[Luwi25]

Hi guys! I wanted to write this long report about the trip but unfortunately I'm on call a bunch of times this month and have a load of work to get finished up so I'll give a quick report this time and come back to write out some more details and post way more pics! I got so much info off e90post and bimmerfest so I owe you guys this report anyway.

Okay so my Euro trip was very short, only 5 days. And to top that all off, it started out very rocky! I was to take a short flight from NY to Chicago to meet up with everyone there and take a direct flight to Munich from Chicago. To my dismay, 15 mins after we take off from NY they tell us something's wrong with the landing gear and re-direct us to Syracuse which was the Sh*tiest airport I've ever been too. Long story short, I miss my 6pm and 10pm direct flights into Munich and can only get to Chicago by 10:30p. We get stuck there overnight (United comped us at a really nice hotel for the night) and leave to London the next am. We have to stay in London overnight as well (United comped us again with a nice hotel in London) and only get to Munich Fri am (I was supposed to get in Thur am) so we’re a day late. My original appointment was on Thursday so I had to contact the US European delivery center and Freimann to notify them that I’ll be a day late. They completely understood (I guess this stuff happens all the time) and I only got to the ED center at about noon on Friday Mar 9th. From the airport I had originally organized for Rolf to pick us up but Rolf was busy on Fri am with some other guests so we took a taxi. It was only 45 euros to the ED center and it took about 20 mins from the airport. Can I tell you that I LOVE MUNICH! Everyone is so friendly and helpful there. And every car is a Bimmer, Audi or Benz. It’s crazy! Anyway, we waited about an hour at the ED center where we just had some food (sandwiches, pizza and pastries) and coffee while we anxiously awaited our name to be called. They finally called our name and Ernst helped us fill out paperwork and showed us the car. She was so beautiful! Pictures will never do you justice as to how gorgeous this car is! You just have to see this car…it’s amazing! I’m so in love!!! Lol! Anyway, I was just so mesmerized with it I don’t remember what Ernst was saying about the car or what was going on around me. I think it was because this is my first Bimmer, the first one I custom built for myself and the first brand new car I ever got with only 1 mile on it! I’ve had 2 other brand new cars before but I just went to a dealership and picked one up which had more than a mile on it for sure. Anyway, I don’t remember much about what I was thinking at the ED center except that I just wanted to drive her on that autobahn! So we took her out into town, went to the ADAC center (across from the big BMW dealership – you can also get your BMW souvenirs here). At the ADAC center we got some free maps (courtesy of our AAA card) and 2 stickers (one for Austria and one for Switzerland). We popped in the Euro Navigation disc (an absolute must for a Euro delivery trip…Thanks so much Mick!) and hit the road. So due to our flight mishap, I didn’t get to see much of Munich at all (sadly but I’m definitely gonna go back). The Euro navi disc worked perfectly well…it was so accurate! We didn't need to worry about where we were going at all and just drove as directed by the car navi system. I love the entire navi system on the BMW. I know people complain about it but if you just use your voice activation system it's soooo easy! We manipulated everything on the vehicle with voice activation!

Anyway, we took off to Milan next and went through Austria to get there. The drive was so beautiful. On the autobahn and autostratta we felt like there was no speed limit at all. We would generally go about 130-140mph (staying below 4k rpm) and cars on the left lane (Mostly Audi's, Bimmers, Porsche's and Benz's) would pass us easily and just disappear into the road ahead. I don’t even wanna know how fast these guys drive. It’s crazy! I’m guessing 160mph plus. Anyway we got into Milan late at night which I was glad about. Milan is a very dirty city with graffiti everywhere. There isn’t much to do there so I suggest you avoid Milan. Yuk! We went out to dinner at night in Milan but left early am to the northern coast of Italia, Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is 5 small villages on the coast of Italy and they are so beautiful! The drive was gorgeous as well. We went via Genoa and drove into Moneterosso. We parked at Monterosso and hiked along the coast for 2 hours to Vernazza. We then explored Vernazza, had dinner and gelato there, watched the sunset and then took the 5 min train ride back to Moneterosso. The hike was tiring (I got yelled at by my travel buddies for taking them on such a long hike) but the views were breathtaking and I thought it was absolutely worth it! I couldn’t even begin to capture the views on film but I tried. We all look really tired and crazy lookin’ in the pics but don’t mind that. Anyway, after Monterosso, we took off to Nice, France. We enjoyed dinner and the evening in Nice and left the next am to Monte Carlo, Monacco. Monte Carlo was gorgeous and such a rich country. The area around the Casino and Palace look alot like Rodeo Drive Beverly Hills and almost like a movie set. Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s and Bentleys there are like Hondas in the U.S. They are everywhere! Every other car that passed us was easily over $200k. I was really enjoying all that eye candy! We window shopped and had a really delicious lunch in Monte Carlo by the casino. I've never seen so many snobby people in my life as I did at this restaurant (and mind you, I'm from Los Angeles). It was actually funny to see the older people with furs and designer everything thrown up on them and their lil' dogs on burberry collars AND all the fat and old rich men with supermodel young girlfriends on their arms and all the snooty moms with their kids and nannies. After spending the afternoon in Monte Carlo, we took off to Geneva!

WARNING: We were on our way to Geneva and had to go through the Mont Blanc Tunnel. My cousin was driving, the slowest and most cautious driver of the 4 of us. Anyway, they charged us 30 euros just to go through the tunnel and what we didn’t know was that this tunnel is equipped with a bunch of radar detectors and cameras. My cousin was only going 5 mph over the speed limit only because we got stuck behind a truck. Anyway, when we got to the end of the tunnel, the police flagged us down and took her into their station there. They fined her 150 euros for speeding and showed her all these pics of the car from every angle and the radar readings where it had caught us speeding! We were shocked!! They were very nice but this Mont Blanc tunnel is a TRAP for the cops. This is how they make their money so beware! If any of the other 3 of us were driving they might have thrown us in jail cause we all averaged 130 mph and the speed limit in this tunnel was only 90 KILOMETERS! (50 mph).

Anyway, we finally made it to Geneva by night and the next morning we got the car washed off before dropping it off at the drop off center. My car is AW and it was dirty with dust, dead bugs and crap all over it. BUT the dirt didn’t show much at all! It was actually surprising to me cause I thought white would show dirt but it didn’t show it much at all. Anyway, once the car was squeaky clean, we took it to the drop off location which was by the airport, filled out some paperwork and left my baby there. I was so sad to leave her behind knowing I wouldn’t see her for another 5 weeks when she’ll be waiting for me at the dealer in LA. The drop off process was really easy and quick. I got to keep one of my keys and I took off the front license plate for memories (they told me I could). They told me she would get trucked out to Germany later in the week where she would then be placed on the next available ship headed to the US. Anyway, I gave her a kiss and went off to explore Geneva. Geneva is a fun city and we did some shopping and headed out to the International Auto Show in Geneva where there was a bunch of eye candy including the 2008 M3. The display was amazing for the M3 and I just stared at it for like 10 mins before my cousin pulled me away from it. It was really hot..beautiful car. More than the look, the power it holds is the most attractive feature. I think my other cousin plans to get it so hopefully I can drive it whenever that happens!

Overall it was a great trip! Even though it started out rocky, everything else went along smoothly as planned and the weather was perfect! The entire time we were there it was sunny with clear blue skies and it didn't rain even once which I was so thankful for!

We flew out of Geneva back to the US the next am. The drop off location for the Bimmer is right next to the airport with the parking lot facing the runway. When our flight took off down the runway, I looked at the parking lot where I had parked my baby and there she was, parked at the same spot where I left her. It was really cool to be able to see her one last time while taking off. I cannot wait to see her back in LA and have her there in my garage for good!

Anyway, that was a quick excerpt into my Euro delivery trip. I quickly posted some pics into an album on shutterfly. Just click on “select all” and “view in slideshow” to see the pics. I’ve written a quick blurb below each pic.

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AZsW7Zq1YtWQF

I promise you guys that I’ll post way more pics when I get a chance. I gotta run but I hope this was somewhat helpful when planning your trip to Munich or that it inspires some of you to do a European Delivery. The experience is truly priceless and is something everyone should live through. I had absolutely no time to take off of work but I managed to do extra calls and work weekends to make it happen and it was absolutely worth it! I highly recommend it for anyone buying a Bimmer. If you guys have any questions, PM me and I’ll be glad to give you some insight or help in anyway I can.

Thanks for Reading and Happy Travels!!!

[LEDZEP]

Originally Posted by Luwi25

When our flight took off down the runway, I looked at the parking lot where I had parked my baby and there she was, parked at the same spot where I left her. It was really cool to be able to see her one last time while taking off.

Aw... was she waving bye-bye? Was there a little tear coming from the headlight?

Nice write up! Thanks!

[Couch]

Great write-up and great pics to match.

Looks like a great time had.

[drkeng]

Good write up and nice pix. Looks like a great show in Geneva--you were lucky to see the M3 concept. May the next 5 weeks fly by.
So, on call in what field?

[Luwi25]

Originally Posted by drkeng

Good write up and nice pix. Looks like a great show in Geneva--you were lucky to see the M3 concept. May the next 5 weeks fly by.
So, on call in what field?

drkeng..on call in medicine. I'm a resident.

Thanks for the comments guys! Oh and I forgot to report on the most important thing of all! The 335i coupe performance! No wonder they call BMW the Ultimate Driving Machine! The drive and handling on this machine was amazing!! I was going 100mph on curvy roads with complete confidence because this car would just HUGS the road. And the drive was so smooth. We never felt like we were driving that fast. I can't stop talking about how the car handles and how sturdy it is!

I have one word to describe it....WOW

[normtrum]

Great trip, and super write up. If that was the short version, then I'm kind of scared to see what the long one looks like! (kidding- can't wait to see more!)

[IrvRobinson]

Very well done,great writeup,really nice pictures and you were able to see the grandest of the Auto Shows......did you plan the trip around the Geneva Show ?
btw,it's closer to 8 weeks for redelivery on the west coast,but maybe you'll get lucky and things will happen a little faster.Take her out for a long run up Highway 1 to Carmel ! Thanks for sharing your trip.......A ++

[Luwi25]

Originally Posted by IrvRobinson

Very well done,great writeup,really nice pictures and you were able to see the grandest of the Auto Shows......did you plan the trip around the Geneva Show ?
btw,it's closer to 8 weeks for redelivery on the west coast,but maybe you'll get lucky and things will happen a little faster.Take her out for a long run up Highway 1 to Carmel ! Thanks for sharing your trip.......A ++

Thanks for those pre-ED tips Irv! I never got a chance to thank you for that before. I didn't plan our trip around the Geneva autoshow but felt I got lucky with that coincidence!

8 weeks for re-delivery??? I thought 5-6 weeks. Why so long? Oh no! This puts a damper on my mood. yuk! Do you know why this may be? I feel like I've been waiting forever. And me being an impatient person does not help at all. Let me know if you find out anything else. Also do dealers have a better way at tracking the vehicle than I do? What's the best way to track the car and get an estimate on when she'll arrive in LA?