[jmh]

Originally Posted by greentrbo95gst

Before I ask the questions I wanted to let you know that my plan is to pick up the car mid April. (Need to make sure Stelvio pass is open)

Here are the questions.

1. Once I place the order I know I am given 3 possible dates to pick up the car. How far apart are these dates from each other?
2. I plan on staying in EU for 8 days driving down, around and back to Germany.
For those that traveled couple thousand miles, how did you locate hotels along the route? Did you have to pre-book or was it just spare of the moment "let's sleep here" type of deal?
3. Based on what factors did you plan your route? I would love to see some beautiful scenery, snap some photos, try some new food, but not sure how to pre-plan all of it.
4. I would love to have my break-in service done in back in Germany and then head to Nurburgring. How hard is it to pre-schedule something like this and how did you choose your station?
5. Does BMW ED help with any pre-planning?
6. How much time is needed to explore The Welt?
7. Does BMW fix any rock chips prior to delivery in the States?
8. How do you book your drop off location?
9. What is the estimate of Euros that you brought along with you?
Was cash a better option than plastic?
As you can probably tell I like pre-planning everythign and know what to expect, hence the level of stress is going up as I do not know what to expect.

Thank you so much to those that spend time on replying.
Would love to buy lunch for whoever is in OC and did European Delivery to pick your brain a little, but if you can answer here that works as well.
Thanks
Btw, Im ordering Azurite Black with either BLk or SO interior (not sure on that one).

Stelvio for April is very optimistic thinking . It usually re-opens some time around mid-late May (depending on weather conditions you might even see sporadic closures until early June)

The following website might be helpful in tracking Stelvio
http://www.bormio3.it/passo_dello_st...a_chiusura.php

Also the following site has info on all Alp passes (in German, but you likely get the gist)
http://www.alpen-journal.de/alpenser...penpaesse.html
also
http://www.alpenpaesse.co/

In general many of the alp passes will still be closed around April , but you might get lucky with some of them
Grossglockner (http://www.grossglockner.at/en/service/) is a great road to drive, Silvretta is very nice too.
Stelvio has received a lot of press since TopGear "discovered" it, it's still a great driving road but tends to be very busy on nice days with lots of bikes, cars, slow drivers etc.
For driving pleasure I'd rate Silvretta and Grossglockner higher (better surface, faster stretches). If you do Stelvio you may also want to consider driving the Umbria pass on your way down which drops you into Switzerland.


Below is a list of pointers from my ED and maybe some of them are of use.
I have a separate page for each day (5) , we covered Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland.
Didn't make it down to France as it's a lot of driving and we wanted to do a number of passes and stay off the highway until it's broken in.

Below is a list of possibly interesting resources and pointers.

Basically we drove from Munich to Zell am See, Grossglockner, Lake Garda,
Stelvio, Umbria, Reschen, Silvretta, Garmisch, Kochelsee etc
The routes on Google Maps will show that we probably did 85% alp road/backroad driving.

This should make for a great break-in tour as the constant change in revs and up and down
the mountains helps quite a bit to aid in oil distribution and settling in

ED Pointers / Resources
http://jmh.titanpad.com/10

Various Tours around Munich
http://jmh.titanpad.com/14

Day 1 (Munich ED Delivery / M Studio Tour / Dingolfing Plant Tour)
http://jmh.titanpad.com/3

Day 2 (Munich to Zell am See via Thierbach/Kitzbuehel)
http://jmh.titanpad.com/5

Day 3 (Zell am See / Grossglockner / Lake Garda)
http://jmh.titanpad.com/4

Day 4 (Lake Garda to Silvretta via Stelvio/Umbria/Reschen)
http://jmh.titanpad.com/6

Day 5 (Silvretta to Garmisch)
http://jmh.titanpad.com/7

To answer a few of your questions:
>>1. Once I place the order I know I am given 3 possible dates to pick up the car. How far >>apart are these dates from each other?

As others have already said you get to pick a few dates (based on your preferences)

>>2. I plan on staying in EU for 8 days driving down, around and back to Germany.
>>For those that traveled couple thousand miles, how did you locate hotels along the
>>route? Did you have to pre-book or was it just spare of the moment "let's sleep here" type
>>of deal?

Depending on time of thenyear (April should be low volume) you can get away with ad-hoc
bookings.
I'd suggest to at least book a few places in the larger locations. You can always cancel
with 24hrs notice.
You can also research whether they have a garage/secure parking etc.

>>3. Based on what factors did you plan your route? I would love to see some beautiful
>>scenery, snap some photos, try some new food, but not sure how to pre-plan all of it.

See above. I picked my route based on scenery and staying off the highway but rather do mountain roads.

>>4. I would love to have my break-in service done in back in Germany and then head to
>>Nurburgring. How hard is it to pre-schedule something like this and how did you choose
>>your station?

You should be able to schedule a break in service at least in Munich at the factory dealership(s) with a few days notice.
However note driving to Nuerbuergring from Munich a long haul (+6-7hrs) and it's not guaranteed you actually get to drive the Ring after all (rented out, closed due to testing/accident etc)
As much as people want to drive it I caution folks as it might just become a "got the T-Shirt" drive.

>>5. Does BMW ED help with any pre-planning?

For money yes ...
http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...wRedirect.aspx

But your best resource is really the ED Forum on Bimmerfest. Lots of knowledgeable folks
on there.

>>6. How much time is needed to explore The Welt?

In my opinion I'd say the Welt shouldn't take longer than half a day (after all how long can you stare at a few cars )
I'd recommend to also visit the Museum (2-3hrs), take the tour of the Welt which also gives you insight into the logistics side of the Welt.
For a factory tour you can either take the one in Munich (3 series) or schedule a private tour in Dingolfing (5/6/7 series and M5/M6) which in my opinion is much more interesting as it takes you off the beaten path and is more personal .
Dingolfing is appr 1.5hrs drive from Munich (and you can pass by the ///M GmbH for a phot op ) . The tour itself is appr 2.5hrs (lots of walking)

http://www.bmw-besuchen.com/en/

>>7. Does BMW fix any rock chips prior to delivery in the States?

To some extent. Scrapes/Scratches etc will be fixed at the VPC . Small rock chips
usually don't get fixed at the VPC but sometimes your dealer will fix them.

>>8. How do you book your drop off location?

You call them a few days ahead once you know when/where you are planning to drop off

>>9. What is the estimate of Euros that you brought along with you?
>>Was cash a better option than plastic?

Europe is still more of cash place for smaller amounts . As credit cards take a good
percentage in commission most merchants prefer cash for anything less 50 euros.
So having 200-300 in cash is a good idea.
You can always use your debit card to draw cash.
You also may want to see if you can get a chip card enabled credit card as many gas stations will not take your standard credit card. If you have to fill up at night with not attendant you'll need it

Hth,
Jan