[uniqueMR]

It was about time, unfortunately..

[mxchris727]

Wow, I'm really heartbroken. I have been structuring my finances to do my first ED (and new car purchase) within the next year or two. I have been looking forward to it for so many years. As others have mentioned, the ED was my primary reasoning for buying new and not COP/used. At this point, I'll most likely look outside of BMW going forward. There really is not much left here for us who value the brand that we once knew as autonomus comparative to the rest of the automotive world.
For what I was willing to spend, used 911s/Astons/Mercs seem like better money spent...

[hoyasaxa]

Guess my next car will be a Porsche. Thanks for helping hook up my M2 ED GOLFFRR

[Roch M4]

This decision has nothing to do with less customer from NA choosing ED. it's all related to the fact that they will be producing more cars for the North America market in the new plant in Mexico and we will no longer get our cars from Germany, so ED will no be possible like for the X models. Current ED program cost almost nothing to BMW because the cars ships anyway from Germany....Shame on you BMW...my bucket list will now switch to Porsche!

[Mingwan]

Lame. What’s next? No dealerships, just pick up your car through a walking drive-thru?

[Thescout13]

Originally Posted by Mingwan

Lame. What's next? No dealerships, just pick up your car through a walking drive-thru?

I feel like a lot of people would prefer this to the current dealership experience - which is a complete waste of a day/multiple hours, when all you should have to do is go in sign papers and leave.

[Mingwan]

Originally Posted by Thescout13

I feel like a lot of people would prefer this to the current dealership experience - which is a complete waste of a day/multiple hours, when all you should have to do is go in sign papers and leave.

Haha, fair point.

[jackaleyess]

Why does it end ED? Making less money out of it?

[phoenixbmwlife]

The world as we knew it has literally changed over night. Every business is now changing as this new paradigm shift due to the Covid19 virus. Nothing will be the same. Airlines, trains, casinos, schools, clubs, and literally every facet of life will be different. The only question that no one knows the answer to is, for how long?

We are in for some transitional changes that many will not be able to handle. And for those that think we are going to magically go back to how it was in 2019, need to get a grip that this is going to be the NEW normal for at least until we get a vaccine hopefully in 2 years.

I will miss ED. My last two bmws were enjoyed so much in Germany. Hopefully I'm a few years things will be better enough to restart the program.

[///M4ster Yoda]

Originally Posted by Roch M4

This decision has nothing to do with less customer from NA choosing ED. it's all related to the fact that they will be producing more cars for the North America market in the new plant in Mexico and we will no longer get our cars from Germany, so ED will no be possible like for the X models. Current ED program cost almost nothing to BMW because the cars ships anyway from Germany....Shame on you BMW...my bucket list will now switch to Porsche!

///M cars will still be made in Germany. I do agree that the Mexican plant was the final nail in this coffin.

I am already looking at Mercedes ED program for the wife's next ride.

I feel for the people that haven't experienced the Welt. We have been there 4 times so it was time for a change anyway.

Later Fellas. Not much left in BMW land for me at this point.

[starbai]

Originally Posted by alz0rz

Based on this bullet... I reckon something with respect to the EU insurance made this unfeasible.

"For the remaining orders which still qualify for European Delivery, these vehicles may not be operated on any racetracks or involved in any racing activities while they are in Europe."

Sad day indeed. Probably the best vacation/one of the best experiences of my life.

[Teutonic]

Wow!
I was waiting to see the new M3 M4 and go from there. If the design is with that grill I was playing with the M2 idea.
European Delivery was one of my bucket list and almost planned for this year when this Corona shit showed up and screwed up my plans.

In all honesty though, I was considering the bimmer as I wanted to really experience this and buy a new German made car. Very close to buy an S5 but Audi said they don't do ED anymore so I said, ok BMW it is.

Now my dream is out of the window. With this new really ugly design with no identity, no ED and all other things BMW got into lately, it seems that from now we are pushed towards logical purchases and forget about enthusiasm. Slowly, every little thing that was making us a BMW lover is taken away.
Sadly enthusiasm is dead.

[Pyrat 2]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

This is an interesting perspective considering the fact that SUV's are keeping EVERYBODY afloat, including Porsche. You make it seem like it's only BMW. Do you remember how the Porsche crowd reacted when it was announced than an SUV was coming?!?Porsche can't sustain themselves solely on the 911 any more than BMW can sustain themselves solely on sporty cars. The world is not full of enthusiasts! Short memories indeed.

Totally get it and agree that Porsche as well as the rest of the world are into their SUVs. I am a minority buyer out there. I get it. That said, as a minority buyer Porsche has a whole host of attractive-to-me cars in their lineup. BMW currently has none that attract me. The M2 was the last and I was one of the first in the US to own one and sold it in December last year. If you haven't spent time in the Porsche world you'll see that while they make and rely on SUVs they, at least for now, remain committed to their sports cars unlike BMW. Every day they are promoting and targeting to me their sports car platforms while rarely are they promoting their SUVs to me. PCA every day sends me emails on modified 911s, their latest suspension technologies,...very sports car oriented. BMW CCA sends me messages on their MX1 event which has replaced their Octoberfest. They no longer have an HPDE as part of that annual event. Yes, I am an outlier and I hate that I'm writing this. My garage wall is full of pictures of my previous BMWs on the track as well as other BMW paraphernalia and banners. I love the brand for what it was and not what it has evolved to. I can hope that the next M2 will not be bigger than the F87 and will not have active sound and perhaps then they can start to draw me back in. Otherwise, I fear that my wife's current undifferentiated front drive based X1 will be the last BMW in my stable for the foreseeable future.

[Fugly M3]

This is very sad, indeed. I knew this was going to happen when they started to up the price. I'm so glad I got to do it. I only wish I could have done it in a proper M car and then done the cross country road trip on redelivery at the PCD. What shitty way to end my Tuesday.

[Jockey]

Originally Posted by Mingwan

Lame. What's next? No dealerships, just pick up your car through a walking drive-thru?

Honestly, I'd rather do that.

Having bought my last 2 cars through BMW direct (kinda) and getting nothing but hassles and bullshit from BMW dealers, I'd be more than happy to skip the dealership.

[Powaup]

Coming back here after hearing the news. Trully sadend others won't get to experience European Delivery, I know that there are other manufacturers offering it still but BMW did it well.

Here's to hoping they'll bring it back sooner than later

RIP Euro Delivery

[bobloblaw]

RIP. At least I got to experience it once.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by Thescout13

I feel like a lot of people would prefer this to the current dealership experience - which is a complete waste of a day/multiple hours, when all you should have to do is go in sign papers and leave.

So, let me get this straight: you're willing to pay the asking price to avoid the hassle of . . . what? Protracted negotiating?

Why not try going into a dealership and say, "I want to by that car at the price on that sticker. How long will this take?"

The answer might surprise you! I'm happy to try that experiment with you anytime.

[M3_Legend]

There goes my dream of doing a euro delivery

[Fugly M3]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

It's actually worse from the dealer standpoint than the suppositions posted here—and a loser for many customers, too, from several perspectives.

First, I have been a BMW owner since 1971. I've been heavily involved with BMW CCA for over 40-years and was the founder of one chapter over 30-years ago. Second, I have been employed by our local BMW dealership off-and-on since the 2002 was a model and not just a year. I have a broad perspective, and I love BMWs.

The last Euro Delivery I did for a customer cost him more than if he'd purchased the car stateside and, due to change of company travel, he never even got to drive his new BMW in Germany. Cost more? Well, the dealer incentives such as rebates and loyalty discounts do not apply to Euro Delivery. The customer can't get them and the dealer doesn't get them. That amounts to a lot more than the pitiful discount built into the program.

Next you guys, the BMW buyers, are shopping for your best deal and won't stop until you find some dealer who knows he won't have to ever see you again and will discount the price to cost or below just to add a unit to their sales total. You know people here working for dealership who have become a Euro Delivery mill offering huge discounts including below cost to make their quotas. So when you come into my dealership wanting to test drive my M3 Competition and asking me questions about how the car should be ordered, knowing the whole time you intend to place your order with a broker of a mega dealership, you are wasting my time—as nicely as I will still treat you.

And the dealer, as stated by others, won't get their AVP money to offset discounts. They also have to give up an allocation of the same model in order to place your Euro Delivery order if it is for any M-car of other hard-to-get model. I give up a car to match your $300-below-cost-deal from some desk-jockey in DC and I loose one car I could sell to a local customer who may really want one. You come to me to test-drive a stick-shift M-model no one in the metropolitan area stocks, knowing full well you're gonna order it from the lowest offer. And I would lose another allocation to sell you a car by matching your deal. But I still let you drive it, didn't I? And I treated you the way a BMW buyer wants to be treated, didn't I? And you know who you are!.

So, if the car can be purchased for less under US delivery or even Performance Center Delivery, why not take a trip to Europe, rent a BMW, drive the 'Ring, and not subject your new car to the threat of damage, or the delay of usually 60-days or more between paying for it and having it at home? Is it the photo op you'll miss? With PCD you get to drive BMW's car at the PC track, not yours. They pay for your hotel room and food for two people, and it costs you nothing. You get all your discounts and your travel time and expense is minimal.

Those are the reasons I see the program for US customers dwindling. That's why the dealers don't promote it. That's why the customer pays more for it, and that's why fewer and fewer opt for it every year. It's similar to those who complain about the demise of small businesses and bemoan the Wal-Marting of America, and yet they'll travel cross town to save 50¢ on toilet paper.

I see regular customers coming into our service department who I sold their first M3 to 25-years ago. But now they're having us service the latest M3 they bought from a faceless dealership 2-hours away where they've never been and wouldn't trust to service their car because our store wasn't willing to lose $500 and an M3 allocation to match their internet pricing. And I still smile and shake their hand.

These days we'll tip our stimulus check for a carry-out meal during a pandemic to help restaurant workers getting more in unemployment than they were earning before the pandemic, but we'll still take hours of a salesperson's time knowing we're not buying a car from them.

Good riddance to the program! If BMW wants to know how to do it right and make everyone happy, they can simply ask me. They tell us regularly how the new generation of BMW buyers are more interested in experiences than relationships. Let me provide a big participation trophy for you. Or maybe a program that helps you get the car you want and the Euro Delivery experience without wasting a salesperson's time and without the lopsided distribution that encourages larger impersonal dealerships to blow out inventory we can't even get enough of.

I sold a Hockenheim Silver M2 Competition manual-transmission off the showroom floor to a disabled vet yesterday. We worked with her for hours to make sure we could do what she wanted us to do in terms of trading a new car she was upside-down in, and getting financing that worked. We stayed 2-hours after closing, but when she and her husband left, we knew they'd be loving their first BMW because we treated them the way we'd want to be treated ourselves. And I've been doing it that same way years before I drove home the first E30 M3 the day it arrived at our dealership.

These days most BMW buyers are getting what they deserve, and that's usually the lowest price with the lowest level of service. And then they complain about the dealers. Days like yesterday make me glad I haven't yet chosen to retire. But that doesn't happen enough to keep me in the business much longer.

All the best to all of you who love your BMWs. I'm headed out to the garage to work on the 1600 Cabriolet my wife and I bought on our honeymoon in Europe almost 40-years ago.

I totally understand where you're coming from. However, I can say it doesn't always work like this. I ordered my ED from what was then a small, family owned dealer (has since been sold to Autonation) after finding the sales guy on here. They were a straight $500 over ED invoice plus fees and I happily paid it. Ordered the car without driving one at all. Then referred same guy (and dealer) an OG M2 order at $5k over sticker back in late 2016. It's not all bad.

[RPiM5]

I feel like SUV/SAV sales are partly to blame for killing ED.

But BMW is not the same company we used to know and neither is the world we used to drive petrol powered BMW's in.

I fear one day sooner than we think, we'll be living in a world where we will get sneered for driving a straight-piped E60 M5 V10 down the road or at least a bewildered look from Generation Z'ers who would wonder what the heck that 4 four door sedan is making all that beautiful noise, whilst they drive their electric cars, ride their bikes, and their e-scooters around city streets thinking they are saving a planet still globally powered by 60% coal burning power plants!

[Thescout13]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

So, let me get this straight: you're willing to pay the asking price to avoid the hassle of . . . what? Protracted negotiating?

Why not try going into a dealership and say, "I want to by that car at the price on that sticker. How long will this take?"

The answer might surprise you! I'm happy to try that experiment with you anytime.

Man that went right over your head.

If all new cars sales were one price with no variability by store, then sign me the hell up, a la Tesla.

But your asinine joke makes no sense in a market that has variability in pricing on a depreciating asset. Why would I buy from you at sticker and be underwater immediately, when I can buy from the other guy for most of my initial year's worth of depreciation? I wouldn't.

So the idiotic system is built in a way that requires stupid back and forth with sales people, who, for as long as I can remember, have played without shame every delay and other manipulative tactic they learned from their stupid "how to sell" books during negotiations that make you leave a dealership with a level of underlying anger and resentment that you try to mask with your "enjoyment" of your new car. You think we don't see you just shooting the shit in your manager's office trying to "wait us out" so we get deal fatigue and cave? I have been part of multi-million dollar deal negotiations where complex tiered pricing is figured out much quicker than it takes a car salesman to get back from his manager's office.

Take price variability out, you and your profession goes the way of the dinosaur, and honestly that's probably better overall for society.

Listen I get your butthurt that you aren't living the high life anymore like you were in the 80s, but forgive me for not having little more than an ounce of compassion for any sales person who works in an industry that has bred dealership networks that have a lobby that's as corrupt as the teamsters under Hoffa.

Things change. As we used to say in the military - adapt or die.

Now let's get back to ED. This can move to the politics thread instead of taking up space in this thread.