# My ED trip



## Snareman (Nov 24, 2006)

Great write up and pics! :thumbup: Congrats on the new car! Reading these reports always gets me that much more excited in anticipation of going in March. 

So are you going to get a Breitling? :bigpimp: I'm a big Breitling fan and own a few. 

So you eat pigs feet? That's what we learned suturing on when I was in school, although perhaps the formaldehyde they'd been soaking in made them seem a little less appealing to actually put in my mouth.  

John


----------



## scott10s (Oct 12, 2006)

Awesome write-up. I ordered the exact same color combo as you!!! We won't be hard to spot. Your pictures are fantastic. You haven't made my wait until March 2nd any easier!!! Thanks alot!!!!


----------



## dencoop (Aug 17, 2005)

Nice pics:thumbup: 

Congrats on the Ultimate Toy:bigpimp:


----------



## bobkeenan (May 20, 2006)

jcatral14 said:


> Last pic is of me and the wife with Bob and his wife.


Hey that last picture is of some pretty good looking NEW BMW owners if I ever say one!!! thanks for taking the picture.

We are still in Northern Germany cruising around visitng Celle, Hannover, Bremen. We will be off back to Munich for Silvers. Love this car


----------



## mullman (Jan 5, 2006)

jcatral-

Congrats, car is gorgeous!

You even got the "right" transmission! :thumbup:


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

A few more pics...

Edit: Thanks everyone for your kind words. If you guys are patient enough, I have a lot more pics. I'll try to post more later. 
Hi Bob :hi: I can't believe this time last week I was at Marienplatz having a great time. Ahh, fond memories. I WILL go back for sure


----------



## imrans (Jul 19, 2006)

Congrats on the car & the experience. Also, thanks for the awesome pics; they definitely brought back some pleasant memories for me. I wish you a speedy recovery...I mean "re-delivery"  

-Imran


----------



## May (Nov 25, 2006)

Congrats! Looks like you had a blast


----------



## mwagner1 (Aug 13, 2004)

WOW....what a great writeup and killer images!!! My mom went NUTS over the images of the Christmas shopping:rofl:  She is definitely planning a Christmas shopping trip to Germany next Nov/Dec!!!

Thanks for the report!!!!! NICE looking car!!!!

Cheers,


----------



## qu4ttro (Feb 7, 2004)

jcatral14 said:


> Ok, so after Wempe, ...
> Then I got hungry and we ducked into Donisl for dinner. I had the pigs feet :thumbup: wife had the same sans bone. We have a similar Filipino dish and it's not unlike it. The difference being the flip version is dry and we use a vinegar dipping sauce. ...


:yummy: Makes me want to go out and get some Crispy Pata for dinner tonite!
Nice color combo. I'm thinking of getting the same when the lease ends on the wife's C230 (June 07). Maybe even do an ED!

And yeah, more pics!


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

Thanks. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the pics.

So after I picked up the car I fired up the Nuvi to take me back to the hotel as I still had the credit card keys with me. I wasn't sure how strict they are with those keys and/or if i needed to sign anything for a formal check out. I took that one shot in front of the Holiday Inn. It's really easy to get back on to Leopoldstrasse from the ED center. 

From there, with the help of the Nuvi once more, I drove to Harms to get the paperwork out of the way as I will leave the car there after office hours. When I get to Harms, Thomas was busy tending to a gentleman and we were next. We would have been but a couple was in a real bind as they had to catch a flight to London (I think) and they were in danger of missing their flight so I let Thomas take care of them first. Thomas was a real nice guy to deal with and the paperwork aspect was taken cared of quickly. He really helped me out when I told him that I needed to contact Rolf as I needed a ride to the airport from Harms later tonight but that I hadn't heard from him. He placed several calls to see if he can get Rolf's number but couldn't. Just before I left he took my contact info (email) so he can email me the number when/if he gets it. He eventually emails me but not Rolf's number as he can't get it but Peter's number (which I should have gotten earlier but didn't:tsk: ) which would prove to be a life saver later. I also ask Thomas the location of the big BMW dealership which stocks a lot of accesories. He points me to the BMW dealer on Frankfurter Ring which would then be my next stop. 

I did find the dealer but ended up in the Motorrad (sp) building hence the beemer pics. A beemer freak would have been in heaven here :thumbup: :rofl: I walk across the street to the bimmer building and bought a few things. I made sure to buy the safety vest and a few trinkets. The prices here are actually better and I wasn't sure what was only available there and not here so I didn't really buy much and did I mention they cost more there? I snapped a couple pics of 2 Tourings, a 335d and a 535d :bigpimp: They would be a blast to drive here 

Around this time it was around 1245 and we had to be in Dingolfing by 1400 so we got back to the car and started on our way to the Autobahn. Sadly I was not able to snap any speedometer pix as I was too busy admiring the car and the scenery. No big loss there as I only got about 100-110 mph anyway as Ernst told me to adhere to the break-in procedure  I'm not a speed freak anyway. It was a nice drive to the factory and I enjoyed the country scene a lot. Took a pic as we drove by a nuclear power plant :eeps: 
The tour lasted about 2.5 hours and it was dark by the time we got out, around 1700. I took 2 shots before we had to leave as I wanted to be at Harms before 7 so I could take the front plate and first aid kit and warning triangle out of the car. Wife also wanted to drop by Walmart (of all places!:rofl: ) to pick up more chocolates and see if we can get a bottle or 2 of the beer we had last night  

Here's the pics....


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

More pics...


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

The first 2 are the pics I took before leaving Dingolfing and the rest are pics I took on my way out of the ED center.


----------



## lcjmd (Dec 13, 2006)

jcatral 14,

Great writeup! Did you you go to the same dealer that Jspira goes to? I live in your neck of the woods, and wonder if your dealer was very helpful with your ED. Planning for May 2007 ED!


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

lcjmd said:


> jcatral 14,
> 
> Great writeup! Did you you go to the same dealer that Jspira goes to? I live in your neck of the woods, and wonder if your dealer was very helpful with your ED. Planning for May 2007 ED!


He did and she was. 

PM me if you want info.


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

Snareman said:


> Great write up and pics! :thumbup: Congrats on the new car! Reading these reports always gets me that much more excited in anticipation of going in March.
> 
> So are you going to get a Breitling? :bigpimp: I'm a big Breitling fan and own a few.
> 
> ...


Thank you. I have a Breitling already, a Super Ocean Steelfish XPlus. Love it. If I find the loot to buy another one, I'd like the Navitimer with a second time zone 

Deep fried pigs feet is awesomo :thumbup:


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

As a contrast, my car (Sp. Graphite) and Rich´s (Japanrot) in front of the Holiday Inn on the Leopoldstraße Nov. 2005


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

lcjmd said:


> jcatral 14,
> 
> Great writeup! Did you you go to the same dealer that Jspira goes to? I live in your neck of the woods, and wonder if your dealer was very helpful with your ED. Planning for May 2007 ED!


Yep, highly recommend her. I can take you if you want. I live a couple towns over (Bergenfield) :hi: I hope you do ED, nuthin' like it :thumbup:


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

Hey J, when you driving by to get the Bonbons?


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

jcatral14 said:


> Hey J, when you driving by to get the Bonbons?


After holiday traffic is no more! :rofl: Two hours for the GW  is Nein, danke.

Thanks J! (I still have a few packages left so I´m good until we get together)


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

Jspira said:


> After holiday traffic is no more! :rofl: Two hours for the GW  is Nein, danke.
> 
> Thanks J! (I still have a few packages left so I´m good until we get together)


LOL Ok, see you then. Perhaps when I get my car back


----------



## Snareman (Nov 24, 2006)

jcatral14 said:


> Thank you. I have a Breitling already, a Super Ocean Steelfish XPlus. Love it. If I find the loot to buy another one, I'd like the Navitimer with a second time zone
> 
> Deep fried pigs feet is awesomo :thumbup:


I think I'm going to have to trust you on the deep fried pigs feet thing! I just can't make myself do it. 

Its good to see that there are some Breitling people on here! I love the Steelfish's and almost bought one. I currently have an Olympus and a B-1. Over the years I've had a two Navitimers, two SuperOcean Pros, a ChronoAvenger and a Crosswind Special. Are you into any other brands? The watch thing can be a bit of a slippery slope once you get into it.  I also currently have Rolex, Ulysse Nardin, Omega and Panerai. I think with my impending BMW, my watch shopping is going to be on hold for quite awhile.


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

Snareman, I love my SO but perhaps another Breitling would be nice. I'm not a watch collector in the strict sense. I'm happy with one really good watch and I'm good, however...the Navitimer is just so nice looking that I may have to bend my rule and get one. I also would like to have a Bell & Ross the BR-01, I think. :drool: Then there's the Girard Perregaux BMW Oracle watch and...:rofl:


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

So right after drop off I'm waiting for Rolf to show up and it's getting close to 7 and I'm getting antsy. It's 7 and no one's coming, now I'm in full panic mode cause my flight is at 2130 (it was actually 2100, good thing I didn't realize) and we're sitting in the middle of an industrial area devoid of public transport. It was then I remembered Thomas had emailed me Peter's number. Thomas is da man!!! thanks a whole bunch!!! So I immediately called him and he came within 20 mins. He was a sight for sore eyes lemme tell you :rofl: While waiting for him, I took off the 1. license plate, 2. first aid kit, 3. flashlight and 4. warning triangle. I thought I got everything when Peter told me to take the screwdriver, allen key, open end wrench and bag of fuses. That's it, I don't see my baby again til January  In my panic I forgot to take a picture too  

We or should I say Peter, drove like a bat out of hell and we got to the airport in no time flat. We bid our goodbyes and exchanged business cards/email addy. Went straight to the Lufthansa counter and checked our bags. The flight was uneventful which is how I like them. They had to bus us out to the plane as it was a smallish regional jet waiting out on the tarmac. I did notice a preponderance of hot girls on the plane  :thumbup: Actually while we're on the subject, I noticed the female Polizei I encountered were nice and very easy on the eyes as well :yikes:  

So we get to Paris and I get the first guy that approaches us for a ride. I know, not the smartest thing to do but at that point around 11, I just wanted to get to the hotel as quickly as possible. I booked a room at The Hotel Splendid Etoile. We get to the hotel and the room is just as their website described it. Phenomenal view! The Arc is directly in front of me :thumbup: Champs Elysees is on the other side. I recommend this hotel to anyone. I got a price of 200 Euro/ night which I think is a bargain for the view that I got. The Metro station or entrance to it anyway is right outside the lobby. Notre Dame was one ride away. One other plus is that the Air France bus to the airport stops right in front of the hotel so getting to the airport is a breeze. 

The next day, we sort of sleep in cause we were tired from all the running around the previous day and the weather was crappy. We leave the hotel around 1300 and head straight for the Arc. After taking a few pics we get on the "red tour bus" that goes around the city and you can get on and off as you please. It cost about 22E. We got off at the Eiffel tower then got back on the bus and headed on out to the Louvre. On the way to the Louvre we got really hungry and ducked into a cafe and had a big lunch. The capuccino was out of this world. Wife and I had 2 each :rofl: We would need that caffeine kick on our tour of the Louvre. That place is massive! Of course there were only a few pieces I really wanted to see, Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. We stayed til closing, 1730. 

Here are the pics...


----------



## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Beautiful Pics! :thumbup:


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

Thanks. We're almost at the home stretch. Just.....a.....couple....more.....:rofl:


----------



## CK530 (Nov 16, 2006)

jcatral14 said:


> Yep, highly recommend her. I can take you if you want. I live a couple towns over (Bergenfield) :hi: I hope you do ED, nuthin' like it :thumbup:


FINALLY After 26 days, 8 e-mails & 6 faxes to NJ dealers, I finally signed an order form tonight with Ricki Shamen from DiFeo BMW. She was excellent, very courteous & professional. The whole process (credit application, order form & faxing to NJ ED center) took 30 minutes. I received a very good offer with no markup on MF, ED rate & bank fee.:thumbup:

Just want to thank Jay & Jonathan for the referral.

Carlos


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

Hmm, I wonder if the server crapped out from all the pics I uploaded :rofl: 
I hope I didn't bore the heck out of you but I still have a handful I want to share


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

CK530 said:


> FINALLY After 26 days, 8 e-mails & 6 faxes to NJ dealers, I finally signed an order form tonight with Ricki Shamen from DiFeo BMW. She was excellent, very courteous & professional. The whole process (credit application, order form & faxing to NJ ED center) took 30 minutes. I received a very good offer with no markup on MF, ED rate & bank fee.:thumbup:
> 
> Just want to thank Jay & Jonathan for the referral.
> 
> Carlos


That's great - congratulations (and you're welcome). Yes, Ricki can do the entire ED process blindfolded. :thumbup:


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

CK530 said:


> FINALLY After 26 days, 8 e-mails & 6 faxes to NJ dealers, I finally signed an order form tonight with Ricki Shamen from DiFeo BMW. She was excellent, very courteous & professional. The whole process (credit application, order form & faxing to NJ ED center) took 30 minutes. I received a very good offer with no markup on MF, ED rate & bank fee.:thumbup:
> 
> Just want to thank Jay & Jonathan for the referral.
> 
> Carlos


No problemo :thumbup: 
Always looking to help people out  
Good luck. When are you leaving?


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

jcatral14 said:


> Hmm, I wonder if the server crapped out from all the pics I uploaded :rofl:
> I hope I didn't bore the heck out of you but I still have a handful I want to share


Nah, they are upgrading from a Pentium II to a Pentium III. Couldn't deal with the floating point divide error on the II.


----------



## ssamols (Apr 11, 2002)

Jspira said:


> That's great - congratulations (and you're welcome). Yes, Ricki can do the entire ED process blindfolded. :thumbup:


Ricki is handling my ED as well. One visit back in October sealed the deal and she has been a pleasure to work with. Ricki knows her stuff. I am going to meet her on Jan. 8th to finish the deal - 14 days prior to pick-up. ED pick-up Jan. 22 - 530i.


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

ssamols said:


> Ricki is handling my ED as well. One visit back in October sealed the deal and she has been a pleasure to work with. Ricki knows her stuff. I am going to meet her on Jan. 8th to finish the deal - 14 days prior to pick-up. ED pick-up Jan. 22 - 530i.


Congrats and have a good time there  
Remember to take lots of pics.


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

I think the server is back on track now  

Some last pics...

Sunday morning in Paris. We head out to Notre Dame for service. We took the Metro and it was just one train ride away. When we emerged back on to the street, it was about a 10 minute walk. 5 if you knew which direction to take :rofl: We were walking around at 8 in the morning and the streets were still pretty much deserted :eeps: Also it was still dark out. Much darker than we're accustomed to at 8 in the morning back here in Jersey. 

After the mass we have breakfast at one of the cafes around the cathedral. There are also numerous souvenir shops on the next block so we get whatever stuff we missed. At this time it was around 11 and we rush back to the hotel as our flight was at 1400. We get to the hotel settle the bill and rush out to the Air France airport shuttle bus which stops in front of the hotel. I snapped the pics of the hotel on the bus.

My ED trip is just about over


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

Whoops. I guess the server's not ready yet.



> *You have uploaded the maximum of 9 files*


I'm getting the above message when I try to attach my pics.


----------



## the_fox (Jul 6, 2006)

Finally I can view your attachments! Nice pics and great car! I wish Mystic was still available on 3-series.


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

the_fox said:


> Finally I can view your attachments! Nice pics and great car! I wish Mystic was still available on 3-series.


Thanks. I still can't attach pics


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

Ahh, the server is finally back on track. Last pics...


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

Some miscellaneous pics. Pic of the altar at the Notre Dame. One of the Metro stops under the Louvre. Pic of the hotel I stayed in Paris, Hotel Splendid Etoile.


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

The aftermath. 
Now I'm done, lol. Hope you all had fun looking at the pics. I know I would not have had as much fun doing this trip were it not for all the info and help I got on this board so I thank everyone on here. Another ED trip is in my future. When? I don't know but it will happen


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Excellent photos! Merci!


----------



## the_fox (Jul 6, 2006)

Yummy, did you bring all that chocolate back in the states? Fortunately we have Ritter Sport and Milka products at local importers here... and that pic just made me very hungry


----------



## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

It's the next morning, and I'm not seeing them. :dunno:


----------



## PDXe46 (Sep 21, 2004)

I've always wondered, whats the deal with the Neon Foot at the ED center? Looks like you were getting some sort of explaination in that picture?


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

the_fox said:


> Yummy, did you bring all that chocolate back in the states? Fortunately we have Ritter Sport and Milka products at local importers here... and that pic just made me very hungry


Lol. My kids inhaled everything :rofl:

Thanks J

mdsbuc, you should be able to see them :dunno:

PDX, at that time Ernst was trying to explain the significance of the foot but my mind was already out on the autobahn :rofl: I did take a picture of the explanation which I posted on the other thread about "The Foot" though.


----------



## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

jcatral14 said:


> mdsbuc, you should be able to see them :dunno:


All I see is this:

Attached Thumbnails  

_ _________________


----------



## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

mdsbuc said:


> All I see is this:
> 
> Attached Thumbnails
> 
> _ _________________


What I had been seeing was just the box with no pics. Now I see the pics, and they are *FANTASTIC*!


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

Thanks. Glad you like them


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

I got the car back!!!:bigpimp: 
I'll post pics tomorrow


----------



## NateXTR (Aug 8, 2006)

Alright! Can't wait to see that beauty. Enjoy it!


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

NateXTR said:


> Alright! Can't wait to see that beauty. Enjoy it!


Thanks, here you go...

1. Me and Ricki my CA
2. Wife and kids
3. Ready to go driving  
4 and 5 Interior shots


----------



## ayigu (May 20, 2005)

Congrats! Can't wait for my to arrive.


----------



## jagu (Nov 7, 2006)

Wow, looks like you got your car under 35 days. Gawd I wish mine could be that quick. Nice Auburn interior. I now wish I had got the manual transmission sine the car since the car has bluetooth.


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

ayigu said:


> Congrats! Can't wait for my to arrive.


Thanks. Where are your pics? Let's see 'em 



jagu said:


> Wow, looks like you got your car under 35 days. Gawd I wish mine could be that quick. Nice Auburn interior. I now wish I had got the manual transmission sine the car since the car has bluetooth.


Yeah, I guess 35 days is quick but it seemed like 3 months :rofl: Re: auburn interior, yep people are already noticing mine and getting a lot of compliments


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

jcatral14 said:


> Yeah, I guess 35 days is quick


 Ja, 35 is quick. My fastest have been 30 and 32 days. Most recent was 38.


----------



## jcatral14 (Aug 4, 2003)

I'm sitting here reminiscing about my trip last year. Time flies when you're having fun (mostly)  That was just such an amazing trip. One that I will keep going back to long after my kids have kids. To those that have done ED, you now what I'm talking about. To those that are about to go, get ready for a spectacular journey. And to those that are on the fence, wth are you waiting for? :rofl:

I'm sure I'll be able to top this one but it will always be special as it was my first.

Drive safe and have a great holiday season.

Edit: Here she is a year later...


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

jcatral14 said:


> I'm sitting here reminiscing about my trip last year.


----------



## Alfred G (Apr 1, 2007)

jcatral14 said:


> I'm sitting here reminiscing about my trip last year. Time flies when you're having fun (mostly)  That was just such an amazing trip.


Great pic of your car!

The Münchner Christkindlmarkt still looks the same as you photographed it. Just returned from it an hour ago.


----------

