# Best time of year for ED?



## invidious_D (Nov 19, 2003)

First post on bimmerfest, I was initiated through e46fanatics...

I was curious, and it may be an obvious question, but when is the best time of year to do ED. I'm going to plan on doing it next year at some point, but would like to maximize my experience. Of course I'm taking into account things such as weather, holidays/festivals, etc.

Thanks in advance,
-D


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## Spectre (Aug 1, 2002)

invidious_D said:


> First post on bimmerfest, I was initiated through e46fanatics...
> 
> I was curious, and it may be an obvious question, but when is the best time of year to do ED. I'm going to plan on doing it next year at some point, but would like to maximize my experience. Of course I'm taking into account things such as weather, holidays/festivals, etc.
> 
> ...


Needless to say, each season has it advantages. Weather-wise, you're probably going to get less harsh weather in the summer (although I was caught in a horrendous hailstorm on the A8 near Siegfried this July). Festivals vary, of course, and it depends on where you're headed. Truffles in Alba? Melons in the south of France?

Given that days are longer in the summer, you'll probably want to aim for a delivery in late spring or summer. Fall can be nice as well.

Other questions to ask yourself -- are you looking for a lot of driving? Some of the mountain roads close in the winter. You might not want to drive in the dark either. Are you looking for a lot of activities? Or do you want to escape the crowds? Far fewer tourists in the winter. Florence in the Thanksgiving period is so much easier to enjoy -- no lines at the museums for example.


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## invidious_D (Nov 19, 2003)

Spectre said:


> Needless to say, each season has it advantages. Weather-wise, you're probably going to get less harsh weather in the summer (although I was caught in a horrendous hailstorm on the A8 near Siegfried this July). Festivals vary, of course, and it depends on where you're headed. Truffles in Alba? Melons in the south of France?
> 
> Given that days are longer in the summer, you'll probably want to aim for a delivery in late spring or summer. Fall can be nice as well.
> 
> Other questions to ask yourself -- are you looking for a lot of driving? Some of the mountain roads close in the winter. You might not want to drive in the dark either. Are you looking for a lot of activities? Or do you want to escape the crowds? Far fewer tourists in the winter. Florence in the Thanksgiving period is so much easier to enjoy -- no lines at the museums for example.


These are all very good points. Due to financial constraints, and the fact I won't have enough vacation time saved up until then, I was planning on going next year between OCT-DEC. I will also be going with my gf so I can drive a lot, but will also be going for the tourism aspect as well. I am not big on traffic/crowds and all that jazz, so I guess winter suits me fine. As long as I find a warm pub I'm happy. 

Thanks for the info, I'm sure I'll have a ton of other questions during the coming year as I plan this trip out.

-D


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## JFS (Oct 17, 2003)

invidious_D said:


> I was planning on going next year between OCT-DEC.


Are you a BMW CCA member?
If not, I suggest you become a member NOW so that you can advantage of the *"Membership Reward Program"* ($500 rebate for all 3ers).

BMW CCA Membership Reward Program:
http://www.bmwcca.org/PDFs/Form-MembershipReward.pdf
One could take advantage of the rewards program on an European Delivery car. However, you must be a member of the car club one year prior to the purchase  date without letting your membership lapse to take advantage of this program.

Also, here is some useful BMW ED info/links...
http://www.eurobuyers.com/eurodelivery.html
http://www.bariaur.com/e39/EDsavings.html

ED Experience
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/derprofi/bmw/ed.htm

Negotiating method that can be applied to any new car purchase. 
http://e46fanatics.com/faq/rizzo.html

BMW MY 2004 Wholesale/Retail Pricing:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39409

BMW Dealer Profit over invoice for ED
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38407

*BMW Dealers with ED experience:*

*Client Advisor	BMW Dealer	Town/City	State*
Lonnie Phillips Allison BMW	Mountain View	CA
Steve Marx	Center BMW	Sherman Oaks	CA
Lori Vee Concord BMW	Concord CA
Jon Shafer	Cutter Motors BMW Santa barbara CA 
Anatoly Nesherat East Bay BMW	Pleasanton CA
Hank Castillo	Long Beach BMW	Signal Hill CA
New Century BMW	Alhambra CA
Gary Carroll	Niello BMW	Sacramento CA
Tina Swistak	Sterling BMW	Newport Beach CA
Dave Parker Steven's Creek Santa Clara CA
Ali Samadani	Weatherford BMW	Berkeley CA
Adrianerick Avila	Nalley BMW	Decatur GA
Mark Wakeford	Newbold BMW	O'fallon IL
Jim Bauchwitz	BMW of Orland ParkOrland Park IL
Irv Robinson	Motorwers BMW	Barrington IL
Walter Bruetting Brian Harris BMW	Baton Rouge LA
Joern Esser Passport BMW	Marlow Heights MD
Tate BMW	Annapolis MD
Ted Walawender Carbone BMW	Utica NY
Dan Commune Sun Motor Cars Mechanicsburg PA
Larry Rochelle	BMW Of Beaumont	Beaumont	TX
Ron Elms Garlyn Shelton BMW	Bryan TX
Craig Caddell Garlyn Shelton BMW Temple TX
Rob	Faulkner BMW	Lancaster PA

Good Luck!


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## cruztopless (Sep 23, 2002)

Nice job JFS! :thumbup:

October-December should work out ok. It won't be as touristy (Octoberfest is wrapping up by October) and the weather in October shouldn't be too bad. Even if you go in December the roads are well maintained. There are a lot of ED stories here w/ pictures and I'm sure some of them will give you a good idea on what to expect.

It is an unbelievable experience! 

BTW, welcome to the 'fest!


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## cruztopless (Sep 23, 2002)

Here are some additional links to the ED experiences of others -

[*]http://www.bariaur.com/e39/EuroDelivery2002.html​[*]http://www.cardomain.com/id/tnmeans​[*]http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15684​[*]http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22841​[*]http://members.aol.com/Five13/BMW.html​[*]http://www.macko.net/bmw/triplog.asp​[*]http://mywebpages.comcast.net/derprofi/bmw/​[*]http://members.roadfly.com/litzdog911/eurodel.html​


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## Spectre (Aug 1, 2002)

JFS said:


> *BMW Dealers with ED experience:*
> 
> *Client Advisor	BMW Dealer	Town/City	State*
> ...
> ...


That should probably read "Keith Kinealy" for Cutter. Jon was the GSM there, but Keith did and continues to do European Delivery.


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## pac (Jul 30, 2003)

*Nice post!*

JFS-that is asuper nice and helpful post!


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## BillKach (Sep 22, 2003)

pac said:


> JFS-that is asuper nice and helpful post!


I second that!


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## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

October can be a very pleasant time of year to go. If you go in very early October, you can attend Oktoberfest. The weather in much of Europe is cool, but otherwise pleasant. The crowds are much less, and you can find cheaper rates on airlines and hotels.

Also, October is typically when the new model year vehicle is released. This way, you can take delivery of a 2005 model in 2004 and have it to your door before the new year. This is especially good if you like to trade up after a year or two and don't want to take an immediate depreciation hit. The problem with buying in the Summer is that by the time you get the car in the US, the next model year vehicle is only a month or two away. Your car almost immediately becomes last years model.

If you do plan to do ED in the Summer, and your primary reason is to save money, you are almost better off doing a US delivery in October and cashing in the facatory to dealer incentives (which on many vehicles can equal the ED savings) to clear out the current model year stock. Only problem is you may not find exactly what you want (color, options...)


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## invidious_D (Nov 19, 2003)

First off, big thanks to JFS for that awesome post. And thank everyone for the thoughtful responses. 

In response JFS, yes I read that "how to guide to ED" that someone posted on here and immediately joined the BMW CCA. That was only a few days ago, so in order to make use of that rebate I would have to wait a year. So.... it's looking like its going to be an after-thanksgiving trip or pre-chirstmas. 

The bad thing is that is a long time to wait, but the good thing is I have 365 days to plan it and 365 nights to dream about it. I can't tell you how many times I have "built" my dream car on the main BMW site and using the invoice price sheets and how many times I have drastically changed my mind. Hopefully this year I will be able to make some decisions.  You guys will probably be sick of me next summer when I ask about 1000 questoins about packages, colors, etc. 

So to the people that have done ED, would you rather take the trip alone, or bring along a significant other that isn't really into cars as much as you are. There are obviously many different ways you can approach this trip - a straight pick-up a new car trip, a true vacation with sightseeing, or strictly one big road trip - or any combination of the above. Part of me wants to begin the love affair with my new BMW by myself, but part of me would like to have my gf there to share the experience.


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## BillKach (Sep 22, 2003)

invidious_D said:


> So to the people that have done ED, would you rather take the trip alone, or bring along a significant other that isn't really into cars as much as you are. There are obviously many different ways you can approach this trip - a straight pick-up a new car trip, a true vacation with sightseeing, or strictly one big road trip - or any combination of the above. Part of me wants to begin the love affair with my new BMW by myself, but part of me would like to have my gf there to share the experience.


Well, I decided to do mine alone ... although since I combined it with a biz trip so that was the only practical way.
I really enjoyed the one on one time with my new car.
I did 1070 miles and never got bored at all!


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## pac (Jul 30, 2003)

*Depends*

I_D: it might depend on how much time you have and how significant the significant is: I have done it several ways: quick business trip: alone.
Longer trip with a magnificant significant.


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## cruztopless (Sep 23, 2002)

There is nothing better then getting to enjoy a wonderful experience with someone else. The car was a blast and my wife got a kick seeing my excitement over the car.


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