Has anyone taken delivery of a BMW in Munich? I will be buying one in the Spring and that's when we will be in Italy. I was told by our BMW dealer if we take delivery in Munich we can drive the car for a week and then it will be shipped to them in California. We will save around 7% by doing this which will help pay for our vacation. Sounds like a good idea to me.

I haven't done it myself but I know people who have - they have all seen it as a great way to combine a vacation with picking up a car; it's like having a rental car for a week except that it is your own car! And since you already will be there, it won't add any cost to your car, looks like you'll actually save money instead. Good luck.

I did this in 2002. It was flawless. You MUST order the vehicle 60 (90?) days prior to the delivery date; the savings are about 7%. At the time I did it you could keep the car in Europe for a month at no additional charge; you could extend it for another month for a nominal charge. I dropped my car off in Paris and it arrived in Chicago 6 weeks later. There were no hidden charges and no hassles...it couldn't have been easier. They cover insurance, temporary registration and shipping. As I recall there were 14 drop-off points in western Europe. www.bmwusa.com should have a list of the drop-off locations (all closed on Sundays, as I recall).

yes indeed Francophile is correct.
its done regularly before the customs hassle in EU now a bit less but nevertheless still use by many.
even for lower taxes friends have done it in luxembourg and belgium and then bring it over to France

Interesting. There is no problem with the U.S. emissions standards?

We live in California and the car will be built to meet California emission standards. The car will be ordered from our dealer here and shipped here. We will take delivery in Germany and the car will be shipped as a used car and, I believe, that's where the savings come in.

As LoveItaly notes, the car is built to US EPA & DoT standards...there's no difference between a BMW picked up in Germany and one ordered in the US...it's all arranged through a US dealer. The savings, I believe, come in the form of a subsidy/tax break from the German government to BMW, the hope and premise being that buyers will spend time - and thus money - in Germany in the course of picking up the vehicle.

If you buy and airline ticket on Luftansa with the intent of picking up your car in Germany you get a companion ticket free. What a great deal! We already have our tickets to Italy booked but maybe next time.

I brought mine back and the only problem was the shipper took out my windshield! I had a nice 4 inch hole in the drivers side of the windshield. Other wise its a good way to bring a car over.

Sue

This topic has pretty much been covered, but I'll add my "2 cents worth", since we just got back from a 6 week trip that included the picking up of a BMW 3 Series in Munich, with the drop off in Frankfurt.

First, let me agree with previous posters that this is a flawless operation that BMW runs. Their web site:

http://www.bmwusa.com/bmwexperience/EuropeanDelivery/default.htm

pretty much covers everything.

Our experience was 100% good. The materials they provide you are very comprehensive (even down to a wallet sized handout detailing how to get to the pick-up facility via taxi and public transportation, from both the airport and downtown Munich. The delivery process itself is very impressive: you recieve a voucher for a complimentary meal for you and your family, in their cafe, while you wait. The paper work takes about 10 minutes, you are given a very thorough introduction to your car's features,
and away you go, with a full tank of gas.

Per Kaydee's recommendations, we stayed at the Hotel Acanthus (reviewed by Linda). After having the biggest and best breakfast we have ever had in Europe, we decided to take a cab to the BMW facility, since we were still pretty jet-lagged. A twenty minute, 30 Euro trip took us right to the door. We were on our way back to the Acanthus to pick up our bags within 60 minutes. When we told the people at the BMW cafe we couldn't have anything more than a cappucino, due to our immense breakfast, they offered to pack us a lunch for our trip--a nice way to start a road trip!

The drop off procedure, for us, involved finding a garage for the E.E. Harms company, near the Frankfurt airport and dropping the car. This too, was handled with extreme efficiency. The paper work took 5 minutes and they called a cab for us. The ride to the terminal was 15 minutes and cost about 20 Euros.

We had our car from August 29 to October 9 and logged 3300 miles. We had to purchase additional insurance beyond the two weeks worth that BMW includes in their delivery price. We had to buy an additional month's worth which cost around $400. We saved about $4100 by doing the European delivery ($2450 off the MSRP of the car and not having to spend the $1700 that we would have spent to lease a Renault, like we usually do). I should point out that I also negotiated a discount off the European delivery MSRP when we bought the car.

We we very glad we did the European delivery. What better way is there to introduce a new BMW into the family than to take a road trip that begins with three glorious days scooting up and over some of the best mountain passes in Europe, and then finishes with two days screaming down the German autobahns? We feel good that our little "Bimmer" got to start off its life doing what it was design to do (and doing what it does best).