Sorry to hear you had a bad experience Brian. What I noticed when I picked up my car on May 9th, was that the person you got to actually do the delivery made a huge difference in the amount of time they spent explaining things to you. It's just the luck of the draw unless you can request a real pro like Bernhard (do a search for his name in this forum...he's da man). I also had a guy basically throw the keys at me and tell me it was my borrowed navigation DVD that was broken when it was pretty clearly a broken system. I think if I had gotten a more thorough delivery rep, it would have been different.

That's definitely a good suggestion to get familiar with your car before you arrive especially if you're new to BMW's like I was. I managed to get BMW to send me a PDF copy of my owners manual which I read on the plane over. That helped a ton since I basically received zero introduction to the car at the ED center and I'd never really driven any BMW for more than a few minutes.

But hey...once you're on the road it's all good. I plan on doing another ED as soon as the bank account and my funds manager (i.e. the fiance) says it's allowed.

Matt

"...a real pro like Bernhard..."

I must put in my 2 cents about Bernhard. We were fortunate enough to be the only ones picking up a car on Feb. 14 (Happy Valentine's Day to me). Not only did Bernhard go over every single little detail of the car, but he then asked us about our plans for the next week. We told him that we would be staying in a Munich hotel, and taking day trips from there. He then spent a lot of time going over maps with us, finding weather reports and webcams which convinced us that because of heavy snow, trips south into the Alps weren't a good idea. He had many alternate suggestions of places that he and his family enjoy. It was a great beginning to a perfect (albeit snowy) week.

I also picked up on a very busy day (3/24/05)and they did rush a bit through my delivery, but I figured I could learn the system as I went along. Specially the Nav. system which I used the whole week. Even today there are stuff that I am still learning, but here at least I have the manual and the local dealer. I hope the rest of the trip worked out for you. :thumbup:

brian545 said:

Thanks to all that helped out on our recent experience. Just a few thoughts. First Please Go to a BMW dealer and get familiar with the operation controls of your model IE NAV, Radio, IDrive ETC. The guy basically threw the keys at us and did not even show us what door to drive out of. The ED center is extremely busy this time of year. Plus the new E90, Motorcycle models, 7 series has made the ED center a circle jerk . They had my car parked in the center like a sardine. I good barely drive out of the Place :tsk: . I drove to the local BMW dealer where the guys could not have been nicer . Programmed Radio, Nav, even set our key for seats etc. Definitely would do again but not in summer months if this is the way the ED center operates. Dropped off in Zurich On May24 Confirmed my email that car left by truck to Munich on the same day. PM me if u would like additional info about our experience and tips. PS. gas prices were around 1.25 per Liter in Germany a little lower in Austria, Switzerland

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Bernhard has never rushed any of my deliveries - he's always been very thorough - usually much more so than any US delivery!

So which are the busiest days of the week? I'm hoping Wednesday's are not too busy... looking at the "when are you going..." thread, it looks like no one else from this group is going that day; hope that's representative of the general population.

jackie said:

We were fortunate enough to be the only ones picking up a car on Feb. 14 (Happy Valentine's Day to me).

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The center does deliveries for customers around the world. So I think the day does not matter. Only hint would be to tell them this is your first BMW and ask for all the guidance they will give you. I arrived at 7AM and the place was filling up quickly. The luck of the Irish :dunno: I had a great trip Just a little disappointed on how we were handled at the ED center. Now the wait begins for Re Delivery

My husband's Irish, we actually do usually have pretty good luck when travelling, like getting a free upgrade to a suite at the place we stayed on our first trip to Paris. Hopefully that'll hold up this trip.

He thought we should order the car using my maiden name, since I'm German, it's a pretty German sounding name, they might do an extra good job for us (talking about building the car, not doing the delivery); but I know they do a great job on all the builds.

Edie

brian545 said:

The center does deliveries for customers around the world. So I think the day does not matter. Only hint would be to tell them this is your first BMW and ask for all the guidance they will give you. I arrived at 7AM and the place was filling up quickly. The luck of the Irish :dunno: I had a great trip Just a little disappointed on how we were handled at the ED center. Now the wait begins for Re Delivery

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I'm pretty certain Friday is a busy day -- lots of people want to pick up for the weekend. I did a Thursday pick up in July and it wasn't crowded. On the other hand, I didn't get Bernhard, and my delivery was rather brief. I didn't let that detract from enjoying my new car, however!

eimSD said:

So which are the busiest days of the week? I'm hoping Wednesday's are not too busy... looking at the "when are you going..." thread, it looks like no one else from this group is going that day; hope that's representative of the general population.

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Cheers to Bernhard. He is the best.

If you can, request for him by calling BMWNA. If not send him an email. If that fails ask for him as soon as you check in for pick up. He will help you get to cloud nine much better. Please do not forget the sign in book. I had placed the original one(which got lost). Bernhard got a replacement and you have insurance that it is there. The pick up guys now know what bimmerfest is. Mention it and I am sure you will get better respect. :thumbup:

Bernhard tells me that Mondays and Fridays are their two busiest days. In other words, avoid picking up on a Monday or Friday if you want the most time with the delivery guys.

I agree with Brian - I picked up on 23 May - yes - a Monday - and I left there not very pleased with the ED Center service. I am low-maintenance and usually prefer to figure things out for myself so I do not mind that much. I simply expected BMW to be more customer oriented than what I experienced on 23 May. Everyone was very cordial and in typical German fashion - everything was very professional and "efficient." If you do not tell them you need more info or have more questions they apparantly assume that you know what to do or that you have done this before.
If you don't ask questions - don't complain later. My trip was awesome - I would recommend it to anyone - just don't expect a red carpet.