My Welt review and ED experience

[dclee1]

EDIT: Got the camera and the pics are up! See later on in this thread. I have hi-res versions of the pics available as well if anyone's interested:

I’m back from my European delivery experience, and I have to say that this is absolutely, unequivocally, the only way to take delivery of your BMW, if possible. I’m going to review my Welt experience in detail and briefly talk about the rest of the trip.

We flew into Munich at 7 AM on Saturday, and in retrospect, we were both still extremely tired when arriving into Munich. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and drizzling, but that did little to dampen my spirits as we navigated the S-bahn (like a subway) to the Welt facility with our luggage in tow. As soon as you arrive at the Olympiapark stop and walk up the stairs, you are greeted with the towering, curvaceous sight of the Welt facility about 100 meters in front of you. The building is absolutely stunning and you really have to be standing next to it in person to experience the beauty and presence of it before you. One caveat: from this point onward, I was driven by adrenaline, but I was definitely feeling a bit tired throughout the day from the trip. Also, my GF wasn’t quite as pumped up for the experience and I felt like I was accompanied by a zombie for most of the day. I’d advise planning some rest time in between arrival and delivery.

In the front of the Welt facility, BMW was showing off a line of Ti 1ers decaled with the “efficient dynamics” label and, at the end of the row, was an 08 white M3 clad with a huge M logo on the side, not sure what that decoration signifies.

As for the delivery well, folks, this is absolutely a premium experience from beginning to end, and I recommend planning an entire day for the Welt experience alone. From the moment we approached the door to have an attendant sprinting to open it and take our luggage and coats from us, I knew I was in for the experience of a lifetime.

After checking our luggage and coats at the front desk, we were escorted to the premium delivery lounge for owners. Along the way, you get a great view of the Welt building. It consists mainly of a monstrous open space with sweeping ceilings and walkways, apparently built to evoke a feeling of motion (even the lights above were modeled to remind the visitor of passing clouds), and huge windows that give you a clear view of the BMW headquarters, the BMW museum (under construction till spring) and the other areas of the Welt building. On the south side of the main floor you’ll find the entire lineup of BMW cars, including the X6, along with a room dedicated to the BMW individual program. The north side consists of a mini-museum/homage to BMW, where you’ll find a lineup of engines, exterior/interior design displays, explanations of the latest technologies including efficient design tech, and other interactive exhibits.

We ride the elevator up to the premium lounge and first get the paperwork out of the way – insurance documents and such. You have the option to plan your day as you see fit, scheduling around the given delivery time. Among the options you can plan are: the Welt tour, briefing of your car before delivery, the factory tour, lunch at the restaurant or bistro, time to shop and look around the Welt yourself, and just spending time relaxing in the premium lounge. The thing that I loved about the experience is that I never felt rushed or unwelcome; they made it quite clear that I could spend all the time I wanted to in the premium lounge and the facilities. I changed my schedule so I could catch the 11 AM tour of the Welt, so I decided to start my briefing after about a half-hour of loitering in the premium lounge.

In the premium lounge, you are presented with a dazzling selection of drinks, sandwiches, fruits, snacks and the like. It was nice to sit down and relax for a bit with some delicious pretzel sandwiches topped with a Bavarian cheese spread and some great coffee. Your name is displayed on the monitors scattered around the lounge that show your scheduled delivery times.

Then comes the briefing. Your delivery specialist takes you down to a basement room with a couple rows of tables with overhead projector displays. The displays on the table are operated by touching the appropriate area covered by the button, which I thought was neat. You’re presented with a clip of the design philosophy of the 1 and also shown various interesting safety features - for example, I did not know that in the event of a severe crash, the battery disconnects from the system so as to prevent the possible fire hazard caused by sparks. Then, you’re taken to a small booth where you essentially play a video game version of your car, driving through several test runs with options like ABS on/off, DTC and DSC on/off so you can see how the car responds to varying inputs, in a simulated environment anyway.

Then, the moment arrives: you’re taken back upstairs and down a walkway where you get a great view of the BMW headquarters seen through huge bay windows. You turn the corner: and there she is, under a spotlight and rotating in all her glory for all to see. The moment is breathtaking, to say the least. You descend the rest of the stairs to meet your new car, and the advisor takes you through every button and function of your baby. Before you get the keys handed over, though, there are a couple more surprises. A photograph of you and your new car is taken with and printed out into a card, which is given to you just before your delivery. Your luggage and coats are delivered to your car. Finally, your advisor hands over the keys with a special BMW Welt keychain engraved with your initials! Apparently, it’s not available for purchase, either – you have to take ED delivery to get that keychain. Just another nice touch on a fantastic experience.

I sat down in my car and fired up the engine for the first time. I inhaled the sweet smell of the leather interior and gripped the meaty steering wheel, a stupid grin on my face, and it was then that I noticed all the people watching from a walkway situated not too far away from the delivery area. After a quick prayer that I don’t stall the beast in front of a crowd of onlookers, I took the car for a “victory” lap around the delivery area and down a ramp out into the waiting afternoon.

And the roads, good God, the roads. I’ve been to parts of Europe on five different occasions, but I never had a sensory experience like driving through the buttery-smooth roads, navigating the endlessly-packed esses that weave their way through the patchwork countryside of rolling hills, quaint towns of red-roofed houses, and the frost-covered peaks of the Alps. It was definitely two-hands-on-the-wheel territory for much of the trip, and I highly recommend that after you get your fill of the pure full-out speed on the Autobahn, you take the smaller highways in between cities. You’ll be rewarded with gorgeous vistas and endless curves (although getting passed by a GT3 doing by my guess around 180 on the autobahn is an experience in and of itself as well). This land is definitely where a BMW is born to drive in - I genuinely feel remorse that I have to relegate the beast to driving on the pothole-lined streets of Chicago and the speed limits of the US highway system. Not to mention the drivers out in Europe are just much more courteous and aware than your average American roadhog.

A few other notes from the trip:
- I got pulled over. Twice. Once after crossing into the border into Germany after Austria. A black Audi wagon pulled up in front of me and a LED display in the rear window started flashing a German phrase. At first, I was wondering what kind of silly advertising was being posted on the back of this wagon, until the kindly officer helped the translation by violently pointing to the side of the road. However, they just wanted to check my papers, and after reviewing the insurance and registration documents given to me by BMW (thanks, BMW!), they sent me along my way.
- The second time I may have been some driving that was a tad too spirited along a stretch of road in Garmisch-Partenkirchen leading to the King’s lake. I have no idea how they clocked me, and honestly I had no idea what the limit was in the stretch of road I was on, but an officer standing on the side of the road waved me into a side area where he informed me that I was driving too fast. Fortunately, he only fined me 20 Euros and told me to go along on my way. He did give me some sort of receipt, but I’m still wondering whether this was some sort of “tourist toll” that I paid.
- My car didn’t receive any looks in Germany or Austria, but as soon as I pulled into the Czech republic, I had a throng of people checking out the car. It was not welcome attention. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving the car parked at a parking lot in a tourist location and leaving for a couple hours while a bunch of people were just staring at it. Also, driving in Prague is not the most fun experience, either. The roads are much worse and tailgating is rampant. Fortunately, I had a covered parking spot at the hotel.
- Breaking in the car on the autobahn has got to be one of the most difficult feats of self-restraint I have ever practiced. When the slowest cars are doing about 70-80, and others are simply blazing by, modulating the revs and making sure I’m not going over 100 mph is plain torture. Not to mention I’m sure I pissed off a good portion of people who got behind me in the accelerating phase only to be frustrated by my slowing down in the decelerating phase.
- The Welt tour and the factory tour are both really cool as well. They really do a good job promoting pride in the brand. During the Welt tour, they show you how the cars are stored prior to delivery in the Welt, in a low-oxygen room that looks like it has giant cubby holes along the wall. A robotic crane takes the car out of the cubby hole right before delivery time - I kept thinking it's like a BMW jukebox. As for the factory tour, it's been described on here in good detail before; one thing I noted though was that the cars were taken through a break-in procedure at the factory before leaving the facility.

And now the agonizing wait begins. As for pictures, well, I think I took some great ones, but you guys are going to have to wait. Unfortunately, I left my SLR behind at the last hotel we stayed at. I was ripping my hair out all flight home, but fortunately after contacting the hotel, they have it and are sending it to me as I write this, so hopefully I’ll get it intact and then I’ll update this post with some eye candy. I hope this writeup helps some of you guys with your delivery deicisons; feel free to ask any questions - I’d be more than happy to answer.

[kbimmer135i]

ahhh... yeh i would be ripping my hair out if i left my SLR behind too... esp with all the pictures in it!

Can't wait to see the pictures!

[ulrichd]

Thanks for the writeup, I will be doing the same in October. I used to live in Munich so it will be fun driving through my old neighborhood in my new 1series. Would you mind posting your itinerary with highs and lows (if any), I am still undecided. Brenner Pass is a must I guess.

[Rippy087]

Nice write up! Can't wait for the pictures.

Jake

[john970]

Here are my pictures to hold people over until you post yours .

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnmmyers/Europe

I'm interested to see another persons take on it...

[60Driver]

Nice write up. I was just in Germany (and Garmisch) for a short training exercise from Kuwait. My rental was a Skoda that screamed (engine rpm) at 160 kph but it was still fun to drive on the A-bahn and secondary roads. I don't think any country has better roads than Germany.

I got pulled over last time I was there by a cop with a lollipop as well. If you have the cash on hand it's great because the fine is smaller and doesn't go on your record. The receipt is to prevent abuse of the system. The efficient Germans have even figured out a way to improve upon the ticket writing process. lol. So future ED folks make sure you're carrying cash with you at all times.

Can't wait for the pictures of Monaco Blue in its birthplace.

[Crowley]

Nice review ... and can't wait to see pics ..

Crowley

[drand]

This is torture. I am sitting at work (not really working though, already in vacation mode) counting down the last few days until I get to fly over and pickup my car on Saturday.

I am somewhat concerned about driving through the Czech Republic after reading this. We are spending a week in Prague and while the car will be parked the entire time, the drive through the country does concern me a little bit. Attention in the States is one thing, attention in Eastern Europe is another. The reason that you were stopped is because the temporary license plates are a real target for cars thieves getting cars out of Germany into Eastern Europe.

[JasonCSU]

Very nice write up. I will be doing my delivery two weeks from tomorrow.

[EINSER M]

great write up thanks a lot its exciting and cant wait to be there in 3 weeks!

[dclee1]

Originally Posted by ulrichd

Would you mind posting your itinerary with highs and lows (if any), I am still undecided. Brenner Pass is a must I guess.

Sure, here's a quick summary:
Munich (incl. day trip to Schwangau castles) - Prague - Salzburg/Berchtesgaden - Innsbruck - Munich

We never made it as far south as the Brenner Pass, but any of the Alpine driving was fantastic for both scenery and curves. For the most part, the roads were fantastic everywhere. I loved all the locations we stopped by; Berchtesgaden & Innsbruck were in the alps and just naturally beautiful, more hiking and physical activities are available there. Salzburg was a gorgeous classical Austrian city along a river and a good stop. Prague looks like a medieval gothic city and is also very gorgeous, but it seems to be getting overtouristed and definitely pricier as of late for those carrying the U.S. dollar.

Originally Posted by angkor

I am somewhat concerned about driving through the Czech Republic after reading this. We are spending a week in Prague and while the car will be parked the entire time, the drive through the country does concern me a little bit. Attention in the States is one thing, attention in Eastern Europe is another. The reason that you were stopped is because the temporary license plates are a real target for cars thieves getting cars out of Germany into Eastern Europe.

I actually was surprised at how good condition the highways in the Czech republic were. The main highways were in great condition. It's just the streets in Prague were hectic (traffic + people + hard-to-see-street signs). Keep in mind that I also did not have a navi, so I had to find my way around using a good ol map, which was not fun. If you have a navi, I'd imagine the process is a lot less painful. Also, as much attention as the car was getting, nothing actually ended up happening to it. I'd imagine if you have covered parking, you'll be fine.

Although our guidebook said that the more local streets in the Czech Rep. can be pretty bad, I purposely chose a different route to get to Salzburg so I could do some country driving, and the roads were fine (they were still numbered highways). The scenery was absolutely gorgeous, too. I have to admit, though, I was a bit relieved after we got out of Eastern Europe.

[dclee1]

Originally Posted by john970

Here are my pictures to hold people over until you post yours .

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnmmyers/Europe

I'm interested to see another persons take on it...

Thanks for posting your pics - I thought it was funny b/c I took a pic in front of the same ad at the airport!

And how bout that paella in Barcelona? I went there in 02...

[135-CS]

How much did you pay for the s-bahn?

[dclee1]

Originally Posted by 135i-CS

How much did you pay for the s-bahn?

It's about 10-11 Euros or so, which equates to 15-16 dollars these days. Cab ride to the city center costs about 50 Euros so you're better off on the Sbahn, plus it's very clean, quick and goes right to the city center. You just need one transfer to get to the Welt.

Over the course of the trip, you definitely feel the hit on the low dollar price though. The cost to fill up the tank (w/100 octane fuel) cost me around 66 Euros, or $100

[E82tt6]

Good writeup! I agree with you completely. It's the ONLY way to get a new car!

[135-CS]

Originally Posted by dclee1

It's about 10-11 Euros or so, which equates to 15-16 dollars these days. Cab ride to the city center costs about 50 Euros so you're better off on the Sbahn, plus it's very clean, quick and goes right to the city center. You just need one transfer to get to the Welt.

Over the course of the trip, you definitely feel the hit on the low dollar price though. The cost to fill up the tank (w/100 octane fuel) cost me around 66 Euros, or $100

Good way to move on the city until I pick up the car, Do you purchased the tickets before arrive or in the train station?

Thanks

[adc]

Originally Posted by angkor

I am somewhat concerned about driving through the Czech Republic after reading this. We are spending a week in Prague and while the car will be parked the entire time, the drive through the country does concern me a little bit.

We've done ED to Prague with our X3 in 2005 and we haven't experienced any of the uneasy/bad attention that was mentioned by the OP. Of course each experience can be very different and I'm not saying what the OP experienced isn't true - just that we didn't experience the same thing.

The X3 was clean and brand-spanking new, there weren't many others in the Czech Republic (actually none that we saw), it did steal some admiring glances but at no point in time did it feel unsafe.

That being said, at night we parked in a secure location - and slept well because of that. Old town Prague is a nightmare driving-wise - but if you'll use public transport and your feet during the day, it shouldn't be a concern. Time your arrival in Prague to avoid the afternoon rush hour and I think you'll be just fine.

It's an amazing city and you'll have the time of your life...

[dclee1]

Originally Posted by 135i-CS

Good way to move on the city until I pick up the car, Do you purchased the tickets before arrive or in the train station?

Thanks

You can buy it at the train station. The problem is the buttons are in German so you have to hit the button with the flag on it to switch the language to English. It's about 5-6 buttons down on the left column to purchase the ticket from the airport to Zone 1 (the main area of the city where the Welt, the tourist attractions, and most likely your hotel is)

[dclee1]

Finally got the camera and got pics! Thanks to the kind staff at King's Hotel for shipping the camera quickly!

Here are some pics of my new baby at the Welt, and other pics from the delivery area:

[dclee1]

More pics of the Welt - Snapped a shot of the color display so you guys could see the range of blues:

[dclee1]

Some pics of the ride on tour:

[JasonCSU]

Very sweet. :biggrin: