European Delivery

tripberger · 09-26-2010, 02:18 PM

I have already negatiated a great price on my E92 M3 and I'm in the process of determing when I want to go over to get it. Here is the question, I know I can get a date of December 3rd but do I wait until the spring(March?) to go over to make the experience the best possible given the weather and proximity to Christmas. Also, I live in Cincinnati so driving my new M is not going to happen until April anyway. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

ucla1995 · 09-26-2010, 02:32 PM

you probably should go to the ED board on a different forum (I don't want to make the owners of this site mad by naming it but search for it)

quality_sound · 09-26-2010, 03:25 PM

I wouldn't do it in a winter month. You have to rent winter wheels/tires since your car will still come with summers. And driving in/around Germany in the winter is NOT how you want to experience it first. With all the high-speed slush you're going to drive through, all the steel shavings from the snowplows, and all the salt being kicked up your'e front end is going to be FUCKED up. I know, I took delivery on Jan 18th. Granted, being stationed here and DD'ing the car I knew it was going to get some winter damage, but it sounds like you don't want to drive yours in the winter so I'd push it to the spring.

Voltigeur · 09-26-2010, 05:01 PM

-

Have to agree w/ quality_sound: driving in Europe in mid-winter can be a challenge especially when you'll be new to the car, AND it has a lot of power. As stated, you will have to do the whole winter tires change.

cesspenar · 09-26-2010, 05:59 PM

im getting mine in october. My cut off date was end of oct. i woudn't go after that. and def not in december.

immiketoo · 09-26-2010, 06:57 PM

I did both of my trips in summer/fall, and I will say that to enjoy the experience, dry roads would be best. However, I would LOVE to see Bavaria at Christmas time. Especially Oberammergau. I don't think you could go wrong if you went now.

esquire · 09-26-2010, 07:13 PM

Financially, it'll be a wash. The money you'll save by going in the summer and not getting winter tires, will be negated by the higher airfares in those months. The only question that remains to you is whether you're willing to wait many more months to enjoy the drive for the several days that you're out in Germany.

My personal inclination is no. I'd rather get the car back to me stateside sooner so that I can enjoy the drive for years and years rather than a few days in Germany. Besides, driving with snow/winter tires isn't that bad.

BenTrovato · 09-26-2010, 10:55 PM

ED is about a great experience, and if you have to get snow tires to make the experience that much better, go for it. Obviously if you're counting dollars, just don't go all together so I'm assuming cost is no issue.

In terms of what you've said, I wouldn't do it because I don't like the sound of putting a few km's on a new engine, and then letting it sit for 3-4 months until summer arrives to drive it again.

esquire · 09-26-2010, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenTrovato

ED is about a great experience, and if you have to get snow tires to make the experience that much better, go for it. Obviously if you're counting dollars, just don't go all together so I'm assuming cost is no issue.

In terms of what you've said, I wouldn't do it because I don't like the sound of putting a few km's on a new engine, and then letting it sit for 3-4 months until summer arrives to drive it again.

you misunderstood the OP. he doesn't have to wait 3-4 months AFTER he meets the car. (he'd probably only have to wait about a month). his question is whether he should take delivery in december, or wait 3-4 months and take delivery in march or so.

also... if you're counting dollars then european delivery IS the way to go, since you end up saving almost 6k off of US invoice on an M3 (and almost 10k off US MSRP). What you spend on your airfare and trip expenses is more than outweighed by the substantial savings ED offers.

BenTrovato · 09-26-2010, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

you misunderstood the OP. he doesn't have to wait 3-4 months AFTER he meets the car. (he'd probably only have to wait about a month). his question is whether he should take delivery in december, or wait 3-4 months and take delivery in march or so.

also... if you're counting dollars then european delivery IS the way to go, since you end up saving almost 6k off of US invoice on an M3 (and almost 10k off US MSRP). What you spend on your airfare and trip expenses is more than outweighed by the substantial savings ED offers.

No i didn't.

OP says that if he takes delivery in Dec he won't drive it until spring since he lives in Cinci. What I'm saying is I wouldn't take delivery in Dec, and then have the car sitting around in my garage until spring. If I'm going to break in the engine in Europe, I'd want to drive it again in a few weeks versus months. Just opinions.

Get it? Got it? Good.

karussell · 09-27-2010, 02:01 AM

If you don't plan on driving it in the winter at home, then probably not a good idea to try it over here.

If its early december you could get lucky and not have any snow, but I would have a set of snow tires ready. I drove my M3 through last years snow season in Germany. I went all over the place on Pilot Sport Alpins and the car did great. The paint is fine. Just don't follow directly behind other vehicles. Give them plenty of space as you should anyways. If I were you, i would take the car to southern spain/portugal in december. It would be a fantastic drive and you would have good weather down there.

esquire · 09-27-2010, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenTrovato

No i didn't.

OP says that if he takes delivery in Dec he won't drive it until spring since he lives in Cinci. What I'm saying is I wouldn't take delivery in Dec, and then have the car sitting around in my garage until spring. If I'm going to break in the engine in Europe, I'd want to drive it again in a few weeks versus months. Just opinions.

Get it? Got it? Good.

touche. i didn't catch the last part about him being in cincinnati.

Neon01 · 09-27-2010, 09:24 AM

I did a ED of my '09 335i coupe in late Jan of '09, primarily because my wife was about 5-6 months pregnant and we simply couldn't wait for spring. I did the whole rental winter setup too. The people were an absolute pleasure to deal with and very helpful (especially in finding the best, paint-friendly automatic car wash I've ever seen - those lucky germans have it all...), but it did add to the cost and created just one more thing we had to take care of post-delivery and pre-drop-off.

Driving through the Alps in winter wasn't bad when we went, but I think there was an uncharacteristically low amount of snow on the ground/roads. It was certainly beautiful though. If you plan to see Italy, winter is a GREAT time to go. Florence was a bit brisk, but very comfortable with a light jacket, and Rome was perfect for walking around even without a jacket at all (it was about 65-70F when we were there). The french Riviera is also gorgeous in the winter, and Monaco felt nearly deserted the day we toured it. What a stunning city that is.

If you plan to do a lot of touring of northern France, Germany, or some of the other northern countries, the temperatures do get a little cold for comfort. The single biggest drawback though is the solar cycle at that time of year. You really only get about 9 hours of daylight, making day trips very difficult to plan, and shortening your overall experience considerably vice a summer visit.

However, the biggest advantage of going in the winter (to me) is that you get your car back stateside by the time the weather gets nice here. So you have all summer to really enjoy it! Ideally, I would select a date in early March, so temps in Europe would be somewhat mild, you probably (depending on where you're traveling) won't need winter tires, and you'd have your car redelivered by around the end of April/early May when the weather is just getting perfect here.

quality_sound · 09-27-2010, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karussell

If you don't plan on driving it in the winter at home, then probably not a good idea to try it over here.

If its early december you could get lucky and not have any snow, but I would have a set of snow tires ready. I drove my M3 through last years snow season in Germany. I went all over the place on Pilot Sport Alpins and the car did great. The paint is fine. Just don't follow directly behind other vehicles. Give them plenty of space as you should anyways. If I were you, i would take the car to southern spain/portugal in december. It would be a fantastic drive and you would have good weather down there.

I was the same. Mine is a DD (I'm on Wintersport 3Ds though) and for the most part the paint is fine but you can't control people that pass you and sitting behind a snowplow sucks ass too.

The Portugal/Spain idea is fantastic. My wife did 15 months in southern Spain and the weather wasn't bad at all.

Untouchable · 10-02-2010, 02:13 AM

I also have a similar dilemma as Neon01 did, my wife will be delivering in mid March, making a spring pick up impossible. My only real options are waiting till late next Summer or going sometime in November of this year. I am also a bit worried about the whole snow tire renting ordeal and potential damage to the car. I would like to go from Germany to Italy, so I'm encouraged by Neon's post, anyone else do a November pickup? What kind of road conditions should I prepare myself for from Germany to Italy, any advice is welcomed.

karussell · 10-02-2010, 04:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Untouchable

I also have a similar dilemma as Neon01 did, my wife will be delivering in mid March, making a spring pick up impossible. My only real options are waiting till late next Summer or going sometime in November of this year. I am also a bit worried about the whole snow tire renting ordeal and potential damage to the car. I would like to go from Germany to Italy, so I'm encouraged by Neon's post, anyone else do a November pickup? What kind of road conditions should I prepare myself for from Germany to Italy, any advice is welcomed.

November I think would be fairly safe as long as you stick to the southern and western portions of Germany. I was on the ring in late november and it was actually not too cold either. warmed up to low 60's. This doesn't mean it could snow in November though. Everyone in the country gets their snow tires mounted in the next two weeks. The problem with driving to Italy from Germany in the winter is that little set of hills called the alps. You could get lucky there as well, but far more likely to hit bad weather and traffic jams.

Hence i recommend heading west into france and then south into spain and warmer weather. Also, it is the law in Germany to have proper tires for the weather. If you have an accident on summer tires and its near freezing, you are the guilty party.

1MORELAP · 10-06-2010, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cesspenar

im getting mine in october. My cut off date was end of oct. i woudn't go after that. and def not in december.

Same here. BTW, when do you pick yours up?

llis · 10-17-2010, 11:35 PM

I'm glad to see the recommendations in this thread. I just found out I'm set for ED on Dec 9th for an M3 Coupe ZCP. I'm hoping for moderate weather, but worse comes to worse I'll stick to the southern climes and hope to stretch her out a bit after the initial 1200. Or maybe I'll just get the snow tires there (Pirelli or Blizzak?), since I'll be needing those a bit back in Colorado. It's all very exciting. I've dreamt of this car for years.

quality_sound · 10-18-2010, 01:41 AM

You do NOT want to buy tires here. Trust me. You can rent them at a place very near the Welt.

quads · 10-29-2010, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quality_sound

You do NOT want to buy tires here. Trust me. You can rent them at a place very near the Welt.

More details please... why not? I'm taking an ED on an M3 near the end of december.

quality_sound · 10-30-2010, 04:01 AM

Because they're expensive as hell and i don't think you'd be able to avoid the VAT tax of 19% on top of the price of the tires. Plus, you'd have to find a way to get them back to the US. FedEx and UPS would be almost a grand in shipping.

There is a place near the Welt where you can rent winter wheel/tires.

www.edwintertires.com

quads · 10-30-2010, 10:43 PM

I'll be picking up a fully equipped e90 m3

I'm staying for about 4 weeks and driving through germany and poland visiting some family.
I know renting is an option but it's very expensive (more so for my e90 m3) and I'm just exploring options. For the rental I'd pay in europe I can have a new set of wheels and winter tires in the usa. If I have to rent, then I will but I'm just trying to make the most out of this as possible.

Here are some ideals I've come up with
1. bring a set with me as check in luggage - 4 of us will be flying out and I've got frequent flyer status so I can check in multiples. The wheels just fit the 50lb max and 62in total dimensions - W + L + H. (26in dia, 10in width). I've got a set of tire totes easily put handles on the wheels. yeah it's going to be a total pain, but it's a possibility

2. loan a set from someone in munich - who may have a spare set - of course I'll pay for it. Paying someone personally will definitely be cheaper

3. work with someone in munich who would be willing to go in together to pay for part of a set in germany and then afterwards, I'd just leave the set with them.

These are just some ideas - thats the whole point of a forum right? discuss and come up with ideas.

By the way the e90's need at least an 18in wheel. Even some 18's don't fit. What a pain.

What do you think? Any ideas?
David

09-26-2010, 02:18 PM	#1
tripberger Private 25 Rep 67 Posts Drives: 2016 F80 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Cincinnati, OH iTrader: (2) Garage List 2016 BMW M3 [0.00]	European Delivery - This December I have already negatiated a great price on my E92 M3 and I'm in the process of determing when I want to go over to get it. Here is the question, I know I can get a date of December 3rd but do I wait until the spring(March?) to go over to make the experience the best possible given the weather and proximity to Christmas. Also, I live in Cincinnati so driving my new M is not going to happen until April anyway. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
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09-26-2010, 02:32 PM	#2
ucla1995 Slow and low 59 Rep 636 Posts Drives: M5 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: USA iTrader: (2)	you probably should go to the ED board on a different forum (I don't want to make the owners of this site mad by naming it but search for it)
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09-26-2010, 03:25 PM	#3
quality_sound 8 tracks of madness 62 Rep 2,735 Posts Drives: Slowly Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: At home iTrader: (1)	I wouldn't do it in a winter month. You have to rent winter wheels/tires since your car will still come with summers. And driving in/around Germany in the winter is NOT how you want to experience it first. With all the high-speed slush you're going to drive through, all the steel shavings from the snowplows, and all the salt being kicked up your'e front end is going to be FUCKED up. I know, I took delivery on Jan 18th. Granted, being stationed here and DD'ing the car I knew it was going to get some winter damage, but it sounds like you don't want to drive yours in the winter so I'd push it to the spring.
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09-26-2010, 05:01 PM	#4
Voltigeur MacroRisk 109 Rep 2,523 Posts Drives: M3 E92 ED'09 / 335d Sport DD Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: TX iTrader: (0)	- Have to agree w/ quality_sound: driving in Europe in mid-winter can be a challenge especially when you'll be new to the car, AND it has a lot of power. As stated, you will have to do the whole winter tires change. __________________ Just thinking of something not so witty ///M3 E92 '09 Jerez Black \| 6MT \| Ext Fox Red \| Tech \| Prem \| 19s \|Heated Seats \| iPod \|Smartphone \| Euro Deliv June 09 Sold: 540iT / 530i / 323i
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09-26-2010, 05:59 PM	#5
cesspenar Enlisted Member 1 Rep 39 Posts Drives: E92 M3, 545i Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Florida iTrader: (0)	im getting mine in october. My cut off date was end of oct. i woudn't go after that. and def not in december.
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09-26-2010, 07:13 PM	#7
esquire Brigadier General 478 Rep 3,044 Posts Drives: 2011 Dakar Yellow M3, 2018 M5 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Orange County, California iTrader: (0)	Financially, it'll be a wash. The money you'll save by going in the summer and not getting winter tires, will be negated by the higher airfares in those months. The only question that remains to you is whether you're willing to wait many more months to enjoy the drive for the several days that you're out in Germany. My personal inclination is no. I'd rather get the car back to me stateside sooner so that I can enjoy the drive for years and years rather than a few days in Germany. Besides, driving with snow/winter tires isn't that bad. __________________ [ESS VT2-625] [Akrapovic Evolution Exhaust] [KW Clubsports] [OSS Angel Eyes] [Revinora r-CRT Lip] [Vorsteiner Boot] [Challenge Race Diffuser] [See the Build Thread HERE]
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09-26-2010, 10:55 PM	#8
BenTrovato Driver 37 Rep 1,577 Posts Drives: e92 335i Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Toronto iTrader: (4)	ED is about a great experience, and if you have to get snow tires to make the experience that much better, go for it. Obviously if you're counting dollars, just don't go all together so I'm assuming cost is no issue. In terms of what you've said, I wouldn't do it because I don't like the sound of putting a few km's on a new engine, and then letting it sit for 3-4 months until summer arrives to drive it again.
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09-27-2010, 02:01 AM	#11
karussell Lieutenant Colonel 353 Rep 1,749 Posts Drives: 4 wheels Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: NorCal iTrader: (1)	If you don't plan on driving it in the winter at home, then probably not a good idea to try it over here. If its early december you could get lucky and not have any snow, but I would have a set of snow tires ready. I drove my M3 through last years snow season in Germany. I went all over the place on Pilot Sport Alpins and the car did great. The paint is fine. Just don't follow directly behind other vehicles. Give them plenty of space as you should anyways. If I were you, i would take the car to southern spain/portugal in december. It would be a fantastic drive and you would have good weather down there. __________________ "It gave you amazing satisfaction, but anyone who says he loved it is either a liar or he wasn't going fast enough." - Jackie Stewart on racing at the Nurburgring
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09-27-2010, 09:24 AM	#13
Neon01 BMW Nut 50 Rep 452 Posts Drives: 12 X5 35i Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bel Air, MD iTrader: (8) Garage List 2004 Honda S2000 [0.00] 2005 BMW M3 - Retired [0.00] 2009 BMW M3 - Retired [0.00]	I did a ED of my '09 335i coupe in late Jan of '09, primarily because my wife was about 5-6 months pregnant and we simply couldn't wait for spring. I did the whole rental winter setup too. The people were an absolute pleasure to deal with and very helpful (especially in finding the best, paint-friendly automatic car wash I've ever seen - those lucky germans have it all...), but it did add to the cost and created just one more thing we had to take care of post-delivery and pre-drop-off. Driving through the Alps in winter wasn't bad when we went, but I think there was an uncharacteristically low amount of snow on the ground/roads. It was certainly beautiful though. If you plan to see Italy, winter is a GREAT time to go. Florence was a bit brisk, but very comfortable with a light jacket, and Rome was perfect for walking around even without a jacket at all (it was about 65-70F when we were there). The french Riviera is also gorgeous in the winter, and Monaco felt nearly deserted the day we toured it. What a stunning city that is. If you plan to do a lot of touring of northern France, Germany, or some of the other northern countries, the temperatures do get a little cold for comfort. The single biggest drawback though is the solar cycle at that time of year. You really only get about 9 hours of daylight, making day trips very difficult to plan, and shortening your overall experience considerably vice a summer visit. However, the biggest advantage of going in the winter (to me) is that you get your car back stateside by the time the weather gets nice here. So you have all summer to really enjoy it! Ideally, I would select a date in early March, so temps in Europe would be somewhat mild, you probably (depending on where you're traveling) won't need winter tires, and you'd have your car redelivered by around the end of April/early May when the weather is just getting perfect here. __________________ 12 X5 xDrive35i \| Platinum Gray \| Oyster \| Burl Walnut \| Premium \| Convenience \| 3rd Row \| Apps 13 Audi S4 \| Misano Red \| Black 04 S2000 \| Berlina Black \| Black
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10-02-2010, 02:13 AM	#15
Untouchable Second Lieutenant 55 Rep 237 Posts Drives: YMB M4 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Miami iTrader: (0)	I also have a similar dilemma as Neon01 did, my wife will be delivering in mid March, making a spring pick up impossible. My only real options are waiting till late next Summer or going sometime in November of this year. I am also a bit worried about the whole snow tire renting ordeal and potential damage to the car. I would like to go from Germany to Italy, so I'm encouraged by Neon's post, anyone else do a November pickup? What kind of road conditions should I prepare myself for from Germany to Italy, any advice is welcomed.
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10-17-2010, 11:35 PM	#18
llis octane chick 79 Rep 1,187 Posts Drives: ex-M Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Colorado iTrader: (1) Garage List 2013 BMW M3 ZCP [10.00] 2003 BMW M5 [0.00]	I'm glad to see the recommendations in this thread. I just found out I'm set for ED on Dec 9th for an M3 Coupe ZCP. I'm hoping for moderate weather, but worse comes to worse I'll stick to the southern climes and hope to stretch her out a bit after the initial 1200. Or maybe I'll just get the snow tires there (Pirelli or Blizzak?), since I'll be needing those a bit back in Colorado. It's all very exciting. I've dreamt of this car for years.
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10-18-2010, 01:41 AM	#19
quality_sound 8 tracks of madness 62 Rep 2,735 Posts Drives: Slowly Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: At home iTrader: (1)	You do NOT want to buy tires here. Trust me. You can rent them at a place very near the Welt.
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10-30-2010, 04:01 AM	#21
quality_sound 8 tracks of madness 62 Rep 2,735 Posts Drives: Slowly Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: At home iTrader: (1)	Because they're expensive as hell and i don't think you'd be able to avoid the VAT tax of 19% on top of the price of the tires. Plus, you'd have to find a way to get them back to the US. FedEx and UPS would be almost a grand in shipping. There is a place near the Welt where you can rent winter wheel/tires. www.edwintertires.com
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10-30-2010, 10:43 PM	#22
quads Lieutenant Colonel 70 Rep 1,672 Posts Drives: bac mono Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: racetrack iTrader: (3)	I'll be picking up a fully equipped e90 m3 I'm staying for about 4 weeks and driving through germany and poland visiting some family. I know renting is an option but it's very expensive (more so for my e90 m3) and I'm just exploring options. For the rental I'd pay in europe I can have a new set of wheels and winter tires in the usa. If I have to rent, then I will but I'm just trying to make the most out of this as possible. Here are some ideals I've come up with 1. bring a set with me as check in luggage - 4 of us will be flying out and I've got frequent flyer status so I can check in multiples. The wheels just fit the 50lb max and 62in total dimensions - W + L + H. (26in dia, 10in width). I've got a set of tire totes easily put handles on the wheels. yeah it's going to be a total pain, but it's a possibility 2. loan a set from someone in munich - who may have a spare set - of course I'll pay for it. Paying someone personally will definitely be cheaper 3. work with someone in munich who would be willing to go in together to pay for part of a set in germany and then afterwards, I'd just leave the set with them. These are just some ideas - thats the whole point of a forum right? discuss and come up with ideas. By the way the e90's need at least an 18in wheel. Even some 18's don't fit. What a pain. What do you think? Any ideas? David
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