Airport to Delivery to Downton to Hotel to Airport

Hello all and thanks for contributing great information to a recent member.

Just sign paperwork today for 5/23 delivery of 545 and I am ashamed to say that its my first BMW!! and ED from any manufacturer.

But..... lets talk about the reason why:

A price just over ED invoice and rate locking todays '05 545 MF of .001 (plus .0003 ED) and 61% residaul results in a monthly paymnet in the low mid $500's. Not to slight others, but many are driving this same auto for $100's more and when you price out the upcoming '06 525 or 530 using the likely .0025+ MF, the monthly payments would be more than the 545!!

I just stumbled onto the ED concept at the last minute and hammered out the deal over the last 3 days. It works for us because we're headed to Athens for 2 weeks via Munich. We were scheduled to arrive in Munich Monday morning at 7:00 amd and connected to Athens at 9am but my rewards program allowed us to stay over in Munich until Tuesday morning and depart for Athens. Yes, this gives me less than 24 hours with this incredible machine in its homeland but understand, the intention of the trip has alwasy been a vaction in Greece with this idea just coming up.

That being said, what I looking for is feedback about how to do this 1 day right!!

Again, we arrive Monday at 7am. We'll be fed by Lufthansa on the flight and also can get a bite in the Senator lounge on the way out so maybe out of the airport by 8:30 - is that possible?

Now, I think the best thing is to go straight to the delviery center and get in line.

1) do we take a taxi from the airport to the DC?
2) how far is the DC from airport?
3) on average, how long will the delivery take?
4) what happens during the delivery?
5) considering were there for 1 day, do I bother even taking the car off the lot? or should I just leave it there and have BMW do the next steps?
6) Can I leave it at the DC? or does it need to be taken to another location for shipping?
7) If it needs to go somewhere else, will BMW transport it for me?
8) I want to at least walk around dwontown and have a beer with my wife at the Hauffbrauhouse - should we stay in Munich or at the airport?
9) lots of talk about the Marriott properties which I can sty for free at. Would they be a good location to hit the delv. center, the city and have easy access back to the airport?

Last point, I'm just outside of NYC. If they've got the car 5/23-24, how long to the US? does it go thru the Port in Newark or Philly? and then from port to dealer, how many days?

Sorry for the long post but any advice is greatly appreacited!!

Reply » Airport to Delivery to Downton to Hotel to Airport

1) do we take a taxi from the airport to the DC?
>>you can take a taxi, its about 30-40 euros. you can also take the train but with only 24 hours, i wouldn't waste my time.

2) how far is the DC from airport?
>>about 20 miles, 20-30 minutes by taxi

3) on average, how long will the delivery take?
>>you'll probably wait at least 30 minutes, then maybe another 30 minutes for the delivery process, could be longer if it crowded.

4) what happens during the delivery?
>>they go over the ED paperwork, registration, insurance, have you sign a few things and then finally let you meet your new baby! They will explain any of the controls/features as necessary.

5) considering were there for 1 day, do I bother even taking the car off the lot? or should I just leave it there and have BMW do the next steps?
>>I did a pickup and dropoff in the same day in January and put on 180 miles. I'd highly recommend a quick trip down to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

6) Can I leave it at the DC? or does it need to be taken to another location for shipping?
>>you have to take it to Harms to drop it off but some people have been able to arrange that for a fee.

7) If it needs to go somewhere else, will BMW transport it for me?
>>some people have been able to arrange that for a fee.

Reply » Airport to Delivery to Downton to Hotel to Airport

Quote:

...
6) Can I leave it at the DC? or does it need to be taken to another location for shipping?
7) If it needs to go somewhere else, will BMW transport it for me?
8) I want to at least walk around dwontown and have a beer with my wife at the Hauffbrauhouse - should we stay in Munich or at the airport?
9) lots of talk about the Marriott properties which I can sty for free at. Would they be a good location to hit the delv. center, the city and have easy access back to the airport?....

Welcome aboard, and the "SEARCH" function is your friend. Everything you want to know been asked many times before.

I will clearify a few of William's answers:

6) No, you are assumiing that the delivery center is also the drop-off center. That is incorrect. DC is run by BMW. Drop-off center (in Munich) is run by EH Harms and contracted by BMW. Harms office is about 8 miles away from DC in a industrial park in Garshing.

7) No, that is what taxi's and public transportations are for. Unless there is something wrong w/ your new car, otherwise... you are on your own.

8) The Airport is some 35 miles away from towncenter Munich. Unless you enjoy taking the S-bahn half-a$$ drunk for 30 mins. to return to the airport (which I did during Oktoberfest, but I do not recommend it), otherwise stay in Munich.

9) Marriott is good for the purpose of hanging out in town and delivery center, but not great. A great location would be a hotel near by a u-bahn station in Marieplatz. But its not that big of a deal.

cheers

beewang

Reply » Airport to Delivery to Downton to Hotel to Airport

No answers to your already-answered questions but my wife and I spent 2 glorious weeks in Greece in September, 2001. Yes, we were on the Greek island of Mykonos when 9/11 reared its ugly head.

Regardless, it was a fantastic time and I want to go back some day. this time I think we'll spend some time on Santorini and I also hear the Crete is quite wonderful.

Have fun in Greece...it is an amazing place...you can't walk 10 m without running into a 8th century church or 12th century this or a 1000 BC firepit or whatnot. My brain couldn't take it all in....

Reply » Airport to Delivery to Downton to Hotel to Airport

Quote:

Hey agent99, if you liked Mykonos you'll fall in love with Santorini, its even nicer than Crete. Awesome place.

Reply » Airport to Delivery to Downton to Hotel to Airport

You'll get lots of opinions, so here is one more: Morning traffic to and from the airport in Munich can be bad, and you'll have an early check-in for the flight to Greece. Last June we were in the same situation, although we were flying to Vienna. The Kempinski at the airport is very nice, has a great breakfast, and is just a long enough walk across an open plaza to stretch your legs before getting on another flight. Stay there and make your morning much less of a rush. I recommend it.

Also, see if you can divide your luggage into what you'll need in Munich and the rest. Check the rest thru from the US to Greece, and you won't have to lug it around. LH knows how to deal with 24-hour layovers.

Our stay had an completely unplanned benefit. It was during the 1-series press introduction. There was a BMW welcome desk at the airport Kempinski and a fleet of X3s they used to transport the press. We window-shopped; it helped convinced us to get an X3 when we returned home.

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