My Trip to Munich

liquid · 11-05-2006, 06:11 AM

Well I got a plane on the 31st and got back last night the 4th. I did European Delivery for a 328i. I mainly did it for the cost savings (I was able to get $1,350 off MSRP); it looked great on paper until I decided to bring the girlfriend. If any of you are curious about the trip I will tell you my experience. I got 2 round trip tickets (United I had a lay over in Dulles each way) and 3 night in a hotel (Four Points Olympia Park by Sheridan) for $1,805 via Expedia. I got there on the November first which is a German Holiday (All Saints Day) so I couldn’t get the car. Germany has a very good rail system. I was able to take the train right from the Airport to my hotel. The cost was $20 Euro for 2 people to take the train for 3 days. BMW’s, Benz,s, Audi’s, and Porsche are a lot more common there. I saw a lot of the 1 series however I only saw one M model (M5). On Thursday I went to pick up the car, once again took the train. My dealer didn’t set up a factory tour which I will let him know on Monday how displeased I am with that.

My hotel was right next to the BMW cylinder building. I went to the museum, which was about a 10-minute walk for there. I am still not sure if it was worth paying the 2 Euro’s to get it. Mostly older BMW’s I got to see the first 328 soupe. I got to see the Welt which is still in construction, it looks awesome to bad I didn’t wait to go in the summer. On second thought nah there is no way I could wait that long for the car. I did stop at a dealership in downtown Munich. I got to see the wheels that come with the European model. Also they offer the individual program for the 3 series there. Since I seen so many I asked about prices. I had figured there they ran about 25-30k Euro. I was way wrong he had a 335i and the price was more like 43k Euro.

So now on to the car. I got the 328i Sparkling Graphite, Black Leatherette, Dark Wood, Comfort Access, and Sports Package. I will post pictures later; they are in the gf’s camera. The wheels look a lot better in person, I can stop browsing tire-rack looking for a new set (for a while anyway). I saw no brown in the Gray wood which I am happy about. I really like the Graphite no regrets getting that color at all. Of course the car drives great. I went with stick, it has been about 5 years since I drove stick, and I had no problem. I was worried I would have stalled it driving it out of the factory lol. Stick is the way to go. I drove around Germany for about 2 days total of 95 miles, got lost a lot. I did go on the autobahn but only went about 90mph; there was a lot of traffic. Speaking of traffic there was a lot most of time everywhere.

On Friday I got the dropped the car off. The directions I got form the dealer were awful, a few people I spoke to when I got there dropping off their cars felt the same. There was about a 45-minute wait since a few people were ahead of me. I spoke to Thomas (nice guy very good English), he came down looked at the car took off the front plate and put it in the cubbyhole in the bottom of the trunk. Unfortunately I was only able to keep one tag. They had mounted it on a US size frame on the front of the car which looks awful, I am sure I can change that. He offered to call a cab but did give me great directions on how to get to the train.

I had a great time and would do it again. I would even strong consider it for an M model that offers no cost savings. Next time I would bring a lot more cash (American Express isn’t taken everywhere). The beer was great, a bit sweeter then beer here. I am still mixed on the food, I guess I am a picky eater. So picky that the last night I was there we ate at Hard Rock, the gf’s idea she was paying for it and she is a lot pickier then me. The hotel was very nice I would recommend it. The main reason I went with it was for the covered parking. The bad part is that now I have to wait 4 – 6 weeks for the car.

One last word of advice is be prepared to go past a lot of security check points when you fly back to the US. I walked passed 2 scanners in Germany and had my carry on checked twice. I guess that was not enough when I switched flights in Dulles I went through a scanner again and got my carry on check another time. I also had to claim my luggage in Dulles and hand it over to Customs to check it again. They are a lot more strict with carry on it the US. My gf bought a beer bottle opener for her dad I did not know about. She got on the plane from with it in Germany. In the US they wouldn’t let her bring it on since it had a 2-inch blade.

JSpira · 11-05-2006, 09:33 AM