Military Sales & European Delivery

jakeburton · 05-28-2010, 02:02 PM

Hey all, I don't really have the time to write up a ED story to the level of many other members, but since I don't think too many people do this I wanted to quickly share my thoughts on the process. I've been in Iraq since August, and almost the whole time have been in touch with Lisa at First Choice MSP. Of course I had some reservations about purchasing any car - let alone an M3 - entirely through e-mail and the occasional phone call, but Lisa was an invaluable help. I couldn't be happier with the service I received, and the entire process has been without undue stress. When I got my mid-tour leave dates I realized I would be able to swing European Delivery. Although Lisa had never set this up for a client, she had no problem getting in touch with Diplomatic sales to arrange it. I had to get a little creative with the mail to get the Power of Attorney for registration (plus a check for the VAT in case you sell the car to a German for a quick buck) to Munich in time, but all was well. Imagine my fear when my leave date of 25 April approached and Iceland began terrorizing air travel!

Luckily, I made it to Frankfurt the morning of the 27th, a day before my pickup at BMW Welt. I had such a busy schedule meeting friends and family throughout Germany that I wasn't able to take the factory tour or anything else really cool, so that will have to wait until next time. Tom talked me through the basics of the car - like everybody else, the staff at BMW left a great impression on me - and then it was off to Neuburg for the night, followed by Berlin. I visited friends in Vilseck, drove back to Ramstein, and then left the car at my parents' while I flew off to Stockholm and Barcelona (awesome cities). By the time I got back to Germany, I had a few more days with the car, but having almost reached 1200 miles I took it pretty easy. I investigated getting the service done, but you have to book German BMW centers a good 3 weeks in advance, plus front the cash and get BMWNA to reimburse you.

On the 11th of May I dropped the M off in Frankfurt, with a stop at the car wash in between. Imagine my shock to see all the cars parked outside of the small office with bird crap everywhere. Especially on a beautiful Black on Black M3 (at least German birds have good taste). I hope my car didn't spend too much time in that lot.

The downside to Military Sales is you get less visibility of the process (for example, I have no idea how I would track my car's movement to Charleston). I also have to find out about the additional options - wheel/tire warranty, anyone? - on my own. Hopefully the local dealership is helpful. Anyway, if you are deployed and considering purchasing an M3, I highly recommend doing European Delivery. An extra bonus is that by the time I redeploy in late July, the car should be waiting at the nearest dealership with its break-in service done!

The internet here is less than stellar, so the photos are reduced to the smallest possible size. I went with the Jerez/Fox Red combination, and have to say I'm quite pleased! I also opted for ZCP, and found driving around in Comfort mode for hours at a time on the Autobahn pretty comfortable.

If anyone has any questions about the process, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to help. Lord knows I'll have plenty of my own questions once I'm a full time owner back in the States!

DiRTyDeLuX · 06-30-2010, 07:23 AM

How much did you wind up paying vs. MSRP?

shawshank772 · 06-30-2010, 07:53 AM

Its something like 8k off MSRP for the base. but then you pay MSRP for options

Fuerza · 07-01-2010, 09:06 AM

Since you are in Iraq, would it have been possible to just have the car delivered stateside without doing european delivery? Also because you did ED who is picking up your car at the port in the US when you go back to Iraq? I'm in the Army and would like to know the details of how all this would work.

Moxie · 07-01-2010, 09:15 AM

Congrats on the car - Glad it worked out.

shawshank772 · 07-01-2010, 09:42 AM

adgar: yes it is possible to have it shipped stateside to the dealer of your choice. Its only 875 dollars. However, keep in mind you do not pay destination fees (875) so it equals out. Not a bad deal in my book. Just before I bought my 135i in 2008 the shipping charge was actually something like 2k. Then they lowered it to 750.

crazy08 · 07-01-2010, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shawshank772

adgar: yes it is possible to have it shipped stateside to the dealer of your choice. Its only 875 dollars. However, keep in mind you do not pay destination fees (875) so it equals out. Not a bad deal in my book. Just before I bought my 135i in 2008 the shipping charge was actually something like 2k. Then they lowered it to 750.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you get stateside delivery without taking delivery in Europe first you will pay the taxes for the state you're picking it up in + 1k gas guzzler.
Not sure if they use blue book value or purchase price to calculate those taxes.

crazy08 · 07-01-2010, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jakeburton

On the 11th of May I dropped the M off in Frankfurt, with a stop at the car wash in between. Imagine my shock to see all the cars parked outside of the small office with bird crap everywhere. Especially on a beautiful Black on Black M3 (at least German birds have good taste). I hope my car didn't spend too much time in that lot.

The downside to Military Sales is you get less visibility of the process (for example, I have no idea how I would track my car's movement to Charleston).

I dropped my 05 off there and the place seems a bit shady. But everything went super easy on the receiving end. They wrap your car like it's brand new. I picked up from the port in LA though.

shawshank772 · 07-01-2010, 11:57 AM

Almost in any state you will eventually pay tax on the car. Its not just euro delivery excludes you. In illinois you must have driven the car for 90 days overseas. Then and only then do you get a depreciated tax rate..Its only 2% per month. You still pay out the ass in taxes. I am not sure about the gas guzler tax though. I had to pay it on my M3 but then again I am taking state side delivery.

thedus · 08-06-2010, 11:08 AM

I'm interested in doing much the same thing, ordering and doing ED during my R&R. How did it end up working out as far as avoiding import and gas guzzler taxes once you got home? Also in another thread there was a mention of avoiding sales tax in Florida. I'm a FL resident and that's where I'd be registering the car once I got home so I'd love to hear any more info about that if anyone can enlighten. Thanks.

05-28-2010, 02:02 PM	#1
jakeburton New Member 8 Rep 28 Posts Drives: 2011 E92 M3 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Fort Bragg, NC iTrader: (0)	Military Sales & European Delivery Hey all, I don't really have the time to write up a ED story to the level of many other members, but since I don't think too many people do this I wanted to quickly share my thoughts on the process. I've been in Iraq since August, and almost the whole time have been in touch with Lisa at First Choice MSP. Of course I had some reservations about purchasing any car - let alone an M3 - entirely through e-mail and the occasional phone call, but Lisa was an invaluable help. I couldn't be happier with the service I received, and the entire process has been without undue stress. When I got my mid-tour leave dates I realized I would be able to swing European Delivery. Although Lisa had never set this up for a client, she had no problem getting in touch with Diplomatic sales to arrange it. I had to get a little creative with the mail to get the Power of Attorney for registration (plus a check for the VAT in case you sell the car to a German for a quick buck) to Munich in time, but all was well. Imagine my fear when my leave date of 25 April approached and Iceland began terrorizing air travel! Luckily, I made it to Frankfurt the morning of the 27th, a day before my pickup at BMW Welt. I had such a busy schedule meeting friends and family throughout Germany that I wasn't able to take the factory tour or anything else really cool, so that will have to wait until next time. Tom talked me through the basics of the car - like everybody else, the staff at BMW left a great impression on me - and then it was off to Neuburg for the night, followed by Berlin. I visited friends in Vilseck, drove back to Ramstein, and then left the car at my parents' while I flew off to Stockholm and Barcelona (awesome cities). By the time I got back to Germany, I had a few more days with the car, but having almost reached 1200 miles I took it pretty easy. I investigated getting the service done, but you have to book German BMW centers a good 3 weeks in advance, plus front the cash and get BMWNA to reimburse you. On the 11th of May I dropped the M off in Frankfurt, with a stop at the car wash in between. Imagine my shock to see all the cars parked outside of the small office with bird crap everywhere. Especially on a beautiful Black on Black M3 (at least German birds have good taste). I hope my car didn't spend too much time in that lot. The downside to Military Sales is you get less visibility of the process (for example, I have no idea how I would track my car's movement to Charleston). I also have to find out about the additional options - wheel/tire warranty, anyone? - on my own. Hopefully the local dealership is helpful. Anyway, if you are deployed and considering purchasing an M3, I highly recommend doing European Delivery. An extra bonus is that by the time I redeploy in late July, the car should be waiting at the nearest dealership with its break-in service done! The internet here is less than stellar, so the photos are reduced to the smallest possible size. I went with the Jerez/Fox Red combination, and have to say I'm quite pleased! I also opted for ZCP, and found driving around in Comfort mode for hours at a time on the Autobahn pretty comfortable. If anyone has any questions about the process, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to help. Lord knows I'll have plenty of my own questions once I'm a full time owner back in the States! Attached Images
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06-30-2010, 07:23 AM	#2
DiRTyDeLuX Private First Class 7 Rep 130 Posts Drives: 2011 AW E92 M3 ZCP ZCV ZP2 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: NYC iTrader: (0)	How much did you wind up paying vs. MSRP?
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06-30-2010, 07:53 AM	#3
shawshank772 Major 120 Rep 1,159 Posts Drives: 08 135i and 16 M3 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chicago iTrader: (1)	Its something like 8k off MSRP for the base. but then you pay MSRP for options
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07-01-2010, 09:06 AM	#4
Fuerza Private 0 Rep 89 Posts Drives: 2015 Taurus SHO Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: El Paso, TX iTrader: (0)	Since you are in Iraq, would it have been possible to just have the car delivered stateside without doing european delivery? Also because you did ED who is picking up your car at the port in the US when you go back to Iraq? I'm in the Army and would like to know the details of how all this would work.
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07-01-2010, 09:15 AM	#5
Moxie Lieutenant Colonel 67 Rep 1,895 Posts Drives: AW 328d Touring/SG 335d Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: North Carolina iTrader: (12)	Congrats on the car - Glad it worked out.
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07-01-2010, 09:42 AM	#6
shawshank772 Major 120 Rep 1,159 Posts Drives: 08 135i and 16 M3 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chicago iTrader: (1)	adgar: yes it is possible to have it shipped stateside to the dealer of your choice. Its only 875 dollars. However, keep in mind you do not pay destination fees (875) so it equals out. Not a bad deal in my book. Just before I bought my 135i in 2008 the shipping charge was actually something like 2k. Then they lowered it to 750.
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07-01-2010, 11:57 AM	#9
shawshank772 Major 120 Rep 1,159 Posts Drives: 08 135i and 16 M3 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chicago iTrader: (1)	Almost in any state you will eventually pay tax on the car. Its not just euro delivery excludes you. In illinois you must have driven the car for 90 days overseas. Then and only then do you get a depreciated tax rate..Its only 2% per month. You still pay out the ass in taxes. I am not sure about the gas guzler tax though. I had to pay it on my M3 but then again I am taking state side delivery.
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08-06-2010, 11:08 AM	#10
thedus New Member 0 Rep 13 Posts Drives: On order... Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Kabul iTrader: (0)	I'm interested in doing much the same thing, ordering and doing ED during my R&R. How did it end up working out as far as avoiding import and gas guzzler taxes once you got home? Also in another thread there was a mention of avoiding sales tax in Florida. I'm a FL resident and that's where I'd be registering the car once I got home so I'd love to hear any more info about that if anyone can enlighten. Thanks.
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