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09-28-2011, 11:20 AM | #1 |
floccinaucinihilipilifica tion
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135i Euro Delivery Car Damaged
(I just posted this on Bimmerfest, but wanted to post it here too)
Yeah, I just got the call from my CA... one I really didn't want to hear. Apparently somewhere between Liepzig and Munich, my car was damaged to the extent that they're building me a new one. Well, I guess not my car... the car I was supposed to be picking up next week. As a result, the current position is that my car won't be ready for my pickup next Friday and thus a good chunk of my ED experience is in my opinion trashed. BMW are making good on the deal and giving me a 535i instead for the duration of the trip. Not in itself a bad thing... but this is not the ED I wanted. I wanted to drive my car on the Autobahn. I wanted to drive it up the Alps and maybe hoon it around the Nurburgring. I wanted the experience of seeing MY car for the first time at The Welt, doing a victory lap and driving it out into Munich proper for its first outing. I wanted photos of me standing next to my car grinning like an idiot to post up here. Now... I feel like all of that has gone by the wayside. While my trip wasn't planned around the ED, these were all things I wanted to do and wanted to experience. This has been a long time coming, and people who know me know the troubles I've had getting an ED at all... I was so close and now all of that seems like it's gone. Instead I can't shake the feeling that my entire ED experience now will be no different than renting a 535i in Munich and driving it around Bavaria. The "special" is gone. I'm trying so damned hard to be positive right now. I am thinking about the fact that I'll now have more trunk space (on of my concerns previously) and a damned nice car to drive around in during my trip... sure as hell better than a rental. I'm also trying to think about the fact that this will make my PCD better because there will be the first time I'll see my car, and get to drive it. It'll also have zero miles, and since it'll now be a new car I don't have to worry about customs holding it longer because it's an ED car... this is a new car now coming into the USA. I'm also going to make sure I take a really long weekend now for my PCD so I can take my car out on the Tail of the Dragon. But somehow I feel like all that I'd hoped for has gone by the wayside. I know everyone's doing their best to ensure my trip is great. I appreciate it and don't feel any anger because, well, crap happens. But I do feel depressed. This on top of the last couple of days at work has really put me in a bad place... next Friday was one of the things that was keeping me going and keeping me excited. Now I feel like crawling into a hole in the ground and staying there for the next couple of weeks instead. I know it's irrational, and I'm working on it. Anyone else had an experience like this? |
09-28-2011, 11:37 AM | #2 |
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Why can't you postpone your ED until your car is built and shipped to the Welt?
Why must you take BMW 535i offer? Couldn't you just wait until a replacement car is built? Delay your ED a week or two? Even using a free 535i... you will still enjoy Germany/Europe. Might I dare say you might have more fun - with somone else's car! ? A rental car is always the fastest kind of car! Hang in their buddy! |
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09-28-2011, 12:22 PM | #3 |
The Only Sane One Here
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I can certainly understand your feelings. Having a 5 series is nice, but not the same as taking delivery of your own car. I'll echo the last post - postpone your trip?
But no matter what, you'll have a blast. Let me assure you that BMW will treat you like royalty at the Welt, and it'll still be a day you won't forget. And Germany is a blast. So while you'll be missing out on a piece of the pie, you're still getting a good chunk of it. And there is one upside: I couldn't drive my car over 100 on the Autobahn, cause of the break-in period. But you won't have that issue with the loaner. So all I can say is, drive that 5 series like you stole it!
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2011 135i VERT SGM/SB/MOONLIGHT - ED - with every single friggin' option they offered.
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09-28-2011, 01:08 PM | #4 |
floccinaucinihilipilifica tion
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I would consider postponing except that I already have plane tickets (of course) and plans set with other people. My girlfriend's siblings are already taking vacation time to spend time with us while we're out there (both military posted in Germany right now). This coupled with the fact that I scheduled the trip months ago so that it would coincide with my son's fall break from school mean that I either take the trip next week and salvage what I can, or cancel the whole ED until next year sometime.
Now, I'm a little more positive now than I was earlier when I wrote the email. Yeah, you're right guys; I can drive that 535i like I stole it and have a great time. It's depressing that I won't be able to carve up the Stelvio Pass in my 135i like I planned, but I can make do with smoking some 5-series tires around those hairpins instead. Parking's going to be a bear in German cities, but thankfully I'm not spending much time in the cities. Of course, this makes it even more likely that I'll hit up the Nurbrgring; I was a little concerned about break in limits on the 135i... the 535i... nah! |
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09-28-2011, 01:27 PM | #5 | |
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Quote:
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09-28-2011, 02:38 PM | #6 |
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I know it has already been said but let me reiterate the unique position you are in: you get to drive a sweet BMW through a beautiful country and treat it like a rental! I remember hating the break-in period and I took delivery at a dealership in a big city with no twisties or gorgeous mountains or rolling hills. Had I done European Delivery I would have been too tempted to redline and drive her hard the whole time. You can do that now without taxing your personal engine. Honestly if it could be an option for every buyer to go to Germany I would purposefully opt to drive a loaner that wasn’t mine.
Yeah you won’t get to take pictures with your 1 with a castle in the background, but let’s be honest the 1-series doesn’t photograph very well anyway. |
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09-28-2011, 07:56 PM | #7 |
The Only Sane One Here
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And speaking of parking - you'll find the spaces in garages are TIGHT! I was a bit of a neurotic mess, worrying about door dings on my new car. But you won't have to worry about that, so that's one more positive.
And it sounds like you have an awesome trip planned - very cool.
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09-28-2011, 09:42 PM | #8 |
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That's a shame. I'm sorry. Could you use one of their 135s instead of a 535 so at least you'd get to drive the same car on the Autobahn and Ring, etc.?
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09-29-2011, 08:53 AM | #9 |
floccinaucinihilipilifica tion
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Unfortunately I already asked. The 535i is what they have available for me to drive at the moment so it'll do. Not sure if it'll be US spec or German spec, but if the latter at least the GPS will give me an opportunity to brush up on my German
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09-29-2011, 09:03 AM | #10 |
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Drives: 08 135i, 88 M3
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that's a bitch, but it sounds like it's working out about as good as it could...short of them giving you an M3 instead of a 535i
at least you won't have to be worried about breaking your engine in on the autobahn. now you can just crank it to 155 (well....250 in kmh) and keep it there as long as you want if all else fails, just order an extra Mass at the Hofbrauhaus (you better be planning to go there already) and follow Peter's lead: "guys, guys....we're gonna drink till she's hot!"
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