[Oli]

Is this possible on the 3 series?? I'd rather enjoy a hoon back from Germany in my 335d!

[dxb335d]

Yes you can. A forum member Andrei did it to his home in Romania, also in a 335d.

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by Oli

Is this possible on the 3 series?? I'd rather enjoy a hoon back from Germany in my 335d!

Don't see why not, ask your dealer, but you'll get bored on the way back, won't you?

[toxicnerve]

Won't you have to take it easy as the engine will still need to be run-in from new?

[Oli]

Only brakes need running in and that's only 200 miles!

[magic77]

I tried to do thsi last year and was told UK BMW was not taking part in the process. You can factory pick up if you buy in most countries in Europe even USA but not in UK. Unless soemthign changed in last 10months

To say I was annoyed would be good way to put it, especially having previously been to factory done the tour and seen teh new client pick up center was kind a looking forward in driving out in my new car

[neo871]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

Yes you can. A forum member Andrei did it to his home in Romania, also in a 335d.

I'm from Romania and I bought the car from BMW Munchen. However, if you would like to pick it up from the BMW Welt there is an extra cost and it also takes longer. I didn't chose this because i would have waited one more month.

[dxb335d]

Originally Posted by toxicnerve

Won't you have to take it easy as the engine will still need to be run-in from new?

Mate, its already been hammered.

[scottishpete]

Nope us UK lot miss out again

[F31-340i]

You might be able to speak to BMW Park Lane to see if they can help - they are the only dealer (I think) owned by BMW GB and typically have better links into BMW GmbH. They might be able to sort out a diplomatic* sale without the tax free or discount with factory collection, or just even a normal sale.

I lived in Munich for several years (and did the trip to/from the UK many times) and can give some tips on the more interesting routes back to Calais if you sort it out.



*The trouble is the way Euro prices are you are really dependant upon using UK prices as these are now lower than those in mainland Europe. I'm not sure whether Park Lane can get around this (i.e. they usually price in Euros ex factory, and create a RHD UK spec car). Plus if you do do factory collection the car would be put on German plates first, which can be a faff and may show on the log book (but not sure).

[BGM]

spec it out in the uk and then ring a german dealer?

[ghb]

Originally Posted by ///ajd

You might be able to speak to BMW Park Lane to see if they can help - they are the only dealer (I think) owned by BMW GB and typically have better links into BMW GmbH. They might be able to sort out a diplomatic* sale without the tax free or discount with factory collection, or just even a normal sale.

I lived in Munich for several years (and did the trip to/from the UK many times) and can give some tips on the more interesting routes back to Calais if you sort it out.



*The trouble is the way Euro prices are you are really dependant upon using UK prices as these are now lower than those in mainland Europe. I'm not sure whether Park Lane can get around this (i.e. they usually price in Euros ex factory, and create a RHD UK spec car). Plus if you do do factory collection the car would be put on German plates first, which can be a faff and may show on the log book (but not sure).

Park Lane currently price in pounds (for UK spec models) as euros have become prohibitive; not sure when they changed as I paid in Euros in 2002. It was the first question I asked them when I was ordering my car last year as the Euro prices even with discount were eye watering. Having previously picked up 2 cars from the factory (my 323s back in the 80s) I enquired about this as well. Not an option currently although apparently it was under review.

No way they could fix it for me; seemingly the issue was that cars that do not come through the BMW UK delivery system would not be logged into the network and would effectively appear as a grey import as its first registration would have been in Germany as said above. It would also not have been eligible for the BMW UK extended warranty (the international warranty is 2 years). Just not worth it for a drive back from Munich.

As an aside Park Lane have been busy because they are the only dealer authorised to sell LHD cars in UK because they do diplomatic and similar. If you order a UK spec LHD car they can sell priced in GBP which, if you know about it, is a bargain for folk on the continent but what they lose out on nationally isn't clear and their overall access to LHD cars is effectively limited.

As for speccing it out and ringing a German dealer, as stated above that is fine so long as you are happy to pay the now higher Euro prices: 335d base model prices (bmw.de) are as follows - E90 €45600; E91 €47250; E92 €49150 (and if you go the Belgium website a vanilla E92 335d starts at €52900 - remember the days of cheap imports from Belgium...). The only German dealers who would probably be interested in a RHD sale would be those supporting British Forces Germany; I'm sure they would say why? You can get it cheaper in UK!

Whether the reasons are valid or not it is a pity that it isn't an option any more but personally I don't think any work arounds are currently worth it for a UK spec car.

[F31-340i]

Originally Posted by ghb

Park Lane currently price in pounds (for UK spec models) as euros have become prohibitive; not sure when they changed as I paid in Euros in 2002. It was the first question I asked them when I was ordering my car last year as the Euro prices even with discount were eye watering. Having previously picked up 2 cars from the factory (my 323s back in the 80s) I enquired about this as well. Not an option currently although apparently it was under review.

No way they could fix it for me; seemingly the issue was that cars that do not come through the BMW UK delivery system would not be logged into the network and would effectively appear as a grey import as its first registration would have been in Germany as said above. It would also not have been eligible for the BMW UK extended warranty (the international warranty is 2 years). Just not worth it for a drive back from Munich.

As an aside Park Lane have been busy because they are the only dealer authorised to sell LHD cars in UK because they do diplomatic and similar. If you order a UK spec LHD car they can sell priced in GBP which, if you know about it, is a bargain for folk on the continent but what they lose out on nationally isn't clear and their overall access to LHD cars is effectively limited.

As for speccing it out and ringing a German dealer, as stated above that is fine so long as you are happy to pay the now higher Euro prices: 335d base model prices (bmw.de) are as follows - E90 €45600; E91 €47250; E92 €49150 (and if you go the Belgium website a vanilla E92 335d starts at €52900 - remember the days of cheap imports from Belgium...). The only German dealers who would probably be interested in a RHD sale would be those supporting British Forces Germany; I'm sure they would say why? You can get it cheaper in UK!

Whether the reasons are valid or not it is a pity that it isn't an option any more but personally I don't think any work arounds are currently worth it for a UK spec car.

All rings true, though last car I bought from them was in 2002 too, so memory a bit hazy!

Do they do the diplo/NATO/mil discounts on the UK price then (15/10%)? Still I guess even if they do its not much more than a typical dealer discount anywhere in the UK these days.

[ghb]

Yes, they do the 15/10 discounts on the UK list price plus a bit more and of course if you happen to be in certain situations you don't pay any VAT either although that really means they don't feel any need to go much further with the discounts! That said the Highline was announced after mine was ordered but before it was built and they happily finessed it so that I got the price advantages of that thrown in as well.

Certainly no snags in identifying a production slot and easy going through all the options to build it just as wanted. I have always had excellent service from them and the team; they certainly know the differences and quirks of different national markets and specs as they deal with all the different cars that get bought by the diplomatic community in London.

I am always disappointed by the amount of comments about how poor dealers are these days which in nearly 30 years of driving BMWs has very rarely been my experience. My salesman was very busy dealing with a request from a customer overseas who just happened to want 30 Minis! That didn't change his attitude to my little one off and the whole process was excellent from the moment I made contact to the immaculate presentation of the car when I picked it up - delivered a week early.

That said it would have been nice to have had a trip to Munchen for a couple of weiss beers and pick it up from the factory.