[KEVIN88GT]

after paying for your ticket (and maybe your significant other's ticket if you dont want to travel alone) and hotel and misc. expenses I dont see how you would save any money.

[ska///235i]

sometimes is not about saving money on ED...is about the trip to Europe, the BMW factory tour and the upcoming BMW Welt....The German Beer $ Sausages....the women, the Autobahn...etc

if you want to save money....buy a use bimmer

[KEVIN88GT]

lol...german food....the germans have the worst food in europe

[SteveMD]

If you're in it to save money, you can get a flight for about $1100, pick up the car and drop it off in one day. All for a 7% discount on the car and great lease numbers if you lease of course..

Where ED really works is you get to go to Europe. I have friends and family in England. I may do ED on the next car.

And then there's the Ring!

[AlexM]

Ehm... guys... beemers are MUCH cheaper in US, i'm confused I for one, would prefer to go to the States and pick mine up, no matter the travel costs, i would still save money! I'm paying much more in EURs than you guys in USDs

[Gripster]

It's not about the savings really, it's about the experience. We saved $$ on the car, but easily spent every penny and then some in Germany/Australia/Italy. But the experience is unique and the memories are priceless.

While it is possible to save a few bucks by flying there and coming right back, you would be missing the point.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by KEVIN88GT

after paying for your ticket (and maybe your significant other's ticket if you dont want to travel alone) and hotel and misc. expenses I dont see how you would save any money.

You save money because you were going to travel to Europe anyway, since you are an upper middle class american with worldly aspirations and a hunger for cultural variety. Or not, in which case it saves you nothing and might even cost you more.

But who cares? ED isn't designed to save you money, its designed to provide you with an awesome experience and it is definitely one hell of a good time.

[Daas]

Well...they do pay for your ticket. I think they will even pay for a second ticket (promotion).

[TTG]

To me it was all about the savings since I go to Europe at least 3 times a year for work and once for vacation..... Here is how you save $$$$

-Get a ED car $1K over invoice
-Use miles for the air travel (if you have them..... I had tons)
-I used miles again to stay in Munich for 4 nights (HHonors....again I had tons of points)

As far as not doing ED alone..... I have several friends who live close to Munich and they have joined me there for 4 days for the event!

Total Cost: $1k over ED invoice.....plus food and train expenses for couple of days.....

The rest was completely irrelevant to me...(autobahn, German Beer Etc.... I lived in Europe for 8 years... I am over all of that)

Overall, you are right: -if you go to a dealer and do ED and take your significant other & vacation there... The savings from the discount you get will offset some of your travel costs..... It will be one fun trip though :-)

[picus]

Originally Posted by AlexM

Ehm... guys... beemers are MUCH cheaper in US, i'm confused I for one, would prefer to go to the States and pick mine up, no matter the travel costs, i would still save money! I'm paying much more in EURs than you guys in USDs

That's not how it works. When you do ED you get the US price minus a percentage (called the ED price), which you can then negotiate down. You save money by negotiating down the ED price, plus you get a deal on the ticket, two free weeks of insurance, etc. In the end in the US how much you save depends on the value of the car (more expensive cars = you save more), but you should always save a bit and of course you get the experience.

When I was in Cal we got $1,100 over ED invoice (which was $5,500 less than MSRP), the trip cost was about $5k so in the end we saved $500, but we got a trip to Europe.

[STE92VE]

Originally Posted by KEVIN88GT

after paying for your ticket (and maybe your significant other's ticket if you dont want to travel alone)

I thought Lufthansa is doing 2 for 1 tickets?

Originally Posted by ska

...The German Beer $ Sausages....the women, the Autobahn...etc

If you're doing ED with your significant other, I doubt "the women" will enter into the German experience!

[shragon]

yep, just think of it as you're getting a free trip out of it. if i wasn't in dire need of a car, i would've done ED.

[-=SPECTRE=-]

Originally Posted by KEVIN88GT

after paying for your ticket (and maybe your significant other's ticket if you dont want to travel alone) and hotel and misc. expenses I dont see how you would save any money.

I figured it up and by doing ED I was saving around $6,300 off of MSRP by doing ED. Most of that via the discount but also some due to lowered sales tax thanks to reduced purchase price.

You can do a 5 day trip to Europe pretty cheap if you plan it well. I found flights on Lufthansa from Atlanta and Charlotte to Frankfurt or Munich for $400-$600. If you take a friend with you you can split the cost via the "2 for 1" fare offer for ED. So that's $200-$300 for airfare. Figure $300 a day for hotel and food and that's $1400-$2100 for 5 days in Europe. So you're still saving over $4,000 vs. MSRP.

[Majikthese42]

Originally Posted by KEVIN88GT

after paying for your ticket (and maybe your significant other's ticket if you dont want to travel alone) and hotel and misc. expenses I dont see how you would save any money.

Use your Frequent Flyer miles. Out-of-pocket cost = $0. If you were planning a European vacation, and planning on renting a car over there you can really save a bundle. There is nothing like your German car christened by getting its very first stone chip on the Autobahn!

[bimmerFUD]

Originally Posted by KEVIN88GT

lol...german food....the germans have the worst food in europe

Don't let the Brits off the hook so easy. Anyway, the beer makes up for it. And if you drink enough beer, the food starts to taste pretty good.

[IrvRobinson]

Originally Posted by KEVIN88GT

after paying for your ticket (and maybe your significant other's ticket if you dont want to travel alone) and hotel and misc. expenses I dont see how you would save any money.

You will definitely save a significant amount of money ( if you don't,you're buying from the wrong dealer ) and have the trip of a lifetime and will probably never buy a car stateside after this experience if it goes smoothly.....

[beemah]

^concur

[BMW F22]

If you're able to get $600 over ED invoice, that's a saving of about $6400 over MSRP. Take $1100 for ticket and spend $2000 if you want to, you'd end up saving about $3100.

Besides, you get a trip to Europe, drive the car where it was meant to be driven: the Ring and the autobahn, and did I mention A TRIP TO EUROPE!?!?!

[CALIF65GM]

Not about the $$$$ saved as most people end-up spending slightly more with the cost of the trip factored-in.

It's about the experience and it's a vacation thrown-in.

You have to do it personally to realize it's not about the $$$$ saved. Once you've done it yourself then you'll understand; otherwise, you'll just think we're all just blowing smoke.