[BK]

Originally Posted by bavarian19

25 min is nothing... just consider it a mini meet...


BK, you going to join us???

I got the green light to join you tomorrow AM, so I plan to be there. The whole thing almost got nixed today when I found out my not-yet-2 y.o. son had a high fever and my wife took him to see a doctor. He has come down with some sort of virus, and it's not good for my wife (pregnant) to be around him right now. He still has a bit of a fever but right now seems to be on the mend so my wife agreed to watch him in the morning. We'll see tomorrow -- if he's not well tomorrow morning, I will have to call the whole thing off.

But for now, I'm counting on being able to go. Where is the IHOP? Did I miss the address? 8:45 sounds about right to me if it's near FedEx field.

EDIT: Found it, two pages ago - damn, we make these threads long!
IHOP Restaurant
2103 Brightseat Rd
Hyattsville, MD

I'll look for you guys around 8:45. Who should I look for?

[KL2DC]

BK, you'd look for a monaco and mystic blue e90...won't miss AJ's car...is the one that is park in the most OCD manner

[BK]

Originally Posted by KL2DC

BK, you'd look for a monaco and mystic blue e90...won't miss AJ's car...is the one that is park in the most OCD manner

Okay, will do. And you guys look for a black Civic with a dent and bird crap all over it.

[KL2DC]

Originally Posted by BK

Okay, will do. And you guys look for a black Civic with a dent and bird crap all over it.

... too bad I can't make it tomorrow. Will catch you at the next one, for sure.

Btw what year's your civic?

[thd13]

Sorry you can't join us, Donny. We'll take lots of pics for you.

BK- Looking forward to meeting you. Why can't you join us at the event by the way?

AJ and BK- 8:15 right? At the IHOP?

[KL2DC]

feel the need to promote the leeds manor video that Shim made...

[BK]

Originally Posted by thd13

Sorry you can't join us, Donny. We'll take lots of pics for you.

BK- Looking forward to meeting you. Why can't you join us at the event by the way?

AJ and BK- 8:15 right? At the IHOP?

I think you were asking Donny, because I plan (or maybe "planned," see below) to go to the event, for sure!

Anyway, around 11pm, my wife called me upstairs to let me know my son's temperature shot up to over 105 degrees, so we had to give him more medicine and put him in the bath to cool down. He's in decent spirits, so I think he feels okay, but his temp is pretty high and we're just hoping it goes down. As it is, it's looking less likely I'll go tomorrow. If you don't see me, no need to wait for me.

So for now, I'm playing it by ear. And if I can go tomorrow, I thought it was 8:45, but I'll be there around 8:15 if that's the plan. Probably on very little sleep if I go. Doctor told us to check temp every three hrs. Next temperature check will be 2am, then 5am.

[bavarian19]

815 is what we are shooting for...


and as donny has hinted to, I have a mild case of OCD... I will park where there is the least dust, cars, people, living organisms... and Ill be one of two possible E90's in the lot...


Hope your child is feeling better...

[KL2DC]

BK, hope your son gets well soon...

[BK]

Thanks, guys, for the well wishes. Strange thing is he hasn't been sick since he was a very little baby, when he got 3 or 4 fevers in the span of a month or two (it's all blurry now).

In the tradition of wandering on the Mid-Atlantic threads, I will be picking up my car in probably a week or so. I want to get the tire hazard warranty. This is the one that the guy at Passport said they sell (not my CA... the finance guy, I guess). Is this the tire warranty you guys got? As you can see, it's $495 for 3 years, with a maximum value of $2000 worth of tire replacements. He also showed me their "Gold Protection Plan," or something, which includes tire replacement every 20,000 miles or something in addition to the warranty, but it's $2800 or something. In any case, there's no chance I'm getting that, so I didn't bother to scan it.

Is this the tire warranty you'd recommend? Fidelity Warranty Services.

[KL2DC]

BK, that's the same one I opted for...I have mixed feelings on the value of it but I guess it only takes a couple of flats to justify. Also the plan covers wheel and tire as well. Should make more sense with your 162's and lower profile tires than my granny 156s all seasons, though. My CA at the time briefed me before the F&I guy that, really there are only 2 things worth considering on the menu, that is the tire/wheel insurance and the extended warranty/maintenance plan. But he mentioned I can or should wait out a little for the extended warranty/maintenance plan as this can be exercised in the 3rd year of ownership.

The Gold Protection plan is pretty new, it wasn't fully offered when I took delivery in March.

[bavarian19]

Originally Posted by BK

Thanks, guys, for the well wishes. Strange thing is he hasn't been sick since he was a very little baby, when he got 3 or 4 fevers in the span of a month or two (it's all blurry now).

In the tradition of wandering on the Mid-Atlantic threads, I will be picking up my car in probably a week or so. I want to get the tire hazard warranty. This is the one that the guy at Passport said they sell (not my CA... the finance guy, I guess). Is this the tire warranty you guys got? As you can see, it's $495 for 3 years, with a maximum value of $2000 worth of tire replacements. He also showed me their "Gold Protection Plan," or something, which includes tire replacement every 20,000 miles or something in addition to the warranty, but it's $2800 or something. In any case, there's no chance I'm getting that, so I didn't bother to scan it.

Is this the tire warranty you'd recommend? Fidelity Warranty Services.

I would consider that. Is your 330 on order a sport package equipped car? If so, definitley go for it. I have the 162's and RF's on. I had one front tire give me issues that needed to be replaced (and im still in less than one year of ownership). The tire and mounting/balancing cost me $375 . The worst part is, that was with my BMW CCA discount... They wanted to charge me $410 for it otherwise

I also had a nail puncture in the same week. Luckily it was in the rear tire, of which are much more expensive and are on national backorder. So the dealership was 'forced' into plugging the hole, and they were generous enough to do so for free with my luck and tires that week...


One thing I would make sure is that the warranty will also cover rims. Many times, problems may arise from a bent rim and not the tire.


If it is a tire and wheel coverage, I would say go for it. This way, the dealership handles your problems with little hassle.

[BK]

Thanks. Yes, my 330 has the sport pkg. I've seen enough tire issues to scare me, so I guess I will get it. There are some major potholes around here, as you guys know.

$410! Yikes. And they really need to do something about the backorder issue.

I've taken a second look at the paperwork, and the other plan they sell is actually called the "Passport BMW Gold Premium Plan" and in addition to tire hazard replacement, it replaces all 4 tires every 25,000 miles for as long as you own the car. $2800. Pretty good deal if you own the car for 75,000 miles, I guess, but I think I'll stick with the $495 insurance.

[BK]

Originally Posted by bavarian19

One thing I would make sure is that the warranty will also cover rims. Many times, problems may arise from a bent rim and not the tire.

I didn't see this until I re-read your post. I'll check on that.

Thanks, guys! I hope to see you tomorrow. Guess I should go to bed soon.

[KL2DC]

BK...as I posted, it does cover wheels.

[BK]

Excellent. I guess I'm tired and overlooking things in posts tonight. Thanks!

[bavarian19]

Today is going to be a goooood day

[thd13]

BK, I hope your child is feeling better. I will see you guys in a little bit.

[bavarian19]

That was a good event!!!

It was good to see Truong again, and nice to meet Brian...


For starters... the IHOP we met at doesnt exist anymore...


The event itself... (Dont read ahead if you dont want the spoiler)


They started off with a meet and greet with some snack food and drinks while you wait for the last group to finish up. Then they divide you into two groups...

The cars... It was two head to head comparos. The first one that the three of us went to was the Cadillac SRX vs. Lexus RX350. We each had two laps in the SUV's. The course started with a hard acceleration to hard braking into a hairpin turn. Next was some weaving cones, and finished with a few twisties... We all somewhat agreed on the driving characteristics on both vehicles. The SRX was a better handling and driving SUV while the lexus was pretty... The RX has a traction control that kicked in way too early (as I found out the hard way)... As Truong said... I tried to spin her around

The next comparo was the STS4 (awd) and the 530xi. This course was a little more open, and we had a little more fun with the cars here. Unfortunately though, only one lap per person. Again, the course started with a hard acceleration to hard braking, but then a short straight section into some pretty fun twisties to finish up. I ended up getting a little too ambitious on my last run with the 530xi... I got a round of applause and compliments from the crowd and a few comments on taking one turn int he twisties a little strong and smoking the tires

I will be the first to admit I did kill a few cones though...

All in all a good day!!!

[bavarian19]

What the cones thought as I approached the track:

[BK]

AJ and Truong, very nice meeting you! As AJ said, his performance was the most exciting of the day, garnering a round of applause from the assembled crowd (those waiting for their turn behind the wheel).

They split the two groups up into groups of three, and when you drive, there was an instructor in the front seat with you, and the two others in the back. So AJ, Truong, and I all rode in the same cars together. After the laps, we rotated drivers. I'd say AJ was the most aggressive driver of the three of us, lighting up the Lexus DTC warnings and smoking the tires of the 530xi.

We had a blast. The event was sponsored by Cadillac, apparently, so we got gift bags afterwards with a Caddy hat, R&T notebook, On*Star pen, etc. All in all, a good day, even if I had to show up in the Civic. Thanks for not laughing at me, guys.

BTW, Donny, my Civic is a 1997 EX. When it is clean, it doesn't look so bad, but it ain't fast, and right now, it ain't clean.

Truong probably will have some photos posted here later. I forgot to bring a camera. Hope you guys who went later today and tomorrow also have fun!

[KL2DC]

Guys, sounds great...waiting for pics. It sucks that you only get one lap each, most driving events that I have attended are pretty much open ended with multiple laps/seat time and usually turns out to be pretty much an all day affair. It also blows that you have to be chaperoned...but other people's cars were abused nonetheless

So, did they solicit feedback on the cars? I take it you guys were there 2 to 2.5 hours max.

BK: My civic is a '99 sedan lx (76k miles on her) ... an oldie but a strong runner As reliable as the sun rising every morning. She's a little tattered now that all attention is on her baby brother (my e90). Will spend more time on her in the months to come.