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      08-27-2009, 04:35 PM   #1
hayden
Private First Class
United_States
7
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101
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Drives: 2009 750Li
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Southern California

iTrader: (0)

hayden's F02 European Delivery

Hello All -

Our adventure has gotten off to a rough start. We arrived in Munich about two hours ago... without all 3 of our checked bags. You guessed it... Heathrow connection. I didn't expect it since the layover was over 2 hours, and it was a BA to BA transfer all within T5. I am told the bags will be on the next BA flight, 3 hours later and will be delivered to the hotel tonight. I hope to at least get my wife's bag tonight...

Peter (Rolf's associate) was luckily still waiting for us outside despite us being the last people left to exit the terminal. We hopped in his grey 3-series wagon and headed towards the hotel. Peter is very friendly and described lots of sights on the way.

During the ride he asked if I was a AAA member, which I am. He suggested we stop by ADAC and pickup the toll stickers, vest, and some maps. 15 minutes later I walked out with all the items needed (37 euro) and an envelope full of maps (free). Now there will be no need to stop near the border for those items. Excellent idea.

Peter dropped us at the hotel and spent a few minutes making suggestions for our stay in Munich. We'll see him tomorrow morning at 7:15 for a ride over to the Welt!

I hope for good news tonight so that we can fully enjoy the car presentation tomorrow! Stay tuned...

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I am told the two most important bags are en-route to the hotel...

Here is a photo of the purchase at ADAC:


]


1. Austria Toll Sticker
2. Switzerland Toll Sticker
3. Receipt (I was told you need to have the receipt available with the stickers if stopped)
4. Vest
5. Folio of maps

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Photos for now..





















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We arrived at 7:30 am (via Peter) and were the first people in the building. At check-in I was informed our appointment time was 9 am, but our delivery was scheduled for 10:30. She asked if I would like to move it up, and I said that would be great.

Sure enough, they scheduled the simulation for 8:20, and the delivery for 9:00. It was scheduled to end at 9:30, but we didn't finish with Tom and take our victory lap until 10:40! (Lots of features to go over...)

We then grabbed some snacks at the lounge before joining the plant tour at 11:30. The tour was great, but a lot of walking for my pregnant wife - who had to use one of the men's bathrooms in the plant at one point.

After that we headed back to the hotel to refresh and have lunch. At about 3 we hit the road to Berchtesgaden.

With literally about 30 miles on the car I was stopped by the police! I was cruising in between two cars at 160/kph (during a 120/kph limit) on the A8. A unmarked 3 series wagon had a small blue light on its dash two cars behind me. I pulled over to the next lane... and it pulled in front of me and flashed a "STOP!" sign on a LED board attached to the back window. We pulled in to next rest stop and parked. The wagon parked directly behind us - essentially blocking us in.

A man and woman got out (not in uniform), presented their badges and asked for our docs. I informed him we did not have our passports, but I have my CA DL and the car registration, etc. He informed me that I needed to have my passport with me at all times, which I was not aware of and didn't plan on since we were not planning to leave Germany during the day. I asked if I had done something wrong? He stated "No, its just a control check". He took the documents, asked lots of questions (was the car mine, when did I get it, where did I order it, was it from the US (?), when did I arrive, etc)... and they returned to their car for about 10-12 minutes.

After the relatively long wait he returned and stated that they "believed my story" and would not have to acompany me back to the hotel to verify passport information as they would normally do. That was that.

From there we were back on the road. We really enjoyed the drive around Berchtesgaden... it's incredibly beautiful. We arrived at the Intercontinental Berchtesgaden for Dinner at about 6:30.

We ate at Le Ciel - fantastic service and food with an incredible view of the mountains and the towns below. (It turned into a 3 hour affair!)

Tomorrow we're off to Zurich!










First impression of the car is great. I got it up to 140 mph on the A8 (after the police stop!). iDrive and Nav is super easy and very slick. iPod controls from the steering wheel are nice and easy. The head-up display is genius... and the auto dimming headlight feature works remarkably well.

The Night Vision with pedestrian dection worked as advertised as we were coming down the small road from the InterContinental at night.

A few other notes from today:

1. I asked during the tour about the cars being picked up with 0 miles. The tour guide stated that they have the ability to reset the odometer only once in a cars life at anytime, so long as the car has under 100 km on it.

2. Our delivery specialist told me that while traffic notices don't appear on the navigation for US spec. cars while in Europe as you would normally see them displayed in the States, it will receive and pay attention to traffic issues if you enable "dynamic routing". Not sure how acurate that is.
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ED Vehicle: 2009 F02 750Li | Black Sapphire Metallic | Black Nappa Leather | Fineline Matte Wood Trim
ED Tour: Aug 25th - Sep 9th 2009. (Trip Report | Route Map).
ED Progress: Welt Delivery Aug 27th; Drop off at Paris Sep 8th; Redelivery October 30th.

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