Our European Delivery 5/4/15 - Lots of Pics

[///bproden]

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Well it's been a week since we've been back from our European Delivery and i'm already missing the trip so much! This was one of the most memorable and exciting trips I have ever been on. I am already looking forward to doing it again in the future.

Our trip was rather short. Really only 4 days to enjoy it there (6 total). We had to leave 2 little ones at home with the grandparents, so we decided it was best to make it a rather quick trip although traveling from the West Coast took up a day each way. This was our first time to Germany and my wife's first time to Europe.

The most difficult part was all the traveling. Our first flight was cancelled and this instantly made everything stressful. We were struggling trying to make it there on time for our early morning delivery, and were told several times we wouldn't make it...After cancelled and delayed flights, switching airlines, lost baggage, we somehow made it and only about 45 mins late for check in... For everyone planning an ED, i'd definitely recommend planning to get to Munich a few days early prior to delivery. Just in-case you get delayed or cancelled flights you won't be stressing like we were. Also, carry a few days worth of extra clothes on your carry on. For those that are on the move daily, imagine if you lost your bags and couldn't get them. We got lucky and our bags arrived a day late, but just before we took off out of Munich.

After 24 hours of traveling the time was getting closer.



We had Sixt pick us up in a beautiful new 7 series of course. He took us strait to the welt and rushed to get us there on time.





Arriving at the Welt. Such an amazing facility!































Had a quick bite to eat, then it was time!
























We spent the remainder of the day around Munich. Had lunch at the Augustine Keller. Explored around Munich for a bit. What a clean and beautiful city.








Dinner at Hofbräuhaus München. Surprisingly I wasn't as impressed with this place as expected. Maybe we were just too tired at this point. It was insanely busy and very hot in the place.





The next day we got up and went back to the BMW Museam.




































































After we left the museum, we headed south down to Neuschwanstein Castle. Really the first real driving experience in the car. Needless to say I was pretty excited!






Here is our loop we made. Fussen, to Langenfeld Austria, through Innsbruck, and back up to Munich. This was really a day trip, but we stayed the night in Langenfeld.







Driving through the country side was nice. Even the cows looked happy. I guess with that view, why wouldn't you be?








We stopped along the way in Fussen and ate lunch. We both really liked this small town. Food was amazing. Literally, best pizza I have ever had!












After lunch we headed back to Neuschwanstein Castle. One thing to note, the tours have set times. You might have to wait for English. We didn't think of this and didn't realize there was a pretty long wait. It ended up taking a lot longer than anticipated and most of the afternoon was taken up.













After the castle, we were staying the night in Langenfeld, Austria. This was about 2 hours away and through parts of the alps. This was one of the most spectacular sights I've witnessed in my life. I was really fascinated with how big they are in person. Such a great drive. I would definitely recommend everyone to take their M through some part of the alps. The roads were a blast to drive on as well. Also, we picked up our vest at the first gas station in Austria. Pretty easy. Glad I waited instead of trying to deal with getting it before hand.




VIDEO:






We wanted one night of relaxation. The resort we stayed at was Aqua Dome. The place was amazing. Such a great experience also. The water is thermal healing spring water, that comes straight from 1000 feet underground. It's not everyday you get to relax in the middle of the alps in heated natural springwater under the stars.... The entire complex was beautiful and I highly recommend to anyone who wants a night to wind down. Wife loved all the spa stuff they had to offer too! Happy wife happy life right?










Next morning breakfast and then a bit more relaxing before we headed back up to Innsbruck and Munich.







Drive back was a little wet at first. Then dried up later in the afternoon. Funny, this Ferrari passed us and then a car full of young guys. They slowed down and were pretty excited to see an M. Seemed to give us way more attention than the 458. We actually got quite a bit of thumbs up, people yelling and cheering and looks wherever we went. Even in Germany, the M seems to make it's presence.









Back in Munich for the night and went to see a few of the landmarks. I was really impressed with Munich. Such a clean city. I'd definitely like to go back.











Also, saw a few nice exotics.










Next day we went to Dachau. Pretty humbling and interesting experience. Glad we went.






Came back to the car to see this M3 parked next to it.






Driving on the autobahn was an experience i'll never forget. I'd say 95% of the time I was on it was under speed limits. I didn't imagine it would be that restricted. I'm sure if we were out farther and during other times it would have been more open. Definitely kept it way under 5500 rpm, but did take it over 110mph. Wheels didn't fall off, so that was good. Car felt at home on the autobahn. Going to be hard to keep it tame back in the states... Overall, wife was a pretty good sport about it.

VIDEO:






Next day I got up early and hand washed the car at a self wash station. I found the closest gas station right by the airport had a place to wash. I packed away a few car detail items and used the hotels trash can for a bucket. I made sure it was clean. Ended up working out perfectly. I was pretty anxious about this wash. I really don't trust people washing my cars, so I had to do it myself. While I was there I did meet the guy that will wash/slight detail it if you drop it off dirty with In-Out. He actually looked like he was doing a good job and pretty meticulous with his work. He does them in a clean, covered garage out of the sun. He uses a quick detail, covers the seats, dressed the tires, etc. So, for you that don't get the opportunity to wash yourself, I wouldn't be too concerned if you have them do it for you. I would be pretty confident in trusting him, after seeing him in action. He was doing someone's 5 series at the same time. *Oh and if I was to do it again, I'd bring some sort of bag for the driver seat. This is one thing that's killing me. Knowing 8 or so guys will be climbing in and out of the car over this next month. Really hope the seats don't get beat up.







Lastly, dropping the car off at In-Out. Saying good-bye is so hard sometimes









Oh and I did get the Harmon Kardon speaker gift!

[AlpineE92M3]

Awesome trip and review! Hopefully I should be doing this in the very near future, with almost the same exact build as you! My wife is also looking forward to it! I will show her this thread, she should approve!

[AIRPOWER]

Great pictures and a trip you will surely remember for the rest of your lives.....CONGRATS!

[GOLFFRR]

Fantastic post!! Thanks for sharing looks like another successful ED!

[///bproden]

Originally Posted by AlpineE92M3

Awesome trip and review! Hopefully I should be doing this in the very near future, with almost the same exact build as you! My wife is also looking forward to it! I will show her this thread, she should approve!

Tell her she'll love it. My wife was reluctant in the beginning, but as we got closer to leaving she was pretty excited. Afterward, she absolutely loved the experience and has said so many times that it was well worth it (even though we had so much trouble with the flights & leaving kids).

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

Fantastic post!! Thanks for sharing looks like another successful ED!

Thank you!

[karbonphiber]

Congrats! Looked like a rather short, but amazing ED trip.

[stressdoc]

Can't believe you let a 458 pass you...

[Dimitri]

Congrats on the car, it looks awesome, ED is great, hopefully doing it again soon.

[Bluex]

Congratulations! Looks great.......we've done a few similar things. Our trip is ending today......Our flight leaves for home in a few hours, and after drinking all last night at Augustiner-Keller, I may be ready to go. lol.

My wife was completely on board with this trip (in fact it was her idea...lol) and really had a great time. It was a tough time leaving the kids behind for both of us (they usually travel with us everywhere), as well, but very worth it.

Your pics look great, glad you enjoyed your trip and car.

[GarlicBun]

4 days seems a little short but im sure you had fun with your car.
shame on me i came back from my trip almost a month, didnt even organize my pictures yet

[ben1233]

Great trip and thanks for the pics. I'm currently on my ED trip and I did the exact same 'loop' as you did with the exception of Langsfeld. And then I continued onto Bellagio, Milan (here now), Turin and Monte Carlo.

In my experience the autobahn in southern Germany is fairly restricted in a lot of areas, especially southeast of Munich. If you head any direction north it opens up a bit. I think I hit 140 and yes I concur it's a dream even at that speed. I remember my 335i ED in 2008 and you were holding on for dear life at 135!

Hopefully you will be reunited in the fastest manner possible.
Thanks again for sharing!

[///M///]

Wow. You did a lot in the limited time. We will have our one year old with us but it will be a 2 week trip what is the vest you mentioned? Not familiar with that. Also, can you pinpoint the self wash place you mentioned? I'll put it on my route

[IRNM4N]

Wow! Looks like you guys had an awesome trip. That spot in the alps with the natural spa is definitely on my list now for next time.

[IRNM4N]

Did you drive into Bellagio? We did and those roads were amazing and gnarly at the same time. I had Nissan Leafs, etc about to draft bump me as I assumed a bus was coming around every blind turn. It was a great way to break the driver in! Have a blast and please post pics when you get back. Monaco should be amazing as you will see practice at least I'm sure for the GP.

Originally Posted by ben1233

Great trip and thanks for the pics. I'm currently on my ED trip and I did the exact same 'loop' as you did with the exception of Langsfeld. And then I continued onto Bellagio, Milan (here now), Turin and Monte Carlo.

In my experience the autobahn in southern Germany is fairly restricted in a lot of areas, especially southeast of Munich. If you head any direction north it opens up a bit. I think I hit 140 and yes I concur it's a dream even at that speed. I remember my 335i ED in 2008 and you were holding on for dear life at 135!

Hopefully you will be reunited in the fastest manner possible.
Thanks again for sharing!

[slynchRVA]

Originally Posted by IRNM4N

Did you drive into Bellagio? We did and those roads were amazing and gnarly at the same time. I had Nissan Leafs, etc about to draft bump me as I assumed a bus was coming around every blind turn. It was a great way to break the driver in! Have a blast and please post pics when you get back. Monaco should be amazing as you will see practice at least I'm sure for the GP.

I drove to our hotel in Lenno on the other side of Lake Como and can say the same about that driving experience. I definitely think I left a little something in my pants that wasn't there at the beginning of the drive

[///bproden]

Originally Posted by Bluex

Congratulations! Looks great.......we've done a few similar things. Our trip is ending today......Our flight leaves for home in a few hours, and after drinking all last night at Augustiner-Keller, I may be ready to go. lol.

My wife was completely on board with this trip (in fact it was her idea...lol) and really had a great time. It was a tough time leaving the kids behind for both of us (they usually travel with us everywhere), as well, but very worth it.

Your pics look great, glad you enjoyed your trip and car.

Thank you! It was a blast. I hope you've enjoyed yours as well. It is tough leaving the kids, but i'm sure you agree worth spending time with your loved one.

Originally Posted by ben1233

Great trip and thanks for the pics. I'm currently on my ED trip and I did the exact same 'loop' as you did with the exception of Langsfeld. And then I continued onto Bellagio, Milan (here now), Turin and Monte Carlo.

In my experience the autobahn in southern Germany is fairly restricted in a lot of areas, especially southeast of Munich. If you head any direction north it opens up a bit. I think I hit 140 and yes I concur it's a dream even at that speed. I remember my 335i ED in 2008 and you were holding on for dear life at 135!

Hopefully you will be reunited in the fastest manner possible.
Thanks again for sharing!

Thanks for letting me know! Next time i'll definitely head farther up North. It would have been fun to have the car broke in and had a chance to push it a little harder. Have fun and be safe!

Originally Posted by dsm918

Wow. You did a lot in the limited time. We will have our one year old with us but it will be a 2 week trip what is the vest you mentioned? Not familiar with that. Also, can you pinpoint the self wash place you mentioned? I'll put it on my route

Yes, we were busy! The vest was needed if you drive in Austria. One of the things you need to carry with you in the car if you drive there.

The Gas Station and car wash I used was:
OMV Tankstelle
Erdinger Allee 2
85356 München Flughafen

*see pic

Originally Posted by IRNM4N

Wow! Looks like you guys had an awesome trip. That spot in the alps with the natural spa is definitely on my list now for next time.

Yes, I'd definitely recommend it. We had a blast there and wish we could have stayed another night.

[literal]

awesome pics!

[RedBolden]

Great Post, makes me miss being out there, an amazing experience and you are robbing yourself if you don't do ED.

[KELVIN7]

So nice, im also planning don't doing the ED in the future but im questioning how much US MSPR is you car and how much did you actually pay? However, did you contact your local BMW for ED or ?

[///bproden]

Originally Posted by kk201358

So nice, im also planning don't doing the ED in the future but im questioning how much US MSPR is you car and how much did you actually pay? However, did you contact your local BMW for ED or ?

The MSRP on my car was $77k. If I remember right I think I saved about $4k-4500 on the car by doing ED; however, the trip ended up costing a bit more than that. So you really don't save money by doing it. You do get a great experience and trip out of it though. Would I do it again? Yeah most likely, but I would make sure I had more time to stay in Europe. Also, the wait to get my car has taken over 9 weeks. It's been pretty brutal. Plus, I ordered and waited a few months before going to Europe. If I would have bought straight from the dealer, and didn't go on the trip I would have had my car months earlier. That's another downfall.

Someone posted the price sheet and invoice pricing from US MSRP and ED MSRP before. I saved it, but having trouble finding it at the moment. If you have time you can search here for it. It was a useful tool for knowing what costs were at the time of purchasing my car.

Yes, you'd want to contact a dealer, as the ED will still go through them. When the car is delivered back in the states it also gets delivered to that dealer.

[F80NJM3]

Awesome experience. Thanks for sharing. Some of your pics definitely took me back

[VictorH]

You get a full tank of gas now? When I picked up my car it only came with a bit over the reserve mark (was 2009).