Why you should take Performance Center Delivery, a complete report

Wow! Holy Mackerel Batman !!! PCD beats taking dealership any day, I even had reservation about this whole deal, silly me

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147015

What could have been, thanks to the forcefull loyal enthusiast here my better senses won:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129066&highlight=ISF
and it wasnt about better seats and interior either
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139287&highlight=c63+interior

its the whole enchilda fellas, the wait, the chats, the trip, the school and personalized delivery, the M5 ride, the X5 drive
and the factory tour as the icing and cherry on the cake

The Wait, The Trip and Night Before Christmas

Well at first, I didnt really think much of it. Its just a car, the longer it takes the longer it would be without the payments. It was true until I was some momentum on BMWUSA site tracking the unit, it was really happenning.

Things I found usefull to help me cope :
http://www.bmwusa.com for tracking Production no.
nathans sticky http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43692
BMWUSA 1-800-831-1117
Vessel Tracking Website http://www.marinetraffic.com
Marriot Greenville 864-297-0300
Performance Center School Reservation 888-345-4269
Performance Center Delivery Program 864-968-3000

The BMW Performance Center

the track : http://www.bmwtransact.com/microsite/performancecenter/index.html

The Car Control Performance Driving School the day before delivery
http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Experience/Events/PDS/Schools/Default.aspx?enc=/eiUrYOZAxtXbrazY6tfkmnueZmuSV+mTyz9vrTx7NirE7X5FaRwQ2/z/Xmw9HUv3UjYlssDXK6q1yOERxyPjQ==
a synosis of the $650 one day car control class btw
A barely perceptible mist is falling from a darkening sky. Your exit ramp is signed at 50mph and you are doing 47mph when you notice that the car is heading toward the outside barrier. Do you turn the wheel sharper? Do you hit the brakes hard? How about smoothly lifting off the accelerator pedal? Circumstances like these and many others happen every day, to drivers of every ability. Good drivers within fractions of a second process the car’s response to a loss of grip, adjust accordingly and continue on. No panic. No hesitation. No drama. That kind of reaction only comes from an instant diagnosis of the situation—a learned skill, not an innate response. Every driver should take the opportunity to develop these skills in a safe and controlled environment under the watchful eyes of a professional driver. So, while commuting is the act of getting from point A to point B, driving is the act of balancing the immutable forces of nature. The ability to accelerate, turn and stop your car is all governed by these forces and your capacity to harness them. We call it vehicle dynamics. Understanding those dynamics is fundamental to good driving.

One-Day Car Control SchoolInstructors:
Andy Van Cleef
Steve Woods
Ray Helms

I was fortunate enough to get someones cancellation on the Car Control Class the Sunday before delivery. Talk about the BMW Gods watching over me, it cant get any better than that. The One-Day Driver’s Program focuses on vehicle dynamics, not just in theory, but in practice–– lots of practice. I have to give Steve Woods Kudos for his dedication on this as he stayed during the down pour making sure we all had our turns on his emergency high speed collision avoidance lane change with emergency ABS stopping. I felt safe seeing the Tornado Shelter-sign at the bldg too and there wasn't any tornado then, but certainly quite comforting. There wasnt any then and the last photo was just my hands moving because I was still shaken by my co-driver near roll-over incident the exercise prior

My co-driver had too much fun with the thunderstorm that we ended up in the embankment, lolz what a ride. I though the car would roll over plowing through the smal hilll... I'm seeing a lawyer next week becoz I feel my neck hurts. I got evidence to prove with the wheel before and after after shot. That should be sufficient.

Well after my partner and I's death defying high speed lane change/ABS during a downpour, my partner's little incident that made me eat grass.
I dont mind it but the weeds taste a little funky. Thats all I can say for now until I get cleared by my attorney. since my neck still hurts

Anyway, the skies started to clear up and I was able to see the splendor and magnificence of the place once again.
Lets Watch! and you'll see that you are in Willy Wonka's BMW Candy Land

My Best Time around the autocross was 17:74 secs, go figure


Kudos to Performance Driving Team Lead Andy Cleef, with his team Steve and Ray, for an exceptional delivery of the training program.

During the Performance Driving School, the day before my delivery, I noted several M3 delivery cars were on display and a similar Space Grey like mine was at the main lobby.
Security checked his list and pointed that it was my car. I was stunned, mesmerixed, and full of mixed feelingsl, because it had 19"s and DCT which was not in my order.
Security keep insisting that it was and I was praying it was true and that Reigenburgs had made a mistake. Pls God let it be true, make Reigensburg screw up just this one time. :


... but as always those greats dreams dont come true with a recheck of the VIN no.....
Sh*T..... that was the shortest M3 DCT ownership on record
:

Like a day before the wedding PC Security wont let me get close to my car:cry:

lol

Do see what Ernest Hemmingway meant you have to do a Performance Driving once and experience it

all I know is that my photo may not be on their hallway anytime soon, but that was the best spent $650 of my life and this is the closiest thing to being a track star. It Disney!!!

The Day of Delivery

The following day's hotel limo may not have been a Cadi, unlike it was during my airport pickup. I didnt care, just get me there... and schnelll!
* PCD Welcome letter to delivery participants wants everyone at the lobby by 7:45am because its a full day of events and they mean it.
my advice: be on time, its being considerate to others in your party that are getting their delivery as well.

Arriving at the PC you'll get the greet by the staff and a Driving Brief by Donny Isley, the driving clinic in a similar car like yours, lunch, a drive with Donny showing off the M5 and its capabilites, the X5 test drive was Wow!
and the final Factory tour before your delivery

for a more detail Performance Center Delivery schedule here's mdrobc13's Bimmerpost featured article(it pretty much the same as mine)
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156592

Hummee this!
All I can say about this X5 are, its unfreakingbelievable... make me want to have one too. lol



On to the Museum and Factory tour next !

Finally the Moment you are presented your car

..Ray Helms - was my Performance Center Product Specialist and was also my previous day Performance Diring Instructor, with lead Instructor Andy Cleef.
Ray gave a great Delivery of my car after the mini 2 hr Driving Clinic that morning.
*PCD track driving is a mini-scale down version of classes they have there, so if you have company you have to split your driving time with them..... not good IMO

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Experience/Events/PDS/Delivery.aspx

Very nicely done. I look forward to you filling in the rest of the place holders.

Congratulations.

a lot of pics but you didn't really describe it, what was the event/schedule like?

Thanks for the write-up, I've got to do this next time

flagger wrote

Very nicely done. I look forward to you filling in the rest of the place holders.

Congratulations.

thks...

Finally the best time from all this is the drive back home ... its really amazing that at this period of being alone with your car you wil feel a certain bond with it. And its because you have been there from the very beginning up to the point that you know the quality process it had gone through seeing the BMW Plant. It is to me a much better experience than just picking your car from the dealership and driving it straight home.
Its an oppurtunity that everyone should take advantage of.

MDM "On"

.

997tt wrote

Thanks for the write-up, I've got to do this next time

do it with Euro Delivery for the Win


.... but only if you can withstand the agony of the longer wait. I think PCD is better

Thanks for posting, it sounds like you had a great time!

Thanks for the post, great pics, love to do that for my next one!

Wow...that looks very familiar! LOL Glad to see that you got your car and the same awesome exprience as did I! Enjoy

loved all of the pics. pcd still looks just as great as it was back in 2001 when i was there. awesome!

a lot of cool photos thanks

Manalope wrote

a lot of pics but you didn't really describe it, what was the event/schedule like?

+1 agree

for a complete event/schedule narration goto: mdrobc13 thread (we're there at the same time)
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156592

and for a clue on what I've experience during my paid Car Control Performance Class it best to bring you to the
track and watch the video.. you can certainly feel you're part of it here
http://www.bmwtransact.com/microsite/performancecenter/index.html


Sincere Thanks to
Wiilie Hammonds for coordinating my reservation with Marriot
Chuck@Marriot for a speedy Airport Pickup
Asad Khan@Fairfax BMW for his patience while deciding w/c car I should get
Paul Blakeman@Fairfax BMW for a little better deal
Yves Badji@Passport BMW for advice on transitioning from e46 M3 to a E92 M3 and for being a true friend