Delivery Day - BMW WELT

Peter picks us up at 8 and drops us at the BMW Welt where deliveries and other BMW events take place. I will spare you all details about how incredible the Welt is. If interested they do have a great website.
http://www.bmw-welt.com/web/portal/de/index_highend.html

We are greeted by Stephanie who walks me through the various paperwork which needs to be reviewed and signed. This process takes about 20 minutes before we are then led to the Lounge on the top floor which is only for delivery customers and their guests. We were the first ones there and had the place to ourselves. As we are walking to the lounge we can see the down to all the cars being delivered that day and Jeff was the first one to spot my car. It was the only Silver delivered and suprisingly it stood out nicely I think.

After a short break in the lounge I meet my delivery person and we go over my car and its safety features, options, performance, etc. We then walk down to the car and I finally get to sit behind the wheel. Nice! After about 30 minutes the delivery process is over and I get to take my car for a couple of laps around the delivery level prior to driving down the ramp and out of the building.

After delivery we took the factory tour, which was very interesting. No cameras allowed on the tour so you will have to take my word for it.

After the factory tour we head out to drive. Our first destination is Rothenburg ob der Tauber, an amazing walled city from the medieval ages. Due to our relatively late departure and the GPS sending the shortest way, rather than the fastest way, we arrived with only about 30 minutes of light left. I do have some good pictures of that and will post soon.

Overall the European Delivery experience was exceptional. The level of customer service towards both customers and their guests, by several different individuals was exemplary. Many of the things listed above will be posted in photo albums at some point in the near future, and there may even be a video or two in there. I don’t know why it took so long to buy a car this way. For any of you considering purchasing a European car, whether it’s a BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, VW, Audi, etc, I can’t recommend this method enough. It was simply a fabulous experience.

We were told by our delivery specialist to keep two rules in mind during our 1,200 mile break in period – 1) not to exceed 100mph and 2) not to exceed 4,500 rpm. We generally adhered to the rules, but I think the 3 of us maybe have slightly exceeded the 100 rule for a quick second. By the end of today we had more than 300 miles on the car, with another 300 plus scheduled for tomorrow. We will be beyond the break-in period prior to our return to Munich Sunday, and then it’s time to let it loose. 100mph here feels like 70 and it’s funny when people pass you like you are standing still.

We return from Rothenberg before 10, grab the tripod to take some night shots at the Welt then return to our hotel for some authentic Löwenbräu.

Early departure tomorrow for Vienna, Austria via the Czech Republic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arrival Day

Our AMS-MUC connection on KLM was delayed 45 minutes. After arrival and claiming our bags we met Peter from BMW who escorted us first to the ADAC, which is an agency similar to AAA and allows US members to receive similar savings (thanks Jeff). We received the requisite bright yellow safety vest (one per auto in Austria) as well as paid toll vignettes for Austria and Switzerland. We were also given several complimentary maps to various places in Germany.

Peter then drops us at the Marriott Renaissance Munich where we drop our bags and immediately head out to the Augustiner beer hall where we enjoyed traditional Bavarian fare – pretzels, pork, and a liter of beer. Jeff and Chad had the Lager and I had the Dark.

We then nap for a couple of hours and decide more beer is in order so we headed out to the original Hoffbrauhaus for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time for bed. Peter is picking is up at 8am for our ride to the BMW Welt for delivery.

Marienplatz Munich

 

Departure Day

After 2 tumultuous days of helping Jeff move, topped off by a fantastic night in the pit on a Broadway show sitting next to my trombone teacher, and Jeff playing 2nd trumpet sitting directly behind me, it is finally time to leave.
We actually had a cabbie who didn’t make us sick. No constant flooring it followed immediately by hard braking. It was a relaxing traffic free ride to JFK.
We were teased with the possibility of an upgrade to 1st class but unfortunately coach was not oversold. We are, however, in the best seats in coach, which on the Delta 767-300ER are the second exit row and we have more leg room than most Delta domestic first class seats. We boarded in Zone 2, took our seats, and got comfortable before all the amateur travelers came onboard. I decided to take a picture so I got out of my seat and heard the loud tearing sound and I knew I destroyed my shirt. Some jackass on a previous flight broke the audio connector and left the sharp metal prongs sticking out. My shirt got caught and now has a large tear. I did get a $100 travel voucher for my troubles.
After a short 40 minutes on the ground following an almost on-time pushback, we were off. At 10,000 feet Jeff pulled out the GPS so we could track our ground speed. It was pretty funny watching the little car on the scream pass streets and highways at 600+mph. I took a video and will someday post it to FB or YouTube.

We just heard that we may land 1 ½ hours early in AMS. Time to eat. More in a bit.

Hmm, tasty meal. Small salad, BBQ chicken, mashed, green beans, brownie, and of course a beer. Since we are on our way to Holland we each had a Heineken.
Our 170mph tail wind and 700mph ground speed has each gone done 100mph. Due to this we arrived 80 minutes early at 4:40am AMS time. We attempt to get into one of the premium lounges and were denied by each. I placed a call to Amex Platinum and found out their any airline club in the world is no longer valid and they don’t have a club in AMS, one of the largest airports in Europe. Time to cancel that card and the large annual fee!

We weren’t allowed to change planes to an earlier flight (there were 2) because we had bags in transit so we had the joy of wandering Schipol. We found a fabulous quite area with chaise lounge chairs with only a couple of other people around. Jeff celebrated being in Holland with a couple of Heinekens for breakfast.

Pre-trip updates

I purchased a new camera for the trip and have been learning how to use some of the many features of the Nikon D90. I have read a couple of books on Digital SLR photography and my camera in particular. I say this at the risk of you all realizing that my pictures may not be very good at all and this may cause some of you to question my reading comprehension skills.

More purchases for the trip – SD card for the GPS which includes Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. It was Jeff’s responsibility to add hotel address and other points of interest into the unit, but as I write this on the plane to AMS, no addresses have been entered. Hopefully he won’t enter them after a Liter or two of Spaten or Augustiner.

I purchased an 8g SDHC card for pictures and a 4g card for video, only to find out later I already had a 4g SD card for my old P&S. DOH!

I needed a camera bag, and on Dad’s recommendation looked at a couple of Crumpler bags at an online retailer. I then found out there are 2 Crumpler stores in NYC. They are an Australian manufacturer and make great bags. Check them out!

I also bought a new pair of Puma SpeedCats. Nice.

Other items on the to do list

Decide on a route, change it daily
Get an International Drivers license
Make hotel reservations
Purchase Garmin Nuvi SD card containing Euro Maps for the GPS
Learn how to use my new camera
Purchase camera bag, memory cards, UV filter, circular polarizing filter, remote, tripod attachment.
Upload Picasa, Excel, and Adobe Pdf to the netbook
Purchase toll Vignettes for Austria and Switzerland
Purchase required safety equipment for Austria
Print copies of credit card and passport info to carry with, scan second copy to flash drive

Second thing to do - getting there

Departure:
18 October 2009
JFK - AMS
3:50pm - 6:00am

AMS - MUC.
9:35am - 11:00am

Return:
26 October 2009
MUC - AMS
5:45pm - 7:30pm

27 October 2009
AMS - JFK
10:25am - 2:15pm
This will allow a nice overnight in one of my favorite cities.

Round trip cost = $575. Cheap!

First thing to do

Order the car.

A short posting on my order.

BMW 328i Coupe
6-speed manual transmisson
Titanium Silver Metallic
M-sport package
Premium package
iPod with USB adapter
Heated seats
Auto high-beams
Satellite radio w/1 year subscription.

Why the 328?

For many knowledgeable about BMWs, some may wonder why I chose the 328 over the 335. The primary reason is longevity.

Jeff and I test drove both the 328 and 335 in Atlanta back in 2007, prior to my two year assignment in the NY office. The 328 is a fantastic machine. The engine is silky smooth with plenty of torque and it has the exact same suspension as the 335. The 335 is flat out fast. I was laughing at the power before we even left the parking lot. The problem is that I plan to own this car for a very long time and the twin-turbo 335 has had issues with the high pressure fuel pump, and it's longevity is completely unknown.

My choice actually came down to the 328 coupe, including a good bit of options, versus a stripped M3 sedan. The Euro Delivery price on the M3 put it about $10K more than the car I purchased. If I had been approved for the special order paint I mentioned in an earlier post, the difference in purchase price would have been much, much less.

The fact that I don't take my car to the track means that all the power of the M3 would be a complete waste, especially since fuel, insurance, and maintenance on the M would cost quite a bit more. So, the 328 won! For those of you who will get the chance, I'm sure you will agree it's blast to drive. Just one request - please don't burn up my clutch.

Euro Delivery 2009

I have finally ordered my first BMW.

Pretty straight forward choice - a 328i coupe with a manual transmission. I tried to special order a paint color, but BMW N.A. denied my choice. They offered an alternative which was not to my liking. The special paint is expensive, so BMW must be doing pretty well to not allow my request, especially since that color is on many 3 series in Europe.

I placed a second special order request, but that color has not been reformulated for BMWs new eco-friendly water based paint formulas.

After trying twice to order the most expensive option available, I gave up and instead ordered my car in Silver. I know, I know, I've had a silver car for 7 years, but I like it, and I've always wanted one.

I also ordered the newly available M-sport package, which has nicer wheels, a higher top speed limiter (I really need that!), the M steering wheel and shifter, and some other nice touches. As an added, and perhaps best option, I have chosen European Delivery. Pick-up is in Munich, Germany on October 20, 2009 and for a week thereafter, Jeff and I will be driving around various sites in the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, and Leichtenstein. We may even pop into Bratislava for a couple of hours. After dropping off in Munich for shipment to the US, the car will arrive at the US port in Brunswick, GA sometime in late November, early December. My re-delivery will occur at the US Performance Center in Greenville, SC shortly thereafter.

It's going to be a fun ride, but there are many things to plan prior to departure from JFK on October, 18.