# A Canadian in München



## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

Hopefully this will serve as my official compliance with 12 hour rule. Everything went smoothly. Rolf was great. I was at Freimann within 30 minutes of landing at 1030am, and made it to Munich factory tour.

Tomorrow I make my way to Lindau by undetermined route.


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## beewang (Dec 18, 2001)

Woohooo!!! :thumbup:

Is that you Tim??!!:dunno:



> Tomorrow I make my way to Lindau by undetermined route.


Nice!! That's how i like to travel.... "we'll be where I WANT to be"


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## smokeminside (Aug 5, 2004)

*Very Nice!*

Have a great trip, and keep posting!


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## Asteroid (Aug 17, 2005)

Should it not be Kanadian?

Have a great trip. By the way Kanuck, what kind of option is ordering a Lemon? Are you kidding, or is it available in Kanada only?:rofl:


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## mullman (Jan 5, 2006)

WHOO-HOO

Congrats, gorgeous car!
Have fun and post more pics when you can!


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## Me530 (Feb 17, 2005)

Looking good! Thanks for the timely update!


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## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

Kanuck said:


> Hopefully this will serve as my official compliance with 12 hour rule. Everything went smoothly. Rolf was great. I was at Freimann within 30 minutes of landing at 1030am, and made it to Munich factory tour.
> 
> Tomorrow I make my way to Lindau by undetermined route.


Yes! Looking Good! As far as the 12 hr rule, you could probably slide a little since the King Pubah of the rule is schlepping around Munich the same as you.


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Congrats!

I saw your name in the Bimmerfest book.

The book is getting quite full by the way. We need to start a new book soon.

Herr Roller considers the book to be of great importance btw!

(Yes, I signed as ,,Just visiting``.)


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## dencoop (Aug 17, 2005)

Nice car....

And your sig. says lemon...I love lemon wish we had that option in the US....

-So your speedo must be in Kilometers...you must feel right at home with the speed sighs then......


In any case have fun and post pics of the inside....

Thanks


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

beewang said:


> Woohooo!!! :thumbup:
> 
> Is that you Tim??!!:dunno:
> 
> Nice!! That's how i like to travel.... "we'll be where I WANT to be"


Yes, beewang, it is I. Your NAV DVD has been invaluable.

I took a roundabout route from Munich to Lindau: via Grossglockner, NE Italy, Brenner Pass, and Innsbruck. Stopped by Italian police at border who studied all my documents and let me proceed.

I'll post more pics later as hotel PC has no USB port I can access.

And, Jspira, you should tell the BMW bosses that Bernhard Hausmaninger is one of the best guys at Freimann. Friendly, courteous, answered all my dumb questions, but did not bore me with stuff I already knew. He even gave me his personal mobile phone number to call if I have any problems. The guy is great.:thumbup:


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## beewang (Dec 18, 2001)

Excellente!! Looking forward to see you picts:thumbup: 

cheers,

beewang:bigpimp:


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Kanuck said:


> And, Jspira, you should tell the BMW bosses that Bernhard Hausmaninger is one of the best guys at Freimann. Friendly, courteous, answered all my dumb questions, but did not bore me with stuff I already knew. He even gave me his personal mobile phone number to call if I have any problems. The guy is great.


I'll tell Herr Roller tomorrow!


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

*ED - Day 1*

A few pics now that I am back. This forum was very helpful, as I landed in Munich at 10:30am, and Rolf was waiting for me, as arranged. In a couple of minutes we were in his diesel Mini and on the way to Freimann Delivery Centre. We arrived there shortly after 11am. Bernhard handled the delivery and he was great. He input a good parking spot into the NAV near the Munich factory tour that I would not have found myself. So, I didn't think I would have enough time for the 1:15pm tour, but ended up being a bit early.

Munich factory tour was good. Great to see where the 3-series sedans and wagons are made. Incredibly automated and impressive to see how they have shoehorned all their facilities into such a small area. I can't believe anyone would offer such a tour in North America as you are literally mingling with the workers.

1. Someone's ED motorcycle? (but did not have ED plates)
2. Bernhard - great guy
3. Obligatory first dashboard pic (note km/h speedo)


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

*ED - Day 2*

I was up early the next day and headed to Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse. There was not much traffic early on a Saturday, and I was at the gate by 9am. It was obvious it was quite cloudy/foggy higher up, but it wasn't like I was going to be back here anytime soon, so I headed up.

Visibility wasn't too bad on the way up, but a gale-force wind at the highest point, and complete fog coming down the south side. This is something I will have to do again someday in better conditions.

I then headed to Lindau via Lienz, Brenner Pass, and Innsbruck. A lot of driving for one day (almost 700km), but well worth it.

1. Heading up the Grossglockner (note cloud higher up)
2. At what I think was the highest point (Hochtor)
3. Hochtor
4. South end of Grossglockner after coming down through cloud
5. Italian border on Hwy 100 just west of Arnbach. Watch for police just past this house!


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## Me530 (Feb 17, 2005)

I love writeups and photos! Thanks for sharing!!!!!!


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

*ED - Day 3*

I had to go to Zurich on business so worked my ED around that. Zurich was nice, but I like Munich better. The good news though was that I found a BMW dealer in Zurich who swapped my red rear turn signals for the Euro amber ones. For CHF155 each, they had this done in a few minutes. Since I detest the red ones, this worked out well. If you are are staying at the InterContinental, the dealer is just down the street.

This has been posted before, but for anyone who is looking for the Euro-style rear lights, you want:

63216937458 Heckleuchte rechts _(right)_
63216937457 Heckleuchte links _(left)_

1. Lindau
2. Old castle in Vaduz, Liechtenstein
3. Along the Walensee in Switzerland
4. Binelli + Ehrsam AG, Badenerstrasse 190, Zurich


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

*ED - Day 5*

Day 4 saw car parked all day in Zurich hotel garage. Day 5 headed to Konstanz. Very charming old place spared from WW2 bombing because it is right on the Swiss border. A great hotel there is the Steigenberger Inselhotel, birthplace of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, of "Oh, the humanity!" fame.

1. Steigenberger Inselhotel
2. Spring flowers in Konstanz
3. Grounds of hotel
4. View of hotel terrace (great place for a bier) and Konstanz
5. Lemon interior - here you go Dencoop. It is quite light.


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

*ED - Day 6*

1. On ferry across the Bodensee from Konstanz to Meersburg
2. Obligatory autobahn shot. (I did not want to exceed 4500rpm break-in limit )
3. At Harms (note amber colour of turn signals)
4. Chestnut trees in Hofgarten, Munich
5. Side of Hofbrauhaus


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## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

Awesome pics! Love them! I'm wondering if you have to worry about the VDC (or whatever the Canadian equivalent is) putting red lenses back on the car? I hope not. They look really fine. :thumbup:


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## sponge_worthy (May 10, 2006)

Welcome back to the New World. Nice pics... congrats. :thumbup:


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

mdsbuc said:



> I'm wondering if you have to worry about the VDC (or whatever the Canadian equivalent is) putting red lenses back on the car?


Since this is a Canadian ED, I am not worried about that. Based on my last ED experience, BMW Canada does nothing on redelivery. I went to the railyard myself to get my car.


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## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

Kanuck said:


> I went to the railyard myself to get my car.


:yikes: Wow! But cool! :thumbup:


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## iversonm (Nov 15, 2004)

Kanuck said:


> Yes, beewang, it is I. Your NAV DVD has been invaluable.
> 
> And, Jspira, you should tell the BMW bosses that Bernhard Hausmaninger is one of the best guys at Freimann. Friendly, courteous, answered all my dumb questions, but did not bore me with stuff I already knew. He even gave me his personal mobile phone number to call if I have any problems. The guy is great.:thumbup:


I'll second that with an annoying "me too" post. Bernhard did our delivery as well, and his efforts are appreciated.


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## 55 (Apr 15, 2006)

Hello.

I am in Toronto as well. Could not find anything about eropean delivery on BMW Canada website. 
How did you arrange it?

thanks in advance


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

55 said:


> Hello.
> 
> I am in Toronto as well. Could not find anything about eropean delivery on BMW Canada website.
> How did you arrange it?
> ...


Any dealer should be able to arrange it, but you are best to find someone with some experience. I ordered through BMW Toronto (but that does not necessarily constitute an endorsement  ). Call or e-mail the sales managers at a few places and ask about experience with ED.

The major things to be aware of are:
1. It is not like the American program. There is basically no financial incentive to do Canadian ED, unless you are going to be in Europe for quite a while, and so you save cost of car rental. Also, the longer your car is in Europe, the more it has depreciated when it is redelivered, so you save a bit of sales tax. 
2. YMMV, but you will generally find the dealers unwilling to negotiate much on the ED price. The "tourist" price some dealers may show you is basically the MSRP less the 6.1% import duty that you pay when the car is redelivered.
3. They have not yet come up with a way to net a trade-in against the new ED car for sales tax calculation purposes. This can be a lot of money if your trade-in car has a high value. But, I'm still looking into this, as I am not quite ready to give up on this yet. 
4. Notwithstanding the above, if, like me, you enjoy driving at 200km/h on German motorways, it is a blast.:thumbup:

Also, if you do a search, you will find some discussions on buying through US dealers. Given the current exchange rate, that appears attractive, but comes with its own set of complications that I am not that familiar with.


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## 55 (Apr 15, 2006)

Great answer. Thanks.:thumbup: Looks like americans getting a better deal as usual


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

*The only advantage to Canadian ED vs US ED*

The boat gets here 2 days sooner. It appears as though I am on the Manon, due to leave Bremerhaven June 10, then on to Gothenburg, Zeebrugge, Southhampton, *Halifax*, New York, Baltimore, Charleston, and Brunswick GA. Man, the car is getting to see more places than I ever will!

If I knew I could get the car, I would hop on a cheap flight to Halifax on June 22, and drive the car home.


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## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

Kanuck said:


> If I knew I could get the car, I would hop on a cheap flight to Halifax on June 22, and drive the car home.


You could do some really beautiful driving there. Down to picturesque Lunenburg and then up on the Cape Breton Trail. Gosh that area is beautiful! Pics below from our trip up there about 5 years ago. Sorry for the poor quality as they are from Video.


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## Canuck BMW (Aug 9, 2002)

Kanuck:
I've been considering CDN ED for some time, and agree with all your comments. It's really only worth it if you go for an extended length of time, thus saving car rental costs.
I received a reply from BMW Canada about "trade ins"...no dice....and no explanation.
They also don't feel that enough Canadians would try ED to make it worthwhile offering any real incentives.
I'm still considering an M5 ED in a couple of years, just to be able to drive it on the Autobahn! It would also be my retirement present and I'd spend a month in Europe. The M5 ED pricing actually will cost me an EXTRA $1500.00CDN!

I did look into buying an MZ4 in the USA and importing it from a dealer in a state with no sales tax (ie. New Hampshire). Because it's built in the US and there's no duty with NAFTA, I'd actually SAVE about $6K CDN. However, there's a ton of paperwork at the border and you can't trade a vehicle unless you import it to the USA (too costly). You still get the BMW Warranty but lose the free service for 4 years (which for me has been 1-2 oil changes only).


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## 55 (Apr 15, 2006)

I would love to take european delivery, but look like it is not an option for me. Too bad.
BMW of Canada just doesn't want to bother. Small market.


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## Speedbird (Apr 21, 2005)

Kanuck said:


> Any dealer should be able to arrange it, but you are best to find someone with some experience. I ordered through BMW Toronto (but that does not necessarily constitute an endorsement  ). Call or e-mail the sales managers at a few places and ask about experience with ED.
> 
> The major things to be aware of are:
> 1. It is not like the American program. There is basically no financial incentive to do Canadian ED, unless you are going to be in Europe for quite a while, and so you save cost of car rental. Also, the longer your car is in Europe, the more it has depreciated when it is redelivered, so you save a bit of sales tax.
> ...


I was also told that you cannot finance the car with BMW finance Canada as a lease or as a purchase....true or false?


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## Canuck BMW (Aug 9, 2002)

True...that was confirmed to me by BMW Canada and the dealer.
Rick


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

*Redelivered!*

So ends this saga. Dropped car in Munich May 24, picked up in Toronto July 5. Car seems to have survived its trip quite well. Now we can pick up where we left off.:drive:


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## Finamir (Apr 29, 2006)

Hey Kanuck- Let me be the first to congratulate you on the redelivery. Thanks for the company on the Manon. I hopefully will be picking mine up on Friday! 

Great writeup, great car, and enjoy the Canadian Summer, eh!


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## iversonm (Nov 15, 2004)

I'll be the second to congratulate you, but you're probably out driving it right now.


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

iversonm said:


> I'll be the second to congratulate you, but you're probably out driving it right now.


Thanks iversonm. It looks like you beat me on redelivery by a couple of days. I hope you are enjoying the X3.

One of the small pleasures in picking up the car yesterday was the drive home. The shortest route is on a toll highway where cameras read your license plate and you are sent a bill. I challenge the highway owners to ever find me using my ED plates. Although, you never know.


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## X3 Skier (Aug 21, 2005)

Kanuck said:


> And, Jspira, you should tell the BMW bosses that Bernhard Hausmaninger is one of the best guys at Freimann. Friendly, courteous, answered all my dumb questions, but did not bore me with stuff I already knew. He even gave me his personal mobile phone number to call if I have any problems. The guy is great.:thumbup:


Make that three votes. Even though my ED was Oct 04 (too long between ED's ), I still remember Bernhard was simply the greatest. :thumbup:

Cheers


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## iversonm (Nov 15, 2004)

Kanuck said:


> I hope you are enjoying the X3.


I am. It never ceases to amaze me that these cars are so fun to drive.



Kanuck said:


> One of the small pleasures in picking up the car yesterday was the drive home. The shortest route is on a toll highway where cameras read your license plate and you are sent a bill. I challenge the highway owners to ever find me using my ED plates. Although, you never know.


I bet there's someone at the 407ETR that will make it his life's work to hunt you down.


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## cog_bimmer (Dec 30, 2006)

I am still researching a late September ED and have already spoken to several dealer sales managers outside Toronto but have not yet found anybody with much experience, or at least confidence in arranging ED. A sales manager today told me that the program is still being tweaked, and that he just received a large package of material about ED for Canada, and is to get back to me this week about the changes. He told me there were only 11 EDs completed in all of Canada in 06 (hard to believe the number is so low).

Did you still have to pick up your car at the railyard this time? Did you end up satisfied with the assistance you got from the dealer?


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

cog_bimmer said:


> I am still researching a late September ED and have already spoken to several dealer sales managers outside Toronto but have not yet found anybody with much experience, or at least confidence in arranging ED.


Have you tried the corporate dealerships like BMW Toronto or BMW Durham (this is at the Canadian HQ in Whitby)?


cog_bimmer said:


> Did you still have to pick up your car at the railyard this time?


Yes. You might be able to arrange for the dealer to get it but you have to remember that it is your car when it arrives in Canada. The car does not go through the equivalent of the VDC in the US.


cog_bimmer said:


> Did you end up satisfied with the assistance you got from the dealer?


Yes, although maybe I had lower expectations this time. The dealer basically just serves as a conduit to BMW Canada. They are the ones who arrange it, but they don't like to deal directly with customers. I'd be interested in hearing if they have followed through on their weak commitment to improve the ED program.


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