# Delivery on 5/14 on F30 328i



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

I got the date of Monday May 14 for my '12 328i sport, manual transmission at the PC. They say you should wait until 3 weeks before to make my reservations (flight). Do I still need to wait before I buy my ticket? Will BMW be contacting me because the original communication when they gave me the date said to wait until 3 weeks before to make reservations.


----------



## I-Won-Today (Feb 21, 2007)

soledoc said:


> I got the date of Monday May 14 for my '12 328i sport, manual transmission at the PC. They say you should wait until 3 weeks before to make my reservations (flight). Do I still need to wait before I buy my ticket? Will BMW be contacting me because the original communication when they gave me the date said to wait until 3 weeks before to make reservations.


No other communication is sent to you unless there is a delay in the transportation of your vehilce. Should we be notified that the vehicle would not make it to us prior to reaching that 3 week window, you will be contacted to reschedule.

That recommendation to wait until 3 weeks prior before making your travel plans is so you can avoid any risk or penalties should your delivery date need to be moved. If you are willing to take that risk, you can make your travel plans whenever.

Let me know if you have any questions. Look forward to meeting you soon :thumbup:


----------



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

Thanks. Are you able to tell me if my car has arrived to you at the PC yet? the website says final touches are being done. ie. step before it says it's at the dealer. 

I'd hate to make my flight reservations and then have the date changed as that would cost me a lot to change the flight.


----------



## I-Won-Today (Feb 21, 2007)

It's at the VDC but shows completed. Just waiting to be released to the carrier. You shouldn't have anything to worry about delay wise.

Let me know if you need anything else...


----------



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

Awesome...I'll make my one way flight reservation to GSP for the night before - Sunday May 13. Do I let my CA know my plans and they communicate it to you?


----------



## Wine-O (Feb 17, 2010)

soledoc said:


> Awesome...I'll make my one way flight reservation to GSP for the night before - Sunday May 13. Do I let my CA know my plans and they communicate it to you?


I see you are arriving on a Sunday. Just be aware that the Marriott is in a county that doesn't serve alcohol on Sundays. They do let you BYOB of wine, and will cork it for you.

They do have places in downtown Greenville where you can get a drink. The Blue Ridge Brewing Co. on Main St. has some great beer.


----------



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

Wine-O said:


> I see you are arriving on a Sunday. Just be aware that the Marriott is in a county that doesn't serve alcohol on Sundays. They do let you BYOB of wine, and will cork it for you.
> 
> They do have places in downtown Greenville where you can get a drink. The Blue Ridge Brewing Co. on Main St. has some great beer.


Good to know. Good old blue laws. Indiana has them too. No liquor sales at stores on Sunday. Restaurants can serve though. I always travel with a bottle of scotch. Just got back from Scotland and visited 20 distilleries and brought back 7 bottles. I'll just pack my standby Famous Grouse for the road trip. Obviously not while on the road! Thanks for the heads up.


----------



## I-Won-Today (Feb 21, 2007)

soledoc said:


> Awesome...I'll make my one way flight reservation to GSP for the night before - Sunday May 13. Do I let my CA know my plans and they communicate it to you?


There should have been a Travel Information form attached to the confirmation email that was sent. If you don't have it, just send me a PM and I'll get another one emailed to you. Let me know if you need anything else :thumbup:


----------



## gan1hck (Apr 17, 2012)

soledoc said:


> Thanks. Are you able to tell me if my car has arrived to you at the PC yet? the website says final touches are being done. ie. step before it says it's at the dealer.
> 
> I'd hate to make my flight reservations and then have the date changed as that would cost me a lot to change the flight.





I-Won-Today said:


> It's at the VDC but shows completed. Just waiting to be released to the carrier. You shouldn't have anything to worry about delay wise.
> 
> Let me know if you need anything else...


So I'm picking up my new M3 on May 14th also. The BMWNA website also indicates that finishing touches are being applied onto my car.

Does that mean that it is OK for me to make travel arrangements without fear of a cancellation?

Thanks


----------



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

gan1hck said:


> So I'm picking up my new M3 on May 14th also. The BMWNA website also indicates that finishing touches are being applied onto my car.
> 
> Does that mean that it is OK for me to make travel arrangements without fear of a cancellation?
> 
> Thanks


Cool. I guess we'll meet on the 14th. I'm going to make my flight reservations now. BMW NA site says the same thing on the status of my car too- finishing touches.


----------



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

I-Won-Today said:


> There should have been a Travel Information form attached to the confirmation email that was sent. If you don't have it, just send me a PM and I'll get another one emailed to you. Let me know if you need anything else :thumbup:


I got it. I print it up and fill it out and email to bmw.


----------



## I-Won-Today (Feb 21, 2007)

soledoc said:


> I got it. I print it up and fill it out and email to bmw.


That's it... if you don't have a scanner, just send an email with the answers to the questions related to your travel plans.

Let me know if you need anything else.


----------



## I-Won-Today (Feb 21, 2007)

gan1hck said:


> So I'm picking up my new M3 on May 14th also. The BMWNA website also indicates that finishing touches are being applied onto my car.
> 
> Does that mean that it is OK for me to make travel arrangements without fear of a cancellation?
> 
> Thanks


You're good to go :thumbup:


----------



## gan1hck (Apr 17, 2012)

I-Won-Today said:


> You're good to go :thumbup:


thank you very much!


----------



## gan1hck (Apr 17, 2012)

soledoc said:


> Cool. I guess we'll meet on the 14th. I'm going to make my flight reservations now. BMW NA site says the same thing on the status of my car too- finishing touches.


I'll see you there!


----------



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

Just made my flight reservations. Flying into GSP Sunday evening May 13 at 7:52pm. My delivery date is exactly 3 weeks from today. Hope my car is there. I waited until 3 weeks prior as instructed. I haven't heard from BMW that my car isn't ready, so I assume it is. Should be all good to go. I filled out the travel information form and sent it to bmw and they acknowledged receiving it. So they've got my first night hotel covered, the festivities on that Monday May 14. Now I'm off to hunt for my "rest stop" overnight on Monday so I can get up early Tuesday a.m. and do the dragon and plan my route home to Indianapolis.


----------



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

Oh and one more question. Do I call the Greenville Marriott shuttle after I land or should I let them know ahead of time when I'm due to land? How long should you expect to wait for their shuttle to arrive after calling?


----------



## I-Won-Today (Feb 21, 2007)

soledoc said:


> Oh and one more question. Do I call the Greenville Marriott shuttle after I land or should I let them know ahead of time when I'm due to land? How long should you expect to wait for their shuttle to arrive after calling?


Give them a call as soon as you land. They are only 5-10 minutes away depending on traffic and red lights. Let me know if you need anything else.


----------



## gan1hck (Apr 17, 2012)

I-Won-Today said:


> You're good to go :thumbup:


Jonathan,

Is there an address where I can ship my license plate to? 
This way I won't have to worry about travelling with it.....I fear issues with the TSA regarding a hard metal plate.

thanks.

chi


----------



## GeorgeT (Jun 22, 2007)

Ship it to the hotel. Call them to let them know so they can hold it for you at the front desk.


----------



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

Cool! I'll be the non asian (caucasian) in the restaurant...bourbon huh? What's your pleasure? I heard it's a dry county...may not be able to imbibe adult beverages? I'll try to sneak a few little bottles in.


----------



## gan1hck (Apr 17, 2012)

soledoc said:


> Cool! I'll be the non asian (caucasian) in the restaurant...bourbon huh? What's your pleasure? I heard it's a dry county...may not be able to imbibe adult beverages? I'll try to sneak a few little bottles in.


I was planning on stopping at an ABC store on my drive in from Charlotte.


----------



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

gan1hck said:


> I was planning on stopping at an ABC store on my drive in from Charlotte.


good call:thumbup:


----------



## chrischeung (Sep 1, 2002)

And I'll get a table for 4 at 7am for Bimmerfest. No need to be there on the dot - just come as you ready.


----------



## need4speed (May 26, 2006)

The county isn't dry except on Sundays. You can buy at the ABC store M-Sa. In some places you can get drinks by the glass at restaurants on Sundays, but not at the hotel. N4S


----------



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

Getting ready to go. Flight at 2:10pm from Indianapolis. Looks like I'll get to watch the Pacers Heat game at the Atlanta airport. So looking forward to this. I pulled out my old ED paperwork and folder from the Welt to use for this trip. Seems just like yesterday I was flying to Munich to get my first BMW. 

Looking forward to meeting you guys. See you at dinner and breakfast....unfortunately weather forecast isn't looking so hot.


----------



## need4speed (May 26, 2006)

Weather is going to be ugly, more like early March than May. You will have a great time any way. N4S


----------



## gan1hck (Apr 17, 2012)

Had a terrific time meeting soledoc and chrisc at my pcd.

GREAT time driving someone else's M3 during the exercises. 

I wish I got to drift the M3 on the skid pad, but I guess I shouldn't complain about using a new 3 series instead.

Donnie, my instructor/coach, was awesome....makes me appreciate how much skill the professionals really have.


----------



## chrischeung (Sep 1, 2002)

My wife said it was likely that you were going to sleep with your car last night. She said you love that M3.


----------



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

Great meating you both. I had a blast. It was a wonderful experience and amazing drive home through the mountains. Got to do the Tail later that day in my new car. It's now safely at home. I think about what my instructor Andy taught me know all the time when I'm in the car. I'm definitely already a little bit better driver because of him.


----------



## thumper_330 (Jan 3, 2009)

soledoc said:


> Great meating you both. I had a blast. It was a wonderful experience and amazing drive home through the mountains. Got to do the Tail later that day in my new car. It's now safely at home. I think about what my instructor Andy taught me know all the time when I'm in the car. I'm definitely already a little bit better driver because of him.


And we're all chomping at the bit to hear more details of your experience and trip 

Well, OK... I am


----------



## pegscrapr (Jan 5, 2011)

soledoc said:


> Great meating you both. I had a blast. It was a wonderful experience and amazing drive home through the mountains. Got to do the Tail later that day in my new car. It's now safely at home. I think about what my instructor Andy taught me know all the time when I'm in the car. I'm definitely already a little bit better driver because of him.


What did you think of Tail of the Dragon? Was it worth the drive? I'm going out of my way to drive it, so I'm hoping it's worth the detour.


----------



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

thumper_330 said:


> And we're all chomping at the bit to hear more details of your experience and trip
> 
> Well, OK... I am


 Ok...since you asked here's my summary of one amazing trip. I took pics but am not good about posting them here. What's the best way to do that? I used to host them on a site, get a URL address and then link it here. Is that still the best way. That was always kind of a pain. I did get some good pics I'd like to post here.

Anyway...here's the trip summary:

Left house in Zionsville, IN and friends dropped me off at IND airport. Caught 2:10pm flight to Atlanta. Had a 3 hour layover (on purpose) and watched the Pacers game. Then caught a 6:50pm flight to GSP. Arrived around 8:00pm to GSP. Called hotel and Chuck picked me up in a gold X5. Checked in at the Marriott then headed down for dinner (this was Sunday remember). No liquor, but I was smart and brought a few 50mL bottles of scotch and they were fine with me drinking those which I did. Had a nice dinner (free of course) and met a fellow fester who was picking up the next day like me. He had brought in a six pack himself and already had 4 so he was off to bed. I stayed a while and enjoyed a nice dessert and espresso while listening to a group of germans talk. They were mad because you couldn't get a beer. Then I went upstairs to my room which was fine.

Monday a.m. May 14. Woke up at 6:30am and headed down to breakfast at 7:00. Met another fellow fester and we all had breakfast together (also free). Then I checked my luggage at the hotel and hopped on the Marriott shuttle to the Performance Center. There was a group of about 10 people. Maybe 6 cars being delivered between the 10 people (some were guests). Got oriented and they split our group up and I went straight to the X3 for the offroad course. Pretty amazing what those machines can do. We were tipped over about 30 degrees and were steady. Went through what seemed to be 3 feet of water without a problem. It was a bit nerve racking but the car did fine of course.

Then we drove the X3s over to the factory and did the tour. I wasn't really looking forward to the tour but we did it anyway. I'm glad I did. Really makes you appreciate the car and what goes into it. BMW does it right.

Then drove back to the PC for the delivery of our cars. I had already seen mine. It was in the front room to the right all by itself. It's a 2012 imperial blue 328i sedan, sport line, manual transmission, black interior with the red stripe (it's growing on me and matches the red stitching well). Went over that with specialist Andy Van Clief. He's a fascinating guy and raced go carts and other cars and knows a lot of the Indy 500 drivers (I live in Indianapolis so I am used to hearing about all those drivers).

After deliver I drove my car out front and parked it. Had some time before lunch and talked to another fester gan1huk (I think that's his handle) as he finished up his M3 delivery. Headed over to the cafeteria for lunch (also free and very good). Had to have some good german sausage and kraut and black forest cake for dessert. Ate with 2 instructors including Andy and just listened to their racing stories.

Now after lunch it was track time. Again, I got Andy as my instructor. Donnie and Ray? gave the lectures in the classroom prior to going out. I got a red F30 335i. First thing was the skid track. Of course I spun it out. It's just weird hearing him say "floor it" as you're going around a circle. I did better after a few tries but it's definitely not someting I was used to. Then we went to the ABS lesson. Worked up from 30-52mph then mashed the brakes and turned. He was really stressing the peripheral vision. Brake, look and turn. It will definitely help me out if there is an accident and I need to brake quickly. Again, I got better with each successive run. I did 7 runs.

Next was the course. He drove us around slowly then let us go. It was me and 3 others in X3s. I definitely got the hang of that and could have done that for another 1/2 hour. I enjoyed driving the little course the most.

Finally, as we all know, is the "hot lap." I got my instructor Andy to give me a ride in an E60 M5. Wow! I am amazed at how good of a driver those guys are. As he was blowing through the track he said "not back for a luxury sedan!" Right.

Then we all gathered back at the entrance to the PC and said goodbye. Kind of bittersweet. I wanted to stay but the next part of the adventure was about to begin. I did head over to the museum gift shop and got a few things for the family and a key ring for me. I was parked out front by the fountain and got my GPS unit ready (Garmin), my regular print atlas (always a good back up for GPS), water, snacks, sunglasses and I was ready to go. I was planning on making it to Knoxville TN that night. I originally thought I'd do the Tail in the a.m. but I figured I had time so I'd try to hit it the same day. It actually worked out.

I head out around 3:30pm of Greer towards Greenville and Traveler's Rest on 276. That was a beautiful road with lots of turns. Took that towards Waynesville and then headed over towards the Smoky Mtn. Expressway(US 74) towards the tail. Opened up the car a bit here. Also took 28 which was another beautiful road. Car is feeling really good and fits like a glove. I came from an E90 328i sedan 6 MT so I was used to the feel. It's a bit raining and drizzly but not bad and I'm feeling good. I had stopped a few times (once in Pisgah national forest at a beautiful waterfall) and I wasn't tired and I was so close to the Tail of the Dragon I said "go for it." And I did. I'm so glad I did. It was practically empty. I saw 2 other cars and 4 motorcycles the whole time running from S to N. I was using the techniques I learned in class that day and it really helped. Was playing some good tunes on my iphone and was in a groove. The sun was starting to set and I stopped at a scenic overlook about 1.5 miles from the North end and got some amazing pics.

So I exited the Tail with a grin on my face. Headed north on 411 to Maryville. Stopped at a liquor store to see if they had any interesting whiskies which they did but I didn't buy any.

Stayed on 129 and took it to Knoxville and stopped around 9:30pm at Hampton Inn. I didn't have a reservation but luckily they had a room. This is a nice hotel and was near an O'Charley's so I walked there and had some dinner. I was starving and a bit tired after that long day but it was worth it.

Went back to the hotel and mapped out my plan for the next day.

Woke up and left by 6:30am. Headed north on I75 and exited on 150 to 127 to Lawrenceburg KY. Stopped at Four Roses distillery for a tour and a free sample and some gifts for friends and family. Then drove some more back roads to Wild Turkey. Quick stop and walk around and gift shop (no tour). Then I drove to Frankfort to Buffalo Trace Distillery. Beautiful grounds. Huge. had lunch at an outdoor cafe near the old fire station. Did a little self guided tour. Changed out of pants and socks into my shorts because it was getting hot out. It was about 1:30 and I hopped in my car and was ready to head home.

Got on 127 towards Madison IN. This was another back road with curves. Beautiful scenery. Made it across the bridge over the Ohio River and then took route 7 NW towards Columbus IN (again, another beautiful peaceful uncrowded road) then hit US 31 for 11 miles then finished the last leg on I-65 to my house. Actually I made it in time to pick my son up at school around 5:15pm and meet my wife at home at 5:30pm for a cocktail on the porch and a look at my new car.

So all in all it was an amazing trip. I'll get some pics up soon if it's not too hard and time consuming. I'm getting it tinted this weekend and I'll get my bimmerfest stickers on too.

Everyone should do PCD once in their life. I've done ED and PCD and enjoyed both. They are different but PCD is a trip to remember.


----------



## I-Won-Today (Feb 21, 2007)

Thanks for taking the time to post your experience and your drive back. I'm glad to hear you had a great time. That sounds like it was a great road trip!

We had to run that day backward when you where here due to a corporate event that was using the entire track that morning. I came up to try and find a couple of you after the driving that afternoon to say hello, but everyone already leaving.

Enjoy your new BMW!


----------



## soledoc (Feb 5, 2007)

I-Won-Today said:


> Thanks for taking the time to post your experience and your drive back. I'm glad to hear you had a great time. That sounds like it was a great road trip!
> 
> We had to run that day backward when you where here due to a corporate event that was using the entire track that morning. I came up to try and find a couple of you after the driving that afternoon to say hello, but everyone already leaving.
> 
> Enjoy your new BMW!


Thanks. Not a problem. The day was actually good the way it went for me. Here's a few pics of my car...and yes it was a great road trip in a great car.


----------

