<<< $3,000 for 2 tickets >>> ??? You guys should get together with Shipo - I suspect he'd be willing to sell you the miles you need for a lot less than 3 grand ;o)
OK, so it's 2 1/2 months instead of 3 months. In short, with ED you'd would have to pay the money 2 1/2 months earlier. At 550 a month, that would still be $1,375. How do you come up with $750 for 2 1/2 months? If you're putting money down to lower your monthly payment, you should add the interest you are giving up on that money.
"I am sure you could stay at a youth hostel for $10 or so a night if you share a room and eat hot dogs instead but that's not my idea of picking up a BMW."
would that be ok if you were doing ed on a vw instead???
Something to throw in here is that the plates & insurance that BMW provides for the Euro Delivery are only valid in the EU.
This means that a couple of countries are "off limits" without a change in paper work & cost. The one that I was looking at that's in this category is Switzerland. So much for our "Return to Grindelwald" trip idea...
Good point. I've also heard that they are transit plates (can anyone confirm this?) and very easy to recognize. Thieves love those. I'd stick to Germany and Austria if were doing ED.
I'm currently negotiating a lease on a '99 CPO'd 323i. I'd be happy to help/share info with others who are also negotiating leases and would appreciate any tips from those who recently have. Thanks.
Thinking BMW Financial Services is still running the "special" on CPO cars. Thru end of December they'll make first month's payment. When I got mine on last day of November, they were doing this and offering 3.9 percent up to 48 months on CPO. Make sure to bug dealer and BMW Finance to get any financing "specials".
You're right, I wouldn't want to waste my Germany experience by eating at an imbiss for lunch or dinner. The best part of traveling is indeed the food. Whenever I travel with my frau, we either stay on military billeting or at Steigenberger hotels. They're very plush, but yet, very inexpensive. I couldn't find one in Munchen, but I know there's one in Augsburg for sure. I just priced one night at the Intercity Hotel for 75 Euros (includes breakfast). Add lunch (mozarella w/ tomatoes, bread, pasta and a nice bottle of Auslese) and dinner (Good 'ol Bavarian home cooking with a nice cold Hefeweizen) and I bet you could get away with spending a little over $100.00 U.S. Dollars!
Sounds like a great deal - thank you for sharing with us, I'll keep it in mind if I do ED on my next Bimmer. I'll take it based on your feedback that $100 a day is enough for good accommodation and food.
Hey, I was wondering - when you say
Ich bin ein Hamburger or Ich bin ein Frankfurter or Ich bin ein Berliner
does that mean I am from Hamburg/Frankfurt/Berlin or does it say I am a hamburger/frankfurter/ or worse - donut )
... from service (Capital Cities in Albany, NY) - they took care of the couple of rattles that I could hear. It was great driving it back - you go over bumps and all you hear is thud-thud - no noises of any kind, just the way it should be! They said that the seatbelt clicking noise TSB doesn't take care of the problem so they just greased the seatbelt anchor. What is the consensus on this issue, has anyone had it successfully resolved by their dealer?
I am taking a service tech for a spin over a few bumps to determine the cause and fix for the clicking/ticking noises I hear from the roof/dash area over rough roads. It isn't really coming from the seatbelt anchor area, and it is hard to pinpoint the source.
I will go on Thursday so I will let you know what he says.
Here's what bmwagonmaster wrote on the FAQ thread a while back:
#3 of 34 Seat Belt Mount "Click" by bmwagonmaster Jun 21, 2001 (02:40 pm) I read in the June 2001 BMW CCA Roundel that there's an official Service Bulletin 72 01 01 (March 2001) about the B-pillar seat belt mount "click" noticed by some regular posters. The cause is a plastic spacer ring and the replacement part is 72 11 1 978 983, to be covered under warranty.
Does your service ticket show the same TSB number?
Regarding the time frame, to clarify, per BMWUSA.com, if I want to pick up car in Germany on 5/30/02 for 8 days, I must order it on 4/4, start lease on 4/30, pick-up on 5/30, drop-off on 6/7 and then wait until 8/2 for local delivery. Total days of lease without car is 86 (note: this will be different for west coast vs east coast delivery).
In my personal situation, the wait is a big factor. Without ED, I would probably place the order in January and presumably get possession of the car in March. With ED, since I will be in Germany anyways end of May, I would have to wait until August (using above dates) until I have local possession of the car, an extra 5 months.
jliu_ca & ubrsf:
Thank you for the dealership information.
Lease question:
Does the residual value assigned to the car on the lease change during the year? For example, currently it is about 62% on a 330i. Will the rate be lower in a few months, say around April presumably because the model year is half gone (I was told this by a salesman).
pen101, first don't go by the dates on BMWUSA site for ordering to ED pick up. I orders 11/15/01 and my pickup date is 1/25/02. At the time the BMWUSA date was 1/8/02 which is what I wanted.
I have to arrange payment for my car by 12/25, 30 days before, but the dealer tells me my first payment (other than the intial lease deposit) will be in March. I expect to get the car around 3/15. If anyone else here has leased with ED, let me know if this is how it worked out for you.
The car you're looking at has an invoice of $29,105 + there may or may not be a "MACO" or advertising charge on top of that. (I think that would be listed on the window sticker.)
Assuming no advertising charge, then the dealer wants $2,005 over invoice. I don't really know whether this is a good deal or not.
Just be careful about the "etc" you mentioned. Sometimes, after working a good deal the dealer will get back what he gave up to you in the negotiation by adding in a bogus fee at this point. I've seen posts on this board where people paid a $700 "documentation fee". Paying the office-staff is normal overhead and you shouldn't be charged for it in a line item. Paying $150 or so to have the title registered and get your license plate is legitimate though.
I posted here awhile back regarding snow tires and I was wondering what you've been doing in NYC each winter on your leased Bimmer. Did you purchase snows and wheels? thanks
All this talk of ED is interesting. Why don't we get an expert on the subject to chat here? Wonder if it would be possible for Edmunds to have former US Senator and one-time presidential candidate Bob Dole host a BMW Town Hall chat about ED. Or maybe NASCAR driver Mark Martin in car #6?
neighbors now owns a E36 M3. I knew he was planning on trading his E36 328Ci for one, but didn't notice until this morning. I believe I need to schedule a car swap with him.
are very firm. In fact, most ED cars are already built well ahead of the delivery date. Mine, for example, was ready more than a month ahead of my pick-up date.
A few days ago I talked to a gentleman at a BMW dealership here in Arizona who had just returned from Germany after picking up a 530 there.
He said everything went great, but related that his biggest worry was where to find parking near hotels so the new car didn't get "dinged". He ended up going to small towns where parking was less crowded to spend his nights.
When he dropped the car off to be shipped back to the US, the guy checking in the car was quite surprised that his car had no dings. I can relate to his worry having driven and stayed in Germany on numerous occasions.
The comment about the ding is surprising. I've in Berlin for the last six months, and one thing I have noticed is how religious these people are about their cars. Even a small bump, like opening your door a bit too far and hitting another car without damage, has to be reported to the Polizei, otherwise anyone who has witnessed can report you for a hit-and-run. Granted, if one thinks there are no one around, they may walk away, but I have not seen cars with dings such as mine. (I brought mine from DC area, and it is litter with dings) Maybe the fact that ED cars have the tourist plate that Germans care less?
We just got back from our ED 2 weeks ago and after two full weeks of driving there wasn't a single ding on our new baby. Although I "far parked" wherever possible, I still had to park in a few garages so tight that I was tempted to pop the rear seat down and crawl out through the trunk. If only my parking experiences in the States were so positive...
I swear, my full write-up is coming in the next couple of days. The problem is that I'm trying to weave pictures, tourist stuff, scans of my ED documents, etc. all together into a single glob for everyone's enjoyment (or torture)
I have now had my car ('02 330i, step, steel blue) almost 3 weeks and have a few observations I would like to share:
This is my first BMW.
I ordered car late September and picked up at the dealer December 1st. They forgot to program the option to automatically lock doors at 5mph as I had requested on the form. They also stuck their logo on the back of the trunk which I wish they hadn't.
I found out pretty quickly that this car was well worth the wait. The dealer had pushed me towards the 325i saying that I probably would not need the extra power and that some people have a tendency to get in trouble with the faster car. Every car I have ever had (except for a '68 fairlane in high school) has been underpowered and I had decided that I would go for the 330i. I was not disappointed!
It took me almost a week and a half before I started to get used to the car as far as modulating the gas, getting used to the blind spots, and staying at a reasonable speed. As far as the streering goes I drove my wife's 99 Civic after driving my car for a week and it felt like her car's steering wheel was on ball bearings... absolutely no feel to it.
As far as the step tranny goes I had decided that is what I wanted (I had been driving a standard for the last 11 years) and if I didn't my wife couldn't drive it.
I am very happy with the choice... with the three modes available I can get the enjoyment I want. I have also found it amazing how you can change the way the car accelerates and the tranny shifts with very slight input of the gas pedal.
I installed the alarm myself and had the dealer program it for $40. I will be removing my visor decals this week.
I started following Town Hall and some other sites well before I bought the car and have gained an enormous amount of education and feedback about my car and BMW's in general.
I find myself looking for the problems that I have heard a lot about and happily I have found none. I guess now I can get down to the business of just enjoying my car.
I have a 328i PP, NO SP, as such; my car came with 205mm section width All-Season tires. While I would not say that these are GREAT in snow and ice, they are certainly adequate for getting from point A to point B. I know that Chris (ccotenj) and I reside on opposite ends of the “Winter Tire Issue”, however, my take is that given how little snow we actually get here in NJ (compared to Michigan where I grew up, or Chicago where I lived for 13 years), it is safer for me to do my winter driving with All-Season tires as opposed to Winter tires. My rationale for that statement is this; while I will agree that Winter tires have better grip on Snow and/or Ice than All-Season tires, it is my understanding that said All-Season tires have better grip on cold-dry and cold-wet roads than said Winter tires. Since we have had all of about 10 days with snow and ice on the roads during the three winters that I have driven my 328i, and at the same time we have had at least 200-300 cold road days (wet or dry) over that same period of time, I personally prefer All-Season rubber.
I had a good sales experience with Jim Leavitt at Sonnen in San Rafael. He accepted a competitive offer, and when asked if I should purchase an alarm, his response was where would I park the car? In the end he recommended against buying the alarm. I would surprised that he did not use the opportunity to increase his commission. Honesty prevailed.
I thought that the price was fair. But, realize that the market is fluid and can change daily. He was unusual in his willingness to sell a car with few options.
Ali at Weatherford appeared to be willing to negotiate a slightly less competitive deal. A salesperson named Vee at Claridges seemed eager to meet the price agreed to by Sonnen.
SFBMW wanted a fifteen percent non refundable deposit just to order the car. Maybe they are more flexible in today's market.
I hope that this information is helpful to you and, of course, best wishes with your purchase.
Thanks to all for sharing your input. I had been trying to decide between the A4 and the 325xi. Close call, but in the final comparison I new I would be happier with the BMW.
325xi (hey, I live in Alaska) Steel Gray Blackette PP CWP Xenons Steptronic
Should arrive by early March. If I end up being as satisfied with it as I hope, an M3 or M5 is next on my list, just for dad.
LOL!!! nah, i've fought the good fight on that one long enough! i don't have a problem with the all-seasons in winter, i have a problem with them in the summer... lol... i prefer the snows in the winter, but i understand where you are coming from...
fwiw, my blizzaks have better roadholding ability than the contisports the car came with... i know that's not saying much...
How many miles did "the contisports the car came with" have and are you comparing those to new Blizzaks? Also, your "blizzaks have better roadholding ability" in any weather/surface?
i'm not going down that road again... we've been down it once... the folks who have experience with more than one set of tires agree with me... (if anyone is really curious, they can scroll back)... fwiw, the contis weren't (aren't, that is, if someone wants them, they are sitting on my back deck) that worn, and the blizzaks even quite worn (although not quite worn through the initial compound) stick better and have better lateral stability than the contis did... the point remains, i HAVE driven my car on multiple sets of tires, and you HAVEN'T, and the people who pointed out to you before that you were wrong HAVE as well (some of the folks that posted back to you before DO have a clue, you might want to read their profile, try div2 first)... you can bench race to your hearts content, but please don't attempt to pass that off as real experience, ok?
i'm trying real hard to be nice to you, i even let the comment pass a while ago that you were "pulling .86 g's and your rubber mat in the trunk held stuff in place", amoungst other "questionable" (at best) statements...
look, i understand you love your bimmer and everything about it, ok? i love mine too. but i can also recognize it's not the be-all, end-all, and that bmw isn't any different from any other car company in that oem consumables (i.e. tires, in this case) aren't necessarily the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Just got this from one of the BMWCCA driving instructors:
These are the Boston Chapter BMW Club driver schools for 2002. Registration usually opens 2 months before the date of the event. To get a spot in the school, he'll need to register on DAY ONE of the registration period (not one day before, and not one day late! It is THAT hard to get in).
BOSTON CHAPTER:
April 2 - LRP (CT) May 2 - NHIS August 23 - NHIS Oct 18-19 - NHIS
My understanding is that you do NOT have to own a BMW to participate. Anyone could join BMWCCA and you do need to be a member (~ $30/yr) to participate. In addition to the BMWCCA membership, you will also need an approved helmet and if this is your first time, you will need to pay ~ $100 for instructions. Someone please correct me of I am wrong on this.
in my chapter, CCA member who's participating with a BMW will get the slot first. You're best bet is to contact the chapter, and ask them what their policy is.
pole position s-02's (very worn right now)... i think i'm going to go with kumho's in the spring, div2 liked 'em on his club sport, and the tire rack surveys look real good on them...
Comments
OK, so it's 2 1/2 months instead of 3 months. In short, with ED you'd would have to pay the money 2 1/2 months earlier. At 550 a month, that would still be $1,375. How do you come up with $750 for 2 1/2 months? If you're putting money down to lower your monthly payment, you should add the interest you are giving up on that money.
would that be ok if you were doing ed on a vw instead???
-Chris
This means that a couple of countries are "off limits" without a change in paper work & cost. The one that I was looking at that's in this category is Switzerland. So much for our "Return to Grindelwald" trip idea...
-hh
http://www.augsburg.intercityhotel.com/index.pg
tchuss,
-nobee
Hey, I was wondering - when you say
Ich bin ein Hamburger or
Ich bin ein Frankfurter or
Ich bin ein Berliner
does that mean I am from Hamburg/Frankfurt/Berlin or does it say I am a hamburger/frankfurter/ or worse - donut
I will go on Thursday so I will let you know what he says.
Best Regards,
Shipo
#3 of 34 Seat Belt Mount "Click" by bmwagonmaster Jun 21, 2001 (02:40 pm)
I read in the June 2001 BMW CCA Roundel that there's an official Service Bulletin 72 01 01 (March 2001) about the B-pillar seat belt mount "click" noticed by some regular posters. The cause is a plastic spacer ring and the replacement part is 72 11 1 978 983, to be covered under warranty.
Does your service ticket show the same TSB number?
Automatic
Premium Package
Titanium Silver Metallic Black Leatherette Interior
$31,000 Plus taxes license etc.
MSRP is $31,720.
Regarding the time frame, to clarify, per BMWUSA.com, if I want to pick up car in Germany on 5/30/02 for 8 days, I must order it on 4/4, start lease on 4/30, pick-up on 5/30, drop-off on 6/7 and then wait until 8/2 for local delivery. Total days of lease without car is 86 (note: this will be different for west coast vs east coast delivery).
In my personal situation, the wait is a big factor. Without ED, I would probably place the order in January and presumably get possession of the car in March. With ED, since I will be in Germany anyways end of May, I would have to wait until August (using above dates) until I have local possession of the car, an extra 5 months.
jliu_ca & ubrsf:
Thank you for the dealership information.
Lease question:
Does the residual value assigned to the car on the lease change during the year? For example, currently it is about 62% on a 330i. Will the rate be lower in a few months, say around April presumably because the model year is half gone (I was told this by a salesman).
I have to arrange payment for my car by 12/25, 30 days before, but the dealer tells me my first payment (other than the intial lease deposit) will be in March. I expect to get the car around 3/15. If anyone else here has leased with ED, let me know if this is how it worked out for you.
Thanks,
jottman - my main concern is that I will be given a FIRM pickup date well in advance. That happens, right?
Assuming no advertising charge, then the dealer wants $2,005 over invoice. I don't really know whether this is a good deal or not.
Just be careful about the "etc" you mentioned. Sometimes, after working a good deal the dealer will get back what he gave up to you in the negotiation by adding in a bogus fee at this point. I've seen posts on this board where people paid a $700 "documentation fee". Paying the office-staff is normal overhead and you shouldn't be charged for it in a line item. Paying $150 or so to have the title registered and get your license plate is legitimate though.
I was given a firm date of Jan 25. No if, ands, or buts to pick up the car. I will be there and I expect my bimmer will be also.
He said everything went great, but related that his biggest worry was where to find parking near hotels so the new car didn't get "dinged". He ended up going to small towns where parking was less crowded to spend his nights.
When he dropped the car off to be shipped back to the US, the guy checking in the car was quite surprised that his car had no dings. I can relate to his worry having driven and stayed in Germany on numerous occasions.
I swear, my full write-up is coming in the next couple of days. The problem is that I'm trying to weave pictures, tourist stuff, scans of my ED documents, etc. all together into a single glob for everyone's enjoyment (or torture)
Looking forward to your ED writeup.Glad it went so well for you.
This is my first BMW.
I ordered car late September and picked up at the dealer December 1st. They forgot to program the option to automatically lock doors at 5mph as I had requested on the form. They also stuck their logo on the back of the trunk which I wish they hadn't.
I found out pretty quickly that this car was well worth the wait. The dealer had pushed me towards the 325i saying that I probably would not need the extra power and that some people have a tendency to get in trouble with the faster car. Every car I have ever had (except for a '68 fairlane in high school) has been underpowered and I had decided that I would go for the 330i. I was not disappointed!
It took me almost a week and a half before I started to get used to the car as far as modulating the gas, getting used to the blind spots, and staying at a reasonable speed. As far as the streering goes I drove my wife's 99 Civic after driving my car for a week and it felt like her car's steering wheel was on ball bearings... absolutely no feel to it.
As far as the step tranny goes I had decided that is what I wanted (I had been driving a standard for the last 11 years) and if I didn't my wife couldn't drive it.
I am very happy with the choice... with the three modes available I can get the enjoyment I want. I have also found it amazing how you can change the way the car accelerates and the tranny shifts with very slight input of the gas pedal.
I installed the alarm myself and had the dealer program it for $40. I will be removing my visor decals this week.
I started following Town Hall and some other sites well before I bought the car and have gained an enormous amount of education and feedback about my car and BMW's in general.
I find myself looking for the problems that I have heard a lot about and happily I have found none. I guess now I can get down to the business of just enjoying my car.
CNorthrup
Ok Chris, your turn! ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
I'm just looking for more input before heading out to "the field".
Regards,
Mitch
I had a good sales experience with Jim Leavitt at Sonnen in San Rafael. He accepted a competitive offer, and when asked if I should purchase an alarm, his response was where would I park the car? In the end he recommended against buying the alarm. I would surprised that he did not use the opportunity to increase his commission. Honesty prevailed.
I thought that the price was fair. But, realize that the market is fluid and can change daily. He was unusual in his willingness to sell a car with few options.
Ali at Weatherford appeared to be willing to negotiate a slightly less competitive deal. A salesperson named Vee at Claridges seemed eager to meet the price agreed to by Sonnen.
SFBMW wanted a fifteen percent non refundable deposit just to order the car. Maybe they are more flexible in today's market.
I hope that this information is helpful to you and, of course, best wishes with your purchase.
325xi (hey, I live in Alaska)
Steel Gray
Blackette
PP
CWP
Xenons
Steptronic
Should arrive by early March. If I end up being as satisfied with it as I hope, an M3 or M5 is next on my list, just for dad.
fwiw, my blizzaks have better roadholding ability than the contisports the car came with... i know that's not saying much...
-Chris
i'm trying real hard to be nice to you, i even let the comment pass a while ago that you were "pulling .86 g's and your rubber mat in the trunk held stuff in place", amoungst other "questionable" (at best) statements...
look, i understand you love your bimmer and everything about it, ok? i love mine too. but i can also recognize it's not the be-all, end-all, and that bmw isn't any different from any other car company in that oem consumables (i.e. tires, in this case) aren't necessarily the greatest thing since sliced bread.
-Chris
I am "working a deal" with Ali from Weatherford in Berkeley for ED. The deal is for a 2002 330CiC for $1500 over ED invoice.
Avoid Concord BMW & Stevens Creek. Arrogant and snooty!
Hope this helps.
These are the Boston
Chapter BMW Club driver schools for 2002. Registration usually
opens 2 months before the date of the event. To get a spot in the
school, he'll need to register on DAY ONE of the registration period
(not one day before, and not one day late! It is THAT hard to get in).
BOSTON CHAPTER:
April 2 - LRP (CT)
May 2 - NHIS
August 23 - NHIS
Oct 18-19 - NHIS
Tremblant - tbd (Canada)
I will have to get up early on Feb 2
What's your current summer set? Couple of the track people I've talked to tell me Kumhos are the best bang for the buck right now.
-Chris