigante]

Put in an order yesterday
SGM/terra/alum
sport/premium/USB/heated seats

When i asked about european delivery my SA said the program didn't even exist for the 1 series!! any truth to that ? anybody got some advice ...i am considering it soince i will be in the area in about 6-8weeks

[JasonCSU]

You can do ED for a 1 series, but some dealers choose not to because the car still comes out of their allocation currently. Usually, ED cars do not come out of a dealer's allocation, aside from ///M cars.

[griptruk]

What JasonCSU says is true.
Currently the 1 series DOES come out of the dealer allocation, which it normally would not. However the european discount does still exist, go to www.bmwusa.com then experiences and you can find it there if you dig around a little. You're dealer is either lying or is ignorant. There are a lot of dealers that are not ED friendly. I have a good one at Habberstad in NY if you need to get in touch with one. I'll tell you the guy to ask for.
I'll tell you one thing though, the lufthansa deal is pretty much a crock because it only applies to flights that just happen to be more expensive and you have to pay about $280 of taxes and fees for the second person even though their ticket is free. I found a flight that was under $600 but the cheapest one that the 2 for 1 deal applied to was over 900, add the tax and fees for the second ticket and you're right at $1,200. It's stupid.

[griptruk]

Another question about the one. We're packing up and we're wondering if our bags will fit in the trunk. the trunk itself seems to be a decent size but the opening seems a little tight. Anyone able to fit a bag bigger than carry on size in the trunk?

[BMWBLOG.COM]

Originally Posted by griptruk

Hey, this is my first post but I've been lurking around a little. I'm picking up my car on May 8th and I'm looking for a little insight from people who've done European Delivery already.

Gas: Is there anything unique to the german gas station experience that will catch me off guard? Is there pay at the pump? do they only take cash? stuff like that.

Parking: Is there anywhere you went where you had real trouble parking or trouble parking where you felt comfortable leaving your new car? Is most parking pay or free or timed? is valet parking common? I'm not a big fan of it and will likely have luggage in the trunk. Any tips about parking (especially where NOT to) would be appreciated.

Nurburgring Tourist days: I am planning on heading out to the Ring to at least take one lap around the track so I can at least have the experience, I don't plan to run at 10/10 or 5/10 really, I just want to drive on it at least once. If anyone's done this please let me know any tips or tricks or unexpected surprises you found in going there. Did you have to wait long? was there a good place to take pictures? Does anyone have a definitive answer on whether the European Delivery insurance excludes the Ring? As far as I can tell from the schedule the track is open to tourist laps all day the day I plan to be there.

Factory tours:
I am planning to do a factory tour at the Munich Plant and as far as I know as a person taking delivery that day I can pretty much jump on any tour. I am also interested in taking a tour of the Regensburg where the One is actually made, but the site says something about reserving 4 months in advance. Did anyone visit that plant without a reservation, or with a reservation made shortly before? If you did both tours, is it worth it or is it pretty much the same thing with different cars on the line? I'd love to see the Ones coming off the line and stuff but I do have a lot of other plans and that could probably eat up 4 hours or so easily.

Thanks
-Jeremy

I'm gonna answer the questions based on my experience:

most of the parking spaces are not free. For example, if you stay in Munich at the Marriott Munich or Renaissance(there are within a mile from each other), there is plenty of parking on the street and it's really safe. Most of the hotels offer inside parking but you have to pay for that, some offer a discounted rate, some don't.

The regular tour plant can be booked when you check in at the Welt. The Regensburg plant can be booked a few weeks in advance.

About the 'Ring, definitely worth it, it should be on your To-Do list.

I have tons of photos and videos from my delivery, I'll look it up tomorrow and maybe edit my post here.

P.S What's your itinerary?

[dclee1]

Originally Posted by griptruk

Another question about the one. We're packing up and we're wondering if our bags will fit in the trunk. the trunk itself seems to be a decent size but the opening seems a little tight. Anyone able to fit a bag bigger than carry on size in the trunk?

Absolutely - trunk space is ample and the opening is large enough to get most suitcases in there.

[ulrichd]

i am considering it since i will be in the area in about 6-8weeks...

BMW wants 3 months notice on EU delivery. You may be out of luck unless you can change yout timeframe.

[adc]

Originally Posted by elgigante

Put in an order yesterday
SGM/terra/alum
sport/premium/USB/heated seats

When i asked about european delivery my SA said the program didn't even exist for the 1 series!! any truth to that ? anybody got some advice ...i am considering it soince i will be in the area in about 6-8weeks

Who did you order with?

Give Joern Esser at Passport BMW a call, see if he can hook you up. Don't worry if you have to cancel your previous deal.

Joern is a native of Munich and the absolute go-to guy for ED in the DC area. I've done 2 ED's with him, no haggle, no hassle, incredible price and good service. If you search on www.bimmerfest.com ED forum, you'll find many satisfied customers.

FYI, the minimum timeframe for ED is officially 60 days, but I think they can do it faster sometimes. Especially now, that they have a much higher throughput capability at the Welt.

[griptruk]

Originally Posted by adc

FYI, the minimum timeframe for ED is officially 60 days, but I think they can do it faster sometimes. Especially now, that they have a much higher throughput capability at the Welt.

I ordered on March 26th and got May 8th delivery date.(~43ish days?)
My dealer definitely pulled a couple strings to make this happen, I think he found a car another dealer ordered that was scheduled for my required build date and swapped it with one of their allocations. He then changed the existing order to fit my specs. He had to find a 135i coupe, there is seperate allocation for 128 coupe, 128 convertible, 135 coupe, and 135 convertible, so that could not be changed.

I was able to make this happen because I had a very helpful dealer who was willing to go out of his way for me, but they really would prefer if you give them the full 3 months, it will make everything a lot easier. And do yourself a favor and make sure you pick a date that is not during a holiday or festival or you will get SCREWED on the hotel pricing.

-Jer

[griptruk]

Originally Posted by BMWBLOG.COM

P.S What's your itinerary?

We're gonna be there for only 1 week. We decided to stay in the south and only in germany, we knew we wanted to go to the 'ring and munich and some bavarian stuff in between. I may have to buy another car just to pick up where we leave off!

Day 1: arrive, go straight to BMW, do the tour, pick up car Drive and stay in Obergammau
Day 2: sleep late, see a castle or something- drive to and stay in Hohenschwangau
Day 3: Castle tours and Alps stuff, drive to and stay at Rothenberg o der tauber
Day 4: Drive to Nurburgring, do a couple laps, check out the parking lot, drive back to Rothenberg
Day 5: Drive to munich in A.M., drop off car if possible, english gardens, beer garden, stay in munich
Day 6: Tour munich sites, more beer halls and pretzles and stuff
Day 7: last minute munich stuff and head to the airport.

It's gonna go by quick, that's for sure.

-Jer

[BMWBLOG.COM]

Originally Posted by griptruk

We're gonna be there for only 1 week. We decided to stay in the south and only in germany, we knew we wanted to go to the 'ring and munich and some bavarian stuff in between. I may have to buy another car just to pick up where we leave off!

Day 1: arrive, go straight to BMW, do the tour, pick up car Drive and stay in Obergammau
Day 2: sleep late, see a castle or something- drive to and stay in Hohenschwangau
Day 3: Castle tours and Alps stuff, drive to and stay at Rothenberg o der tauber
Day 4: Drive to Nurburgring, do a couple laps, check out the parking lot, drive back to Rothenberg
Day 5: Drive to munich in A.M., drop off car if possible, english gardens, beer garden, stay in munich
Day 6: Tour munich sites, more beer halls and pretzles and stuff
Day 7: last minute munich stuff and head to the airport.

It's gonna go by quick, that's for sure.

-Jer

Sounds like fun, I would drive to Austria or Switzerland also, just for the fun roads.

And definitely do the Nurburgring, you will love it. Hopefully you'll take tons of photos

[ssabripo]

Man....September seems like centuries away!!! the agony of waiting!

anyways, we plan on staying 10 days in Europe:

Day1: Arrive in Munich, goto hotel, get some rest, small sight seeing in downtown.
Day2: pickup car, factory Tour, etc...all day BMW stuff
Day3: Get on the Autobahn and drive from Munich to Salzburg...most gorgeous drive in the world for those ofyou who have not done it! you are driving towards the alps and all you see is this massive wall of mountains coming towards you...at autobahn speeds! eat dinner and come back same nite
day4: drop off car, get on speed train to Paris, arrive in paris, dinner in the champse
day5: Touring Paris, Louvre museum
day6: some more Paris, etc.
day7: goto Brussels in teh AM, spend the nite
day8: more brussels sight seeing, train back to paris in the PM
day9: last day in paris, shopping, etc.
day10: to Paris Airport, back to the US.

[griptruk]

Originally Posted by ssabripo

Man....September seems like centuries away!!! the agony of waiting!

anyways, we plan on staying 10 days in Europe:

Day1: Arrive in Munich, goto hotel, get some rest, small sight seeing in downtown.
Day2: pickup car, factory Tour, etc...all day BMW stuff
Day3: Get on the Autobahn and drive from Munich to Salzburg...most gorgeous drive in the world for those ofyou who have not done it! you are driving towards the alps and all you see is this massive wall of mountains coming towards you...at autobahn speeds! eat dinner and come back same nite
day4: drop off car, get on speed train to Paris, arrive in paris, dinner in the champse
day5: Touring Paris, Louvre museum
day6: some more Paris, etc.
day7: goto Brussels in teh AM, spend the nite
day8: more brussels sight seeing, train back to paris in the PM
day9: last day in paris, shopping, etc.
day10: to Paris Airport, back to the US.

Only ONE DAY with the car???? why not take your time and drive to paris? it's not THAT far, plus I think you're gonna get some flack from people about jumping right on the autobahn with a not broken in car.

[AchtungF80]

Originally Posted by ssabripo

Man....September seems like centuries away!!! the agony of waiting!

anyways, we plan on staying 10 days in Europe:

Day1: Arrive in Munich, goto hotel, get some rest, small sight seeing in downtown.
Day2: pickup car, factory Tour, etc...all day BMW stuff
Day3: Get on the Autobahn and drive from Munich to Salzburg...most gorgeous drive in the world for those ofyou who have not done it! you are driving towards the alps and all you see is this massive wall of mountains coming towards you...at autobahn speeds! eat dinner and come back same nite
day4: drop off car, get on speed train to Paris, arrive in paris, dinner in the champse
day5: Touring Paris, Louvre museum
day6: some more Paris, etc.
day7: goto Brussels in teh AM, spend the nite
day8: more brussels sight seeing, train back to paris in the PM
day9: last day in paris, shopping, etc.
day10: to Paris Airport, back to the US.

Haha, we're goin in Sept as well and our Itinerary is similar...

but a little backwards from yours..

9/15 - depart from EWR and arrival in CDG (Paris, France) on 9/16
9/16 - Hotel still to be determined, check in and spend 2 days in Paris, touring the city, maybe do the hop on/off tour bus and visit Louvre, Eiffel Tower etc...
9/17 - Evening, fly to Munich, check into hotel (still to be determined).
9/18 - Take the S-bahn train to welt, pick up car, do the Welt tour, Factory tour, BMW museum, buy some BMW accesories, if time permits, drive the romantic road tour (from my Frommer's guidebook).
9/19 - Depart Munich and head into the Swiss Alps, down the Stelvio Pass towards Milan, check in at Hotel Michelangelo.
9/20 - 9/21 - Tour Milan
9/22 - Check out of Hotel, meet with boss, tour a few more places with him then head over to Piedmonte, check into hotel (TBD)
9/23 - Work (tour HQ)
9/24 - check out hotel in Piedmonte, drive east towards Lake Como, visit 2nd office and tour facility, afternoon depart Italy back into Germany toward Nuremburg and drive Nurburgring.
9/25 - return to Munich and drop off car, take U-Bahn to MUC and return to EWR.

[adc]

Originally Posted by griptruk

Only ONE DAY with the car???? why not take your time and drive to paris? it's not THAT far, plus I think you're gonna get some flack from people about jumping right on the autobahn with a not broken in car.

+1. Drive to Paris, by all means.

Did I mention the Nurburgring is just a small detour from the optimal route to Paris? :wink:

[ssabripo]

Originally Posted by griptruk

Only ONE DAY with the car???? why not take your time and drive to paris? it's not THAT far, plus I think you're gonna get some flack from people about jumping right on the autobahn with a not broken in car.

yeah, that may be better...still not in stone, but we may end up with more time in the munich/salzburg area.

I'm definitely taking the train to Paris!

[Spook]

Saturday - Arrive early, sleep a little, enjoy Munich
Sunday - Munich, possibly a tour bus to local castles
Monday - pick up car early, drive to northern Italy via Innsbruck
Tuesday - Venice (car will be parked)
Wednesday - Venice (car will be parked)
Thursday - Back to Munich via Salzburg, stop at places missed
Friday - Give the car back, spend time in Munich
Saturday - Early flight home

I fly out a week from this Friday. In two weeks I'll be driving some of the best roads in the world. Life is good.

-Spook

[griptruk]

just got back last night, one of the best weeks of my life, I'd have to say. It's gonna be tough waiting for that car to get here. I'll get some pics up here at some point soon -Jer

[adc]

Originally Posted by griptruk

just got back last night, one of the best weeks of my life, I'd have to say. It's gonna be tough waiting for that car to get here. I'll get some pics up here at some point soon -Jer

The folks over at bimmerfest have a 12 hour rule - if you don't post a pic of the car in the first 12 horus after delivery, the Bimmerfest Mafia confiscates your car.

You are really lucky there is no such rule here at 1addicts - but surely, you could tells us more and post some pics now that you've come back??

:biggrin: