ITALY: Magical Wonderland or Chaotic Hellscape?

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Space gray

To the Italy naysayers, I drove to the tip of the boot and ferried across to Sicily and had not one problem and enjoyed a great trip. I consider that I have really great insurance coverage, better than what you have at home (zero deductible). Why worry so much? Granted, for those getting individual, yes it will take a while to line up a replacement, but to me it's just a car that is replaceable. So traffic can be bad in cities, just as it can be bad in Munich or Stuttgart.

I've driven through most of the country (not down to Sicily though) and through Milan, Florence, etc include lots in the lakes district. I didn't have a problem.

Other than I thought it was comparatively horrific.

There were some good views, but the Italian Riviera was mostly trucks and tunnels, the lake district was beautiful a long as you didn't try some of the ring roads which were horrific and inner-Lugano is a maze that has a minotaur waiting at the end.

So why worry? Because an accident is going to ruin your trip's schedule at the very least.

But you're right in that sure, driving is driving and it all has risks. It's just that for me/us, unless there was something I REALLY REALLY wanted to see in Italy with my ED car, I'd skip Italy. Way better ED car stuff elsewhere.

If you're just using ED as a cheap rental and don't care if italy is relatively more risky then I guess it's fine.

Course there is also the wheel stealing and vandalism

[Thescout13]

Chaotic hellscape. But a damn beautiful country.

[ciaranob]

Agreed - why we stuck with Germany, Austria and Switzerland on our ED Whenever I am there I usually plan to avoid the necessity if possible of messing with cars but have driven rentals many times in Tuscany and elsewhere but more often than not kept to the countryside!

[KevinM]

I really, REALLY, admire those who take their ED car to Italy. Respect. Myself, the times I have been the MOST grateful that I was driving a rental have been in Italy. I wish I was more carefree, but I know I'd be a wreck if I drove my brand-new car into Italy (at least the big cities; some of the smaller towns in Tuscany would be fine).

[Space gray]

I guess I'm the only one sticking up for Italy.
Let me preface that I leased the BMWs that I took into Italy, so the attachment (maybe detachment) with my cars is not high as I know it will get replaced in 3 years. If an accident were to befall the car, the bothersome piece to me would be the inconvenience and not the damage.
A big part in this is perception. The stolen wheels in Parma posted above is very dramatic, and also very real but without context. Inevitably the quick conclusion will go something like of the 5 ED people who reported going to Italy, 1 got his wheels jacked, wow that's a scary high risk. I'd seen one other ED with stolen wheels, happened in France (reported on the fest-->https://goo.gl/jHc6GA). Will people start talking about skipping France?

[Ibiza]

Italy is chaos. Rather fly into Sicily (PMO or CAT) and have a low key rental car. True you have insurance, but as mentioned above filling a police report for a accident, vandalism or a stolen car is not worth it. Maybe Milan, as it?s wealthy city and Lake Como region are OK. I can say this based on personal experience of 30+ trips to Italy over the past 16 years. But, for most ED is a way to explore Europe in a ?free? BMW rental car the first time. Too much downside risk to venture outside of Germany, especially with a high profile M vehicle. Remember that Europe pricing is about 20%-30% higher than BMWUSA pricing (VAT is up to 22%). Kim Kardashian Paris diamond Ring heist might be on the same level of driving a M vehicle.

[TonySCV]

Insurance aside (it IS a great policy), don't do ED driving in Italy. Italy is a planes, trains and boats country. It's not much fun driving there.

[///M4ster Yoda]

Never had a problem in Italy on ED or with a rental car. I love Italy. It's a beautiful country with amazing history and wonderful food.

Gotta agree with you though Gross there are better places to DRIVE on European delivery. I rub off on people and got my dad to go for his 2nd ED next summer on a 4er Vert. We are gonna do Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, Venice and obviously some places in between. I just can't get my pops to leave Italy off.

My perspective is I've driven all over the world. Italy doesn't scare me. Come to think of it nothing driving related scares me

[GregSM3]

Will have to chime in as well - just got back from ED trip and kept it in Germany and Switzerland and had a wonderful time. Drivers and roads are great. Have driven before in Italy with a rental and very glad it was a rental and small in size. Learned that in Italy raod signs / rules are just recommendations, it is a difft. type of driver there for sure. Love Italy but would be too stressful, I believe in a new bimmer.

[stooker]

Having lived in Italy for three years, I'd only consider driving a brand new ED car in the Dolomites/pre-Alps areas. Stunning scenery and less traffic/chaos.

[mpizutti]

Italy is a great place..I have done 2 EDs and went to italy both times..Now i would say i would not Park in any major city unless it has a good garage. Now some of the roads around are very narrow but i had no issues..the most stressful around lake Como. but the Italian Alps are a great place to drive. the Sella pass is amazing..go have fun.

[Space gray]

But where else are you gonna get some random guy on the street call out "che bella macchina". It happened after I started the engine somewhere in southern Italy.
He followed that with "auguri", which is like "congrats".

[prompt]

I'd say that if you skip italy you've lost the best bit of europe

I understand that it's dangerous drive there for someone not used to drive in that way,
but the risk it's worth.

Stay in the best place you can,don't go cheap then you will be fine and with a huge smile on your face

[FlyingLow78]

I live in Italy, and I've been away for over a month and miss the place terribly.

Italy is a wonderful country, but there are more car-friendly places to go. The autostrada is fantastic and you can get anywhere very easily, and you only have to deal with toll booths at the entrance and exit, unlike France and Spain where they put them everywhere they want to make extra euros. Although you can travel more quickly on the autobahn, the autostrada is something Italy is rightfully very proud.

I've driven into several cities in the northern half of the country and all it takes is a little planning to find parcheggio libero (free parking). I'm not talking curbside, either...legit parking lots near the city center. I've got them all saved for Milano, Verona, Bologna, etc.

Don't even get me started on the race tracks... Italy has some of the best tracks and they're open a lot for weekend racers. I've been to Monza and Imola this year, and Adria is on my list. What better way to appreciate your M than by wringing it out around something twisty that has no trucks?

The Alps and Dolomites are worth a look. I found traffic to generally be light (except at Stelvio at midday) and the roads quite smooth.

When you compare the food, fuel prices, adult beverages, scenery, history, and road networks, I'm not the least bit sad to call Italy home. But, feel free to hang out north of the Alps on your ED if that's your preference.

[2kaccordocoupe]

My ED driving in Italy was limited to Como, then up to Sondrio, Tirano, Bormio then up thru Stelvio and into Austria.

The outer loop of Como is fine, the inner loop can be tight in places. The rest were no problem at all. I have been to Italy many times before... Pisa, Florence, Venice, Rome, Amalfi. I have zero interest in driving in any of those places let alone with my ED vehicle.

[elitex]

I was just in Italy a week ago. I wouldn't take my ED car there. I had a rental and didn't care at all. I do agree with another poster, Italy is more of a plane, train and boat country.

[pnoyse84]

If you come to Italy (where i currently live) i would definitely recommend driving in the Dolomites. The roads are nice and the canyon runs r amazing

[DslDwg]

Done it on both ED's though not brave enough to take the ED car to Rome. Did Verona, Milan, Como, Genoa all without issue. When in any bigger city I always look for places with secure parking and had no issues anywhere in Italy.

Not my overall favorite country in Europe but some of the best food in the world IMHO.

Driving is much more Chaotic then the surrounding countries.

[///M4ster Yoda]

Originally Posted by DslDwg

Done it on both ED's though not brave enough to take the ED car to Rome. Did Verona, Milan, Como, Genoa all without issue. When in any bigger city I always look for places with secure parking and had no issues anywhere in Italy.

Not my overall favorite country in Europe but some of the best food in the world IMHO.

Driving is much more Chaotic then the surrounding countries.

I will see about that. Wife and I are going to Greece next week. I've heard that's pretty chaotic.

[M4_GTS]

I've done ED in 2015 and 2016, If and when I do ED again in the future, I would definitely avoid Italy. The Autostrada was fine, but when you go into the smaller roads, its tight and chaotic. If I really wanted to go to Italy, I would drop off my ED car and rent a car for the journey into Italy.