BimmerFest BMW Forum banner

2014-08-21 Euro Delivery #02 Thread

3K views 17 replies 9 participants last post by  VMcV3y 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello, Together:

Here goes the start of my thread for my 2nd European Delivery, this occasion of a 2015 BMW 328i -- which is actually a graduation gift for my daughter. She is finalizing a dual undergraduate degree and MBA with an almost-perfect GPA.

The 1st Euro Deliv for me was on 18 January 2012, when I received a 2012 M3 Cabriolet. That story is here: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=594318

My daughter is still in school, with only three courses remaining until the December 2014 graduation. We tried to find travel dates that would do the least damage to her 3rd-to-last course, and so that means not doing a more-than-one-week trip. It's compressed, but should hit a few good things to see and do.

Here is the plan:
19 August: Depart Houston, Texas.
20 August: Arrive Munich, DE. Rest, sight-see (she misses the 1st class of the semester on Wednesday night)
21 August: morning DELIVERY, and BMW Welt stuff. (factory is closed!!!!)
22 August: Neuschwanstein, Marienbrucke, and (if time allows), the Eagle's Nest (Schönau a Königssee) Might be tough to get that all in one day.
23 August: Stelvio Pass and lunch on top of the mountains, then Zurich.
24 August: Zurich in the morning; dinner with friends in Karlsruhe, Germany.
25 August: Drive to Munich and LogIn/LogOut. Local city touring.
26 August: Flight to Houston, Texas.

Specs on the 328i: Imperial Blue Metallic, tan Sensatec interior, Lighting Package, Technology Package, Alarm. It's one heckova upgrade from a 2004 Mazda B3000 pickup. :)

Purchase arrangements made through BMW of South Atlanta with Adrian!

This time, as I should be a passenger most of the time, I expect to have two GoPro's and an iPhone running video during the mountain trips. Looking forward to the Stelvio Pass.

Oh, and our departure from Houston will be just three days AFTER a HSDE/Track Day at Texas World Speedway with the Houston ///M Club.

August will be a great month!

- V
 
See less See more
#5 ·
Maybe. Can I move-in with you when I'm 70 yrs old? LOL

- V

.
 
#6 ·
Peter grabbed us from the hotel and transported to the Welt with precision. He also stopped and showed us a very cool inner-city river that is a permanent "surfing" point. Just awesome.

Benjamin G. was our delivery expert. Now, different from my Jan 2012 ED, now they offer and schedule you for a video-based vehicle orientation that lasts 30 minutes. Benjamin, however, offered an in-person orientation. And we did.

My daughter was thrilled with her new car. She did a couple of victory laps.

Then later a drive to the mountains.

Official photo attached.

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Bmw Motor vehicle
 
#9 ·


Very nice gaduation gift! You deserve it... Congratulations :D
 
#10 · (Edited)
Okay, we're back. It was great!

The weather in Europe has been between ten and TWENTY degrees (F) below average! It was much more like Autumn than August...seriously.

A few pictures:

1) Observing the new 328i across the BMW Welt "chasm"

2) Benjamin, our delivery expert, was AWESOME. He truly delivered a perfect experience. And I caught my daughter's expression once he showed her the Heads-Up Display. Priceless. LOL

3) Official Bimmerfest Photo Spot, with that castle, thing, that people like to see.. LOL

4) The smaller castle...

5) View from Marienbrucke

6) We drove to Stelvio Pass! It was simply one of the best experiences in my life! Just fantastic. Traffic was minimal.

7) The Stelvio Pass Summit. Proof!

8) Photo from FotoStelvio.com

9) Everything is Awesome in Zurich, Switzerland. (amazing how little fuel the 328i uses compared to my E93 M3...LOL!)

10) Oktoberfest is on the way, and so are the clothes. (plus good for Halloween, according to my daughter.) So, here's a P.R./advertising piece for BMW with a couple of other cars ready-to-ship from LogIn-Out.

Two YouTube Videos (49 seconds, and 2 minutes, respectively) of Stelvio Pass drive upward:

http://youtu.be/eKT3UpNivT8

http://youtu.be/2Vm-O9BXGhs

- V

.
 

Attachments

#12 ·
Awesome! Ur daughter is very lucky but much deserved I am sure.

Ur post is making me look forward to my upcoming ED that much more.

Sent from BimmerApp mobile app
Thanks. Yes, she earned it.

Now, the most difficult part of the whole process is in-progress...the waiting! But, I don't have to be the one waiting, LOL. Not this time. :)

Have fun on yours!

- V
 
#14 ·
It was some petrol station (truck stop) between Stelvio and Zurich, just about 20 - 40 km east of Zurich, if I recall correctly.

- V
 
#15 · (Edited)
We had a funny thing happen with the GoPro (as seen on the Stelvio Pass photo above):

The story:
On day One of the European Delivery, I had the GoPro suction-cup mount on the very top of the glass of the windshield. On Day Two, we headed to the Stelvio Pass via the A95 in southern Germany. A bit of road goop got on the windshield, so I pressed the washer-switch on the wipers control.

Frak!

We saw the blades come across and then the passenger-side jumped up and slammed down onto the glass. I knew right away that was the GoPro as an obstruction, but there was no way to force the wipers to immediately stop.
Swipe #2, crash. Swipe #3 -- and we saw the blade go over the roof of the car and down behind us onto the Autobahn. LOL.

We dialed-in the Sat/Nav and queried BMW Dealerships. We found one at Iffeldorf, Germany, Autohaus Widmann + Winterholler GmbH. We had to wait 45 minutes for them to open, and then found out that while the car sales section was open, the Parts Dept guy wasn't coming into work today, and we couldn't purchase anything. Go figure. The person there provided us with directions to a somewhat nearby Conrad auto parts store. We learned the name "Scheibenwischer," too. While departing the BMW dealership, we wondered if security cameras would notice us borrowing an OWM wiper blade from a parked new auto...LOL. No. Anyhow, at Conrad we bought a set (2) of wipers.

So, that's why the Stelvio Pass photos show a GoPro mounted HIGH on the vehicle.

Incidentally, we left the box of the driver's slide scheibenwischer in the trunk of the car. I'm curious if the VPC will swap out an OEM blade for us when I see it at the Performance Center. Any bets?

- V
 
#16 ·
#18 ·
Seven weeks, still no vehicle arrival at the dealership in Georgia. Wow...very disappointed this is taking such a long duration. As a contrast, my January 2012 took seven weeks + 1 day from drop-off to re-delivery at the Performance Centre. Here we are, still trying to get the car to make it to Atlanta. :(

- V

.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top