Snowy ED
02-23-2004, 01:28 PM
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I picked up my ED 530i today and thought I?d share my experiences.
Overall, it worked out fine, but the weather was a big impediment. I arrived in Munich on 22 Feb just in time to enjoy the last weekend of Fashing. Just like Carnival in other cities, there?s lots of costumes and partying in town. The next morning 23 Feb, I woke up early to get to the Delivery Center early since I only had 1 day to enjoy the car before having to give it to E.H. Harms. Looking out my hotel, I was greeted by snow; an inch or so on the ground and lots more coming down.
I followed the info BMW NA sent in their ED packet which thoughtfully included a U-bahn/S-bahn map with directions to the delivery center. I arrived at 7:30am after trudging through the snow. Unfortunately, due to the snow and the holidays, the center was running with a light staff so even though I was the first person through the door, it took about an hour before the actual delivery process started. Once it began, everything went very smoothly. I was pretty familiar with the car already so I didn?t learn much. One surprise is that since I got Nav, I didn?t have the center dash storage area. That must be where the Nav system is housed. The rep also kindly pointed out the First Aid kit and warning triangle that aren?t US approved. So if I want them, he informed me, I should remove them before leaving the car.
After about an hour and half of going over the car, signing a few forms, and discussing possible day trips in consideration of weather, I was ready to go. Before leaving we played with the Nav system using the Euro DVD. It looks very slick, but as they don?t loan out the disks and the ones I borrowed from Beewang over on Bimmerfest don?t work on the new 5, I didn?t get to really use it. I did find one useful item to buy at the gift shop ? a snow scraper!
My first stop was the main BMW dealership on Frankfurter Ring. It?s less than 10 minutes away (even in a driving snow storm). I had hoped to replace the stock steering wheel with the sport wheel offered everywhere else in the world. They were more than happy to do it, but it would have cost nearly ?900 just for the parts (needs the steering wheel and airbag) so I didn?t discuss it any further. If you?re in Munich, this dealership is a real treat. They have every model and a number of ?individuals.?
From there I set out on my day trip hoping to have lunch in a village about an hour or so out of Munich. However, after battling the snow for about 50km, I gave up. Instead, of leaving town, I decided to return to Munich and take the BMW factory tour I had previously signed up for. It was pretty cool and I?m glad I did it. They literally take sheet-rolls of steel in one end and produce finished cars on the other. They also produce engines here and that was pretty cool to see as well. Be forewarned, there?s lots of walking which isn?t a problem, unless the snow is ankle deep?. The only problem was figuring out where I was supposed to park. After multiple circles, I finally gave up and parked in the street which was a bit unnerving given the snow and cars sliding about.
I don?t suggest trying to do the afternoon tour and returning your car to Harms the same day. My tour was supposed to finish by 3:30 but it was much closer to 4 by the time I got back to the museum. I was lucky in that Gerd at Harms was willing to wait for me.
One last point, I strongly advise against driving the new 5 with sport-tires in the snow. It sucked. Made me appreciate our Audi A6 Avant equipped with Dunlop Wintersports all that much more?.
I?ll post a couple of pics when I get back to the States.
Overall, it worked out fine, but the weather was a big impediment. I arrived in Munich on 22 Feb just in time to enjoy the last weekend of Fashing. Just like Carnival in other cities, there?s lots of costumes and partying in town. The next morning 23 Feb, I woke up early to get to the Delivery Center early since I only had 1 day to enjoy the car before having to give it to E.H. Harms. Looking out my hotel, I was greeted by snow; an inch or so on the ground and lots more coming down.
I followed the info BMW NA sent in their ED packet which thoughtfully included a U-bahn/S-bahn map with directions to the delivery center. I arrived at 7:30am after trudging through the snow. Unfortunately, due to the snow and the holidays, the center was running with a light staff so even though I was the first person through the door, it took about an hour before the actual delivery process started. Once it began, everything went very smoothly. I was pretty familiar with the car already so I didn?t learn much. One surprise is that since I got Nav, I didn?t have the center dash storage area. That must be where the Nav system is housed. The rep also kindly pointed out the First Aid kit and warning triangle that aren?t US approved. So if I want them, he informed me, I should remove them before leaving the car.
After about an hour and half of going over the car, signing a few forms, and discussing possible day trips in consideration of weather, I was ready to go. Before leaving we played with the Nav system using the Euro DVD. It looks very slick, but as they don?t loan out the disks and the ones I borrowed from Beewang over on Bimmerfest don?t work on the new 5, I didn?t get to really use it. I did find one useful item to buy at the gift shop ? a snow scraper!
My first stop was the main BMW dealership on Frankfurter Ring. It?s less than 10 minutes away (even in a driving snow storm). I had hoped to replace the stock steering wheel with the sport wheel offered everywhere else in the world. They were more than happy to do it, but it would have cost nearly ?900 just for the parts (needs the steering wheel and airbag) so I didn?t discuss it any further. If you?re in Munich, this dealership is a real treat. They have every model and a number of ?individuals.?
From there I set out on my day trip hoping to have lunch in a village about an hour or so out of Munich. However, after battling the snow for about 50km, I gave up. Instead, of leaving town, I decided to return to Munich and take the BMW factory tour I had previously signed up for. It was pretty cool and I?m glad I did it. They literally take sheet-rolls of steel in one end and produce finished cars on the other. They also produce engines here and that was pretty cool to see as well. Be forewarned, there?s lots of walking which isn?t a problem, unless the snow is ankle deep?. The only problem was figuring out where I was supposed to park. After multiple circles, I finally gave up and parked in the street which was a bit unnerving given the snow and cars sliding about.
I don?t suggest trying to do the afternoon tour and returning your car to Harms the same day. My tour was supposed to finish by 3:30 but it was much closer to 4 by the time I got back to the museum. I was lucky in that Gerd at Harms was willing to wait for me.
One last point, I strongly advise against driving the new 5 with sport-tires in the snow. It sucked. Made me appreciate our Audi A6 Avant equipped with Dunlop Wintersports all that much more?.
I?ll post a couple of pics when I get back to the States.
02-24-2004, 05:44 PM
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My Ride: '04 545i/6sp SilverGray/Beige
T-64 days and counting...
According to BMWNA's 800 number, my vehicle is in production and will be completed on March 5th. It's a long time to sit around, but I reckon they will take good care of it.
-MrB
According to BMWNA's 800 number, my vehicle is in production and will be completed on March 5th. It's a long time to sit around, but I reckon they will take good care of it.
-MrB
02-25-2004, 10:20 AM
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My Ride: '04 545i/6sp SilverGray/Beige
Originally Posted by 555' date='Feb 25 2004, 01:14 PM
Have fun, Mr. Belk. I used to live near you (in Roswell). I still miss it.
No need to be so formal, my initials are M.R.B, so I've taken to making my usernames either misterb or mrbelk, and sign "MrB" just as a play on the initials. Please, call me Matthew.
We've been in Atlanta for 5 years now, and in Alpharetta (Holcomb Bridge Rd near Nesbit Ferry) for 3 years. We really love the location. The Atlanta metro area is so much prettier than many other big cities I've been to.
-MrB