# Sticky  Post your ED photo & Story here!



## The BoatMan (Apr 2, 2002)

May 4, 2007

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211641


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## ger3sf (Feb 3, 2004)

I think I broke the 30-day rule...here are some pics of our 5/22 ED (the last one at Freimann, but can't wait for the new ED center).

In a nutshell, our itin was:

5/20 Arrive MUC
5/22 Pickup car, daytrip to Linderhof castle, then Munich factory tour at 6pm
5/23 Drive to Moltrasio, IT (Lk Como)
5/25 Drive to Cannes, FR
5/26 Daytrip (via train) to Monaco to watch qualifying races 
5/27 Daytrip to St. Tropez
5/28 Drive to Vienne, FR (south of Lyon)
5/29 Drive to Marne la Vallee, FR
6/1 Drive to CDG, dropoff car, spent afternoon in Paris
6/2 Depart for SFO

I need to figure out how/where to host more pictures, and will add a link later.


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## jc000 (Jun 14, 2007)

Wow, that cherry red is a sweet color. Wish they had it on the 5-series.


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## AZ-BMW (Dec 16, 2006)

*My First Euro Delivery, And More To Come!*

Here is my April ED trip pic's and trip report:

http://az-bmw.smugmug.com/gallery/2798022#149304210

April 29, 2007: Just returned from my ED trip with some good and bad news; Good News: weather was almost perfect (all but 1 day was blue sky, sunny and high 60's or low 70's, only 1 day of rain); Bad News: most of the jpg's are in my son's camera which is now in San Diego, so only a few are displayed here now, more later (I promise).
[Note: All are now displaced in link above]

Day 1: Arrived ~6am in Munich and collected the 2 large duffle bags at baggage claim with the 2 carry-on back-packs (yeah, no room in the 335i E93's trunk for much more). Pulled funds out of the Deutsche Bank ATM machine in baggage claim (got the inter-bank rate with no transaction fee using a BofA ATM card). Proceeded to the S-Bahn S8 train for the very easy transit to the Hilton Munich City hotel (Rosenheimer Platz station) where I was supposed to have early arrival reservations. Got to the Hilton and no rooms ready yet, so left the bags with the front desk and took the U-Bahn to Marien Platz to checkout the world's largest(?) Cuckoo Clock. Got there and the front of the building was covered with scaffolding (oh well). Did the Tourist stuff in that general area until ~1pm when the hotel rooms were available; crashed for a couple of hours sleep before taking the S/U-Bahn to the Olympiazentrum station for this trip's first German meal (Schnitzel with Spatzle) before the factory tour. Lined-up at the BMW Munich Plant entrance for the ~6pm English tour (got to see the whole operation including the paint and engine shops). Wow, a long 1st day in Deutschland.

Day 2: Up early for the easy S/U-Bahn transit to Freimann to the Delivery Center. Although I had printed the detailed walking directions (with photo's), I unfortunately noticed a BMW sign on a large building, said that must be the place, and started walking in that direction. Yeah, wrong way (it was just an ad sign on a high-rise apartment building). Went back towards the U-Bahn station and this time followed the directions, and as advertised it was an easy ~10 minute walk to the center.
Got to the Center and at both the check-in counter and upstairs in the Bistro they asked for the meal voucher (luckily I had received one from BMWNA). Gave them my lug nut locks and asked for them to be installed. Asked about not having the front bumper U.S. bracket installed, but just mount the Zoll plate directly to the front bumper; was told, not possible, the bracket is already installed at the Factory (maybe there should be a zpd-like option for eliminating the front bracket for us folks who don't need it in the states). Waited ~45 minutes, signed the forms and got introduced to my new car; Zoll plate M7851Z. Plugged-in BeeWang's Euro Navi DVD, Center's rep entered a few key addresses, then off to Harms (MADA) to meet Thomas and fill out the appropriate forms.
Spent the afternoon at Schloss Nymphenburg walking the grounds and touring a few buildings. Then drove back to the Hilton, parked in their nice underground garage, grabbed another German meal, then crashed for the night. BTW, the Holiday Inn is just down the street, but I used Hilton Honors Points for my stay.

Day 3: Headed to Garmisch-Partenkirchen on the Autobahn and kept the speed at or below 100mph (very difficult to constrain oneself with this car that just screams TORQUE). BTW, I noticed at 100 mph, the tach was reading only 3,000 rpm; seemed low, but I've got the Steptronic trans, not a MT; is that Tach reading correct or did my car somehow end up with a low ratio Euro rear end?
Arrived in Garmisch and drove to the Zugspitze cable car parking lot; took the cable car up and the cog-wheel train down. Wow, what a great view from the top of the Zugspitze (Germany's highest peak, I'm told) on a blue-sky, sunny day! Still snow on the mountain, so several people were skiing; ie, that's what I forgot to bring, my ski gear (Ah, no way they would fit in the 335i with 4 people, oh well).
After traversing the Zugspitze drove over to the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in Garmisch to check-in (an outstanding U.S. military R&R facility in Garmisch that active duty, reservist and retiree's can use). Noticed in the Stars & Stripes newspaper in the lobby a headline that made me nervous: "Bases in Germany plan terror response." Apparently all the U.S. bases in Germany had just been put on alert due to detected planned Terrorist activities, especially the facilities in Southern Germany; just my luck, huh?

Day 4: Now the real Tourist stuff begins. Headed over to Fussen to tour both Schloss' Nueschweinstein and Hohenschwangau. That consumed most of the day. Visited a local Fussen restaurant for another fine German meal. On the way back to Garmisch picked up the 10-day Austria Vignette, safety vest and the oval D at an ADAC store.

Day 5: Drove over to Lake Chimsee to ride the boat out to the island and visit Schloss Herrenchiemsee. Another great sunny day for the trip and drive on the Autobahn. Bee's Navi disk has been invaluable for these trips and much easier than wading through maps.

Day 6: Drove to Salzburg to tour the city and attend a Mozart lunch concert at Stiftskeller St. Peter. Finally the weather broke and it started raining, but only for this 1 day. Also hiked up to the Salzburg Fortress (high on a hill, overlooking the city) and took the tour of Festung Hohensalzburg; and yes, I bought some Mozart chocolates. Then drove to Berchtesgaden to spent the night in a nice, small, family run bed & breakfast; Hotel Larchenhof Schonau am Konigssee.

Day 7: Went to the Salzbergwerk Berchtesgaden salt mine to take the tour, then over to Lake Konigssee for the hop-on/hop-off boat tour of the lake and lunch at a restaurant on the lake. BTW, I had purchased a cheap GSM cell phone from Mobal for this trip that was very useful for quick calls back home and to synchronize activities while in Germany; also had it in case of any emergency while driving.

Day 8: Starting to wind-down. Took the car to a self-service car wash in Garmish to get all the bugs off of it, while my son rented a car and went to Innsbruck for some touring. Tried to get into the AAFES Exchange on the local U.S. Military Kaserne, but was told due to a Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Germany, my ID would not allow me access to the Exchange. Oh well, had lunch at a Subway fast food outlet on the Kaserne.

Day 9: Up early in the morning for the drive to Harms (MADA) in Munich to drop-off the car. Met Rolf for a quick ride to the airport. BTW, if you want to avoid the long checkin lines at the Munich Airport, use the self-checkin machines; we were in/out in 20 minutes on a Friday morning and on our way thru security. Now the long wait for re-delivery!

Now I want to plan another ED trip in maybe 2 years when the excitement and pricing on the new M3 (V8) reduces hopefully into my price range.


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## lensman314 (Apr 28, 2006)

June 9th through 19th trip report here:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214333


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## 4tune81 (Nov 30, 2006)

*May 31- June 19, 2007- Germany, Austria, Czech, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia*

June 1st pick up. Report here: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214808

--Paul


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## ttsd2006 (Feb 24, 2007)

Another June 1st pick-up. Story and link to pictures posted here:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215439


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## Northcar (Sep 21, 2005)

*1st Report from Europe*

Here is a link to our initial reporting. (July 4 and 5 2007)

Scroll through thread for multiple photos.

http://bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215993


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## chaslee (Dec 13, 2002)

*ED trip report*

Hi Everyone, 
We arrived home late last week and I just wanted to post a few pictures of our trip. We spent about 3 weeks there with most of time in France. We learned to travel with a 5 and 7 year old and we know of a playground in almost every city that we visited.

We picked up the car on June 13th and Rolf picked us up in a 135i. Wow what a pocket rocket. I was a bit concerned that it wouldn't fit all our luggages, but amazingly, it did.

We arrived at the Delivery Center and it was packed. I gave the receptionist my paperwork and also asked that the anti-theft bolts be placed on the car. She said that it would take a bit longer and it did, about an hour and a half. But with Rolf as company and my 5 year old son playing with the other kids, it was not that bad.

Ernest was my Delivery Specialist and given all the people that were there that day, I didn't want to take up too much time. Just the basics and since we only had Premium and Sport with heated seats, iPod, and HD radio, things were not too complicated.

We drove to the ADAC to pick up our vignettes and vest. On the way, my son fell asleep and after trying a few places to park, I ended up at the Chinese Turm. I used the extra time to wax the car.

We picked up my wife and daughter the next day and we were off to Neuschwanstein. The first place we stopped for lunch after picking them up was of all places a Burger King. Go figure.

We only had one night there, but we had a great time. Since my wife and I are runners, we did runs in the area. I did a run up to Marienbrucke and it was great!

After the castle visit we had to drive to Lake Maggiore for one night. Of course there was pouring rain as we drove through the Graubrunden region. The car handled flawlessly. We only had one night at the Ascona. Had a half-board arrangement and had a nice meal at the Hotel Arancio. The weather was much better the next day and had a nice drive along the lake to Verbania for lunch. Then we had to dash to Nice for our first house rental.

Hit traffic along the Liguria area and tried to go through the towns. Big mistake. We did have a GPS system on my laptop and that helped with getting us around the traffic. We made it to the house around 730pm and it was located in the hills behind Nice. It had a nice view of the sea and of the mountains behind it. Okay, we stop in the France's version of a Walmart for groceries and it had everything. Meaning. it had pate, awesome bread and cheese, pre-made dinners, awesome wines (and cheap), and cheap Evian. We had awesome Rose wine.

What can I say about the South of France. It is hedonistic. We spent Father's Day at a beach on Cap d'Antibes and when it started to pour we went into Antibes for lunch. It was a great day.

Spent the week exploring the coast including the island, St. Marguerite off of Cannes. If you are a runner, one can do amazing runs in this area. I did a 6 mile loop on the island and you would see the most amazing views. The Man in the Iron Mask was suppose to have been held there.

I am a novice Marathoner and Triathlete and the Ironman France was being held in Nice that weekend. Man, there were some buffed people there.

The highlight of our week in Nice was the Foundation Maeght. We had arrived early and there were very few people there. The first part is a big garden with sculptures by Juan Miro and others. We saw a child touching the works and thought that it was okay. Our kids started going up and touching and climbing on the works. Others did too. Only later we found out that the child was blind and they were allowing her special privilege to touch these priceless works of art.

Driving in the South of France is hairy, but I think that by having a BMW we were given some courtesy. We were driving back from VilleFranche and were detoured from the main road. It was the Mother of all Traffic Jams. The cars were very courteous to us. I did have to drive aggressive though.

We were sad to leave the South of France, mostly because we didn't know how crappy the weather was in the rest of France. We made it to Lyon to visit friends and after a night with them we made it to Meursault in Burgundy for our second week in a rental house. Burgundy was a nice change from the hectic pace of Nice. There wasn't as much to do and we spent quite a bit of time wine tasting and lounging. The scenery was beautiful and every other morning, I would get up and go for an hour run along some of the most expensive grape vineyards in the world. The only other people up at that hour were wine growers.

It was a much more relaxing week and after that we spent 5 days in Paris. Our digital camera went out on us and we had to revert to our film cameras. What can I say about Paris. This was my 5th time there and it still amazes me. We did amazing runs along the Seine and up to Montmartre. It's crowded, crazy and too expensive, but it is what it is. We had a great time at Street Markets, seeing the sights, and we stayed near the Eiffel Tower which was great for kids.

Sorry for the long story. The pictures are a little out of sequence.

The attached photos are:
1. Obligatory picture of the car at the Delivery Center
2. Obligatory picture of the Castle from Marienbrucke
3. Our hotel in Ascona on Lake Maggiore
4. Picture of the terrace of our house in Nice
5. Old Nice
6. Ladder rope in playground in Nice. It was great, but what happens if a kid falls?
7. Car in Burgundy
8. Car in front of Wine tasting Caveau
9. Car in front of Chateau Sully
10.Can you say whose is bigger? Monaco.
11.View from the back porch in our house in Burgundy.


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## Northcar (Sep 21, 2005)

*2nd Report from Europe*

OK, here is our 2nd Report from Europe. 1st one left off with the delivery center and this one picks up with visit to Nymphenburg Palace in Munich and continues on to Fussen and its nearby castles and then on to Innsbruck. Eventually will post additional reports for further travel on to Salzburg, Venice, Melk (Stift Melk) and Bernstein. the later two sites highly recommended by Jspira.

http://bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219037


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## Northcar (Sep 21, 2005)

*Link to Regensburg Factory Tour - Home of the E93*

Oh, and here is a link to a detailed reporting of the Regensburg Factory Tour which we took on our first day of ED.

http://bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=216003&highlight=regensburg


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Northcar said:


> OK, here is our 2nd Report from Europe. 1st one left off with the delivery center and this one picks up with visit to Nymphenburg Palace in Munich and continues on to Fussen and its nearby castles and then on to Innsbruck. Eventually will post additional reports for further travel on to Salzburg, Venice, Melk (Stift Melk) and Bernstein. the later two sites highly recommended by Jspira.
> 
> http://bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219037


 As a point of clarification, Herr Northcar means Dürnstein, not Bernstein although I am sure Leonard Bernstein once visited Dürnstein when he was near Vienna :angel:


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## jeffs429 (Dec 18, 2006)

*Creating Bimmerfest ED map*

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219209


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## Northcar (Sep 21, 2005)

Jspira said:


> As a point of clarification, Herr Northcar means Dürnstein, not Bernstein although I am sure Leonard Bernstein once visited Dürnstein when he was near Vienna :angel:


Thanks for the correction. I see I missed the two hour rule to go back and edit. At least it looks like I got the name right on my other threads.:thumbup:


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Northcar said:


> Thanks for the correction. I see I missed the two hour rule to go back and edit. At least it looks like I got the name right on my other threads.:thumbup:


Better than missing the 12 hour rule. :angel:


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## berford (Sep 10, 2002)

Here are pics from our Euro Delivery and prior/subsequent travels: http://picasaweb.google.com/berford/GermanyAndSwitzerland2007?authkey=uGnlSSrqMTY

I guess you could say that the stories are told in the captions.


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## bimmer_fam (Apr 16, 2007)

berford said:


> Here are pics from our Euro Delivery and prior/subsequent travels: http://picasaweb.google.com/berford/GermanyAndSwitzerland2007?authkey=uGnlSSrqMTY
> 
> I guess you could say that the stories are told in the captions.


Great pics! Thanks for sharing. :bigpimp:


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## berford (Sep 10, 2002)

bimmer_fam said:


> Great pics! Thanks for sharing. :bigpimp:


Thanks...glad you enjoyed.


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## RDobie (May 26, 2007)

Fantastic Photos! What camera do you use? Thanks.


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## berford (Sep 10, 2002)

RDobie said:


> Fantastic Photos! What camera do you use? Thanks.


If you're referring to mine, thanks...and the camera is a Nikon D50 SLR with various lenses: macro and three zooms. If you're not referring to mine, well, you now know anyway.


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## 90%M (Apr 4, 2008)

*At the Nurburgring*

A room with a view








At the Ring. Eye candy. Very friendly people happy to talk about their cars.

































My other car







A 1 for rent







A 1 that is mine







Waiting for the track to open at 1:30 PM on Saturday.













Accident. No injuries but the track was closed for an hour.








I ended up doing 4 laps on Saturday.  Came back for more on sunday but it was foggy.


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## 90%M (Apr 4, 2008)

*Back to Munich and the Harms*

Returning the car 














They get to drive a 1 too.








McDonalds at the fountain








Dinner at Augustiner








A 135 Convertible at the Munich Airport








Until next time...


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

90%M said:


> Returning the car
> 
> Until next time...


Thank You for sharing! :thumbup:


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## MrBones (Oct 26, 2007)

90%M said:


> Returning the car
> View attachment 147845
> View attachment 147846
> 
> ...


Where is the Augustiner? Marienplatz?


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## 90%M (Apr 4, 2008)

rjmill said:


> Where is the Augustiner? Marienplatz?


It***8217;s on the boulevard from Marienplatz to The Fountain. A great walk! I think the name of the street is Kaufingerstrasse. I'm not sure the name of the Restaurant but they serve Augustiner Beer which was my favorite on this visit. Their food was good too.

Other good restaurants in Marinplatz are Glockenspiel with great view from the 5th floor and Donisl. Donisl serves breakfast too allthough I didn't have breakfast there.

Nice thing about restaurants in Munich is they display on the outside the beer they serve so you know before you enter.

BTW, when you go to Marienplatz take walks along the side streets. It's a great way to familiarize yourself. Walk to Odeonplatz. Take a walk along Maximilianstrasse.

I missed the Mike Bike Tour but That would be another great way to know Munich.

S-Bahn and U-Bahn are some of the best transportation in Europe.


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## sfgate (Jun 15, 2008)

*535i ED June 2008*

This was a much better experience than buying a car from a regular dealer. You're treated like royalty at the BMW welt. It is a very nice experience, unlike some of the unpleasant experiences at the regular dealerships. Just got a 535i 2008.

Advice for those who are going:

1) Definitely get the navigation DVD from Beewang. It is a life saver in Europe.

2) Call your hotels/destinations in advance and ask them about parking. I had underground parking in my hotel the whole time, so I never worried about the car. But the garages in europe are very small. I could barely squeeze the car in. Ask about their parking situation and how big their garage is to accomodate your car.

3) You can buy the vignette (the toll sticker for austria) as you get closer to the Austrian border at a rest stop. It was about 7.60 euros.

4) The hotel that is recommended by BMW european delivery packet is just okay. It's not super-nice, and it's right across the street from a strip club. It is, however, two blocks from the train station, and it's cheap. If you want a nicer hotel, more luxurious hotel, then look for one on tripadvisor or hotels.com.

5) Learn the parking laws in the city that you're going to. They can be confusing and strange. You can read up on how to pay for street parking on the city's internet website.

6) Gas is around 1.5 euro/liter as of June 2008, so be prepared to spend lots of money on gas.

7) If you drop off your car at another city besides Munich, it may not actually say, "BMW" on the facility. We circled for about 30 minutes around a series of warehouses before finally getting out, wandering around, and finding out where it was. It just says "autoservice", and there is no BMW icon at all. This was for the Vienna dropoff.


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

sfgate said:


> This was a much better experience than buying a car from a regular dealer. You're treated like royalty at the BMW welt. It is a very nice experience, unlike some of the unpleasant experiences at the regular dealerships. Just got a 535i 2008.
> 
> Advice for those who are going:
> 
> ...


nice observation - where is pic of your car?


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## sfgate (Jun 15, 2008)

*Pictures*

Here they are


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## SJAPoc (Apr 14, 2007)

For those that may not have seen my report, here is a link:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291018

I continue to update as the trip goes on... And it's a blast! If you have any doubt about doing ED... Don't think, just do it. I shall not be able to replicate the experience driving my car back home 



Our ED experience has been incredible :thumbup:


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## Accel Junky (Apr 16, 2008)

*Here's my complete write-up with pics. Stelvio Pass, San Bernardino Pass, Umbrail Pass and Col de Turini:*

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=292812


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## mrbelk (Dec 5, 2003)

*Mrs. MrBelks trip report (as recorded by MrBelk*

Here is a link to my trip report. Links to the photo gallery are in the blog itself.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3373833&postcount=21

-MrB


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## BL535 (Jul 3, 2008)

*ED pictures*

Trying to meet the 12 hour rule. :tsk: Got the car this morning. Bimmerfest was the best source of up to date information. Thank you all Bimmerfest members 

I have attached a picture of my new car and the car I special ordered today at Welt for my next european delivery :rofl:


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## kingbelcher (Jan 27, 2008)

Finally got my webpage complete and full of ED Photo's with brief comments. Take a look:

http://home.earthlink.net/~mcfour/


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Great Writeup! Thanks for sharing!



kingbelcher said:


> Finally got my webpage complete and full of ED Photo's with brief comments. Take a look:
> 
> http://home.earthlink.net/~mcfour/


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## sfgate (Jun 15, 2008)

*Great post*



kingbelcher said:


> Finally got my webpage complete and full of ED Photo's with brief comments. Take a look:
> 
> http://home.earthlink.net/~mcfour/


It looks like you had a blast! Great post, and fantastic pictures of food! Thanks for sharing.


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## berford (Sep 10, 2002)

kingbelcher said:


> Finally got my webpage complete and full of ED Photo's with brief comments. Take a look:
> 
> http://home.earthlink.net/~mcfour/


I'd like to see your pics, but the site has been "temporarily" out of order for the last several hours. Do you know what gives?


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## kingbelcher (Jan 27, 2008)

I found out that too much traffic has passed through the website this month (?????) I guess it is to prevent someone from using the website for commercial gain. Never knew I had this limitation! It will work on August 1st. Be sure to check back!


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## berford (Sep 10, 2002)

kingbelcher said:


> I found out that too much traffic has passed through the website this month (?????) I guess it is to prevent someone from using the website for commercial gain. Never knew I had this limitation! It will work on August 1st. Be sure to check back!


Bummer!


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## kingbelcher (Jan 27, 2008)

The website is back up, give her a try!


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## sfgate (Jun 15, 2008)

*Great post*



kingbelcher said:


> The website is back up, give her a try!


That was a great post. You looked like you and your family had a phenomenal time. I picked up my 535i in June, but I'm heading back to Munich for a conference. I never got to see the BMW factory tour. They say it's 2.5 hours (and it starts at 11am, so you probably could be starving through it). Do you think it's worth it? Any other must-see highlights in Munich?


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## Shorty609 (Sep 22, 2008)

May 7 - 18 2009 trip

Munich-Schwangau-Salzburg-Florence-Rome-Milan-drop off in Zurich

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=370448


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## tharwood (Dec 15, 2003)

*335d 8 Jun - 13 Jun 2009*

Just posted preliminary description and photos: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4274086#post4274086
Thanks for looking!


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## flemming (Jul 21, 2009)

Just posted my ED report here:

http://bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4437286#post4437286

Robert


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## kwakitykwak (Sep 11, 2009)

looking down on my car


















happy camper and car (again, will have better pictures of the car soon :])

















Bmw Museum









heres a 135i on display at the welt

Alright that's it for now thanks for looking!:cool!::dance::happyanim::


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## tharwood (Dec 15, 2003)

Looking forward to your report. Reminds me of my 335d pickup in June!


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## northernlights (Aug 31, 2006)

*ED 11/06-MUC-Schwarzwald-Lindau-Garmish-Salzburg-MUC*

Dug this out of the "vault"...

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179977&highlight=


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## ViaPerturbatio (Jul 25, 2009)

Link to my first ED photos and write-up.

Dates: Aug 31, 2009 - Sept 11, 2009

Pick-up at Welt: Sept 2, 2009
Drop-Off (Munich): Sept 10, 2009
Re-Delivery: ???

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=399272


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## brad7100 (Aug 10, 2009)

*ED without plans*

I just completed the most amazing ED experience. I left last Wednesday with reservation in Munich for Thursday night (overnight flight). The only other reservations were for the last two days in Paris. My wife couldn't go so I invited an old classmate and friend. We took a road trip through Europe. The experience was great. The BMW Welt is a fantastic experience. We went early which made time for the factory tour and a quick trip through the museum. All of which was very cool.

I then took delivery of my beautiful black sapphire 535i. After the obligatory victory lap, we set the navigation to Amsterdam. After the traffic cleared, we tried out the car, following an M6 and an Audi A5, we easily reached 155 mph and were able to maintain a speed between 110 and 130 in the areas outside of the cities. What a fun drive. We made it to Amsterdam at about 11:30 and found a room at the Marriott. Experienced the extreme freedom which is Amsterdam the following day and left the next (crazy place, that Amsterdam). Beautiful city and very much worth a stop.

We then headed to London, drove to the Eurotunnel in Calais, word of caution pre-book to save a wad of cash. Drove into London and found a great rate on a website called laterooms.com at a nice hotel off of Fulham. We checked out the next morning loaded the luggage in the car and left the car in the parking garage (I don't advise driving much in London) We saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, the Tower of London. We took the underground and buses, ate fish and chips at english pub. After a day in London, we were ready again for a slower pace. We headed toward Stonehenge. Found a nice hotel on the way that was fully booked but they directed us to a rear by Bed and Breakfast which was old and certainly not nice but it was clean and the family who owned it were really nice. At breakfast, they gave us list of sites to see. We saw Stonehenge..... This was just Tuesday....

more to come.


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## EAMcClintock (Sep 4, 2009)

*9-28-09 ED, Just returned*

Picked up my 2010 535i with X-Drive on 9-28-09! Monoco Blue, cream beige leather, head-up display(very cool), navigation system, premium package, value package, HD and Satellite radio, split fold-down rear seats, heated rear seats. And my IPhone/IPod actually works in it! Nice time was had by myself, husband, son (11) and daughter (5). Very good experience with family in tow. BMW was super nice and accommodated the kids for the whole experience. I would recommend it to any families out there who are considering ED.

We did our own itinerary as the hotels BMW Travel usually works with do not work too well for younger kids. We spent the first two nights in Munich, then drove to Neuschwanstein for the tours and then down a little south of Innsbruck to Lagenfeld to stay at the AquaDome hotel/spa. Great hotel with multiple pools, hot springs, saunas, everything you can think of to relax. Super for kids and adults. From there, drove to Venice, Italy and took in the sights for two days. Drove the car back up to Munich and the guys at the Vikase-Harms were amazing. Due to apparent security issues at Octoberfest, the traffic was crazy bad and I was super late for my drop-off appointment. They waited for me to get there and took care of everything in about 15 minutes. Seamless.

Attached photos is in Austria. We missed the official Neuschwanstein spot, but the Alps were a pretty decent backdrop (even though I take bad photos)! Now just waiting for my baby to make it over here so I can drive it in my own mountains!


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## berford (Sep 10, 2002)

EAMcClintock said:


> Attached photos is in Austria. We missed the official Neuschwanstein spot, but the Alps were a pretty decent backdrop (even though I take bad photos)! Now just waiting for my baby to make it over here so I can drive it in my own mountains!


Okay, where are the photos?


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## aherman535 (Nov 11, 2007)

*535xit pickup 10/8*

Just so I don't miss the 12 hour rule - here is my posting!!

Picked up 535xit this morning. Excellent experience. Didn't get to do the factory tour, but did hit the museum. Just not enough time in the day. We're off to Bolzano in the morning!!

Thanks for everyone's advice along the way.


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## Blue55 (May 8, 2009)

*New 135i*

Here she is. Le Mans Blue, M Sport in Heidelberg. What a great ride and a fantastic ED! I highly recommend the factory tour. The robots and the entire construction process is amazing to watch. We also enjoyed Oktoberfest which is something else too. I'd skip spending much time in Nice. The south of France is quite touristy and busy. Cannes is MUCH nicer and there are some amazing ancient hilltop villages just north of the coast. Nice is frankly a bit of a dump. Lyon however is stunning and the food was fabulous.


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## Escondido (Sep 14, 2006)

*ED October 2009*

Here is a link to ED #2 in October 10-20, 2009

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=404637

A different experience for ED #1 January 12-18, 2007. Not bad, .. not as good, but just different.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187941&highlight=


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## filmoreslim (Jul 2, 2009)

*Late to das Buch - ED on January 8*

I merely signed for the car and hoped on a train to Zurich because the weather was so bad and the ED tire guy wanted over 500 Euros for tire rental and to pick up my car in Zurich and take it back.

Next time I'll bring my own winter tires and rims.

2010 535i xdrive wagon

M Sport package
Ventilated Seats
Heads up display
Too many others to list


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## GaDawg (Mar 17, 2006)

Here's my post.... http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=440359

What an experience...we'll be back, for sure!


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## mkuenne (Dec 16, 2006)

Pickup and travel photos of my 335D pickup!

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5016675#post5016675


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## DrJ (Dec 11, 2006)

*12 hour rule compliance posting for nm88325!*

Greetings!

I'm back at die Welt for the 2nd time this week! This time I'm here with my parents (nm88325) who are picking up their 335xi coupe. I'm posting this from the lounge, which is quite busy on this last day for deliveries before the Easter holiday weekend.

12 hour compliance postings are below as follows:

1. signing the bimmerfest book (this was the first entry since mine on Monday of this week)
2. photos 2,3 - taking delivery of the new ride!

J


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## nm88325 (Apr 27, 2008)

*O-1fficial Posting*

Okay, thanks to our son who took the photos and posted from the Welt.

This is the official, within-12-hours, bytheowner posting.
Great Day, Great Folks, Great Facility, Great Experience, Great Car, GREAT EVERYTHING!!

We are headed to France tomorrow after dropping DrJ at the airport. Our turn in will be back in Muenchen on the 21st.

nm88325


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## nm88325 (Apr 27, 2008)

*Update*

Don't know if anyone is interested, but here we go.....

Picked up the car on 1 April (no foolin') and put more than 4K miles on it before turn in on 20 April. Itinerary included:

Champagne Region for 3 days-Champagne
Bretagne for 4 days-Pointe de Raz, Carnac & other stones, Rose Granite Coast, Concarneau (our possible retirement home?)
LasCaux & the Caves-Las Caux II & Font de Gaume, 14000 year old ART, not just cave paintings (another possible retirement home in Montignac?) 3 days
Oradour - Look it up for yourself so that you will remember it. Just do it.
Toulouse - Cite L'Espace 1/2 day
Carcasonne - Walled city 1 day
Beziers - 'Kill them all. God will know his own' 1/2 day
Cannes - the promenade for the Euro TV community event (1/2 day)
Canelli - the city where the Asti Spumante is really made, NOT Asti 3 days
Muenchen - of course. the finest beer in the world except perhaps for that place in Golden, CO An extra day because of the volcano

We will be glad to share our experiences in response to questions/comments here, and we will be working a write-up on the www.virtualtourist.com site, homepage of RichardBlaine.

THANKS again and again to everyone who helped make our trip a great one because of the information we got here. And a special thanks to the most prolific and best of the ED experts, Mr. Philippe Kahn of South Bay BMW in Torrance, CA.

nm88325


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## the J-Man (Jul 31, 2009)

Do you speak much French? I've always found France to be a difficult country to enjoy unless you can speak a fair bit of the language - much more so than other places.


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## roy335 (Jul 13, 2010)

Nice car, Congrats! Have a great time driving it. I agree ED is truly a wonderful experience, enjoy. Looking forward to more pics.


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## Jojo_la (Aug 31, 2010)

Here is something you could only do in Germany. I picked up my 335d (m package  ) from the Welt on Oct 25th. And drove from Munich to Frankfurt the next day. That was the whole ED experience as I needed to travel out of Europe on Tuesday. Bottom line. 2 days of ED experience were great. I will do it agiain and will stay for at least 1 week. It is worth every single penny.
However, for those from LA, like my self, I recommend ED between March and September. It was really cold!!!!!!!!
:


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## ayigu (May 20, 2005)

Couldn't drive the car due to the heavy snow.


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## roy335 (Jul 13, 2010)

Nice car, congrats!! Sorry to hear about the snow. How bad were the roads? I would imagine the Germans probably do a very good job at clearing the snow?


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## Karps (Jun 17, 2010)

*335d Euro Delivery write-up*

My fiance and I took Euro Delivery of her new 335d back in September and I finally put into words, in a detailed write-up, our experience and adventure. I posted it on a new blog I've started as a hobby. If anyone's interested here's the link:

http://noseprintsontheglass.wordpress.com/

Enjoy!

Matt


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## Rafa (Sep 5, 2010)

Karps said:


> My fiance and I took Euro Delivery of her new 335d back in September and I finally put into words, in a detailed write-up, our experience and adventure. I posted it on a new blog I've started as a hobby. If anyone's interested here's the link:
> 
> http://noseprintsontheglass.wordpress.com/
> 
> ...


Matt, yours is by far the best written post on ED that I have ever read. Your post was a delight to read from beginning to end, and like my ED experience, I did not want your excellent report to end. Congratulations! Hopefully, you will continue to post comments about your car; keep us informed through this forum if you post elsewhere.

By the way, I believe I am the fellow EDer you spoke with that night at the Marriott.

Thanks again for taking the time and effort to post. You and your fiancé, enjoy your car to the utmost!


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## 3ismagic# (Mar 17, 2011)

Karps said:


> My fiance and I took Euro Delivery of her new 335d back in September and I finally put into words, in a detailed write-up, our experience and adventure. I posted it on a new blog I've started as a hobby. If anyone's interested here's the link:
> 
> http://noseprintsontheglass.wordpress.com/
> 
> ...


There is a small error in your blog. You mention that buyers have been doing ED since 2007. BMW has been doing ED for decades. Only since 2007 has it been at the Welt. Otherwise a great write up of your ED.


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## tiggle (Feb 14, 2011)

*12 hour Rule*

12 hour rule. Complied.






Having a great time so far!


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## Me530 (Feb 17, 2005)

tiggle said:


> 12 hour rule. Complied.
> View attachment 276445
> Having a great time so far!


Dude- great looking car.


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## berford (Sep 10, 2002)

tiggle said:


> 12 hour rule. Complied.
> View attachment 276445
> Having a great time so far!


What was it that Oliver said..."more, please."


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## gcreese (Feb 24, 2009)

Here's my European Delivery story: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=540765.


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## 97X (Sep 19, 2007)

Here's a link to my rather lengthy trip report. CLICK ME!


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## MarVar (May 2, 2011)

Will try posting our delivery photo from my iPad but it may require looking at my Flickr account. We had a flawless delivery on Friday, July 8th followed by a trip south to Ardez (highly recommended if you love small, ancient, out of the way villages with modern bathroom fixtures and a good pub) then through four Alpine passes the next day to the Interlaken area. We got caught in a sudden, vicious storm while driving round the Thunersee: hail, broken tree branches, falling rocks and a boulder through the guard rail. No where to hide so we did the best we could under the slight protection of an overhanging roof. Got four small dings on the front hood but it sounded as if we were being slegehammered. Must have included several microbursts as we witnessed toppled pines and old oaks on the drive back to our apartment in Wilderswil. After being so careful during the previous few days on all kinds of challenging terrain it was ironic to suffer that kind of damage in less than five minutes at a dead stop.


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## Marioeddie (Jul 9, 2011)

*No Sales Contract Until VIN Assigned*

Hi, I just agreed to purchase my first BMW for ED. The Iowa dealer has provided only a buyer's order, not a firm contract. Is this standard for ED? Thanks.


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## m6cabrio (Aug 6, 2010)

I don't think I ever posted my trip here! It is pretty long but here you go: http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e6...n/162894-european-delivery-write-up-pics.html

by far the best trip I have ever been on in my life. I hope to go back very soon for another delivery..whatever it is!


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

m6cabrio said:


> I don't think I ever posted my trip here! It is pretty long but here you go: http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e6...n/162894-european-delivery-write-up-pics.html
> 
> by far the best trip I have ever been on in my life. I hope to go back very soon for another delivery..whatever it is!


A+! :thumbup:
Great write up, cool photos! Can't see video at work, will be enjoyed them at home after work.
Thanks for sharing!


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## 3ismagic# (Mar 17, 2011)

My recent ED is detailed here http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=557294
complete with narrative and pics.


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## Gluhwein (Aug 21, 2011)

Great video. Makes me want to brave the hurricane and hop on a plane back to Bavaria.


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## Tbro (Jul 15, 2011)

*12 hour ED report*

OK I picked up my space gray 35i Z4 today. First ED and a fantastic experience overall. Really tired now. Will try to post more at the end of my trip. Hopefully these photos come through OK and will satisfy folks. The info here was invaluable. Thanks much.


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## 3ismagic# (Mar 17, 2011)

Beautiful car! and nice pic of the castle.


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## greentrbo95gst (Nov 22, 2005)

Here is my story:
http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14081389&postcount=1


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## mrbelk (Dec 5, 2003)

Finally worked through all the pics we took. Pared it down from over 1300 to less than 300.

Pics: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjF5v1K5
Journal: http://matthewandangelas2013adventure.blogspot.com

-MrB


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## greentrbo95gst (Nov 22, 2005)

mrbelk said:


> Finally worked through all the pics we took. Pared it down from over 1300 to less than 300.
> 
> Pics: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjF5v1K5
> Journal: http://matthewandangelas2013adventure.blogspot.com
> ...


Beautiful pictures and write-up. Congrats!! 
Definitely gave me some ideas for my next ED.


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## mrbelk (Dec 5, 2003)

greentrbo95gst said:


> Beautiful pictures and write-up. Congrats!!
> Definitely gave me some ideas for my next ED.


Thanks. It was a fantastic trip. Lots of driving; probably more than I would have liked, but Amalfi is a pretty long way from Munich.

-MrB


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## greentrbo95gst (Nov 22, 2005)

mrbelk said:


> Thanks. It was a fantastic trip. Lots of driving; probably more than I would have liked, but Amalfi is a pretty long way from Munich.
> 
> -MrB


Lots of driving is great especially in Europe:thumbup:
Look at my write-up in my signature. I just did ED last May and already preparing for the next one.


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## Dave 20T (Apr 7, 2013)

Not pictures, but some dialog...

*Lounge*
Intro: some comments in German but it's clear that we must converse in English. Everyone compliments each other on their ability to speak in the other's language. Ha, ha, my German is worse than lousy, worse than broken.

Nicole (NG, the delivery specialist): Is this your first BMW or have you had another one before?

NG: review of options selected in the car

*Product Center*
NG: (go to the Product Center), review traction control and the alarm system. The alarm system has settings for if the car is on a boat or if people remain in the car. There is a demonstration at the lighted table and also in the driving booth.

At first the driving booth was taken seriously, trying out traction control. Then it was time to get wild. Driving up an icy hill, suddenly swerve to the left, hitting the wall. The car shudders then stops, but there is no body damage! Then swerve to the right and smack the wall! NG must be thinking "what a silly kid, who taught him to drive and giggle?"

Pictures were taken of the booth then we left that part of the center to go back to the lounge then out of the lounge. She said how only customers are allowed past the gate down the stairs, that is was very special.

*Walk down the steps to the turnstiles*
As we walked down, she asked if I saw my car. I thought I had to play along. I knew, looking from the lounge that it was not by the vehicle exit ramp. However, I said "is it there?" "No, not those cars" Then at the landing midway, I suspected it was visible, sort of under the lounge. I turned around and then just sheepishly pointed to the car, smiled, and said "there it is". While it was spinning on the turnstile, I took about 5 photos of different angles, one revolution.

I was going to scream something in German but didn't prepare so I didn't know what to say. I didn't cry but I wasn't able to say anything in German spontaneously like "Das is mein Wagen! Das is mein Wagen! Ich mag der ..... (that's my car! that's my car! I like the _____). I sort of had other languages on the tip of my tongue but thought "hey, that's French (or something else), not German"

Pictures taken of NG opening the door for me, a posed picture. The photographer was called.

NG asked if I had taken a test drive of the car and was familiar with the controls. She demonstrated iDrive, adjusting the seat, proper closing of the hood (not pushed with your hand), inspection of the trunk, noting that the warning triangle and first aid kit should be removed prior to turning in the car. I inspected the warning triangle mount and found a Torx screw. She had some brief comments about Torx screws and how there were lots of them in her BMW motorcycle. She also recommended keeping one of the keys when turning in the car. NG also reminded me to redeem the voucher at the gift shop as well as get a free key ring.

The photographer brought back photos. I then asked NG if we could stay for about 5 more minutes to take photos while she could prepare for the next customer. I also asked about going to the gift shop. She said the car would be valet parked and would give me a parking stub. Maybe I should have asked for a parking voucher so I could have driven a victory lap and down the ramp but bimmerfest video make up for that lapse. Thanks!


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## mrswingngoodtim (Jul 10, 2013)

*My first ED - July 2013*

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7701502

Just finished the paperwork and most of the trip planning. Will add our trip details when we get back at the end of the month.


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## briar08 (Oct 4, 2012)

*My X1, July, Bike Race, ED Experience*

Thanks to everyone on the forum. It was a valuable tool that helped make a dream trip possible. It you want to read a detailed report about the entire trip, please go here:

http://nhhmtb.blogspot.com/

For everyone else, I'll just post the car stuff here. I feel I really broke in the car on this trip (723 miles). I drove on a gravel mountain road, went the wrong way down a one way street, scratched the bumper assembling my bike, had a cat walk across the roof, parked in an insanely tight Euro parking garage, drove in the mountains, cities, and autobahns. Loved the X1 and everything went perfectly, including the weather.

Thanks again


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## mrswingngoodtim (Jul 10, 2013)

Posted my trip writeup here 
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7762718&postcount=9

Lots of information, but we had such a good time I couldn't stop writing about it.


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## greentrbo95gst (Nov 22, 2005)

mrswingngoodtim said:


> Posted my trip writeup here
> http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7762718&postcount=9
> 
> Lots of information, but we had such a good time I couldn't stop writing about it.


Gorgeous picture. Will definitely read your write-up


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## mrswingngoodtim (Jul 10, 2013)

Thanks! That's from the Stelvio pass and came out amazing. I wish we had thought to take some more of us in the car


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## stinkyfeet (Jul 26, 2004)

*Post your ED photo & Story here!*

Picked up Mineral White Metallic 3-series wagon today with red interiors. 12-hr delivery compliance photo here, story will follow later 








Sent from BimmerApp mobile app


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## thamanrp (Mar 24, 2011)

*My Trip Pictures*

I posted most of the pics here in this thread. Enjoy!

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=707680


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## greentrbo95gst (Nov 22, 2005)

stinkyfeet said:


> Picked up Mineral White Metallic 3-series wagon today with red interiors. 12-hr delivery compliance photo here, story will follow later
> View attachment 391119
> 
> 
> Sent from BimmerApp mobile app


Love your user name.....


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## drlonline (Oct 12, 2011)

I live in California and am planning to order a car from an out of state dealer for ED. Some questions:
* How much paperwork should I expect to have to do at the actual out of state dealership vs.doing it by mail? 
* Where will I pay sales tax, CA or the out of state location? 
* Can I have the car shipped by BMW to a dealer in CA for pickup even though I'm buying from a dealer in another state? 

Appreciate any advice someone who has done this before can offer.


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## 3ismagic# (Mar 17, 2011)

drlonline said:


> I live in California and am planning to order a car from an out of state dealer for ED. Some questions:
> * How much paperwork should I expect to have to do at the actual out of state dealership vs.doing it by mail?
> * Where will I pay sales tax, CA or the out of state location?
> * Can I have the car shipped by BMW to a dealer in CA for pickup even though I'm buying from a dealer in another state?
> ...


Why use an out of state dealer when you are in LA. Just call Greg Poland (Bimmerfest sponsor) from Pacific BMW or John Shafer(founder and sponsor) in Santa Barbara.

Either of those guys will get you the best deal possible on a BMW ED and know the ED process backwards and forwards. When I lived in PHX I did ED through Greg and he's great. Never actually met Greg in person all business was transacted over the phone/email/fedex. I flew to LA to pick the car up after redelivery but he was out sick that day.

Actual paper work is the same and can easily be done by e-mail/fax/fedex.

You will pay sales tax for CA regardless of who you buy from.

In general no you cannot have the car shipped by BMW to your local dealer. There are a few small exceptions to that rule but not enough where it is likely to be feasible for you to arrange it. Having said that you may arrange with the receiving dealer to ship the car to you for the going market price of that shipping. But since you live so close to two awesome dealers who will hook you up there should be no need to use an out of state dealer.

Do yourself a huge favor and call Greg or John.


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## drlonline (Oct 12, 2011)

Thanks for the very useful info. I've sent an email to Greg, so will be anxious to hear what he says. I originally contacted an out of state dealer because the feedback I was getting from L.A. dealerships was that they would be putting a substantial markup above MSRP for the car. I hadn't yet mentioned to them that I wanted to take ED, so I'm hoping that will make a difference in their plans for selling the car.

I should also have mentioned that the car I'm wanting to order is the i8, when it becomes available next Spring.


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## 3ismagic# (Mar 17, 2011)

*Post your ED photo & Story here!*

With the i8 all bets are off. Something that new and special you had better be prepared to pay at least msrp at the start.

Sent from BimmerApp mobile app


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## drlonline (Oct 12, 2011)

Have now heard from several dealers that ED discounts will not initially be available for the i3 or i8 :-( 
From what I've read on this forum, it might still be worth taking delivery in Munich even without the discount just for the experience.


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## [email protected] BMW (Aug 2, 2010)

Hey guys as of now we have no idea if the i8 will be available for ed.Please keep in mind this is a low production car. Be prepared to pay full msrp.
I just talked to my bmw NA market rep. He said initial allocation hopes to be 1 car per store.


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## Steelers2103 (Jun 29, 2015)

*2017 LBB M4 Convertible*

A year and a half in the making***8230;

Officially picked up my 2017 Long Beach Blue M4 Convertible on 9/26/16. We left it overnight in the Welt parking garage, driving to the Official Photo Spot on the 27th.

Day 1
We arrived in Munich at 0745 on the morning of the 25th, with pick up by a Sixt stretch 7-series. That day, we forced ourselves to stay awake as long as possible to fight jetlag. Made it to about 7pm, after walking through Marienplatz and the English Garden. Our stay was in the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, which was a nice place and centrally located for what we looking to do. We went during Oktoberfest, but had no interest in attending.

Day 2
The next day, the 26th, was pick-up day. We used the U-bahn and went in early to do the factory tour (1145 English tour), which was pretty interesting, and then had our delivery at 250pm. It was originally scheduled for 5pm, but had it moved to an earlier slot a couple of weeks before we left the States by email request to the BMW ED folks. After our delivery and victory lap, we moved the car into the underground lot for the night.

Day 3
We came back the next day to do the museum, which is closed on Mondays. Although we had to pay for the ride (about 90 USD), we used Sixt again for our trip back to the welt. After our museum walkthrough, we picked up the car from the Welt garage and drove to Wieskirche, the photo spot and then on to Hotel Mueller in Hohenschwangau. The hotel was great, a very short walk to the castle bus pick-up point. We checked in and took the bus to the Marienbruke. We did not bother with a tour of the castle, but just walked around it and through the courtyard, then hiked down the hill back to the hotel.

Day 4
Wednesday, 9/28, was another relatively easy day. From Hotel Mueller, we stopped at Linderhof Palace, Oberammergau church and Ettal Abbey, before stopping for the night in Nauders, Austria at the Hotel Erika. We intentionally picked this hotel since it is on the outskirts on the South side of town, knowing that we would be leaving first thing in the morning for Stelvio. Probably could have picked a better hotel, but logistics for getting to the pass was more important, while still spending the night in Austria.

Day 5
The morning of 9/29, we left about 8am to hit Stelvio before traffic picked up. We only saw one other vehicle (motorcycle) headed up with us, and we only passed a handful coming the other way. At the top, there was only a handful of folks walking around but the Hotel Genziana restaurant was open with a very nice staff there to help. One note to save some possible heartburn, get gas BEFORE the climb and do not count on the car***8217;s range computer. I showed over 160km left in the tank before starting the climb, but over the next 20 or so km, it was down to less than 40km. It was pretty unnerving to see the range drop so dramatically. Of course, on the way to down, we made gas and still had plenty left by the time we hit a Tankstelle in Bormio.

Day 6-8
From there, it was on to Menaggio on the far side of Lake Como. We stayed at the Grand Hotel Menaggio for 3 nights, leaving the car in the parking lot the whole time (but checking on it daily). BTW-Whoever put the hotel gym right next to the restaurant should have been fired long ago. We toured Villa del Balbianello, a boat tour of the lake villas, and went through Bellagio and Varenna. Note here is that the Castello di Vezio, overlooking Varenna is closed if the weather looks bad. We did not find that out until hiking up a very slippery cobblestone path only to turn around and walk right back down it. Good exercise though.

Day 9
We left Menaggio for Switzerland, through the Gotthard Pass. We ignored the BMW GPS that tried to put us on the old tremola road, and instead stuck to the new pass road. We did a low temp warning (37 F) from the car and, since we were on summer tires, proceeded very carefully the short time at altitude. We skipped Furka and went Susten instead. No temperature warnings for the rest of the trip.

Day 10-12
We stayed in car-free Murren for 3 nights at Hotel Alpina, leaving the car in the train parking garage. It is a basic hotel, but has a great friendly staff. We did Schilthorn, Trummelbach Falls, Lautrebrunnen, Kleine Sheidegg, Grindelwald, Allmenhubel and an Interlaken boat trip. We used a 4-day Bernese Oberland Travel Pass the whole time. The only part not included was Schilthorn, but we those tickets half price. We opted not to do the Top of Europe.

Day 13
We left Murren for our drop off in Zurich. Since the dropoff point is closed over lunch, we checked into the Zurich Marriott beforehand. NOTE - The Zurich dropoff location changed about a year ago, but BMW is still giving out the old address. The correct address is Gondrand International Ltd., Riedmattstrasse 9, CH-8153 Rümlang. There is also a car wash right across the street but it only takes cash. We used a ZVV ZürichCARD (good for 24 hours) to get back from the dropoff to the hotel and to the airport the next morning. We stayed the night in Zurich, walking the ***8220;most expensive street in Europe***8221;, before flying out early the next morning.

We used electronic versions of our ticketing in Munich, Murren and Zurich. Phone apps - SBB in Switzerland and DB Navigator in Germany - provide transit maps and searches for finding the best routing to your destinations, as well as being your tickets. Helpful is the ability to search using a specific arrival time, when you have to be somewhere by a certain time.

I found much useful info on the boards here, and I hope that this can be of use to those that are looking to do a similar trip.


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## AMDG (Feb 15, 2016)

"2014"?

Beautiful car nonetheless... congrats!


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## Steelers2103 (Jun 29, 2015)

AMDG_Esq. said:


> "2014"?


Fixed


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## drlonline (Oct 12, 2011)

*ED Road Trip Preview using Google Earth*

I'm planning to do a ED for my next BMW, probably early next year. The information on Bimmerfest has been invaluable in understanding the ED process and will help in planning my trip. As I began to think about this adventure, I decided to start doing some very early itinerary planning, since planning the trip will provide some fun while I'm waiting for the actual trip to occur.

Recently I came across a way to use Google My Trips and Google Earth Pro to take a virtual road trip following a possible route I might take on my ED vacation. I was able to map out the exact routes I want to take in Google My Trips, save that as a Maps file, import it into Google Earth (GE) Pro, and then take a tour of the entire trip. Using the Play Tour feature in GE gives a birds eye view of flying over the route. I can even set the speed at which I want to travel. As part of my trip will include Neuschwanstein, I copied a couple of still images from my tour of the Fest photo location to give you an idea of the type of virtual imagery one gets with this tool (saved in low res due to posting file size limitations).

If you're interested, give it a try. If you have questions, send them along and I'll try to walk you through the process.


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## drlonline (Oct 12, 2011)

Here's a sample clip showing the tour capability of GE Pro. It is a short segment of the route leaving Salzburg, Austria.

https://vimeo.com/221272529


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## mondo21 (Dec 26, 2007)

That's pretty cool, thanks!


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## thglobalnomad1 (Jun 28, 2014)

*Second European Delivery!*

Just got home from a fab trip picking up my 2018 430 convertible in SNAPPER ROCKS BLUE! With the obligatory Neuschwenstein Castle photo, we headed down to Oberstdorf for a wedding, then Mainz for a few days on the Rhine, dropped off effortlessly in Frankfurt, then on to a Windstar cruise from Edinburgh to Reykjavik and through the Norwegian fjords!

This is my second European Delivery and I love the program...can't imagine doing anything else!

My first was 3 years ago...same car, different color! There is NOTHING like driving the autobahn with the top down at 210 kph! Woo-hoo!


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## GrussGott (Jul 14, 2004)

thglobalnomad1 said:


> Just got home from a fab trip picking up my 2018 430 convertible in SNAPPER ROCKS BLUE! With the obligatory Neuschwenstein Castle photo, we headed down to Oberstdorf for a wedding, then Mainz for a few days on the Rhine, dropped off effortlessly in Frankfurt, then on to a Windstar cruise from Edinburgh to Reykjavik and through the Norwegian fjords!
> 
> This is my second European Delivery and I love the program...can't imagine doing anything else!
> 
> My first was 3 years ago...same car, different color! There is NOTHING like driving the autobahn with the top down at 210 kph! Woo-hoo!


Love the Neuschwanstein pic! :bustingup

Now THAT'S how you take a 'vert pic ... my apologies as I've gotta steal that move ...


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## Diesel Power (Oct 2, 2010)

First ED on 9/18.









Sent from my iPhone using Bimmerfest mobile app


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## Eladoppel (Apr 21, 2017)

440i ED. WOW. Thanks for your posts and experiences. I spent a fair amount of time on this site determining how I wanted to order my car, but almost as importantly to decide to do ED. Below you will see our 440i x-drive convertible, M sport, Estoril Blue with Golden Brown Merino interior and (of course) Neuschwanstein in the background. We spent seven days and focused on Alpine passes. Grossglockner, Stelvio, Jauffen, St. Gotthard, Furka, Grimmsel, Oberalp, etc. As advertised, the BMW folks in Munich were great. We love the car, the Alps, ED and appreciate the help from Bimmerfest.


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## GaDawgnDC (Jul 20, 2017)

Eladoppel said:


> 440i ED. ... We spent seven days and focused on Alpine passes. Grossglockner, Stelvio, Jauffen, St. Gotthard, Furka, Grimmsel, Oberalp, etc. .


Eladoppel, in your opinion , how do you rank the Alpine passes? Is there a favorite? Ive started planning my ED for next year in a 440i Convertible and starting considering Stelvio.


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## Schupo (Jan 29, 2017)

*Rainy day at Neuschwanstein*

We took delivery of our 440i GC on 9-5 and toured southern Germany, Austria, and northern Italy. Now we're anxiously waiting for our car to arrive stateside.


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## keylime503 (Mar 25, 2015)

Link to my M240i ED a few months ago ==> Enjoy!


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## JUhl (Jan 9, 2017)

*First ED - 430i on September 20th 2017*

What a great experience! 
First of all, sincere thanks to all the Fester's who have previously posted. Your experiences, knowledge and advice was invaluable. 
Delivery Day
Arrived at the Welt about 8:30 for a 10:00 am appointment. (No we were no too excited..)
BMW had over 100 deliveries scheduled. They moved us up to 9:00. Completed the required paperwork and had a breakfast overlooking the delivery floor. Very cool indeed. As advertised on the Bimmerfest forums, the delivery specialist spent about an hour with us reviewing the car. First a customized audio visual tutorial. Our specific car, color, interior, etc. Then to the big moment. My wife hits the button to start the turntable spinning and the spotlight to illuminate the car. Spent most of our time reviewing the i-drive and nav system. Both new to us. After way too many pictures and 4 victory laps we drove out of the Welt to the parking area. Back to the Premium Lounge for a celebratory drink and snacks. English language tour at 1145 was very interesting. Toured the Museum in the afternoon. As is obvious, made a day of it at the Welt. Tried to soak it all up. The BMW staff could not be more helpful. Met a number of others picking up their new cars and compared notes on our upcoming adventures in Europe. AND most importantly, signed Das Buch.
European Driving
Spent the next three weeks in Germany, Czech Republic and France. Couple of specifics, the factory supplies you with the green environmental sticker required to drive in most downtown areas. A vignette is required for the Czech Republic if you plan to drive on the motorways. We purchased ours at a booth just prior to leaving Germany. 
We had never driven in Europe. Found driving in Germany to be very predictable and orderly. Speed limits and all other signage is obeyed. Unlike where I reside, turn signals are actually used! Our driving in France was either on autoroutes or rural roads and again had no problems.
Re-Delivery
Returned the car in Munich. Washed it at the Agip gas station at the airport. Used one of the bays. Bring coins for the carwash. Had a bit a difficulty finding Loginout. Follow the nav system to the Hilton. Loginout on the right side of the street. Drop off was about 30 minutes max. They take care of your paperwork and inspect the car. Could not be easier. 
As I write the car is onboard the Don Quijote (nope, not a typo) just departing Bristol England for Baltimore. Using the Fleetmon website to track.
Only regret is forgetting to take the obligatory photo at Neuschwanstein. Will take two next time.
DO IT, you will love it.


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## Nightdriver (Mar 6, 2009)

*Car wash*

Thanks JUhl for your synopsis.
How much did it cost to wash your car at the Agip? And what kind of coins did you use?
I ask because I use plastic as much as I can, so I will need to reserve coins for the carwash.
Doug.


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## frank325 (Dec 29, 2005)

Nightdriver said:


> Thanks JUhl for your synopsis.
> How much did it cost to wash your car at the Agip? And what kind of coins did you use?
> I ask because I use plastic as much as I can, so I will need to reserve coins for the carwash.
> Doug.


That post is from last year so they may not see it, but i just got back from my ED. In the past I've just saved some 1 euro coins for a booth/wand type of car wash place. The ones I've been to didn't accept cards, but that's not the say there may not be some like that.


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## Nightdriver (Mar 6, 2009)

*car wash*

Thanks Frank.
How many euro coins should I save back?
(Given that will be my last night before returning, I'd like to keep cash on hand to a minimum)
Doug.


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## frank325 (Dec 29, 2005)

Nightdriver said:


> Thanks Frank.
> How many euro coins should I save back?
> (Given that will be my last night before returning, I'd like to keep cash on hand to a minimum)
> Doug.


Really depends on how thorough you want to wash it. I'd keep five or so just in case,but i usually go pretty quick -- just spray it down with soapy water quickly and rinse.


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## JUhl (Jan 9, 2017)

*Car Wash*

Sorry for the tardy response. Echo what Frank posted. The AGIP station carwash at Munich does ** NOT ** take cards. Coins ONLY. It is a wand type car wash. May have missed it but never saw a posted price. Probably spent about 5 Euro just to be on the safe side. We took the advice of a previous poster who brought a couple of throw away towels from home to wipe the car down and leave there. Hope that helps


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## Nightdriver (Mar 6, 2009)

Thanks to both of you.
Self service bays are just starting to install card readers here in Dallas. I hoped a place like Munich (yes I know Freising is outside) would be following that trend. So it's good to hear from y'all who've been there.
Doug.


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## Huncowboy (Aug 29, 2005)

We are from Hungary originally and we wanted to do this ED for ages but never had the right time (vacation matching up with lease end) until now. I used to live in Germany for 6 years, a very long time ago, in Heidelberg, and so Germany to me is like a 3rd home. I was really looking forward to do this even though there was very little time scheduled for Germany this time around.

This trip served as a long overdue vacation to our old country, baptism for the two kids, and finally get a bit of the ED experience. Me, wife, my 7 months old, and my 2.5 years old, arrived in Zurich on the 8th with twice the amount of luggage that was needed.  Rented a mini van and drove to Munich where we were able to meet some family for dinner.

Next morning when we showed up at the Welt, well.. we were not exactly the typical ED delivery party. Let just say 3 large luggage, 2 medium, 2 small, 2 car seats, 1 stroller, several smaller bags, 2 little kids, 2 adults :bigpimp: I asked our delivery person... is this all going to fit? To which he replied with raised eyebrows "We have not tried this yet in a 7." It was funny. We did fit by placing 1 large luggage to the shotgun seat which was awful. Putting that luggage onto that nice lather seat Yeah... I wish the 7 had a tad bit more trunk space, or my wife would not try to bring half the house with us.

Unfortunately, we had no time to do the museum, or anything else other than get the delivery and the car's feature tour. Due to the kids we had to get on the road ASAP because we did not know how long they were going to last. But it went well. We drove one shot to Hungary, about 10-11 hours. Both kids were sleeping most of the time. It was little drama.

We have not done anything special other than driving a ton in Hungary and once driving to Vienna for shopping. Vienna is fantastic btw, and I don't hear it mentioned very often by my American friends when they ask us where to go and what to see. Vienna and Austria in general is one place you might want to see. In my opinion.

To us this whole experience was a bit different than most of you, because we are from that area so we did not do the usual see Europe thing. (I must say I wish I had been able to see at least Heidelberg again. It is such a nice mid sized town.) Instead we drove a lot to places at home. Visiting friends, relatives, etc. All in all we drove 4000 miles in 4 weeks. Kids were mostly with the grands so no, we did not torture them with the driving. I gotta say it was an amazing 4 weeks. I think I will get a lot of tickets in the mail. We definitely overdid the driving part. 4k was a bit too much. Also, if I were to do this again, I would fly the kids home first, then jump on a plane and pick the car up with my wife so we could get the full tour and revisit a few places in Germany especially.

We might be doing this again next year. If not next year then some other time, but definitely will try to do this again with more time spent in Germany.


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## Diane509 (Sep 7, 2019)

*Just Returned from München Z4 s300 ED*

We just returned from Munich. It was WORTH THE TRIP. The delivery experience at BMW Welt was quite special from the moment you arrive. Oct 16th we were the only delivery for a US client - the rest were Germany and other EU countries.

The check in process was first class. We completed our paperwork in 15 minutes and went on to the virtual area to learn about the car. Then down the "stairway to heaven" as people say (although we had already gotten a sneak peak from above at our car) Our specialist spent over an hour with us at the car and then we took our "victory lap" around the track before going down the ramp and outside. There we handed the car over to the valet for parking during our factory tour and museum visit. First we visited the museum. Since this is our 1st BMW we didn't have a huge interest, but took plenty of photos nevertheless. The factory tour was really mind-blowing. Seeing how the production line works at every step and all the robotics and the choreography they do to put these machines together was very impressive. Even though our car was not produced at this plant.

Driving out of Munich the first few hours with your brand new car was NERVE WRACKING to say the least. Add to that the husband driving - wife instructing dynamic and of course not reading or understanding German road signs too well ... a recipe for an intense joy ride! 
Somehow we survived 2 weeks and approximately 3500 km without a scratch (or divorce) alternating the driving and after break-in - we both experienced driving 125 mph on the autobahn. At first nearing and breaking 100 was tense.. by the end of the trip we felt quite comfortable driving 95-100 and being passed all the time by many - not just high performance cars. Little Fiats, VW's, SUV's and once in a while an American muscle car - Dodge Charger or Ford Mustang.

I will say the only thing we were really disappointed in was the BMW USB stick mapping system. If you shut the car down for a photo stop and started again, the nav system would just not come back. We would have to stop the car, pull out the USB stick, lock the car from the outside and stay away for 5-10 minutes .. a kind of "reset" we were told (and after a google search I read similar stories) - BMW should know about this glitch and should have warned us about it. There we were - nearing dusk - heading toward the alps on windy roads and all we had was a voice from Google Maps on our phone which was supposed to stay in airplane mode during our trip. I think we encounter this glitch at least 10 times during 2 weeks.

I won't go into details except to say that the entire trip was one fairytale postcard after another. Every place we visited had it's own charms, beautiful scenery, local driving nuances, friendly people and great food.

We purchased a 10 days Austrian Vignette just before crossing into Austria for 9,20 euro ;- We purchased a 1 year Swiss Vignette (only kind available) for approx 36 euro; before crossing into Switzerland - which was not planned but due to the big delays we had with our nav system we ran out of time to take the original route which didn't include Switzerland. We merely passed through for about 1 hour of driving through St. Moritz, but we wanted to be legal. We were advised also NEVER to speed in Switzerland. We complied.

Our driving trip consisted of this itinerary:
1)Munich - Neuschwanstein (Schwangau) - Spent the night - skipped the inside of the castle tour due to time constraints
2)Neuschwanstein - Lake Como Italy (Perledo) via Austria - Switzerland. The roads in and around Lake Como will TEST YOUR DRIVING SKILLS - 
3)Drove around Lake Como visiting Lecco, Bellagio, Como, Menaggio and taking a car ferry back to Varenna ... (white knuckle roads)
4)Lake Como to Schladming Austria via southern route instead of the Großglockner pass due to rain in Italy - we figured the pass would be snowing. Turns out we were wrong.
5)Drove to Hallstatt - skipped the Funicular and Salt Mine Tour, but wish we had done it.
6)Drove to Salzburg and did a Rick Steves audio podcast walking tour (free) - 
7)Drove toward Innsbruck. Stopping at Riedel Glass for a tour and then at Swarovski Welt for a tour. Both were AMAZING! 
Skipped Innsbruck and stopped in the nearby town Hall of Tirol instead (a Rick Steves suggestion)
8)Took a much needed 4 hour hike to Holl Gorge and Riesach Waterfalls. Nearby to Schladming.
9)Drove to Zell am See. We were supposed to meet some aviators there from Innsbruck but they had bad weather and were unable to meet us. Enjoyed the airport visit and the lake instead, then drove the Großglockner High Alpine Road WORTH EVERY CENT 26euro the day we went since it was end of season some of the commercial stops were closed AMAZING ROAD AND VISTAS
10)Drove to Berchtesgaden- late start - took the Lake Boat Tour FANTASTIC. Too late for Eagles Nest Tour  
11)Schladming to Baden-Baden - Stopping in Dachau for a few hours. This was a worthwhile but difficult place to visit. Husband would have stayed longer - I had to leave after 2 hrs. Then continued to Baden-Baden. time to get our AUTOBAHN on !!! 125 mph now that we had 1000 miles on the car.
12)The plan was to drive into the Black Forest and shop for cuckoo clocks after visiting the famous Casino in the morning, but that plan got thwarted when we stumbled onto a wine/food expo next door called NICE. We tasted a TON of wine - met some amazing winemakers from Germany and Portugal and spent the whole day here
13)Baden-Baden to Munich, stopping only for a car wash, to switch out our *winter tires and to drop the car off at our appointment with Log In Out .. the drop company in Munich who organizes the shipping. Very strange to park the car, hand over the key and there is sits in an outdoor parking slot awaiting the transport (supposedly the next day) for Bremerhaven. We will email next week to find out what shipping line and ship it will be on for tracking it home.
14) Last night at Munich Hilton 
15) Headed home.

*Winter tires were required on the car with the M+S rating after Oct 15. We absolutely never needed them, but we were very very lucky and had unseasonable warm sunny weather the entire trip except for day 3 in Italy and our last day in Germany. Renting those tires was expensive - 640 euro; to be exact. But again.. we complied.

Would I do this ED again? IN A HEARTBEAT. It was an experience of a lifetime.


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## pawarrant (Jun 15, 2006)

Love the write up. Sounds exactly what a European Delivery should be like. It is sad to hear you were the only American ED that day. I wonder what the numbers are now days? I really hope the programme never ends.


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

MB330 said:


> *Munich - Madrid*
> 
> Links to my ED July 2006
> 
> ...


16 yrs and 1 month after pick up in Munich rich 200,000 miles.


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

MB330 said:


> 16 yrs and 1 month after pick up in Munich rich 200,000 miles.
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 1067553


wow !


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