Ever since I traded in my 2002 SMG e46 M3 for a Supercharged Range Rover Sport in 2007 I've felt something was missing in my ride. I thought going back to a high performance car rather than SUV would do the trick, but my AMG C63 proved unsatisfactory as well. I left BMW mainly because I was not a fan of the e60/e90/e92 styling, but my intention was always to someday come back because I can truly say my M3 was the car love of my life, and SMG was for me, to die for. When I began my search and stumbled upon this site and the F10 M5 press pics, I was sold. Reading through numerous posts and seeing all the pictures of member cars and mods I have amassed nearly 850 posts on this forum without having even taken possession of my car, but like they say the best things in life are always worth waiting for.
Last May I placed my $500 deposit at Circle BMW in Eatontown, NJ for a 2013 M5 and in October I placed my request for a March 23rd Euro Delivery. This past Saturday I took delivery of my 2013 Alpine White on Sakhir Orange leather F10 M5 at BMW Welt in Munich. For those that have done it, ED is like nothing else that first time - not being able to sleep the night before and for the brief moments you do sleep, having nightmares that your car shows up with the wrong options or colors (yes I did have this nightmare).
BMW really knows how to build the anticipation as they ask that your arrive 90 minutes prior to your actually delivery. That 90 minutes couldnt feel any longer as I ate in the Premium Lounge, did some paperwork, walked around Welt, then visited the store to get my free engraved keychain - then looked at my watch only to see that I still had 30 minutes to kill, repeat Welt walk around and another visit to the store. When I finally got to see my M5 in spotlights as we walked down the stairs I realized it was all worth the wait. Its like this forum, we all know what an M5 looks like, yet we yearn for more members to post pics. I chose not to drive my M5 in Europe as we started our trip in Italy and did Munich at the end, plus didnt want to deal with winter tires and having the car held up at the VPC if any damage was incurred by me on the roads.
As fun as Welt was, the highlight of the German part of our trip (aside from the actual delivery) was the Dingolfing Tour. Thanks to JMH's recommendation, I chose to do a private Dingolfing Plant tour with my wife rather than the more "touristy" Munich Tour - seeing where my car was actually built was a nice bonus too. For 100 EUR with CCA membership card, my wife and got our own tour guide and spent 3 hours watching 5's, 6', 7's and Ms being built from scratch.
The plant itself works until 10pm so despite starting the tour at 5pm we still got to see all the robots and workers on the line. We started in the paint shop where we watched 5ers, 6ers, and 7ers being painted. The robots are fascinating, watching them closing doors and articulating their way around different models w/o reprograming. From there we went to the welding shop where on the way we happened to come across a carrier where we watched 4 RR Phantom aluminum bodies getting loaded for shipment to England. The welding shop was essentially all robots doing work, with few workers making sure the robots are running smoothly. We watched as small parts were welded into larger parts all the way into one final welded frame. The final stop was assembly - here we watched the cars go from a bare frame to its marriage with the engine. We walked the entire line as workers inserted seats, dashboards, steering wheels, etc. I even learned that drinking beer (available at the vending machines) is permitted while you work! This plant is BMW's largest and is home to 18k employees, pumps out 1500 cars in a day and the average build time for each car is 33 hours.
And finally the pics because this thread is worthless without them - yes another Alpine White M5 but each time I see it in this color I love it more - and as for the LCI, I knew it was coming, but I wasnt waiting any longer. Im thankful its only minor and I know I will love my m5 the same. Some new lights and a misplaced brow wrinkle doesnt phase me. Thanks to all the guys who have posted pics and provided feedback to my many posts and questions - I look forward to talking to all you guys over the next few years as my M5 evolves with slight mods (IND cosmetic package and M performance spoiler soon to be ordered - 20" Modulare Matte Brushed Titanium B18s already ordered).
And now the wait as it crosses the Atlantic to take my first drive in the F10...
