Post your ED photo & Story here!

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=229693

Here is the link to my report. Sorry not even close to the 12hr rule, did not bring a computer as this was a vacation. Maybe next time and I think there will be a next time.
RonP

Folks:

My wife and I drove her new 750iL all over Italy this past October logging 1600+ miles. (Only saw 1 other 750 in Italy in two weeks! - lots of 500s and 300s though...) The experience was great. We handed the vehicle over to the hiker for DH Harms in Rome on a Thursday afternoon outside our hotel near the Ministry of Defense, with the following Sunday being the end of the 14 day insurance period. So FYI to all of you who are considering dropping in Italy, DH Harms only seems to demand 3.5 days of hike time with your insurance in force as opposed to the 5 days indicated on the BMW ED website. Best to check via email with the DH Harms contact (Mr. Schroeder?) before locking in your arrangements.

I have to admit that I was a bit worried about driving that large a car in Italy, but things worked out well. Even driving into Rome was not bad. The motorcycles and scooters are probably the biggest issue, but eventually you get used to them as well. Think of them as remora fish!

As special shout-out and thanks to Beewang who provided a euro nav disk. This is absolutely essential to really enjoying the european driving experience.

Rgds!

For complete blog and photos/slide shows at bmwcca.org, click here

... already posted in the main section ... just to add it to the proper "stickied" folder for the historical purposes : 2007 335i E92 Sept/Oct ED Report

Hey everyone. We just returned from our 11/8 ED. Here are some of the pics I promised to post upon returning (Since I warned the committee I would be violating the 12 hour rule...I hope I'm exempt )

11/7 - Rolf picked us up from the airport and dropped us off @ the Munich Marriott. He spent some time with us going over some recommendations of what was in the area. Really great guy! Wow does he walk and talk fast. lol
PeterM1- Rolf gave me your info. We would have joined you for a beer. But, I couldn't find the piece of paper your info was on. The jetlag was working in high gear.

11/8 - The ED process @ the Welt was nice. It went very smoothly. Wish I could have inhaled more of the FREE small little sandwiches, pastries and drank more soda...instead of eating prior to ED. LOL (could have saved some euros since the dollar isn't going very far ie. 5 euros for a small bottle of diet coke = $7.50)

It snowed a little on 11/8 but not enough to discourage a short drive with the top down .

11/9 - We encountered a great surprise...(checkout the pics entitled 1 series) when we returned to take the production tour and use the vouchers.

I hoped the weather would be in our favor. But it wasn't. It didn't work in our favor to rent the snow tires. The public transportation in Munich is great. So she stayed in the underground parking lot of the Munich Marriott until 11/12. We check in oh her daily and one of the days we had the pleasure of meeting Bubulak- aka Pavol and his 335xi.

11/12- Dropped the car off at Harms (snow was on the ground ) to catch our flight to Paris. Kind of nerve racking since we didn't have snow tires on. But, she made it safely in one piece. Peter picked up and dropped us off at the airport. He showed us what a 3 series touring wagon can do on the autobahn (in the snow LOL).


Spent the rest of the Trip in Paris from 11/12 to 11/16. A lot of walking due to the train/subway and bus strike. Wasn't sure we would make the return flight home because of the availability of taxi's lol. But, long story short we had a great trip (this forum was a good resource).


In the midst of all the ED excitment. I forgot to sign the Bimmerfest book. LOL I guess that means I'll have to do another one soon.

I'll post more pics later.

http://picasaweb.google.com/PaulDandTomG

Ooops. forgot to add mine to this thread!

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=233918

my post from a great trip:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=245675

thanks to beewang for the nav disk usage - it makes all the difference, and to everyone for the great info and travel details!

Here is my bit of heaven:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=167905

Can't wait to see the Welt!

I wanted to give you all the highlights of my recently completed trip to pick up my E93.

11/9 – 11/17
Picked up the car via Welt on 11/12. Total miles driven 587.

Itinerary:
Departed Milwaukee for Munich on 11/9
Arrived 11/10 in Munich. Rolf picked us up at the airport.
2 nights Munich, Germany: stayed at Sheraton Munich Arabellapark Hotel.
1 night Hohenschwangau, Germany: stayed at Hotel Muller
1 night Zurich, Switzerland: stayed at Novotel Zurich Airport Messe
2 nights Vevey, Switzerland: stayed at Hotel Des Trois Couronnes
1 night Geneva, Switzerland: stayed at Mandarin Oriental Du Rhone
Departed 11/17 via Geneva

Highlights:
Rolf Raffelsieper met us at the airport and took us to our hotel. Rolf is a great guy and gave lots of wonderful directions and suggestions for our touring needs in Munich.

The Welt delivery experience was great. I could not recommend it more!

We did some touring in Munich and ended up at the Hofbrauhaus. We were fortunate enough to meet another member (Mike). My girlfriend is still amazed at how many of us BMW fanatics there are.

Hohenschwangau and Vevey are great places to visit. We liked Vevey so much we are planning on going back again. Vevey is right on Lake Geneva and is a wine growing region (about 60% the size of Napa). The backdrop is mountains. We took a train ride up the mountain to Les Pleiades which is about 4000 feet in elevation. Quite a change from the valley floor.

Lowlights:
Zurich is just another big city as far as I am concerned. Glad we went but would not make it a destination again.

Geneva was a bit of a mixed bag for us. In warmer weather it would have been more enjoyable. The Old Town area is nice. Had I realized how close Vevey was to the Geneva airport and how great the train is we would have dropped the car off on Thursday and stayed in Vevey an extra night.

Overall:
It was a truly remarkable trip and the BMW experience is well worth the time to go. If nothing else the discount gave us a truly great vacation for what we would have paid for just the car here.

The USD conversion rate stinks. I also never thought I would be happy to pay $3.39 per gallon but after filling up in Germany it now seems like a bargain.

Using the Navigation Disk Loaner Program is a must if you get the Navigation System. Otherwise take a portable along with you. It makes the stress so much less during the trip and helped us find some truly interesting places along the way.

No matter what anyone tells you, get a Tax Sticker if you are going to drive in Austria. The 10 day tourist sticker is much cheaper than the fine if you get stopped. I bought one and I am glad I did.

This site was invaluable to me in making my car selections and planning my trip. The good information (mixed in with some silly commentary) is worth paying attention to. Without it I would not have found the Hotel Muller or Rolf nor had a nav disk.

The journey is so much more than the destination. While it is good to know some key anchor spots along the way, trying different routes, locations, etc makes it your trip verses someone else’s.

I can’t wait to the next BMW Welt purchase!

Aubie

What a fantastic way to purchase a car and soooo worth the wait. this forum was extremely helpful regarding the trip and convincing my wife that it was not wise to drive through the Alps in November. here is a short on the trip.

Nov 6th, Delta flew us on time Phoenix-atlanta-Munich. 7th and 8am and we could not find Peter but found the bakery. after 30 minutes decided to take the S-bahn/U-bahn to the Welt. Arrive just at the recommended time for 12:10 delivery. Quick snack and we start the video/simulation and delivery. Great experience and the welt is just fantastic. Lunch and on the road toward neuschswainstein-my wife had to see it. Stopped at Steingaden for lodgings/drinks.

Nov 9th, Neuschwainstein in the am and just walk up to the first english tour. overcast but clear/dry day. Start back North up the romantic road and lodge at Norlingen. It is great how each town has an information center with rooms/restaurants. Nov 10th, with rain in the am we decide to drive north to dinkelsbuhl. clear day as we snack and window shop. Continue north to Rothenburg to more shopping and a great dinner.

Nov 10th awaken to snow and mild flurries as we walk the wall surrounding the city. Decide to head to Strausbourg and encounter a little slush before we get on the autobahn. Strausbourg is beautiful, clear and warmer. The cathedral is awesome and we even stay for mass in french. Decide to drive all the way to Munich because of the prediction of snow and it is Sunday-nothing is open. The 328i/mt/zsp performs exceptionally in rain and dry roads and is a dream to ride in. Arrive a day early at
Hotel Laimer Hof Munchen great little hotel, and they have room both nights. Awaken the 11th to snow and tv reports of stranded cars in Prague. Easy drive to Garching for car wash/Harms. Swap stories with others dropping their car off, as they did a little snow plowing with performance tires in the Alps. Marienplatz, hofbrauhaus before we turn in for our flight back on the 12th.

I can think of no better way to purchase a car, Artin majadi at Chapman-camelback has been great about purchase and the entire process. Icing on the cake, my wife at the welt spots the 118i 5 door on display and says "why didn't you buy the coupe, it's so cute." She won't have to twist my arm too hard to return for her car one day.

This is already posted in ED main forum so I just provide the link here:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=250272

Originally Posted by pendragon

Ooops. forgot to add mine to this thread!

Heh, same here.

ED report:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=247419

12/27 and my car is hopefully being processed by customs...

Long time lurker, first time poster. Just wanted to share my experience with other forum posters.

First off, you MUST use/buy/borrow someone's GPS if doing ED. I bought my dad a Nuvi 660 for Christmas and bought the Euro maps for this trip. Having GPS was probably in the top 5 of things that made this trip awesome. I gave the Euro maps to my dad as a gift, otherwise I'd loan it out to other ED'ers here.

So, my trip consisted of Munich->Stuttgart->Reims/Epernay->Paris, with a 1-night stay in each spot save Paris (where I have family) - I spent 3 nights there. The trip spanned 02/06-02/12 and now I am back home in the Washington, DC area. Linked below are some pics of the trip... with the later part excluded because it's all family pictures.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gunpwdr/sets

The best part of the trip for my wife and I was definitely the Welt experience. The staff was very attentive from the moment we stepped through the doors all the way to when we drove out of the underground garage. This being my first ED, I have to say that I'll likely do it each and every time I get a new bimmer. The biggest challenge for my wife and I was leaving a 3.5 and 6 month old back at home... so that may play into future ED trips. But in short, the experience is everything you'd expect from a luxury car maker and more.

So after leaving the Welt in my Alpine White 335xi, we basically tried to see as much of each stop as we could. Marienplatz in Munich, Neuschwanstein and downtown Stuttgart on day 2, champagne tour and superb dinner in Reims (at Chateux Les Crayeres - highly recommended) on day 3, and lots of family time and shopping on days 4-6 in Paris.

Just a bit of historical background, in 2000 I sold my e36 M3 to pay for my wife's engagement ring and from that point on I've "compromised" on cars, driving an IS300 for 4 years and now a Saabaru for 3 years (ending in March). I told my wife that my next car was going to be pretty much just for me... but having two kids limits your options somewhat. I was forced into an automatic (for the wife), which ruled out the new M3, but I couldn't be happier with the 335 coupe.

In any case, the whole ED experience was truly memorable and my wife and I are already talking about our next ED - when my 335 lease comes up - which will closely coincide with our 10 year anniversary.

The only downside of the ED experience is the re-delivery - how painful it is to wait. I called TT Car in Paris this morning to see if my car had left (I dropped it off on Tuesday). Turns out it is the ONLY car on their lot right now even though there were only 3 other bimmers on the lot when I dropped it off. They explained to me that other makers' cars get trucked to port when they have 8 cars. I didn't even count 5 cars on Tuesday!

Anyway, does anyone know which port the cars go to from Paris? And where I can see a schedule of ships leaving that port? They told me my car would likely leave 8-10 business days from when I dropped it off, so I'm hoping it goes to port next Friday.

Beautiful pictures gunpwdr!

Originally Posted by richifever

Beautiful pictures gunpwdr!

Thanks! I just took the time to stitch together and upload a panorama of the Welt.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gunpwdr...82870/sizes/l/

The wait for redelivery continues...

Even though I have seen many interior shots of the Welt your stitch gives a new perspective of the Welt!

Originally Posted by gunpwdr

Thanks! I just took the time to stitch together and upload a panorama of the Welt.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gunpwdr...82870/sizes/l/

The wait for redelivery continues...

Gorgeous

Originally Posted by gunpwdr

Anyway, does anyone know which port the cars go to from Paris? And where I can see a schedule of ships leaving that port? They told me my car would likely leave 8-10 business days from when I dropped it off, so I'm hoping it goes to port next Friday.

Zeebrugge.

ED report (02/01/2008)

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...47#post3015947

Originally Posted by losangelino

Running from the cops!
Two interesting side notes: First, we might have gotten a ticket in Germany. The trip from Berlin to Amsterdam was 6 hours long and we left late, so we were trying to make up time on the autobahn. My brother was driving us on the A2 autobahn just outside Hannover. The speed limit on this section of the autobahn was 100kmph due to its proximity to a metro area. We were probably doing about 120mph (mph, not kmph ) when we noticed a red flash. It came from what seemed to be a black tripod mounted camera that was erected on the left shoulder. The entire setup looked pretty makeshift; no radar box, no nothing.. And out of the corner of my eye I noticed a BMW on the other side of the autobahn; all black.. and I couldn’t see inside because the windows were smoked black too. It was sitting on the grass beyond the tarmac. There was an Audi Q7 ahead of us that got flashed too. Has this happened to anyone else?! It felt like we were photographed by German assassins . So far I haven’t gotten any tickets in the mail from BMW *fingers crossed*.

Nice report.

Regarding tickets, yes, people have gotten tickets in the mail. However, they won't come from BMW of course. They come from the government agency that issues tickets and collects fines.

There have been multiple posts on members' efforts to pay them. I had to translate one member's letter so they could send the money.

you are not supposed to take pic or video of the production facility. I am sorry but having a bmw doesn't give you the right to speeding or not follow the rule like everyone else.

Originally Posted by gunpwdr

Long time lurker, first time poster. Just wanted to share my experience with other forum posters.

First off, you MUST use/buy/borrow someone's GPS if doing ED. I bought my dad a Nuvi 660 for Christmas and bought the Euro maps for this trip. Having GPS was probably in the top 5 of things that made this trip awesome. I gave the Euro maps to my dad as a gift, otherwise I'd loan it out to other ED'ers here.

So, my trip consisted of Munich->Stuttgart->Reims/Epernay->Paris, with a 1-night stay in each spot save Paris (where I have family) - I spent 3 nights there. The trip spanned 02/06-02/12 and now I am back home in the Washington, DC area. Linked below are some pics of the trip... with the later part excluded because it's all family pictures.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gunpwdr/sets

The best part of the trip for my wife and I was definitely the Welt experience. The staff was very attentive from the moment we stepped through the doors all the way to when we drove out of the underground garage. This being my first ED, I have to say that I'll likely do it each and every time I get a new bimmer. The biggest challenge for my wife and I was leaving a 3.5 and 6 month old back at home... so that may play into future ED trips. But in short, the experience is everything you'd expect from a luxury car maker and more.

So after leaving the Welt in my Alpine White 335xi, we basically tried to see as much of each stop as we could. Marienplatz in Munich, Neuschwanstein and downtown Stuttgart on day 2, champagne tour and superb dinner in Reims (at Chateux Les Crayeres - highly recommended) on day 3, and lots of family time and shopping on days 4-6 in Paris.

Just a bit of historical background, in 2000 I sold my e36 M3 to pay for my wife's engagement ring and from that point on I've "compromised" on cars, driving an IS300 for 4 years and now a Saabaru for 3 years (ending in March). I told my wife that my next car was going to be pretty much just for me... but having two kids limits your options somewhat. I was forced into an automatic (for the wife), which ruled out the new M3, but I couldn't be happier with the 335 coupe.

In any case, the whole ED experience was truly memorable and my wife and I are already talking about our next ED - when my 335 lease comes up - which will closely coincide with our 10 year anniversary.

The only downside of the ED experience is the re-delivery - how painful it is to wait. I called TT Car in Paris this morning to see if my car had left (I dropped it off on Tuesday). Turns out it is the ONLY car on their lot right now even though there were only 3 other bimmers on the lot when I dropped it off. They explained to me that other makers' cars get trucked to port when they have 8 cars. I didn't even count 5 cars on Tuesday!

Anyway, does anyone know which port the cars go to from Paris? And where I can see a schedule of ships leaving that port? They told me my car would likely leave 8-10 business days from when I dropped it off, so I'm hoping it goes to port next Friday.

You sold your M3 for a engagement ring? How much did you get for the car? When I bought my wife her engagement ring in 1992 it was $900.00 I can only imagine what the price of a ring is now.

Hi all, my girlfriend got wind of a "12-hour rule" in regards to posting some day 1 ED pics, so posted below are a couple of our new ride at the Welt today.

Hope to write some stories about the experience soon, but here's a quick summary:

Picked up on Sunday morning at MUC by Peter (referred by Rolf who was unavailable). His 320d wagon happily pulled us along at 200-220 KMH for long stretches of the trip into town.

Skip to today: our "briefing", pre-delivery as well as our delivery, were with Bernhardt (sp?). He really was a great guy to have show us around...passionate about the cars, highly knowledgeable, informative, congenial and good humored. -we highly recommend him!

We felt reasonably pampered throughout the day, with the one downside (and it's a big one) being that the woman at check-in booked us into a German-Language tour of the plant, which we only found out at 3:30 when the tour started.

They apologized profusely when we found out, but that was the last one of the day, and the next one we can attend is late morning tomorrow, which probably won't fit into our plans.

While we kicked around for a couple of hours waiting for the plant tour, we took the Welt tour as well. It was reasonably interesting, but midway through we realized we'd have preferred to visit the upstairs restaurant and relax for a while instead. Unless you're especially into architecture and space usage, it may not be worth the time (for me anyway since cars were what was on my mind today) -Doing it again, I'd ride it out until they show you the "warehouse" with all the cars on racks, which was very cool, and quietly duck out after that.

It was a treat (and a bit painful) to see all of the "individual" colors & trims available in a showroom dedicated specifically to that line, (ie: that line that we can't get at home). Outside that room there was my car in "aventurine silver", which was just beautiful to look at, paired with equally stunning rims.

I'm sure I'm one of thousands to say so, but could we petition BMW to let us buy Individual colors & trims? -I'd have paid the difference without hesitation, for a car in moonstone or the above mentioned silver, (or even the rubyish black color they have).

Back at the hotel tonight within minutes of parking there were 3 German fellows (1 guest and 2 locals) all checking out the new car in the driveway outside our room. - the last photo here was snapped by my GF when we heard them gathering outside...it definitely turns heads -which wasn't the goal with this car (I was on the fence for a long time about the color), but it's kinda fun nonetheless.

Oh and about the car: Simply a joy. Had the top down at 57 degrees F for a while and it sounds soooo good!

Thanks to Beewang for the EU NAV (really confidence-inspiring when exploring a new place) and thanks to all whose advice has been so helpful in the lead up to this delivery.

Dave

A link to my ED blog. I was in Europe March 8 - 18, 2008.

http://www.dansbmweuropeandelivery.blogspot.com

Whoa Whoa!!!! Wait a sec!!!

What the H*ll is this!!???!!

What is the deal w/ the M1??