European delivery worth it?

[ssives]

Hello Gang,

Please excuse me if I am posting in the wrong forum. I just purchased a space gray, black leather interior 335 6 spd. coupe with the sports, premier packages, heated seats, ipod and comfort groups.

I can't wait to get my baby! I'm thinking of going with the European delivery. I would take a long weekend (I know a shame to make such a short trip since I will be over there, but work beckons) and hit the autobahn! I think my dealer said I would save $2,500 (not including my plane tickets). Does that sound about right?

Picking a color group about killed me! :-) I was thinking of space gray/coral red, sparkling graphite/saddle brown - but finally went with space gray/black. I know, I will look like every other car out there! :-) But it should look fine, right? I just wish the black was a darker black for better contrast.

Anway, it's nice to meet you guys! Any comments on the European delivery woudl be appreciated!

Thanks,

Scott

[Rolyf]

I'm in Germany right now after having picked up my Coupe a week ago at the Munich center. I'll have a major post on the whole experience with pictures in a week.
If you follow BMW's guidance as I am doing you will not exceed 4500rpm and 100mph for the first 1200 miles. The only enjoyment you will get on the Autobahn is seeing Passats, Skodas and Fiat 650s blow past you. The real fun is in the Alps is on the twisty secondary roads where you find out two truths about your 335: It loves the turns, and it's a torque monster. Fouteen percent slopes, ha, it chews them up and spits them out!
The fact is the Autobahn is a letdown, it is 20 miles at mostly 120kph (72mph) and then go through another built up area at 50-40-30- and even 24mph! (30kph). The Interstate system will offer you much better opportunities to drive at 85mph (65+the usual allowance) for the break in period.
Gotta go, heading for Nurburgring today.

[ssives]

Hello Rolyf,

Thanks so much for the good advice. It must be awesome to see your baby leave the mother factory! :-)

A few quick follow-ups. My dealer said that on my loaded 335 Coupe, the savings will be about $2,300. What was your savings for the European delivery (not counting the stay and airfare)?

Also, my dealer says that it will take another 6 weeks or so for the car to get delivered after I drop it off at the shipping location. Does that sound right to you?

Finally, how much time are you taking for your trip? I'm thinking of a quick 4-5 day trip. Prety much just Munich and the Alps. What locations are you hitting?

Thanks, and enjoy the great adventure! :-)

Scott

[jadeddjay]

savings will be more than 2300 easily.

http://jadedbeats.net/ed

6 days in germany, 2 in france with my girlfriend, breaking the car in on alpine roads, wine tasting and spending nights at the vineyards of alsace, and in a castle on the rhine, driving the nurburgring, and topping off at 155mph on the autobahn getting passed by a gt3rs

seeing 3 e92 m3's

yeah i would say its well worth it

[inkatouring]

I was going to do european delivery (as I was in europe for the summer)but decided to wait until next year. When I returned the car I was going to replace next summer died (basically) and I ordered a 328 a fwe weeks back.

Point of the story: I was able to negotiate a much better deal than the european delivery discount. I am paying $600 over invoice and if you haven't finalized your deal, you probably can too. I don't know if they will go that low on a 335, but I started at $500 over invoice and it took less than five minutes to end the negotiations.....

[Rolyf]

Hello Rolyf,

Thanks so much for the good advice. It must be awesome to see your baby leave the mother factory! :-)

A few quick follow-ups. My dealer said that on my loaded 335 Coupe, the savings will be about $2,300. What was your savings for the European delivery (not counting the stay and airfare)?

Also, my dealer says that it will take another 6 weeks or so for the car to get delivered after I drop it off at the shipping location. Does that sound right to you?

Finally, how much time are you taking for your trip? I'm thinking of a quick 4-5 day trip. Prety much just Munich and the Alps. What locations are you hitting?

Thanks, and enjoy the great adventure! :-)

Scott

I second what the Jadedjay had to say, and add that Lufthansa flew my wife over here on a free roundtrip ticket as part of the ED package! If you come for 4 or 5 days then head for the Alps (or the Tirol as they are known locally). Stay in Salzburg Austria which is just over the border and make day trips into the mountains. You cannot believe the Alps, they are the Rockies on steroids. Head for the Brenner Pass if there is no danger of snow and you will get an experience long remembered. If you stay on the Autobahn then Neuschwanstein is a day trip away (roundtrip). But avoid the Autobahn with a good GPS, I have a TomTom 910, and it will take you down roads only the locals know! Of course you must carefully consider the possibility of snow as the year goes on and if it gets too late you'll have to scrub the Alps.
Picking up the car at the Freiman Center was an experience in itself. In a month the new ED center will be open and it is absolutely futuristic in concept. BMW treats you right.
My savings was similar to what you will get, it varies by options. Six weeks to ship to NH is what they are estimating, your mileage may vary. My understanding is that Customs has to search every incoming "used" car and process separate paperwork even though it is coming in with a shipment of new BMWs. That is very often a choke point in the pipeline.
As the marketing wonks at Nike say "Just Do It!"
For what it's worth Germans call them "Beamers".
I'm all packed and leaving for Munich in a few minutes, will enjoy greatly the last few minutes with Ilse (yes, she finally told me her name). My TomTom and I have done a dry run to the Robert Bosch Strasse drop off point and are good to go.
I'll have pictures after returning to the US. Don't want any of those "This posting is worthless without pictures" flames.:)

[borisivan]

I second what the Jadedjay had to say, and add that Lufthansa flew my wife over here on a free roundtrip ticket as part of the ED package!

I agree ED is phenomenal, but just FYI, the 'wife flies free' deal is really: "wife flies for ~ 300+$. Taxes/tariffs are not included in the 'free' flight. And for an international flight like this, taxes are on the NORTH side of 300 beans.

Go for it!

[ssives]

Jadeddjay and Rolyf,

Thanks for the great replies! I think I'm going to get screwed on the weather though. I don't have a passport, and BMW won't give me a firm date until I get it. By then (3 weeks hopefully with expedited passport delivery), I won't get a date until December. I may be too chicken to climb the Alps in my new baby in December! Any idea when the snow hits?

Thanks again for the great comments.

Scott

[mryakan]

I may be too chicken to climb the Alps in my new baby in December! Any idea when the snow hits?

Winter.

Just kidding, I am pretty sure most anywhere in the Northern hemisphere you'll have snow at elevation by December.

[Rolyf]

Jadeddjay and Rolyf,

Thanks for the great replies! I think I'm going to get screwed on the weather though. I don't have a passport, and BMW won't give me a firm date until I get it. By then (3 weeks hopefully with expedited passport delivery), I won't get a date until December. I may be too chicken to climb the Alps in my new baby in December! Any idea when the snow hits?

Thanks again for the great comments.

Scott

Good luck on that 'expedited' passport delivery, you'll need it. Forget about the Alps after October, way too much risk of getting caught in snow. Bad snow. With summer tires.
Find a weather site and check for snow in Innsbruck, Austria. That will give you an idea of what's going on, though there are worse places towards Switzerland. In December your best bet would be to head for France I think and enjoy the countryside. You should check the average snowfall for the area to which you might go. Munich is as far north as Quebec and Fargo. Not that their prevailing winds are the same but just to give you an idea of the potential. No doubt you think it snows in VA. You ain't seen nothin' yet. Don't let your BMW adventure turn into a trial.

[White05X3]

I have done ED 3 times and think it is amazing! If you only look at cost savings you will totally miss the point. While it is nice to save some money, the experience is unbelievable.

6 weeks from drop-off is about right. My 335i took 5 weeks and 6 days. Please note that if you lease you will still be making payments during that period (although BMW FS claims to pay the second payment, they do so by adding on to the money factor).

In all, it is a great experience that you will really enjoy!!!