ED drop-off points

Hi All, I searched the thread, and read the wiki, couldn't find an exact answer other than dropping off in Munich is the fastest way of getting the car. If you subtract weather/trucking/etc, has anyone had experiences dropping the car off anywhere outside Munich and getting it back within 6-8 weeks?

I was looking at dropping off in Amsterdam (yes, stay out of the city {unless on a bicycle}, I do remember reading that here!), and I was trying to figure out how dropping it off at one of the shipping ports (I believe the drop off point in Amsterdam is at "USA") is a longer process than dropping off in Munich? V/r, Tim.

Munich is the fastest based upon my 5 BMW Euro deliveries.

Pharding, did you drop at a port on any of your ED's? I'm just trying to understand how dropping off at a landlocked place is faster than dropping off at an actual port where your car ships from?

My thinking is I will change my plans to avoid waiting several extra weeks to get the car, V/r, Tim

Does anyone know what the wait time difference is? i.e. 8 weeks to the west coast from Munich verse 12 weeks from Amsterdam...

Originally Posted by Popoemt

Pharding, did you drop at a port on any of your ED's? I'm just trying to understand how dropping off at a landlocked place is faster than dropping off at an actual port where your car ships from?

My thinking is I will change my plans to avoid waiting several extra weeks to get the car, V/r, Tim

Does anyone know what the wait time difference is? i.e. 8 weeks to the west coast from Munich verse 12 weeks from Amsterdam...

There are too many variables to make generalizations other than phardings accurate statement. That said, I've had fast returns from Paris, Frankfurt and London and really slow re-deliveries from Munich. Your aren't only dealing with transit times - you have customs, transit damage, Ag inspection, ....

Search; there are many threads on this topic and you will see how "it depends" is the only true answer

Originally Posted by dkreidel

There are too many variables to make generalizations other than phardings accurate statement. That said, I've had fast returns from Paris, Frankfurt and London and really slow re-deliveries from Munich. Your aren't only dealing with transit times - you have customs, transit damage, Ag inspection, ....

Search; there are many threads on this topic and you will see how "it depends" is the only true answer

I appreciate the responses, I did do the research on it, I'm just one of those people who tried to figure sh*t out to an insane amount of detail, and if it was a significant time difference I would change plans, having said that, I completely understand the "it depends" answer as well, thanks for the quick responses!

Originally Posted by Popoemt

Pharding, did you drop at a port on any of your ED's? I'm just trying to understand how dropping off at a landlocked place is faster than dropping off at an actual port where your car ships from?

My thinking is I will change my plans to avoid waiting several extra weeks to get the car, V/r, Tim

Does anyone know what the wait time difference is? i.e. 8 weeks to the west coast from Munich verse 12 weeks from Amsterdam...

The only drop-off point that is even close to one of the ports that BMW ships from is in Bremerhaven; which is the primary shipping port for all new BMW's bound for the US. It stands to reason that you would get the fastest turnaround time if you dropped off there.

Anecdotally, the fastest ever drop-off to redelivery time was when I dropped off in Nice, France.

-MrB

Originally Posted by dkreidel

There are too many variables to make generalizations other than phardings accurate statement. That said, I've had fast returns from Paris, Frankfurt and London and really slow re-deliveries from Munich. Your aren't only dealing with transit times - you have customs, transit damage, Ag inspection, ....

Search; there are many threads on this topic and you will see how "it depends" is the only true answer

All you can do is play the odds. The reason Munich tends to be faster (and "outposts" such as Nice slower) is that BMW often waits until they have a load of cars from a given point before taking them to port. Munich has more turnover, of course, so the car is likely to get to the port faster. Once at the port, it's a crapshoot for all of the reasons above, plus the crapshoot at the US end.

6-8 weeks is possible from all the dropoff points I believe, unless you hit delays out of the ordinary.

Originally Posted by Tanning machine

All you can do is play the odds. The reason Munich tends to be faster (and "outposts" such as Nice slower) is that BMW often waits until they have a load of cars from a given point before taking them to port. Munich has more turnover, of course, so the car is likely to get to the port faster. Once at the port, it's a crapshoot for all of the reasons above, plus the crapshoot at the US end.

6-8 weeks is possible from all the dropoff points I believe, unless you hit delays out of the ordinary.

^^^ Exactly !

Originally Posted by Tanning machine

All you can do is play the odds. The reason Munich tends to be faster (and "outposts" such as Nice slower) is that BMW often waits until they have a load of cars from a given point before taking them to port. Munich has more turnover, of course, so the car is likely to get to the port faster. Once at the port, it's a crapshoot for all of the reasons above, plus the crapshoot at the US end.

6-8 weeks is possible from all the dropoff points I believe, unless you hit delays out of the ordinary.

True.
It also depends how long the car waits at port for the ship to sail.

You can minimize the odds of a long wait but in my experience you'll be happiest (and sanest) if you choose the drop off city based on your vacation itinerary.
In the end the wait is going to seem long no matter what, and a year or more into your ownership the time waited is meaningless.

As others have said it depends on the volume at the dropoff location, which can determine how often a truck leaves for Bremerhaven, and then again the timing of the arrival at port vis-a-vis sailing dates and whether the ships are already full or not. Whatever, the hardest part of my entire ED experience was the black hole between dropoff and assignment to a ship. Literally, the car was not trackable from dropoff until the WW site listed it as at the port after which it almost instantly went onto a ship.

In terms of Amsterdam - we dropped there without major problems. There's a post from me somewhere here that gives exact directions, but the address is hard to decipher and starting by putting the post code into the nav system helped. I would have NEVER found it without nav! There is theorically a bus stop close by that you can catch to Schiphol and from there into town by train, but really you just spent a king's ransom on a BWM, take a cab already. The dropoff location cheerfully called a cab for us. The drive to Schiphol is fairly quick and I think the fare to central Amsterdam was around EU50 or so. Worth it to us.

The Amsterdam location is in the middle of the port area, and is part of a general shipping facility, not clearly marked for BMW dropoff, but once we got there it was clear where to go. You then enter a general reception area where they take care of the paperwork. You essentially follow signs to a specific "haven" which are more or less sequentially numbered. I was glad I had someone with me to watch for the signs. Do call ahead, as they have someone who specialized in BMW dropoffs, he wasn't working the day we dropped off and the process was fairly complicated, and likely would have been easier/faster had he been there.

Originally Posted by milepig

As others have said it depends on the volume at the dropoff location, which can determine how often a truck leaves for Bremerhaven, and then again the timing of the arrival at port vis-a-vis sailing dates and whether the ships are already full or not. Whatever, the hardest part of my entire ED experience was the black hole between dropoff and assignment to a ship. Literally, the car was not trackable from dropoff until the WW site listed it as at the port after which it almost instantly went onto a ship.

In terms of Amsterdam - we dropped there without major problems. There's a post from me somewhere here that gives exact directions, but the address is hard to decipher and starting by putting the post code into the nav system helped. I would have NEVER found it without nav! There is theorically a bus stop close by that you can catch to Schiphol and from there into town by train, but really you just spent a king's ransom on a BWM, take a cab already. The dropoff location cheerfully called a cab for us. The drive to Schiphol is fairly quick and I think the fare to central Amsterdam was around EU50 or so. Worth it to us.

The Amsterdam location is in the middle of the port area, and is part of a general shipping facility, not clearly marked for BMW dropoff, but once we got there it was clear where to go. You then enter a general reception area where they take care of the paperwork. You essentially follow signs to a specific "haven" which are more or less sequentially numbered. I was glad I had someone with me to watch for the signs. Do call ahead, as they have someone who specialized in BMW dropoffs, he wasn't working the day we dropped off and the process was fairly complicated, and likely would have been easier/faster had he been there.

I remember reading your post about the USA drop off location (something like your nav tried to route you to an empty field on a dike out there), I appreciate the responses, thanks for the advice, it helps me to "talk it out" in my head, V/r, Tim

I have dropped off cars twice at Frankfurt. One took 6 weeks and another took 8 weeks with a repair at Port Hueneme. Both west coast. At the drop off point I saw cars from BMW, Mercedes and Volvo plus US servicemen's vehicles so the trucks fill up pretty quick.

Did AMS drop off June 26, PCD redelivery Aug 21. Approx 8+- weeks including PCD, which usually adds a couple of weeks.

See other post re: finding the place. It was a bit difficult. Nav and directions a must. Just remember, when the nav says you are there and you are at a stop sign, then turn left and go down the street. Place will be on the right.

Good luck!!

I have used Munich once, Frankfurt twice, Stuttgart once, & Zurich once, and all fell within the short side of the 4 - 6 week time frame varied by days not weeks.