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Comments
By all means, provide some links to the "hard data and statistics" you mention. I could just as easily say "my 3rd cousin had problems with his Lexus. Their quality is overrated! I'm not a troll, just reporting the facts."
Personally, I'm on month 4 without anything resembling a problem other than the cramps in my cheeks from smiling whenever I'm behind the wheel :-)
-murray
For control, all I have to do is tune my radio to 88.7 (I set the FMA stations to it for now). Once the modulator is powered on, all I really hear is from that source, which in my case is XM, though the Alpine unit could easily take one of the Alpine CD changers. The Modulator has a little display, which I mounted in my ashtray, just ahead of the gear shift. I can control the stations (or CD's) from this display. My radio only thinks it is tuned in to a radio station at 88.7.
If you want to see pics of what the display is like, check out: http://community.webshots.com/user/skimblz_. That has the pictures I took.
-Paul
-Chris
I just placed an order for a 325ci jet black/black 'ette, 5-spd, sport package, moonroof, and bi-xenons. They are throwing in floormats and pinstriping. I'm getting the window tint at cost.
I should expect my new baby in early September. I can't wait!!!
Oh, quick question and I know I should know this...what do I need to track the car through BMW's website? (VIN number???)
Glad to be back home,
Stacy
Yes Germany builds some good solid cars BUT they aint the only one . Japan Inc. has built some boring but good ones I'll admit but cars like WRX, the G35, upcoming RX8, NXS, S2000 upcoming Skyline are anything but. It always gonna be Japan vs. Germany in cars whoever takes care of the customer, offers better quality and delivers high performance and good value will triumph. Can I come back to play with you guys now lol.
Also in my case, my one Japanese car was easily the worst car I have ever owned as far as reliability, I mean that car was less reliable than the two mid 1980s Chryslers that I owned! Go figure.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Did you really think you could sling up some mud without a retalliation?
"My 95' Acura Legend...problems to date. One problem a squeeking door hinge...
What a solid made car...
Look who's number 1 rated in long term durablilty and realibility it aint any German brand."
Honda has this larger than life reliability image, which they share back and forth with Toyota, and it is largely deserved, but largely over-stated as well. My Honda was basically flawless, but it did lose a power window on one particularily cold winter's night, sliding off the guide track and failing to close. At that moment, I didn't care that my car had great reliability statistics, all I cared about was my 40 mile commute back home in subZero temperatures. Oh, and my flawless Honda service that took three days to fix the window (three more days of freezing or below freezing Minnesota winter days). The repair took them 40 minutes from door to door. Seemed like there was always a wait at the old Honda dealer. Would have thought you could grow cobwebs on their tools for how reliable they are supposed to be...joking.
Now, BMW is no better, I submit...but situations are situations, and all we can do is learn from them, and share them as such to the group.
Sounds like you friend got a particularily poor-built BMW. My experience with my used BMW is pretty good so far...a few nit picks, but no major issues. I know one thing, I would rather be in my BMW most days than my Honda. The Honda was a good companion, but about as interesting as watching the Home Shopping Network.
So, should I blanket a statement to say that Honda should build better window systems into their cars and try to make more exciting rides? Well, not just based on my opinion, no, I probably shouldn't...
dang it...I am babbling...end transmission, end transmisson!
I think I'll get one of the units that plug into the antennae input. It should sound better than incoming FM stations.
BTW, it's pretty hard to tell the difference between the MP3's (160 bit rate, I think) and CD's even when listening through my Vandersteins with an Adcom amp. There is a difference, but you have to listen pretty closely.
Thanks for the info on home theaters. I'm just starting my research. Hopefully when I'm done, I'll never have to go to a real theater again!
-murray
makes Tyra Banks
out of Punky Brewster,
Makes a wonderful car,
out of a junkyard rooster...
I know plenty of folks who think the perfect car "should" be a Camaro Z28 or a Dodge Viper. Neither tweak my spark plugs, but then when I say I love the way a Saab 9-3 looks, most people just look at me and wrinkle their noses. And they think my BMW 318ti is just plain silly.
Moral: me luvs me bee-em-dubs...
Not sure what the translation issues are for fact. But I do know that the compression used by MP3 format is more severe than WAV - the digital format for CD sound. Both are far more limited than DVD's languages (forget the name). The differences will be small, but I would look for loss of highend detail and low end punch. From what I understand, the squeezing method used by MP3 affects both. Of course, not all MP3s are created alike. I can record a mono, low quality MP3 file at a minimum file size, or expand to a full on "near CD" stereo, high-quality setting.
So, I can see it...MP3 still sounds better than most cassette recordings and who can argue with 8-11 hours of music on one disk?
I live in Michigan and am not too sure about this rear-wheel drive? How do they handle in snow? The car has the sport package and they say that I should put on the all performance/all weather tires? Is it necessary? MY biggest concern is how the car overall handles in the winter. Help before I hand them the check.... thanks
...or 50 hours in my iPod!
-murray
Jingle Jill - all I can say is WHAT A KILLER CHOICE! :-D
To track your order, you need to get the production number from your dealer/salesman. You cannot track it with the VIN until it is on the boat (so I've been told, mine is awaiting transport). Put your production number into the owner's circle, and you can track it. Some say that the owner's circle lags about a week behind.
MP3's
Yep, it really does depend on the compression settings. At 64k, MP3s tend to sound brassy like coming from an old transistor radio. At 256k or higher, they are pretty hard to tell from the actual CD (to me). Like most things, you have to try the different levels, see which one is the lowest level you can live with, then use that one. For my Kazoo MP3 player with ear-bud headphones that I use while working out, I use 64k. For my car that has a $2000 system, I use 256k.
FM Modulators:
FOR ME.... I wouldn't do it. I can hear the difference. Same as above. Get a friend who has one (or listen to one in the stereo shop), if you cannot tell a difference or if you can tell but can live with it, go for it. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do yet. I want to keep the stock HU in my 330, but I want better sound.
Question:
Does anyone know what size speakers are in the doors? I have a set of Eclipse 6.5 components in my front doors now. I love the sound of these! Will they fit in the door?
There are times when I do actually believe that the super competent braking systems on our cars can be something of a double-edged sword. Then again, I guess that I would rather be the Smashee as opposed to the Smasher. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
RWD cars are FINE in the snow so long as you bother to purchase dedicated winter tires (and generally, wheels) for them. My ex-wife's Miata was perfectly drivable in ice and shallow snow, of course it couldn't clear anything deep...
re: shipo, braking and rear-end collisions--
Not that I can blame anyone in this topic for trumpeting BMW, but don't you think perhaps that the brakes of the Lexus (and other cars after it) had relatively little to do with the accident? I do; I'd think that driver competence and judgment had more to do with it.
It's not like a drum brake-equipped '62 Impala rear-ended the bimmer.
-Colin
Stick with a good set of all-season tires, or get a second set of wheels for winter tires. What area of the country are you from again? I mean, average snowfall, elevations, and duration of winter will play a role in how good a move investing in winter tires is.
If you shop the online auctions, you can pick up a set of wheels for the car, usually around $500. This would be a wise investment if winter is a big concern.
When we tried a second model with all-seasons, the behavior was much better...a little slip, and a good deal of traction control, but the car drove around the parking lot at 30 mph like it was on a dry road and stopped nicely.
The all-wheel drive version was different, but not a world apart. Take offs were quicker and the car dug into the corners a bit quicker on the loose snow.
Overall, with traction control, the cars were all rather predictable...put all-season/winter tires on your new car and you will do just fine.
Best Regards,
Shipo
God forbid if these make it to the US. Soon to be BMW fans will have another topic to worry about. :-)
Probably most any new car with ABS, at least for the first panic stop.
Heavy traffic renders safe following distances pointless. Most responsible drivers do brake early enough that the concern isn't whether they will hit anything, it is that they'll be hit from behind by someone not paying enough attention or following too close.
-Colin
Shipo: Please excuse the "dumb" comment, although it does sound like you've had an exceptionally reliable BMW (not a representative sample, just as Prattster's wasn't). That said, how does a guy end up with a succession of 328i and a 530i from two "mid '80's Chryslers"??? They weren't K-Cars, were they? Weren't those about the worst cars ever made? And I'm not biased against Chrysler, I like my '99 Caravan.
Me
78 Mustang II (great 1st car, everything broke after 80k miles, but the broken driver seat back could be held up with a baseball bat and the seat could be put to good use otherwise!))
84 Nissan Sentra 5 spd (attempt a low cost+quality, not too bad overall, but wouldn't idle when it rained and couldn't get a dealership appointment before it would dry out! As many minor things went bad as later American cars...compare to wife's 83 Sentra later)
86 Trans AM 5 spd (cool car, only problem was clear coat that peeled off - still miss that car - looked fast going 40mph)
92 Chevy Caprice (car seats are too hard to get out of the back of a T/A!, great land yacht, room for 11 (I think) first and only real drawback of having kids)
94 Merc Sable (decent transportation, great lease deal - not all that memorable though)
98 Bonneville (surprisingly fun to drive, good size for family until 3rd came along, made the GM credit card worthwhile)
00 Expedition 4x4 (3 rows of seats are pure genius if you have more than 3 kids! Used the 4x4 3 times, never really had to in Cincinnati)
02 325i (Back to my roots in a way [see T/A, mustang bove] but room to fit the 3 kids if necessary - a little too early for a midlife crisis - wife takes it whenever she can!)
Wife
80 Dodge Omni O24 (a piece of junk at a 10% car loan interest rate. 3 engines and 2 transmissions in 35k miles. Passenger seat did recline though;). Lot's of other people with similar impressions, any wonder the Daimler-Chrysler CEO wonders why people question their quality!)
83 Nissan Sentra 5 spd (cheap, reliable transportation, the anti-Chrysler, lasted till you just wanted it to go away! $5k for a new car that never broke down - compared to my 84 Sentra see above)
88 Mercury Cougar (Wife's automatic answer to my T/A, good car, minor reliability issues - water pump, catalytic converter, clock. Was a Ford. Good power and very comfortable)
92 Caprice (see above kid hauler description)
96 Windstar (not bad if you can live with a minivan, butt ugly but functional, 3 rows of seats for growing family. Don't recall any reliablity issues and was safest in class.)
99 Expedition 4x2 (see above, this was a lease dream ($360/mn! $1k down), but not nearly as reliable as the 00, always sounded like something was about to break. Was good before it was turned it though...must've known! Don't think of buying a lease turn in, I'm sure there are plenty, it was just a bad year for them).
00 Expedition 4x4 (see above, no real problems other than a power window forgetting to work once, fingers still crossed)
03 Expedition ? (this is a planned purchase/lease as soon as they get a rebate on them. Ford has really improved a winner here IMHO, the 03 is only slightly different but remarkably better. Independent rear suspension let's adults sit in the third row! Tested everything else in its class and it just has everything beat. Wife said it's what she wants...period. Would love an X5 though if it had 3 rows!)
Again, sorry for the self indulgence. I saw the 325i as a compromise car at first, but boy was I wrong. It is truely a sports sedan, and although the $499/mn ($5k up front) Boxster lease is still dangling out there, I think I made a great choice.
observations in my limited driving thus far (to work, to & from lunch):
-- good handling, but choppier than my M3 over rippled or rough tarmac.
-- engine seems quite spritely, all things considered, and goes OK in a straight line from rest but lacks punch accelerating out of corners or passing on the highway.
-- stereo really is pretty ho-hum. mine's better except no cd player... don't think I care about the steering wheel mounted controls either.
-- automatic climate control seems strange, but given that I haven't read the manual though maybe I just don't know what it's supposed to do. but it seems to me that the fan speed must be set manually and the temp is controlled automatically. is that actually right?
I can't see $35k for this car. The dealer has a '99 M3 with 9k miles for $36.5k, that's a better value proposition in my book.
-Colin
My automotive life started with my 1969 Plymouth Sport Suburban station wagon with a 383 2-BBL carburetor. Talk about big; we actually fit the entire Cross Country team (Varsity and JV) in that car. ;-) Unfortunately, my younger brother drove it down I-75 with no oil in it, I was actually sad when they towed it away.
I then bought a 1970 Chevy Vega, and oddly enough, other than a quart of oil every 60 miles (this is no exaggeration by the way), the only problem that car had was RUST.
After dumping the Vega, I bought my first sedan, a 1966 Plymouth Valiant 200 with the 225 “Slant-Six” with a 1-BBL carburetor. It had 110,000 on it when I bought it, and the guy that sold it to me told me that his “Mechanic” said that the car would not last another 200 miles. I paid $230 for the car, put a battery in it (it had been sitting behind the guys’ barn for a year or two), and drove it another 90,000 miles before I sold it for $600. Great car.
I moved up to a 1970 Dodge Challenger, which had a 318 2-BBL and a 3-Speed manual transmission when I bought it. A year later, I found a 1970 AAR ‘Cuda with a 340 6-Pack that had been rear-ended all of the way up to the front seats. :-( I bought the engine and the 4-Speed and put them in the Challenger. Four weeks and five speeding tickets later, I put the 318 back in (modified with a 4-BBL this time). That car was finally stolen up in Chicago back in 1982, and I shed another tear for another MOPAR.
My first new car was a 1979 VW Scirocco, what a blast, still wish I could have one. The only faults that car suffered were blown struts at about 50K miles and at about 80K, the 5-Speed decided to eat itself for lunch.
Given that I needed a car with A/C in 1981 (when I started wearing a suit to work instead of greasy overalls), I traded the Scirocco in on a new 1981 Audi 4000, and after 65K boring (but completely trouble free) miles in a single year, I knew I had to get something a little more fun.
A 1982 Audi Quattro, finally I was happening. ;-) Here was a car about the size of a current E46 3-Series with a turbo-charged 2.2 liter inline-5 putting out about 150 HP through the original Audi AWD system (complete with “Diff-Locks”). Unfortunately, at only 18,000 miles, some dude in an old Chevy Caprice ran a stop sign and I “T-Boned” him at well over 40 mph. I walked out of the wreck; they took him away in an ambulance.
As it turned out, my entire life was about to change. I was laid off by my company, as was a friend of mine, so, we hung out a “Shingle” and became computer consultants. We are still in business to this day. Needless to say, my consumption of pricey automotive hardware was about to drop to nothing for a while.
I started driving a totally beat 1974 Chevy Caprice (similar to the one that totaled my Quattro, only in worse shape, if possible), which was given to me by a friend with the following instructions; “When you are done with it, take it to a junk yard.”
I then bought a 1976 Mercury Marquis Brougham, 460 4-BBL, yellow with a white vinyl top and a green cloth interior. What a boat. Great “Make-Out” car. ;-)
Business started picking up, so, I bought a 1985 Dodge Daytona Turbo, which was very reliable, and a lot of fun. Go figure. ;-)
In 1988, I wrote Chrysler asking if they would build their relatively new LeBaron Coupe with the new inter-cooled turbo 4-Banger/5-Speed that was currently available in the Daytona. They wrote me back to tell me that such a car was in the works, that it would be a very limited production, that it would only be available at Dodge dealerships, that it was primarily for Chrysler employees, and if I wanted one, they provided me with the order number. I took the letter to my local Dodge dealership and ordered it on the spot. Talk about a sleeper, I don’t remember the exact specs, however, it had nearly 200 HP, lots of torque, and wide “Gatorback” Goodyear’s were used to transmit the power to the road. In addition, it had the most adjustable “Recaro” style seats I have ever seen and a very nice Infiniti audio system. In over 70K miles, the only two faults that car had were a failed alternator and a failed fuel pump, both built in Japan by Nissan if I am not mistaken. When I moved to NYC in 1992, I turned it in at the end of its lease and shed yet another tear for yet another MOPAR.
In 1993, I found that in spite of living at 69th and Madison, I needed a car, so, I got something simple and cheap, a Mazda 626. This car was the biggest piece of junk I have ever owned, Vega included. After only 18 months I traded it in (and paid dearly for the next 4 years because of the early trade-in).
In 1995 (now living in NJ), I leased a new VR6 Passat GLX 5-Speed. In spite of the fact that it had a few teething problems (electrical gremlins), this turned out to be a great car with only one major issue during the 85,000 miles I drove it. Said major issue occurred on a hot day after a 2 hour drive with the A/C blasting. I stopped to buy a bottle of wine for the folks who were hosting the party we were headed to, and when I got back in and turned the key I heard a, “BANG”, the then everything went dead. When I opened the hood, I discovered the source of the “Bang”, the battery blew up (in southern terms, “It done blowed up”), battery acid everywhere! What a mess.
In 1999, the new 328i, seemed to be a natural successor to the Passat. ‘Nuff said.
In 2002, the old E39 bodied 530i turned out to be the natural successor to the 328i. Once again, ‘nuff said. ;-)
Sorry for the long post.
Best Regards,
Shipo
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9457
More to Love....
Learned to drive on a '69 Ford Falcon station wagon, then learned to drive a stick on a '71 Subaru FF-1G (Front Wheel drive!).
Went to the Senior Prom with my deceased Grandfather's '68 Chevy Caprice. HP 327 motor and no Posi-Rear to get that power to the ground (it was a good gravel thrower). But it still could beat any Trans-Am's on the highway whose displacement was listed in Liters :-)
Did some camping with a '74 Suburban and a lot of commuting in a '79 Honda Civic (12" wheels and a 1.2 liter engine).
First new car was an '84 VW Scirocco. Still miss that car.
While the Scirocco was reliably racking up the miles, I added a used 1985 Porsche 911 to the Stable. Still have it (drove it to work today!).
Replaced the Scirocco with a '95 Saab 900S. What a nightmare! Two clutches & an engine rebuild before 50K miles, plus a lot of small stuff..."thank you GM!"
Debated the 3er Wagon w/ED over this past winter, but ended up getting the Mercedes C-Coupe instead. It has 4K miles on it so far. Still wish that BMW would bring over the current TI.
The wife's first car that I know of was a late 70's Volare. I can recall it having a very fussy carborator, and reliability problems when it rained.
I tried to talk her into getting a Jetta, but she got an '85 Ford Tempo instead. That car knew when mine was going into the shop for routine service, because that was always when it decided to self-destruct and leave us stranded. Ask me about her famous "whining transmission" story when the discussions get slow.
She replaced that with a '90 Audi 80 (FWD), which she ran uneventfully for a decade with only a few problems, mostly being the rear brakes. The biggest impact the car had on her was that it was her first German car, so when she went on business trips, I got an ear full when she got home about just how the rental car she had didn't stack up.
She now has a 2000 Audi A4 Quattro, and she's a bit unhappy that she's been visiting the shop 3-4x/year with electronic gremlins. So far, its just been sensors that yell for attention when they go bad, but the problem is that they all trigger as "Danger Will Robinson - CHECK ENGINE", and she doesn't know if its something really serious, or if she can safely drive home with it.
-hh
Otherwise, keep driving. Not on a long trip mind you-- but absolutely it's OK to get home.
I'll share my car history later. I'm getting the feeling I'm a tad bit younger than the average contributor in this discussion...
-Colin
p.s. Enjoyed your car ownership story. You seem to hold on longer than most people here to your cars.
Enjoyed the chronology Shipo. I too have a valiant that I bought used in college and it is still running strong after 25 years. All I do is change the oil every 2,500 miles. (Now about every 6 months)
74 Pinto (my dad liked Pintos)
82 Toyota Celica GT (first with my own funds -- 1987)
1993 Saturn SL2 (first new car)
1997 Toyota 4Runner
2002 BMW 330i
Saw a white G35 today. Looked really nice. I hate the fact, though, that at first non-rear look, one wonders if it is an Altima or a G35. Same with the Passat/A4 profile at a glance. What I love about my car is that there is never a doubt. It's a BMW. It's distinct and it's beautiful. Just like soverypoorwife. (Hoping she'll read this post...)
First thing I noticed about Munich was how few BMWs were on the street. I would estimate less than 1 out of 20 autos were BMWs. This is a smaller percentage than in my own, admittedly upscale, community. My street isn't typical but of the 11 homes we have a total of 3 (now 4)BMWs. 1 740I, 1 525I, 1 323CIC, and my 325I. I don't think most German's can afford a BMW.
The streets over there, even in the old East, are so good. I've now got about 5,000 or 6,000 miles experience with them and I've never seen anything approaching a pothole. The widespread use of asphalt instead of concrete also results in much less loose road material.
I've also got about 3,500 miles experience in France and Spain and in that combined total of, say 9,000 miles I can only remember seeing TWO "road alligators" -- one in Belgium and one in Germany. Since I've never noticed anyone picking them up, I assume something is different that keeps truck tires from coming apart on the road. On my 31-mile morning commute to work here, I normally pass 25 or so.
I really like (what I assume is required by law) trucks and cars with trailers staying in the right lane except for passing. Along with the few numbers of SUVs and pickups this gives you a forward visibility which is lacking here and which I really enjoyed.
The German driver, in general, is far more disciplined than the American driver.
The by-and-large absence of left-lane-camping and passing on the right makes for a large reduction in road rage.
It is apparently not considered impolite to pull out in front of someone going vastly faster than you in order to pass. Nor, apparently, to run up to about 1/2 or 1/4 carlength from the vehicle that pulls out in front of you. At least, my two German friends never seemed to get angry when people did that to them.
It's wise to always have a supply of 1 euro coins and some 50 euro cents coins for the unattended parking lots that require a parking ticket. These lots usually have full size spaces and are the most desireable. The underground lots have only what we would call "compact" spaces and I would advise against using them as the chance for acquiring a door dent is too high. I never felt comfortable about parking in them.
As others have mentioned, much of the time you are driving at reduced speed on the autobahn. The major reason for this is road repair. These superb roads need constant attention. Unlike our repair efforts however, these repair jobs usually have a sizeable work effort taking place. I noticed, also, reduced speed areas of only 100 meters or so. Usually, these are for some road irregularity that could be dangerous to take at over 120 KPH.
Driving on the autobahn seems like a series of hard accelerations-to-speed alternating with hard braking to get down to the reduced speed or to avoid hitting someone who has pulled out to pass.
The tremendous speed differential between lanes makes the autobahn more dangerous than our rural interstates, in general, but, of course, also more fun when all is working well.
Speed limits over there are more realistic than over here. If they say slow to 80, there's probably a pretty good reason to slow to 80, and so most drivers do.
I checked the accuracy of my speedometer while over there and was pleased to note that it was only about 2.2% high -- about a third of what my last 3 cars (all Japanese) have been. I don't know if this error is linear -- I took my reading at 120 KPH.
All in all, driving in Germany is much much interesting and rewarding than here but requires more attention.
BTW, after all the comments about driving in Amsterdam, I was puzzled to note how few cars were on the roads -- I was expecting something like Paris. It didn't seem as if it would be that difficult to me, except for avoiding the trolleys.
Speaking of difficult driving, one of my German friends has taken his A4 to Paris -- "no problem" and Rome "no problem" but he said after 30 minutes in Naples he was covered with sweat head-to-toe. Has anyone here driven in Naples? What did you think of conditions there?
1. Western Europe is gradually upgrading freeways to 3 lanes in each direction to minimize accidents by trucks pulling into the fast lane to pass.
2. BMW drivers in Europe are known as the most aggressive. Many elderly people won't attempt to use a cross walk if they see a BMW coming.
3. Because of cost, much of Europe still buys VW. (Low cost German Engineering) Cars from Japan continue to make sales gains each year.
4. Tires are scrutinized carefully at each inspection and even "Old" cars have good tires.
5. If you are involved in any accident the police will always inspect the condition of your car to see if it was a contributing factor.
1999 - 2001: Toronto public transit, brothers 96 Nissan Altima.
2001-present: black 98 318 coupe - bought just over a year ago with 82,000 kms. Now has 98,000. No problems other than a check engine light (due to the gas cap). Zaino'ed and cherished. Driven a little rough.
Oh yeah, no rattles, squeaks or whines. It's stable at +140kms even with the sunroof open. Noisy compared to a Lexus, but I prefer being able to hear emergency vehicles and other road noise.
Overall driving experience: Nothing like it. My brother's C230 has more front end torque, more hp, and the three-point star gets more attention, but I still prefer the Bimmer experience.
Even a slight parking lot bump is considered to be an accident. If you walked away and someone reports you, you will be going to the court for "hit and run". Cars are important part of Americans' lives, but Germans seem to take it even more seriously. Sometimes I wonder how the driver got out of the car after parking so closely to the others, but no mark whatsoever.
1. Never buy ANYTHING in Naples. Camcorders with bricks (true story) inside are popular, as well as other equally creative products. The guy recommended not to buy, eat or drink anything there.
2. You can actually be ticked (another true story) for stopping at red lights. It is up to you whether to stop or not. If you do, beware of the wraths you will receive from drivers behind you.
Seems extreme, but another guy who served in the Royal Navy was posted there. He wholeheartedly agrees.
BTW, my "Delivery Specialist" in Munich was Bernhard Hausmaninger and the Harms representative was W.J. van Brederode -- anybody else have them? They were both pleasant, friendly guys. I think the highpoint of the whole 23 days was probably when we pulled out of the delivery center with the new car. What a high!
I also maintain, having been there twice now, that Neuschwanstein Castle is the one thing you should see in Germany, if you only have time for one thing.
In Munich, I highly recommend the Augustiner Keller beer hall/garden on Arnulfstrasse, near the main train station. BTW, the hotel Uhland was fine, and all the staff, Frau Birute, and the others, very friendly. We learned that they have bicycles available for your use. We used them only to go around the festival grounds at the end of the block -- I believe it is called the Teresawieser -- but I suppose you could take them down to the city center or Augustiner Keller (this last is within walking distance, but barely). You certainly don't want to be driving after drinking. I forgot to mention that this is something the Germans take VERY seriously. Our friends drove us over to the house of some other friends who are only 500 yards away (how American like!) on the same little traveled street and they used a designated driver for the return trip.
One last thing about European driving. Europe is so crowded that sometimes you want to scream in frustration. I can't tell you how often I would be in some out-of-the-way village and down some side street, when I decided I needed to turn around and would have 3 or 4 cars on my tail. When I finally was able to pull into a driveway or something and wanted to back out I might have to wait for 3 or 4 more cars to go by -- and we are talking about country villages here. It can be frustrating. There aren't all the opportunities to pull off and stop as there are here. In fact, I believe it is illegal to stop on the shoulder of the autobahn without good reason and most country roads have no shoulder.