jksanford

Mr. Belk,

'local Dinan dealer'. You mean there is a Dinan dealer near us? Can you point me in the right direction?

thanks,

james

alohalc

congrats, mrbelk! very nice pics and of course very nice car. i think your car will be quite special compare to the others. i've noticed the interior is sand/beige instead of gray or black for most of the t. silver cars. mine is silver gray w/black leather. very common and will never stand out in the parking lot.

anyway, after reading your diary and the pics, you really made me think about the european delivery seriously. how much did you save on the car compare to the local dealers? was it enough to cover the trip? i thought about that few years back when my dad bought his mercedes. but we didn't have the time back then. about couple years after he bought the car, mercedes changed their policy and we won't save as much as before (probably less than $1k). so i think it's too much hassles and not worth it at all. but you've changed my mind again. i just bought my new e60 and i won't change it for at least another 2-3 years. but i think my dad wants to change his car (not sure what he wants though). please tell me more details. thank you and enjoy your ride !

mrbelk

James,

There are a couple of Dinan guys in Atlanta, one of them is Global Imports on I285 between Powers Ferry and I75. They seem like a bunch of a**holes to me, so I don't bother with them. The one I'm referring to is Ronald Trochelmann at Performing Imports (770-641-6202). He has done some work on my CA's 540i and comes very highly recommended.

His shop is at the intersection of Old Roswell Road and Old Elliss Rd in Roswell. I'm taking "Brunhilde" there at lunch to see about getting the CDV removed from the tranny.

-MrB

mrbelk

I had black with the matte chrome trim in my 330, and thought I wanted something a little more refined this time. The 545 in the brochure is Silver Grey/Beige, and I thought it looked real nice, so that's what I got. I thought about getting Auburn, but didn't like the idea of having 3 different colors; Silver Grey, Auburn Leather, and Black trim. I was aslo flipping between Orient Blue and Silver Grey, but my wife saw them side-by-side and picked Silver Grey.

The ED experience was awesome. Since my wife and I had gone to Europe the past 4 years, and have kind of made it an annual thing, I didn't even consider the price of the trip when figuring out our savings. Anyway, I got about a 10% savings on the price of the car (5% over ED invoice price).

We were only over there for a week, so our trip costs, while not really factored in, were still minimal. My wife found an awesome airfare deal ($199 round trip from Charlotte, NC direct to Munich), and we used Priceline to get our Munich hotel at $75/night. Because we saved so much on the plane tickets and Munich hotels, we were able to splurge a little when we got outside of Munich. I think our total trip cost was probably around $2000 - $2200.

Next year, we're going to get an X3 for my wife via ED, and will stay a bit longer and tour around Tuscany and the Italian Riviera and Lake district (and hopefully be take in a Formula 1 Grand Prix race, too, at Imola, probably).

I won't purchase a BMW any other way. The new delivery center being built across the street from the 4-cylinders building will be fabulous when it opens in 2006, and that will make the experience that much better.

-MrB

squadri

Mrbelk, Congrats on your new ride. I think the 545 is the best manual I have ever driven. Along with the CDV I think the car would greatly benefit from a short shifter. The BMW shifter has long throws. UUC motorwerks(Ph 908-874-9092) makes good short shifters for all models. Apparently they are building one for E60 and will be available in 2 months time. Does Dinan also install short shifters?

545 manual, Saphire black/black, PDC L7, 9/03 built.

mrbelk

See my other post about the CDV. Long story short...it's coming out on Wednesday, the 23rd.

An SSK would be nice, too, and UUC is supposed to make some good ones for bimmers. 2 months, huh?

I've never seen a Dinan short shift kit on their site.

-MrB

alohalc

mrbelk, i used to have orient blue and beige. i love it but beige color seats are harder to take care. well, i don't wash my cars anyway, my detailers do .

10% savings (about $6k?)?! it's a lot ! so your trip is completely free plus you still have some savings, too. that's awesome! the reason why to set me back about the ed is airfare. r/t tickets from hawaii to europe are always expensive. so i had only thought about the ed before. but now i think i'll give it a try if the savings is 10%. free trip + savings + experience = another happy bimmer owner.

i have a friend is planning to get a suv. he has a few in mind (x3, xc90, etc.). but now i'll definitely tell him about the ed. thanks a bunch. please don't forget to post your diary and pics next time your wife gets her new x3.