LSB M3 6MT Europe Delivery

[EvoFire]

I've been lurking around the general F80 forum and hanging out a lot in the Canada section, but I finally put my order in for a F80 today

2018 M3 Sedan 6MT
Laguna Seca Blue (individual order since I didn't get the Ultimate Package)
Premium Package
Competition Package
Sun Roof
Europe delivery
Extended Silverstone Leather
White Ash Trim

Europe Delivery Date: Sept 11, 12, or 13. Waiting for confirmation from my sales guy.

A pretty short option list (there really aren't many options to choose from on this car). I must say when the news came that the car was going to EOP in May I got pretty worried.

So now that the order is in, what do I do next other than plan my trip? I still have 7 months before I see my car!

I also just remembered that I need to clean the car before dropping off. To what standard of "clean" does the car need to be, and for those who've dropped off in Nice, can you point me to a good place near the airport where I can wash 2 weeks of grime off the car?

[EvoFire]

Saving this post to plan for my Europe trip, preliminary planning so far:

Sept 8th: Land in Munich

Sept 11 10:20AM: pick up car, pending confirmation
then it goes something like:
Neuswanstein Castle
Augsburg (staying the night)
Nordlingen
Sept 12 - Rothenburg (staying 2 nights)
Wurzburg
Sept 14th - Chochem/Eltz Castle (staying the night)
Sept 15th - Nurburgring (wife calls it the Burger Ring)(bucket list item)
Aachen (visiting relatives)
Sept 16th - Dijon - Really just passing through(staying 1 night)
Lyon
Sept 17 - Avignon (Pont du Gard)(2 nights)
Sept 19 - La Lavandou - Wife wants to see beaches (1 night)
Sept 20 - Menton
Col de Turini (Monte Carlo stage) (another bucket list) (wife is not pleased )
Sept 21st - Nice (drop off)

After which we take the train to:
Sept 23rd - train to Carcassone
Sept 25th - train to Barcelona
Sept 30th - Flight back to Vancouver

Updated the itinerary

[///My5UV]

That's a whole lot of towns to see... how long are you going to be there?
No visit to oktoberfest Sep 22 or later?
IIRC they don't let temp plate cars (ED) on the 'ring, so unless you have booked a ringtaxi or a rental I'd pass. Their museum is nothing compared to the 'Welt.
Make sure you're going to "Rothenburg ob der Tauber", not the other, less interesting Rothenburg and keep in mind that you have to park outside of the wall of most of those little medieval towns. Between that and the train, pack so it's easy to walk with all your luggage over uneven cobblestones.
Get a Rick Steve's book for Germany.

[M4_GTS]

Don't get too greedy with too many places to visit. You don't want to end up driving most of the time and not being able to do any sightseeing.

[///M4ster Yoda]

Originally Posted by ///My5UV

That's a whole lot of towns to see... how long are you going to be there?
No visit to oktoberfest Sep 22 or later?
IIRC they don't let temp plate cars (ED) on the 'ring, so unless you have booked a ringtaxi or a rental I'd pass. Their museum is nothing compared to the 'Welt.
Make sure you're going to "Rothenburg ob der Tauber", not the other, less interesting Rothenburg and keep in mind that you have to park outside of the wall of most of those little medieval towns. Between that and the train, pack so it's easy to walk with all your luggage over uneven cobblestones.
Get a Rick Steve's book for Germany.

Incorrect. Zoll plates (ED cars) most certainly ARE allowed on the Nurburgring. Tons of members here have taken their cars on the ring including yours truly.

It's technically considered a toll road in Germany which means any vehicle can drive on it.

Go for it OP. Looks like a great itinerary. Just give yourself enough time to enjoy each location

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by M4_GTS

Don't get too greedy with too many places to visit. You don't want to end up driving most of the time and not being able to do any sightseeing.

I'll have power to veto I think when we get there, and the list is not final. I think we will take a few spots out.

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by ///My5UV

That's a whole lot of towns to see... how long are you going to be there?
No visit to oktoberfest Sep 22 or later?
IIRC they don't let temp plate cars (ED) on the 'ring, so unless you have booked a ringtaxi or a rental I'd pass. Their museum is nothing compared to the 'Welt.
Make sure you're going to "Rothenburg ob der Tauber", not the other, less interesting Rothenburg and keep in mind that you have to park outside of the wall of most of those little medieval towns. Between that and the train, pack so it's easy to walk with all your luggage over uneven cobblestones.
Get a Rick Steve's book for Germany.

We do want to hit oktoberfest, but accommodation would be more expensive and the weather wouldn't be as good in the Riviera.

[818M3]

Congrats! One of the most beautiful colors

[///My5UV]

Originally Posted by ///M4ster Yoda

Incorrect. Zoll plates (ED cars) most certainly ARE allowed on the Nurburgring. Tons of members here have taken their cars on the ring including yours truly.

Awesome!

More of my generic European travel advice (basically stolen from Rick Steves):
Try to stay in one place more than one night, using it as a home base for a few day trips. This reduces the amount of work you have to put in to find places to stay that have parking, the style of accommodations you're probably used to (ie en suite bathrooms) even in small towns. It also opens up places that don't like single-night stays, and lets you apply your newfound local knowledge of the trains, trams, etc. in each town. Driving is usually not a fun way to get around a small area in Europe. Awesome for going from town to town on your own schedule if you want to sleep off jet lag or hit small sites along the way. Neuschwanstein and the Romantic Road stuff is car-friendly, but don't expect small restaurants or inns to always have parking.

Navigating in Europe can be tricky if you haven't done it before. You basically need to know the geography of the area you're driving in, since most road signs just tell you where the roads go, not necessarily the name of the road or the direction. Google maps (and the built-in nav) are game-changers compared to my old trips in rental cars with paper maps, but when there are a bunch of exits close together on urban highways or traffic circles, it pays to know the name of where you're going.

Last nugget for today: plan on going back again sometime so you don't feel like you have to do everything in one trip. Do prioritize what you really want to do and find out what days/hours they are open.

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by ///My5UV

Awesome!

More of my generic European travel advice (basically stolen from Rick Steves):
Try to stay in one place more than one night, using it as a home base for a few day trips. This reduces the amount of work you have to put in to find places to stay that have parking, the style of accommodations you're probably used to (ie en suite bathrooms) even in small towns. It also opens up places that don't like single-night stays, and lets you apply your newfound local knowledge of the trains, trams, etc. in each town. Driving is usually not a fun way to get around a small area in Europe. Awesome for going from town to town on your own schedule if you want to sleep off jet lag or hit small sites along the way. Neuschwanstein and the Romantic Road stuff is car-friendly, but don't expect small restaurants or inns to always have parking.

Navigating in Europe can be tricky if you haven't done it before. You basically need to know the geography of the area you're driving in, since most road signs just tell you where the roads go, not necessarily the name of the road or the direction. Google maps (and the built-in nav) are game-changers compared to my old trips in rental cars with paper maps, but when there are a bunch of exits close together on urban highways or traffic circles, it pays to know the name of where you're going.

Last nugget for today: plan on going back again sometime so you don't feel like you have to do everything in one trip. Do prioritize what you really want to do and find out what days/hours they are open.

I was discussing with my wife yesterday about the sheer amount of places that we are hitting on the driving trip. And we've decided to stop planning until we get our Welt date, cause on the the interest of time, we actually want to do Neuschwanstein Castle before we get the car. Perhaps skip Brussels all together and go straight to Dijon from Aachen. That should cut at least a day out of the trip and let us spread that out to other locales.

The original plan didn't include the Romantic Road, but the wife insisted. It would have made the trip much faster pace, as we would have went to Neuschwanstein Castle and then straight to Cochem.

[///M4ster Yoda]

Originally Posted by EvoFire

I was discussing with my wife yesterday about the sheer amount of places that we are hitting on the driving trip. And we've decided to stop planning until we get our Welt date, cause on the the interest of time, we actually want to do Neuschwanstein Castle before we get the car. Perhaps skip Brussels all together and go straight to Dijon from Aachen. That should cut at least a day out of the trip and let us spread that out to other locales.

The original plan didn't include the Romantic Road, but the wife insisted. It would have made the trip much faster pace, as we would have went to Neuschwanstein Castle and then straight to Cochem.

You can't go to Neuschwanstein without the car. It's a forum rule to take a pic of the castle and car together

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by 818M3

Congrats! One of the most beautiful colors

It was down to LSB or Atlantis Metallic at the end. I've always wanted LSB and that won out

Wife actually didn't like either, and wanted Mineral Grey. I told her no way, that was one of the things that I refuse to give up on. I already gave up SO leather because she thought it was ugly.

[///My5UV]

FYI, the WiesKirche is on the way to/from Fussen. It's a quick stop. cool if you like old churches and stuff like that.
When we went in 2001, we went to Fussen by way of Garmisch-Partenkirchen to see the Zugspitze. IIRC we stayed a night in Reutte and a night in Bacharach on the Rhine.
Gotta watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on the plane on the way over if you're going to Rothenburg

But you probably already have enough ideas for things to add!

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by ///M4ster Yoda

You can't go to Neuschwanstein without the car. It's a forum rule to take a pic of the castle and car together

I thought you can't drive up to the castle and can only park in the town and walk 30mins up? Are there certain photo spots? Please enlighten me!

Originally Posted by ///My5UV

FYI, the WiesKirche is on the way to/from Fussen. It's a quick stop. cool if you like old churches and stuff like that.
When we went in 2001, we went to Fussen by way of Garmisch-Partenkirchen to see the Zugspitze. IIRC we stayed a night in Reutte and a night in Bacharach on the Rhine.
Gotta watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on the plane on the way over if you're going to Rothenburg

But you probably already have enough ideas for things to add!

We were considering WiesKirche if we have time.

And all these suggestions. Stop giving me ideas!!!

We are trying to cut days out of the driving part of the French Riviera. I might do the Col de Turini and La Grande Corniche all in one day and just base out of Nice instead.

Also I'm not scared of driving in Europe, we did a driving trip through western France and parts of Europe a few years ago and we managed fine. The only thing that sucked was driving in Paris. I thought driving in Australia was a little harder, RHD and driving on the wrong side of the road was definitely odd.

[///M4ster Yoda]

Originally Posted by EvoFire

I thought you can't drive up to the castle and can only park in the town and walk 30mins up? Are there certain photo spots? Please enlighten me!

We were considering WiesKirche if we have time.

And all these suggestions. Stop giving me ideas!!!

We are trying to cut days out of the driving part of the French Riviera. I might do the Col de Turini and La Grande Corniche all in one day and just base out of Nice instead.

Also I'm not scared of driving in Europe, we did a driving trip through western France and parts of Europe a few years ago and we managed fine. The only thing that sucked was driving in Paris. I thought driving in Australia was a little harder, RHD and driving on the wrong side of the road was definitely odd.

This is the spot that EVERYONE goes to (Wife's 340)

Also Nice as a main base on the Rivera is a good idea

[///My5UV]

Haha, I drove a small RV in Paris after LeMans... that kinda sucked.

One or both of the roads leading to the castle parking have good views of the castle.
See page 20: http://www.tejaschapter.org/trax-aug-2011.pdf

[EvoFire]

So I have a confirmed appointment of Sept 11th, 2018, 10:20am
Production number 9021003

Since I'm Canadian, what do I do with that number? I don't suppose the BMWUSA site would work for me?
Edit again, seems like a production number for Canadian cars means nothing... bummer.

['Cane]

Took my M4 here before drop off in Nice:
American Car Wash
520 Route de la Gare, 06700 Saint-Laurent-du-Var, France
https://www.americancarwash-nice.fr

[EvoFire]

I leave on Friday!!! I quickly updated the itinerary on the first post

Couple of things that came up:
- You do get the limousine service for Canadians as well, but only for Airport - Welt, or Hotel - Welt. Airport to Hotel is not an option.
- You can't track anything on a Canadian car
- SA told me I can extend my insurance and stay in Europe despite it being a lease. Doesn't seem like the 2 week limitation is in place.
- Waiting really sucks

[///My5UV]

Wait... limousine service!? I think I missed out on something. I took the U-bahn from my hotel, although it was a nice day to walk from the station to the Welt and back. (I was dead tired by the end of the day, still jet lagged and simply parked my new car in the Welt garage until I felt up to taking my brand new car into Munich traffic!)

['Cane]

Originally Posted by ///My5UV

Wait... limousine service!? I think I missed out on something. I took the U-bahn from my hotel, although it was a nice day to walk from the station to the Welt and back. (I was dead tired by the end of the day, still jet lagged and simply parked my new car in the Welt garage until I felt up to taking my brand new car into Munich traffic!)

Yeah, complimentary ride, (7 Series, or X5 in my case), to either your hotel or the Welt.

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by ///My5UV

Wait... limousine service!? I think I missed out on something. I took the U-bahn from my hotel, although it was a nice day to walk from the station to the Welt and back. (I was dead tired by the end of the day, still jet lagged and simply parked my new car in the Welt garage until I felt up to taking my brand new car into Munich traffic!)

Sixt Limousine Service will pick you up at the airport and take you to either your hotel or BMW Welt (except for Canadians apparently). The information to make your reservation is in the Reservation Letter that BMW European Delivery sends to your CA and that he should have forwarded to you. The subject of that e-mail literally is "Reservation Letter - [Your Name] - Production # XXXXXXX". This is the e-mail that contains your Production Number and confirms your Delivery Date, Check In Time and Actual Vehicle Delivery time. The second "page" of that letter contains the following line item, under "European Delivery Information Sheet":

2. Is there transportation available to the BMW Welt upon my arrival in Germany? - A complimentary shuttle service is available. This service is limited to one transfer from the airport to either your hotel in
downtown Munich or the BMW Welt. To make your reservations please contact Sixt Customer Service by

Email: BMW-EDPshuttle@sixt.com or Telephone: +49 89 210 310 02, providing the following information:

• First and Last Name
• Telephone Number
• Production Number
• Date and time of arrival in Munich
• Airline and Flight Number
• Number of Guests traveling

If you didn't make a reservation and get confirmation ahead of time, no one came to pick you up.