[marcus330i]

I put in a request to Bernhard at the Munich delivery center to NOT drill holes in my E90 front bumper. They have some very good foam double stick tapes that I know would absolutely hold the plate tightly....but he said it's the law that the plate is screwed into the bumper. End of story.

[YYimports]

That goes against what some members here have said. I thought it was Ziv that said that they didn't drill his bumper when he picked up ED??

[marcus330i]

Here's the cut and paste:

"Good to hear, that you come again to pick up another BMW! I will be there, happily looking forward to your arrival.
The front license plates need to be screwed on the bumper by law. These are some kind of "battlescars" if one does european delivery. What I will hopefully can do, is to arrange for good weather, to make your trip a very pleasant one! Anxiously awaiting to see you again,

Bernhard.

------------------------------------------
BMW Group
Herr Bernhard Hausmaninger
European Delivery and Customer Assistance
Telefon: +49-89-382-61823
Fax: +49-89-3823-9072

[wannabe]

I understand the frustration with the screw holes...but what about getting one of those fake German license plates while you are there. Then install it when you get your car here.

I kinda think it's cool...kinda.

[marcus330i]

You don't need a fake plate...you get 2 real ones to take home with you!

[BMWChi]

I picked up my car with Ziv. I think he missed the holes because they actually screwed the tourist plate on top of a U.S. size plate frame on the front bumper. The U.S. size plate frame is screwed into the front bumper. Because the U.S. plate frame is so thick, the front tourist plate bends back on the sides. Not enough to ruin them, but they will need to be bent back flat. Both of our plates bent the first day of driving.

I took my front plate off to take home with me when I dropped my car off at the shipper, but they wouldn't let me take the back plate off. My sales person said that the plate should arrive in tact on the rear of my car. But I have heard of cases where the rear plate was missing at delivery.

[shipo]

Originally Posted by BMWChi

My sales person said that the plate should arrive in tact on the rear of my car. But I have heard of cases where the rear plate was missing at delivery.

If your rear plate is missing when you get your car I would lean on the your dealership because it was most likely someone there (the detail person?) who took it.

According to what I remember from when I got my 2002 530i via the ED program, that tourist plate makes a difference in how the car is recorded on the shipping manifest (new or used) and affects how much customs duty is paid for your car when the car hits our shores. As such, ED cars make it to the VPC with the plate intact, and once they are there, nobody touches your car except for the folks in the BMW-NA supply chain. So, if the plate goes missing, your dealership should be able to discover where in the chain it got taken and recover it for you.

Best Regards,
Shipo

[CC 330i]

Well, don't feel too bad about the holes drilled when doing Euro Delivery. I didn't do ED and I still got my car with holes drilled. The dealer that originally prepped the car drilled the holes before my dealer traded for the car. I had given my dealer instructions not to drill the holes. It sucked, but it wasn't the end of the world. You can remove the US plate holder, and the holes don't look too terrible. They don't really show up in pictures (unless it's a closeup). They used self-tapping screws, so it deformed the area about 1 cm around the hole. I am not happy about it, but I can live with it.

[BMWChi]

I guess since they've already done it, I'll live with the front plate on. It sure looks better without it.

You can see (if you look hard) the black U.S. size plate frame behind the Euro plate.

I'll put the Euro plates under both the front and rear plates, maybe then it won't look so bad.

[marcus330i]

Originally Posted by BMWChi

I picked up my car with Ziv. I think he missed the holes because they actually screwed the tourist plate on top of a U.S. size plate frame on the front bumper. The U.S. size plate frame is screwed into the front bumper. Because the U.S. plate frame is so thick, the front tourist plate bends back on the sides. Not enough to ruin them, but they will need to be bent back flat. Both of our plates bent the first day of driving.

I took my front plate off to take home with me when I dropped my car off at the shipper, but they wouldn't let me take the back plate off. My sales person said that the plate should arrive in tact on the rear of my car. But I have heard of cases where the rear plate was missing at delivery.

The plates don't "bend" because you are driving at mach schnell speed...they bend them at the ED center...another obscure German law I assume. Check out the pic of Ziv's car at the ED center in this thread:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=445

[BMWChi]

Nope. Mine weren't bent when I picked it up. Take a look at the picture I posted above and the first one here. They were taken at delivery. And take a look at the first two from the first day. The third one is from Cannes 5 days later. Two days beyond that, in Carcassonne, still pretty flat. When I left Sitges, Spain (Where I was robbed by three thugs, by the way) the plates were bent back to the extreme. The plate was barely bent after serveral hours of driving with Ziv. They bend easily and when I first noticed Ziv's plate was bent, mine was still flat. Later in the day, mine was slightly bent, not as extreme as Ziv's though.

I'll be interested to know what your plates are like at delivery. If there is some "obscure German law", the installers must have broke it when they put my plates on.

[marcus330i]

It must vary then by who does the installs in Munich. My 5er front plate was very definately bent before I got the keys. I bent it back after drop-off and it looks fine.

[BMWChi]

Off Topic ::: Marcus - How did you like your 545i?

[marcus330i]

It was a great sedan....I am missing it! But 3 weeks from Thursday I'll be using a clutch after a 5 year hiatus....

Here's what I mean about bent plates...this is exactly what my front plate looked like when I got the car. It looks like sometimes they bend them and sometimes they don't.

[BMWChi]

I must have had a lazy plate installer!

[Hansi]

My 320d will be arriving soon. I'm considering a sticker instead of a front bumper license plate. It's legal in Europe. However the dealer told me it is a "flat" bumper, not round, so I shouldn't consider a sticker. Some opinions?!?

[shipo]

Hmmm, well I guess that my front plate was flat. My 530i, shown with my advisor Ernst:

[jetmechG550]

Kinda off topic from the Euro plate but what if you don't have front license plate, are you stuck with having the stupid mount there? Or can you tell them not to install it at the dealer.

[marcus330i]

The mount comes off and you'll see the beautiful naked bumper....with two holes in it! The you're stuck with this remedy:

http://www.bumperplugs.com/

[jetmechG550]

suck! Thanks for the info!

[andrewlin]

Thanks for the bumperplugs link. Which color will match SG the best you think?