[255zr]

Doing ED for the first time on Friday. Any advice from people who have already done it?

thanks

[phoenixbmwlife]

There are many threads here that you can read up on that should help. Happy for you I have mine next month for the first time. Be sure to post pictures.

[BMW F22]

What advice would you like? About where to go, what to see, etc?

[255zr]

Just wondering if the folks who have done it would do anything different the second time around with hindsight. Could be at delivery of the car or when you drop the car off at the end of the trip.

[BMW F22]

Oh. Hmmm i would say take the time to do the tour and museum if you can. Make it a driving trip but be careful not to do to much (i.e. drive too far and little time to enjoy anything).

[FoxCrane]

Have any of you driven south to Italy? After pickup in Munich, I'm planning on heading down to Bologna for a few days and then back to Germany. I already know about the requirement of the toll sticker for going through Austria. Anything else you can add if you've previously done that drive?

Also, in general, how is the drive through the mountains?

[255zr]

The driving i have figured out. A buddy is coming with me and renting a motorbike. Spending the weekend in Munich waiting for a third buddy. Then down to Bormio (stelvio pass ... Hopefully open) ... then on to San Bernardino (other pass) via Lake Como. Then up to Salzburg via Imst (another pass Hahntenjoch). Finally Vienna to drop the car and spend the weekend.

Planned it so that the longest driving day (minus playtime in the passes) is about 230kms (143 miles).

[wdlfbio]

How long are you gonna be over there? I've done it twice, if I go with a 2015 235, it'll be ED #3. First time, we spent too much time driving from place to place in a week. Second time, we spent more time (10 days) in fewer places, and the trip was WAY better. Good luck on Stelvio. We hit the Grossglockner mid June 2012 and it was 34F and rainy. Not good for traction and real fun.

You'll also need orange vests for Austria. Not sure how long the requirement for proper winter tires exists. Check into that. I know you can rent winters if still required.

[255zr]

We'll be there 10 days. We tried to leave time just to enjoy the scenery. Anyway my buddy on the motorbike doesn't want to simply drive all the time.

I know about the vest and some kind of sticker for Austria and as well as some permit thingy for Switzerland. I assume the vest is to be visible if you have to pull over and get out of your car to say change a tire (i know no spare in the 235)?

[2+3=5]

BMW plant tour in Munich cannot be missed!

[wmo168]

Check my photo link at my signature below... I am doing my 4th ED next month.

[255zr]

I guess it's worth it if you've done 4 times already!!! Super Excited. Just downloaded the map for Central Europe on my TomTom.

[255zr]

While i'm at it, quick question: the temporary plates , are they screwed or glued to the bumper?

In Quebec we don't need front plates and I would hate to have holes in my front bumper.

[FoxCrane]

The ED temporary plates are taped to the front bumper (not drilled).

Originally Posted by 255zr

While i'm at it, quick question: the temporary plates , are they screwed or glued to the bumper?

In Quebec we don't need front plates and I would hate to have holes in my front bumper.

[wdlfbio]

Oh, ED is a friggin blast. You will be telling some great stories. The tape on the front plate is very durable. Our plate is still on from June 2012...

[FoxCrane]

I'm wondering if doing 550km in a day is a bit much... about 5-6 straight hours of driving. Thoughts from those that have done it before?

[FoxCrane]

Also, take a lot of photos so you can come back and share the experience!

[wmo168]

Originally Posted by FoxCrane

I'm wondering if doing 550km in a day is a bit much... about 5-6 straight hours of driving. Thoughts from those that have done it before?

Europe is small in compare to US, you can cross to another EU country within few hours driving.

5-6 hours already got you to other end of Germany or well into France and Heart of Italy.

I live in South Florida, it would take at least 7 hours just to get to the edge of Georgia.

[255zr]

Unless Google maps is full of it the most we drive on one day is 230-250 kms (we are cheating some on Sunday night as we drive about 70 kms towards Bormio from Munich), add some for playtime in the 3 passes we will (hopefully) drive, it shouldn't be that bad.

Went a bough a Go Pro camera yesterday to put on the dash

[krhodes1]

The one thing I will do differently next time is to fly into Munich the day before the delivery, rather than the day of.

By the time we took delivery we had maybe 2hrs sleep in the previous 40hrs -waaay to excited to get much sleep on the plane, and Boston-Amsterdam is too short anyway to get a decent sleep even in first. Then a 3hr layover and another couple hours to Munich. Scheduled the pickup for 4pm in case of flight delays, then had to drive to Stuttgart! Was completely wiped, and it was probably not really safe to be driving in that condition.

I'm also going to try to do LESS than I did on my first ED trip. But part of that is I had already committed to two weeks in Scandinavia with friends, then decided to add on picking up the car. So it was a bit crazy getting to Munich, seeing some things in Germany, then having to be in Stockholm to catch a boat to Helsinki in 2.5 days. Driving Munich-Stuttgart-Berlin-Stockholm while seeing the BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, and Berlin Wall museums from Friday evening to Monday morning will disabuse you of any notions that Europe is "small".

[255zr]

Some people did great write-ups of their ED delivery, so I won't bore you with a long rundown of the 10 days in Europe. This was my first chance to drive the car for a longer period. I have a few comments.

First the ED Experience
Great!!! The welcome and assistance from the BMW representative is top notch. Great building as well. Loved when they rotate the car with the spot light on it. Also, gave me an opportunity to ask a few questions that I had since ordering the car in January. the only disappointment was that the tank was only a quarter full. Could have toped it. Getting to the Welt by subway from downtown was super easy.

Major learnings:
1. Definitely the way to go even for Canadian buyers who don't benefit from the same rebate as US buyers.
2. May is WWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY too early. All the mountain passes (Stelvio, San Bernardino, Silvrettastrasse) closed because of snow. A lot of highway and tunnel driving.

Impressions on the car
I had found the car badly insulated during the test drive. Figured it was a cost cutting measure. I have to admit no such problem while driving for 10 days (must be the Montreal roads). Seats are super comfortable and well planted car at 165 km/h (limit while breaking in). Start/stop worked flawlessly. Also happy to notice a significant difference between Eco Pro, comfortable and Sport (sport +), in terms of wheel weight, responsiveness, "plantedness" and exhaust noise (the last might be a "placebo effect", but I swear the exhaust became louder).

Drove from Salzburg to Vienna at an average speed of 150 km/h. No sweat and the car still pulled very hard at that speed when stepping on the gas.

The transmission is great. Going from a 335i to a 335is was a big improvement, and now the new one in the 235i is another step above.

On pictures, I hated the wheels, but I have to admit look much better live. Also the look from dead behind, the car looks very wide and planted. Like it.

A few disappointments:
1. It has been said before, but standard radio is subpar for the price. First time I change car and downgrade on the sound. Will need to do something about that. Sound is thin.
2. That moveable armrest is useless and annoying. Keeps moving back and forth all the time. would be prefer if it stayed in one place. Don't see the usefulness.
3. The gearlever is much too long. Gear changes are great (as noted above), but they are marred a little by the length of the gear lever. Also, I like to rest my hand on the gearshift and it is simply not comfortable. The shape of the gear knob is also not pleasant. Hopefully, the M Performance gear lever can correct these issues.
4. Personnel pet peeve, the clutch is much too light. Almost as bad the 10-year old Echo I helped park this winter. Almost, unacceptable in my book. On another thread I had mentioned that I thought the one in my 335is was light, but when I drove it the first time back Sunday, I realized it was much better than the one in the 235i. Need to see if something can be done about that.
5. Still debating on steering weight. You know when you just drove a go kart and you go back to your car, the steering feels super light, as if there was nothing to turn? Well, I had the opposite effect when I jumped back in the 335is. I was taking by surprise by how heavy the steering was. Now it could be that it is because I spent most of the time in eco pro, but not sure I am a big fan of speed sensitive steering.

I tried uploading pictures, but couldn't make them fit the size limit. The car is MG with CR interior. Plenty of pics in other threads.

Cheers!!

[webdither]

Originally Posted by 255zr

the only disappointment was that the tank was only a quarter full. Could have toped it.

In the welcome email I received last week it mentioned that they regret they cannot fill the tank up due to fire regulations at Welt. Makes sense... but you'd think they could provide something, even if just a gas card with 80 euros on it or something.

But looks like you had a good time! I was told that even in July Stelvio could be closed... hopefully it's not when I get there!