First time ed ...and bmw

A few questions with my first post. I'm looking into getting a 328i (msport, convience and premium packages) in september.

- The dealership i've done a few test drives with and would use for services has told me they have only done 3-4 eds in the last 16 years. Is it worth it to seek out a dealer with more experience? Located in southern Louisiana if anyone has any dealer suggestions.

-debating on the navigation option. It would be nice while in europe but navigation would not be used much on a daily basis once home. Any features that make it worth the price besides directions?

-staying for 14-15 days. 2 days in munich, 2 days in zurich, at least 4 days in Nice, and then Parma for a day on the way back to munich to drop of the car and fly back home. Leaving a few days open for leasurely travel. Is this going to be to much driving? Google maps states 19hrs of driving and about 1846 km. I want to take in as much as i can without feeling rushed. Anything i shouldnt miss on my first ed?

Michael

I have bought 2 M3's from Peake in New Orleans but they tried to tell me dealer invoice for my ED 550i was about $2500 higher than it actually is, so I went with Adrian Avila at BMW South Atlanta (a board sponsor), who has been great. Closing a deal via email/internet vastly beats sitting in a salesman's office, waiting for the sales manager to decide if he wants to mess with you or not. Driving the new car back from Atlanta after ED is no big deal to me. It annoyed me how Peake would not be upfront with a repeat customer. A friend of mine recently bought a car from Brian Harris in Baton Rouge and liked them. YMMV.

I have found that Nav is more useful than you think it would be, but it is a pricey option. Real time traffic is great in New Orleans with the perpetual construction.

I don't buy my cars where I get them serviced because I'm not fond of their sales staff. Since you're in Louisiana, have you considered doing PCD? It's not close, but it's not too far either (700 miles or so). Then you're pretty much unrestricted as far as the dealer you work with in the whole country since you'd just get your car in SC.

BTW, nav totally saved my ass in Europe. You could probably bring a portable one with Europe maps loaded up but whatever you decide, be sure you have one of the two.

I was on the fence about navigation, but ultimately decided that it would be an expected option by the time I went to sell the car, so I bought it. I've used it a lot more than I thought I would, as it's been a lifesaver at finding hotels and other locations when traveling. As a previous poster noted, it's invaluable in Europe. I used it to find hotels, obscure tourist destinations, ATMs, and gas stations. Without it, ED would have been a lot more nerve wracking.

WHy Nice? If you eliminate that, then you cut down on the driving time. If you are heading that way anyway, I would advise skipping Nice and travelling around Provence towns, much more amenable to driving with a new car. If you don't need nav, you can take a TomTom or Garmin and load European maps on their website and spend no more than $200. Does not seem worth it if you do not use it at home, IMO. If the dealer is giving you an honest treatment and a competitive deal and is not seemingly fudging the details of ED or trying to steer you away from it, then stick with them.

First, congratulations on your new car, I hope that it works out. You are going to love ED! I can wholeheartedly recommend Provence and Nice as an ED destination. Lyon is a great stopping point en route to Nice from Zurich. If you stop in Lyon, look into staying at the Villa Florentine, a spectacular property on the hill above the old part of Lyon.
As for navigation, I brought a portable unit last time, but would probably go for the navigation next time because of the smartphone integration and the BMW-apps. I am excited about this application of technologies.

I opted for iDrive because it's the interface to the car - its messaging system and entertainment options as well as navigation. I didn't want my interface to be a row of buttons and a small red/orange dot matrix display. (I also like the look of the hump - the straight dashboard looked a bit plain to me.)

Originally Posted by neurom

If you don't need nav, you can take a TomTom or Garmin and load European maps on their website and spend no more than $200. Does not seem worth it if you do not use it at home, IMO. If the dealer is giving you an honest treatment and a competitive deal and is not seemingly fudging the details of ED or trying to steer you away from it, then stick with them.

+1
Just be prepared to memorize the ED Wiki, and "guide" your CA along.

Congrats, Michael! You've made a wise decision.

Originally Posted by Michaels2719

- The dealership i've done a few test drives with and would use for services has told me they have only done 3-4 eds in the last 16 years. Is it worth it to seek out a dealer with more experience? Located in southern Louisiana if anyone has any dealer suggestions.

Short answer - yes.

Long answer - From personal experience and reading these boards for several years, three things can happen if you don't go with an ED expert:
- Not get a good price and/or a pleasant negotiating experience
- Not receive a competitive finance rate when it's time to close the deal
- Have to "teach" your CA the ED process, including dealing with lots of misinformation.

I'd be willing to share my personal stories over PM if you'd like.

debating on the navigation option....Any features that make it worth the price besides directions?

I'm a big fan of the navi (especially real time traffic), but if you are going to get a 328 w/ Msport + convenience + premium and considering a navi, why not get a stripped down 335? Won't be as convenient or premium, but will score better on the crap-eating-grin factor.

First, sometimes 'unexperienced' dealers seem to insist on higher price. Second, from time to time, I do hear screw ups on paperwork.

Sat Nav., OEM Nav operates faster and boots up faster. Portable nav always acquires satilite during start up. It drives me insane!

Last, not just Nice, also consider Provence inland, they are beautiful. You would miss the lavender in September.

Mike,
Congrats on your pending ED! I'm a first time/pending BMW owner (335d) and ED-er myself; my ED is booked for Sept.

Some answers and suggestions:

1) ED experienced dealerships: Yes, you want to find a CA (Client Advisor) who has done a few in the past year. I concur with others here re: using the board sponsors and doing a redelivery at the PCD in SC. The board sponsors here will be much more responsive to your questions and just easier to work with. The [potential] downside to not buying your 3-er from the dealer who services your car is: they tend to give you preferential treatment with regards to loaner cars etc. That might be more urban legend than not but....it's something to keep in mind.

2) iDrive/Nav option: It's a must! Don't look at it as being nav feature; it's more of a multi-media platform and interface into how you configure your car. There are lots of threads on this site talking about the new iDrive (and it's iPod/apps integration).

3) Itinerary: Lots of routes and sites to consider and threads in this forum to search through. Honestly, at this stage, you should focus more on getting car configured and your ED date set (followed by booking your flights) Search for "Lufthansa" in this forum for similar threads....

4) Financing vs. Leasing: Not sure which route you are going. If financing, you won't get anything better than 2.9% for 60 months from BMWFS. Lots of ED-ers have saved $$ by using their credit union (as low as 1.9% for 60 months). The two that are mentioned a lot here are PenFed and Navy Federal CU. I just signed up with NFCU and they accepted my application (my dad was in the Army during the Korean war). Search the forum for similar threads...

5) Coupe vs. Sedan?: Not sure which you are ordering.... The E90 (Sedan) will end production in October for this model year and there won't be a 2012 sedan as the F30 platform will be launched. For the Coupe (E92), the 2011 model year will end production in August (and we assume it will be sold in 2012 with production beginning in Sept-ish). FYI - historically, the coupe is staggered by one year.
See this thread for more background: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=484783

Bottom-line: if you are ordering a sedan, you will likely need it built in July (if doing an early/mid-Sept ED) as the plant is closed in August -- but BMW will hold/store your car for 60 days (I think) from the time your car is built to the time you pick it up. Any CA who is experienced with ED can explain this to you.

6) ED price Config:
bmwconfig.com is a good tool to use and it has a ED option that will reflect the ED invoice pricing. Search this forum for the "price calculator" xls/pdf that was posted.

Send me a private message offline and I can send you the pricing xls that I built.

Good luck!
-Ted

Originally Posted by TeddyBGame

The [potential] downside to not buying your 3-er from the dealer who services your car is: they tend to give you preferential treatment with regards to loaner cars etc. That might be more urban legend than not but....it's something to keep in mind.

Peake in New Orleans will ask you if you bought the car from them every time you ask for a loaner. They also state during the sales process that loaners for service are a benefit of buying from them that requires higher prices than "the internet guys who will never have to see you again"

Originally Posted by L1Trauma

Peake in New Orleans will ask you if you bought the car from them every time you ask for a loaner. They also state during the sales process that loaners for service are a benefit of buying from them that requires higher prices than "the internet guys who will never have to see you again"

I'm not sure what the dealer situation is like in New Orleans, but that line alone would convince me to do business with someone else on principal. Depending on how they delivered it, that may result into a call to BMW NA and the dealership manager (not sure it would do any good, but wow).

I'd go with Adrian and either take delivery in Atlanta or PCD. Yeah, you may not get a free loaner during servicing but that's a small price to pay. Also, I wouldn't get close to anyone who doesn't really know ED, there are many ways to screw up. The last thing you want when you're buying airline tickets, making hotel reservations, planning itineraries, etc., is to also have to babysit your CA. Adrian will make sure you get a good deal and will hawk the entire process to make sure everything goes as it should.

I agree with the others that Nav is much more than just Nav and you'll also probably be surprised at how much you use it.

As for your itinerary I'd reverse it. Head south to Parma first then from Parma to Nice and then to Zurich and you can drop your car and fly out from there rather than drive all the way back to Munich just to drop off. With over two weeks I'd go to Interlacken/Lauterbrunnen for two or three days. There's plenty of places to hit on this route including the usual first EDer pilgrimage to the castles near Fusson, and Garmish, Salzburg, Berchesgaden and the Grossglockner.

Originally Posted by L1Trauma

Peake in New Orleans will ask you if you bought the car from them every time you ask for a loaner. They also state during the sales process that loaners for service are a benefit of buying from them that requires higher prices than "the internet guys who will never have to see you again"

Yeah, I saw this in Las Vegas. Their "1" rating on the customer satisfaction survey b/c they wouldn't give me a loaner quickly changed their tune. That sort of thing costs them dearly in $$$. I flat out told the service advisor that he'd get top ratings from me no matter what if we could get around the loaner car problem and if he agreed to work with me a bit more should anything go wrong. We've had a great relationship ever since.

On my satisfaction surveys I am always asked it I got a loaner and was it a BMW. I do not think they can afford a negative response on a survey and have this pointed out. I would expect a loaner regardless.

Originally Posted by Michaels2719

-staying for 14-15 days. 2 days in munich, 2 days in zurich, at least 4 days in Nice, and then Parma for a day on the way back to munich to drop of the car and fly back home. Leaving a few days open for leasurely travel. Is this going to be to much driving? Google maps states 19hrs of driving and about 1846 km. I want to take in as much as i can without feeling rushed. Anything i shouldnt miss on my first ed?

Michael

That sounds a little low. Maybe you meant 1846 MILES. In any case, don't stress where you go and when you'll be there. Again, DO NOT stress where you go and when you'll be there.

My wife went to Europe first time 7 years ago and she was exactly like this. After 2 days she was down with fever and it sucked for her really bad - she will never forget that first trip. Now, a veteran of more than 10 trips, she's fine going there and accepts "chill out whenever you can" as a best way to be in Europe.

This said ...

a) you NEED some kind of GPS, don't care which

b) make sure you leave 3-4 hours to empty the tank on Autobahn after that 12-13 day drive. You should be over the official limit for break-in and then fill it up, open it up and enjoy. You will be back to Europe eventually, but you will NEVER have the chance again to drive this particular car as it was meant to be driven.

b.1) and, no, I don't care what anybody else tells you, race track is NO substitute for driving WOT to 130/155 mph on Autobahn. Believe me on that one.

Best of luck with your ED.

Thanks for all the responses. Decided to skip dealing with Peake and gave Adrian a call in South Atlanta. Extremely helpful so far.
Navigation system sounds like the way to go to, even if i only use it in Europe.

Im not too concerned about the trip details. I have to meet up with family in Zurich for a few days and the fiance wants to go to Nice and the coast, mostly for the beaches. I was looking at prices thru expedia for hotels and didnt seem too pricey in Munich or Nice. Im sure I would end up spending more if i didnt book any rooms ahead and just winged it but would it be that much more? Thanks

Michael

Originally Posted by Michaels2719

Navigation system sounds like the way to go to, even if i only use it in Europe.

Honestly, it's a misnomer to call it a "navigation system" much as it's a misnomer to call my Droid a "navigation system". Both of them DO that, but you'll likely use the system for other things more than the navigation. In the case of the BMW it's a very handy interface to the car's entertainment, communication, configuration and diagnostic systems as well. I've had my 328i back in the US for a few weeks now. I used it for nav once, but I use it for tooling around my iPod albums and phone book a lot, and I use the park distance control display all the time. It may or may not be overpriced for what it is, but it's more than just "nav" and shouldn't really be marketed that way, but who am I to tell BMW how to market it?

Originally Posted by Michaels2719

Navigation system sounds like the way to go to, even if i only use it in Europe.

Here's a quick analogy:
Generic Motorola Flip Phone = A Garmin or Tom-Tom GPS device
iPhone/smart phone = iDrive

Bottom line: An iPhone/smart phone is so much more than a phone; same as iDrive...it's so much more than a Nav "option". Sooner or later, those marketeers at BMW will figure this out and start marketing it appropriately.

Originally Posted by TeddyBGame

Here's a quick analogy:
Generic Motorola Flip Phone = A Garmin or Tom-Tom GPS device
iPhone/smart phone = iDrive

Bottom line: An iPhone/smart phone is so much more than a phone; same as iDrive...it's so much more than a Nav "option". Sooner or later, those marketeers at BMW will figure this out and start marketing it appropriately.

agree
Don't mean to turn this thread into an idrive thread but it's really something that should be standard with the car because it vastly improves the integration of everything
Also agree with the poster above on the annoyance of dealing with portable nav satellite acquisition times. In general when you really need nav you dont want to wait 15 mins while your Tom Tom acquires the signal.