Day 6 Return home - addl thoughts
Typically the last day involves turning in your vehicle.
When dropping off the vehicle... remove ALL items that belong to you.... No items can be left in the vehicle as they will be removed by customs offcials and discarded. Leave BOTH European plates on the vehicle... Recent customs requirements indicate that both should be on the vehicle. They should still be on the vehicle when it is delivered in the US. Make sure to remove items that are European specific, that will not be in your vehicle when it gets to the US, like the First Aid Kit and the safety triangle which are mounted in the trunk. The brackets for the triangle also can/should be removed, or you will need to purchase brackets to install your triangle. On my car the brackets used a torx head (T10 or T15) so I was not able to remove mine..
Here is a photo of what you will likely need to have extra storage for in your bags home.
The Owners manual- if you weren't up late reading it in your hotel after the delivery, it is a great item to tackle on the flight home!
Warning Triangle - this is a nice safety item that is required in Europe but not in the US.
Front License plate and mounting hardware
First Aid Kit
Floor Mats - some owners leave these in the vehicle, others do not. There is a lot of debate on whether or not these mats or different mats or no mats will come delivered with your vehicle. Since many US dealers charge for floor mats, I opted to go ahead and roll mine up and take them with me.
OPTIONAL- stylish safety vests purchased in Austria - Like life vests in the US for a boat on water.. one vest per person at all times!
One can return their vehicle at a number of locations/countries throughout Europe, as indicated on the BMW USA website. Dropoff locations include Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Sindelfingen and Bremerhaven in Germany, Vienna, Austria, Paris or Nice, France, Amsterdam, Geneva or Zurich Switzerland, or one of eight different cities in Italy (all the italian cities have surcharges from € 490 to 750 (ouch!). The vehicles are shipped by train from the dropoff point to Bremerhaven, which is the outgoing port from which all BMWs are shipped to North America.
In Munich, the return location is Login/Out of Munich. They are located on the airport property, and a few yards from the Kempinski hotel, which is a 2 minute walk from Terminal two. If dropping one's vehicle off prior to a flight, I would imagine that one could take the bags to the terminal and drop them off from the car, and then walk with just carryons to the terminal after dropping off the car. The regular drop off hours are Monday thru Friday 0800 to 1630, and Saturday 0800 to 1400.
Due to the fact that our flights were set to leave at 7am on a Monday, I was able to make alternate arrangements to leave my car at the hotel. I left the documents at the desk and the folks from Loginout picked up my car and had emailed me that the car was safe and sound with them before I even arrived home. If your flight is at an odd time, the folks at Login/out have all types of solutions, including picking up the vehicle from your hotel for €100 or they will open at any hour of the day for €200. While both of these are relatively hefty charges, sometimes a few hours difference may mean hundreds of dollars savings on tickets, so in my case, I considered the drop off fee a part of my plane ticket expense. Drop off service at the Welt is available for a fee of €60, so if you are at a hotel near the Welt, and would prefer to catch a cab/train/shuttle to the airport or even the main train station to use rail to another location in Europe, this is an option.
ED TIP: One should send an email to the dropoff company a minimum of one week in advance to make arrangements for the drop off of your vehicle. This should definitely be done as part of your trip planning, so that you can determine when/where to drop off, and of course how you will get you/your bags to the airport terminal as well!
If your vehicle has a NAV device, the European map is loaded on the vehicle for your European Delivery, and the US map is installed in the vehicle prior to the vehicle being delivered in the US.
This is what you get a good view of on the trip home...
Our trip home on American Airlines was good, however the trip home is generally a long day. Typically flights to the US will involve a short flight of 2-4 hours and a long flight of 8-10 hours if you live in a major city. The 8-10 hour flights usually have a personal television for each passenger... so while you are trapped in your seat for more than a full work day, you at least have your own choice of re-runs or relatively recent movies to watch. Our 777 for the way home had arm rests with remote controls in them, and not only were movies and tv shows available, there were games available as well. If you live in a smaller city, you very likely may have a third flight.
Well that's the story, and I hope you enjoyed it. You might notice I didn't give much impressions about the car. It's AMAZING... simple as that... however.. in contrast to the pre-drive, where I daresay I drove the cars as hard as I dared, this trip was a great chance to experience the 1M as a grand touring vehicle. Despite it's relatively compact size, the rear is comfortable for children and moderately sized adults, but make no mistake, this is a sports car. In vacation mode, the ride is firm but not jarring, and apparently very comfortable to sleep in at 110 mph
If there is a canyon to be carved, the 1M is willing... as long as the occupants are
.
So now begins the long wait... My car leaves Germany 9/14 and should be stateside 10/3. I am hoping to pick it up while on vacation for BMW CCA Octoberfest in Birmingham sometime during 10/10-10/16. How lucky can a guy be? Stay tuned!