# ED #4: Mrs Bick gets an M550i



## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Leaving Munich for Nice*

After six days in Munich, and only two with the new M550, it was time to head to the flughafen, drop off the car, and fly to Nice, France for the second week of our vacation.

There is a place to drop off your BMW right in the airport, next to the Hilton Hotel. It's pretty easy to get to, but honestly hard to see. When you drive past the entrance to the Hilton (underneath a big metal canopy), there is a place to turn to the right. This is a drive area that heads towards the terminal then u-turns back to the main drive, and appears to be a taxi pickup and drop-off area. The place to drop off your BMW is shortly after you turn onto this lane. There is a small parking area (maybe 8-10 stalls?) that was cordoned off by a rope/ribbon. We just double-parked by that ribbon, then had to search for the doorway into the building. It's not obvious, but shortly I found a very unassuming-looking glass door, opened it, and saw a small lobby with doors to a few small businesses within. The company you drop the car off is across the hall straight ahead and slightly to the left.

You'll want to wash the car before arriving here, though. I was told at The Welt that there are two places at the airport to get the car washed, but I didn't see them driving in. I went straight to the drop-off place and asked them where they were, and they gave me a piece of paper with the two locations highlighted. I went to one that was on the opposite corner of the airport property - about a 4 to 5 minute drive, but it was easy to find. There is a drive through paint-destruction style car wash, and there are also separate DIY bays that you can use. I chose to protect my paint and DIY. The wash bays are pretty much like the ones you find in the US, and are coin-operated. Cost me about four euro I think to buy enough time to get all the bugs pressure washed off, then back to the drop-off place.

In the past, I've always taken the front license plate with me to ensure I had it as a souvenir. This time the guy was adamant - THE PLATES STAY ON! FRONT AND BACK. He said that the only person that is allowed to remove them is the dealer the car is delivered to (don't know if that's true or not, but he was adamant), so if I want the plates he said to make sure and tell my CA. I emailed my CA that day, and got a prompt reply that when I pick up the car the plates will still be on the car. We'll see, but I'll take him at his word.

I did remove the owner's manual, first aid kit, and safety triangle from the trunk, though.

And then it was a short walk out the back door of their office, under cover of the big metal canopy I mentioned that overhangs the main drive area, and to the terminal, maybe about 100 yards. Piece of cake. From there, we caught a Lufthansa flight to one of our favorite cities in Europe: Nice, France.


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## beware_phog (Mar 7, 2003)

Dude....you so should have driven to France!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*been there, done that*



beware_phog said:


> Dude....you so should have driven to France!


This wasn't our first rodeo. We drove from Munich to Nice during our last ED in 2016. It's a 2-day drive, and for this vacation we decided that we wanted more time on the beach and less time driving.


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## Me530 (Feb 17, 2005)

BickUW89 said:


> There is a place to drop off your BMW right in the airport, next to the Hilton Hotel.


For anybody new who is reading this, it's best to email the drop-off company and reserve a time on the day you need to drop your car off. The people who just show up there with their car expecting to catch their flight in 45 minutes are always looking super-stressed.



BickUW89 said:


> And then it was a short walk out the back door of their office, under cover of the big metal canopy I mentioned that overhangs the main drive area, and to the terminal, maybe about 100 yards. Piece of cake. From there, we caught a Lufthansa flight to one of our favorite cities in Europe: Nice, France.


Hopefully you had enough time to grab a beer at the airport biergarden.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Me530 said:


> For anybody new who is reading this, it's best to email the drop-off company and reserve a time on the day you need to drop your car off. The people who just show up there with their car expecting to catch their flight in 45 minutes are always looking super-stressed.


That's a great point, Me530! Thanks for pointing that out.

To add to that, The Welt connected me with these folks by phone while we were checking in to pick up the car, so we had a drop-off reservation already arranged.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Germany: Two Pro Tips*

In case you're an ED first-timer and have never been to Germany, here are a couple of quick Pro Tips:

1) Germans use cash and coins. Yes, of course, our Visa or MasterCard will work over there, but trust me, Germans prefer to be paid with cash. In many places, you can't use a credit card for transactions less than 15 euro. Get used to it, and bring cash. And coins. You'll need them.

On my 2nd ED, once I finally got tired of digging in my pockets for 1 and 2 euro coins (and smaller denominations), and fumbling around with paper bills, I finally wised up and bought a small leather coin purse (pictured below). Cost me something like 6-8 euros at the fest in the Hirschgarten. It's got zippers on both sides; I put cash and credit cards in one side, and coins on the other. It's been a life saver the last three times I've been to Germany.

You'll thank me later.

2) Phone SIM: I've fought this fight every time I go to Europe - how to have access to data on my iPhone without paying an arm and a leg. I've tried several different strategies, but this last trip was the smoothest one ever: I bought a pre-paid SIM off of Amazon with 12gb of data plus 3000 calls/texts before I left for only $20.00. Deal of the century.

Here's a link to the one I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FI1JW72/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Keep in mind: you have to have an unlocked iPhone to use a different SIM. NOTE: Unlocked is NOT the same thing as jailbroken. If you've already done a jailbreak on your phone, you'll still need to unlock it, so that it is not tethered only to your current wireless provider.

My iPhone was unlocked when I bought it, so all I had to do was swap the SIM once I landed in Munich and I was off to the races. I had zero problems with it, and even after two weeks of daily use I never came anywhere close to using up the 12gb.

I don't think you can beat that for $20.

Keep in mind that your phone number will be different (my SIM came with a Great Britain phone number), and thus when you text, you won't receive texts to your phone sent to your normal number. Use WhatsApp instead, or just make sure people that need to contact you have the new number to reach you on.


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## Syntax (May 18, 2010)

BickUW89 said:


> You'll want to wash the car before arriving here, though.


Why? I have an ED next month and am dropping off in MUC.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Syntax said:


> Why? I have an ED next month and am dropping off in MUC.


The main reason: They inspect the car for damage before accepting it for transport. If it***8217;s all dirty, they can***8217;t verify that there was no damage, and could then be responsible for anything that happens during all the other handling while getting it to your dealer, or for what you may have done before dropping it off.

Realize that most of the BMWs they are shipping are factory-new, while your car has been accepted and driven. It***8217;s a courtesy that they accept and transport your car as if it were fresh from the factory.


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## Gluhwein (Aug 21, 2011)

Thanks for the sim card info. I'll be looking into that on my next trip to Europe. I'm not a fan of Verizon's overseas plans.


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## Syntax (May 18, 2010)

BickUW89 said:


> The main reason: They inspect the car for damage before accepting it for transport. If it's all dirty, they can't verify that there was no damage, and could then be responsible for anything that happens during all the other handling while getting it to your dealer, or for what you may have done before dropping it off.
> 
> Realize that most of the BMWs they are shipping are factory-new, while your car has been accepted and driven. It's a courtesy that they accept and transport your car as if it were fresh from the factory.


Okay, thanks.


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## Syntax (May 18, 2010)

Gluhwein said:


> Thanks for the sim card info. I'll be looking into that on my next trip to Europe. I'm not a fan of Verizon's overseas plans.


I spend a few months in Europe every year and just use Google Fi. When I am in the US I pause the service. Works great for me.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Nice, France*

After six wonderful days in Munich, we dropped the M550 off at the Munich Airport location, then caught a Lufthansa flight to Nice, France to spend the next seven days of our vacation.

On our 2016 ED, we actually drove the M4 we picked up that time from Munich to Nice, with a couple of days stopping in Bellagio, Italy, on the way. Mrs. Bick didn't like spending so much time on that drive sitting in the car, particularly between Bellagio and Nice, so we decided to maximize our time in Nice by flying there, instead. Also, we'd been to Bellagio before on a prior ED (2008), where we had a really great time, but found that a repeat visit was kinda boring, since the place is small and not much more to see or do.

We arrived in Nice in the mid-afternoon, and contacted our AirBnB host by WhatsApp text (thanks to that handy SIM we bought), and she met as at the doorway to the apartment in Vieux Nice (the old town) just a few minutes after we arrived.

Our apartment was on Rue Droit, which runs N-S right through the heart of the old pedestrian-only part of town. We stayed right around the corner at a different AirBnB place in 2016, so we already knew the lay of the land, and we were excited to be back. We both adore Nice, and Vieux Nice in particular is just cool. The weather was sublime, too.

Our apartment was on the fourth floor. OMG, that part was a killer - steep steps, 76 of them, and I had to lug two large 50# suitcases plus two carry-ons. Took three trips, and it was about 87F and muggy that day. By the time I got the last bag up, my heart was pounding almost out of my chest, and I was very winded. And I'm not even in bad shape, but those stairs were just brutal. That part was unpleasant. Once we got settled, though, we had a nice one-bedroom apartment with a smallish living room, a kitchen area, and a bathroom. The place wasn't large by any definition, but for a week of vacationing it was perfect.

I actually took very few pictures while we were in Nice, partially because I had taken so many the time before we were there. The one below, though, is one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken with my iPhone. The lighting and color in the picture is just spectacular, and is exactly what it looked like IRL when I took it. I wasn't sure the picture would come out as great as it did, but I was sure pleased, because when I decided to take the picture I was just sort of stunned by how great all the lighting and textures were. That picture is taken from the doorway to the building our apartment was in, looking south along Rue Droit.

The second picture is taken from the window of our apartment on the forth floor, also looking south along Rue Droit, and this time you can see the upper half of the church that's squeezed in.

(I tried to get these pictures to rotate in the correct orientation, but can't seem to make it work, so if anyone has any pointers, please let me know)

Here's a link to the AirBnB apartment we stayed in: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4655578?source_impression_id=p3_1564774430_4VVHsQTOQCBNj8mq

The host, Joanna, we easy to communicate with, and very nice. Great experience staying there.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Our car is on its slow way...*

Just found out today (10 days after the fact!) that our M550 is on the Eridanus Leader (NYK), which departed Bremerhaven on July 24, 2019. Estimated sailing time is 27 days, so it should make it to Oxnard, CA on or about August 20th.


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

*Hurray!*

Hurray! Our car is at the dealership in Seattle. Quickest redelivery of the four EDs we***8217;ve done. Drop off in Munich to dealership was 56 days.


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## eksath (Apr 4, 2003)

Thank you for the detailed description.

Congratulations on getting your car back at home as well.

56 days is a long time :-( It was a similar wait for mine as well and I am on the East Coast.


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## wcr3d (Jul 17, 2012)

Congrats.
Now you have your... err, her new toy!
I see you did sell your other too!
I would off went with the bigger garage.


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## Diane509 (Sep 7, 2019)

*How long does delivery take?*



BickUW89 said:


> It's been several days since we took delivery of the car, but I've just been too darn busy to post updates. Attached are a couple of pics of the Welt and a few of the car.


Hi - enjoyed reading your post. Tell me how long should be expect to be at Welt for the delivery? We have a tour of the factory at 12:00 noon .. guessing the delivery will take place afterwards. We have to drive to Schwangau and hope to get there before dark. (Under 2 hrs)


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Diane509 said:


> Hi - enjoyed reading your post. Tell me how long should be expect to be at Welt for the delivery? We have a tour of the factory at 12:00 noon .. guessing the delivery will take place afterwards. We have to drive to Schwangau and hope to get there before dark. (Under 2 hrs)


The tour will take two hours, so count on that. The actual delivery part - bare bones time - will take about a half-hour to an hour if you don't plan to spend any time with familiarization and what not.

Keep in mind that when you first arrive at the Welt there is some paperwork that needs signing, which takes place before you get the car. That process can take 30-45 minutes, depending on how busy they are.

Also, if this is the first time you've done ED, there are some additional things you can partake of during the delivery process. The Full Meal Deal will take about 2-3 hours if you soak it all up. It starts with the paperwork part (figure 45 minutes), then they escort you to the well-appointed buffet, where you can lounge and wait for your delivery appointment. When you meet the delivery specialist, they'll ask if you want to start with a tour of how your car was designed. They take you down an elevator to special room where they walk you through some of the design philosophy, design process, and technology in the car. There are some interactive displays, short movies, examples of the different leathers and materials used, and a driving simulator that demonstrates some of the driving technology. If you've never done it, it's probably worth seeing one time. We did it on our first ED in 2008, but have skipped that part the last three. This part will take maybe 30 minutes to an hour, I think?

After that you go back up to the lounge level, where you get to descend the "Stairway to Heaven" to meet your new car. They'll take as much time with you as you want, going over all the features and settings, help you get your phone synced up, addresses in the nav, etc. Plenty of time for pictures, too. Afterwards you get to do a Victory Lap (or two!) inside the building before exiting down a special ramp.

If you really soak it all up, it's easy to spend 4 hours with the delivery process. If it were me, and I had a factory tour scheduled at noon, I'd try to get the delivery appointment as early in the morning as possible, then you'll have the afternoon to do your drive to Schwangau.


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## Diane509 (Sep 7, 2019)

*Thanks!*

Thanks for that. Sounds like I'm in trouble with the mid-day factory tour. We hoped to reach Neuschwanstein that evening before the sun set for photos. You are on #4 !!! Old hat!


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Diane509 said:


> Thanks for that. Sounds like I'm in trouble with the mid-day factory tour. We hoped to reach Neuschwanstein that evening before the sun set for photos.


Oogh, that sounds overly optimistic, especially this time of year. When are you going? Between now and March I wouldn't count on making it to Neuschwanstein before it gets dark if you leave in the mid to late afternoon. Most of the drive to there from Munich is not exactly on an autobahn.

I'd recommend that you just plan the day around the Welt. It's a really cool place, with examples of every one of the current vehicle lineup, plus a few exhibits, restaurants, gift store, etc. They randomly do demos inside the main area, too, like motorcycles up and down stairways, burnouts with M cars in the main aisleway, and rides in an old Isetta. It's a pretty cool place to just hang out and experience. Add in your own delivery experience, the factory tour and all, and you can easily spend the bulk of the day there, and it's worth it for your first time. You also have all day free access to the buffet in the delivery area, so your meals for the entire day are covered if you want.


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## Diane509 (Sep 7, 2019)

I just found out my p/u appointment is actually 9:30 am. So we’ll be able to leave right after the factory tour! Here we go... !


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## BickUW89 (Apr 18, 2008)

Diane509 said:


> I just found out my p/u appointment is actually 9:30 am. So we'll be able to leave right after the factory tour! Here we go... !


Awesome! When are you picking up the car?


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## Jon Shafer (Dec 15, 2001)

Congrats!!

:thumbup:


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## boothguy (Feb 1, 2007)

Found myself with a bit of extra time this morning and thought, "..I haven't looked at the 'Fest's ED forum in forever.." and decided to look in. And what do I find but a great trip report from Bick with some of the old stalwarts including Gluhwein and Asteroid. Even a Jon Shafer sighting. That was worth it.. Nice car, nice report, nice to "see" you guys again.


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## Jon Shafer (Dec 15, 2001)

boothguy said:


> Found myself with a bit of extra time this morning and thought, "..I haven't looked at the 'Fest's ED forum in forever.." and decided to look in. And what do I find but a great trip report from Bick with some of the old stalwarts including Gluhwein and Asteroid. *Even a Jon Shafer sighting*. That was worth it.. Nice car, nice report, nice to "see" you guys again.


:wave:

Great to see you too!!

Let me know if I can help again with anything.

I will be starting all over again at a new dealership next week..

Please feel free to email me any time ~ [email protected]!


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## boothguy (Feb 1, 2007)

Hi Jon:

Thanks for the shout-out. I had gone back to BMW of Santa Barbara for my most recent deal, which is how I discovered you were gone from the sales side of the industry. It was like every last bit of knowledge or interest in European Delivery had departed that dealership along with you. I went somewhere else for my deal which, while okay, was a definite step-down from the excellent communication I got from you. Interested to know where you land.

Fellow Festers: if you're on the Left Coast, you cannot do better than Jon as your sales person and all-around good shepherd of your European Delivery experience. He handled a complex business lease for me in a very short time window without a single hiccup, his communications and availability were excellent, and his pricing was spot-on. Highest recommendation.


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

Jon Shafer said:


> :wave:
> 
> Great to see you too!!
> 
> ...


BickUW89!!! Thanks for the great report!

Jon! happy to see you back to the Bimmerfest ED forum! :thumbup:
Let us know about your new place!!!!
boothguy!!!!! :beerchug:


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

Just get this from Google photo - Tour of port Hueneme delivery center.


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