Questions/concerns about European Delivery

[kwakitykwak]

Hey fellow 1ers this is mainly for people who have purchased their 1 through European Delivery. I'll be picking my car up in Munich in early September and I'm trying to set up an itinerary. Few questions and any experiences/useful answers would be appreciated greatly

How is traffic/driving in Germany/France/Italy/Spain/etc. compared to the US? Harder/easier less cars more cars road rage, etc?

Would it be a good idea to just leave my car at the bmw center and take cabs while I vacation for instance in Italy during my week or so of travel?

Should I be worried about vandalism if I were to take my car along through Italy?

Answers to those questions and just helpful tips and comments would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again

[former]

Originally Posted by kwakitykwak

How is traffic/driving in Germany/France/Italy/Spain/etc. compared to the US? Harder/easier less cars more cars road rage, etc?

Would it be a good idea to just leave my car at the bmw center and take cabs while I vacation for instance in Italy during my week or so of travel?

Should I be worried about vandalism if I were to take my car along through Italy?

Congratulations on your new car and European Delivery! There is no better way to take delivery of your new car than via the Welt and the autobahn experience. (other than perhaps ED + PCD)

Our freeways are loosely modeled on the European system so you'll find that they work very similarly. They are more organized and orderly, especially in Germany, but given the higher speeds you have to pay more attention than many folks do stateside.

It is certainly up to you how you structure your vacation, but since you are taking delivery of a car, I suggest that you leverage that flexibility and arrange your itinerary to take day trips in whatever region you are in throughout Italy. When we went we hopped from major city to major city every 3-4 days and then were able to spiral out from each major area. It worked out great for us, but to each their own.

Burglary is always a concern in Europe. BMWs are still an expensive car there too and your tourist plate is somewhat unique to those who are looking for targets of opportunity. Never, ever leave anything in view in the passenger cabin when you leave your car!

If you haven't been, I strongly suggest you stop by the Euro Delivery bimmerfest forum. It is the best place for information on the process and plenty of folks there are helpful if you use the search, read the wiki, etc.

Good luck. You'll have a blast!

[wmo168]

Agree! x2, check out ED section in Bimmerfest, tons of information.

[kwakitykwak]

Thanks a lot guys! I'll be sure to check it out

[j128i]

I did my ED in Sept 10, 2008, so just about a year earlier than you.

You have your own car why use other type transportation? We drove to Milan, Florence, Rome, Venice in Italy.
Well, one exception is don't drive your own car in city downtown, too dangerous, use public transportation instead and park your car in hotel garage (so spend some time on hotel searching).
You may not want to drop-off your car in Italy since you need to pay a driver to drive your car back to Germany.

Based on my limited ED driving experience (3000 miles in Germany, France, Swiss, Italy and Austria in 14 days), European highway system is much better than what we have this side of Atlantic. Pay attention to those cameras along the road otherwise dont be surprised you receive a few speedy tickets months after you back from Europe.

I only encountered one traffic jam due to a car accident miles ahead of us (BMW X5 rollover) on the way to Vienna from Venice. Many reported traffic jam though - so plan your trip accordingly to avoid driving during the commute time.
In Germany you enjoy no speed limit on autobahn, be careful dont stay on left lane and check your rearview mirrow often.
In France it is similar to the way you drive in USA (compare to driving in Germany - alot tension) but speed limit is 80 mph so a lot better and no worry.
In Italy, pay attention. The style is in between Germany and France. Italian drivers are not model drivers. Watch those motorcycle drivers!

You should also try some Alps pass by the way.

Read ED forum of Bimmerfest, plan now. Have a great ED and you will definately enjoy it!

[kwakitykwak]

Thanks alot j128 that bit of info helped a lot. That's what I was planning to do, park in the hotel garage. How was the traffic in the main cities that you went to: Milan, Florence, Rome, Venice? Is there really no speed limit in Germany? how about Italy?
Did you really get speed tickets sent to you back in the US?

[j128i]

Originally Posted by kwakitykwak

Thanks alot j128 that bit of info helped a lot. That's what I was planning to do, park in the hotel garage. How was the traffic in the main cities that you went to: Milan, Florence, Rome, Venice? Is there really no speed limit in Germany? how about Italy?
Did you really get speed tickets sent to you back in the US?

To avoid the traffic mess I'd not stay in a hotel at city center. There also are special zones that you need to have a permission to drive through in some cities such as Florence or you'll get ticket. We picked hotels near Metro (subway) station or bus station outside city downtown and easy to get off/on highway. Watch some youtube video on driving in Paris and Rome etc. and you'll have an idea. In Venice there is a central parking garage (check Bimmerfest ED forum) to use before you take water bus/taxi to hotel - no car in Venice!

When people say there is no speed limit in Germany it is because that's most exciting thing about driving on German Autobahn. Actually even on autobahn there are sections with speed limit - so check the SIGN. Local road just like here has speed limit and often quite low like 30 Km-per-hour (1 mile = 1.6 Km). Again watch some youtube video to prepare yourself.

In Italy the speed limit is 130 kilometers per hour on the Autostrada, 110 on main highways but those Italian drivers do not abey them so use your own judgement (to follow the flow or left behind). The key is safety!
There are a lot tunnels in Swiss and Italy and usually with lower speed limit. Please use causion.

By the way you have to have GPS with Euro map on it.

I have not recieved any kind traffic tickets yet from Europe so I think I'm safe now (almost a year passed). I do remember a couple flashes of speed camera though (dont remember where they are). By surfing Bimmerfest and this website I do notice some EDer got the tickets in the mail from Europe (they have your infomation from the BMW center when you register the car and get insurance in Europe). It may take a few months for police to process all those video tapes (they do out-sourcing now). You better pay them in case you do get tickets - to avoid potential difficulty to return Europe or do another ED. At least this is the recommendation/suggestion from ED forum of Bimmerfest on which alot frequent posters have European background/travel to Europe multi time each year/have done multi ED already.