[soledoc]

I'm leaving next Tuesday and flying to Munich with my 6 year old son.
I'll be picking up a 2009 BMW 328i sedan on March 26. I'm pretty psyched about this.
My car will be montego blue (similar to sonic blue), black leatherette, 6MT, sport package, cold weather package, sirius, HD radio, premium sound, bluetooth, xenon, 17" rims.

Never had a BMW before and never done european delivery, but I've been to europe many times. I'll be staying 3 nights with friends who live an hour south of Munich. Then I'll drive through the Dolomites and spend two nights in Verona. Then I'll drive the final day and drop off the car in Munich and spend the last night there before I leave.

My sonic blue R will be gone May 1st and I imagine the 328i will arrive at my local dealership in mid May. I'll have my V70R to drive in the meantime...or I could ask my wife (seen in the picture) to borrow her new car!

 

[GiRaff3]

I wish you luck! I would have bought your car in Jan. if the price was lower! I didn't even notice it was up for sale until last week.

 

[T5 for Life]

Re: (GiRaff3)

Sounds like a nice ride. And the S80 is a BEAUTIFUL car. I really like the styling of it.

 

[soledoc]

Re: (GiRaff3)

Quote, originally posted by GiRaff3 »

I wish you luck! I would have bought your car in Jan. if the price was lower! I didn't even notice it was up for sale until last week.

Thanks. It's been for sale (mostly for swedespeeders) since September.

 

[soledoc]

Re: (T5 for Life)

Quote, originally posted by T5 for Life »

Sounds like a nice ride. And the S80 is a BEAUTIFUL car. I really like the styling of it.

Thanks. My wife likes it...especially after I tinted the windows and replaced the "wood" trim with aluminum. http://********************/smile/emthup.gif

 

[xman03]

Re: (soledoc)

328 is a nice car and all but it's such a downgrade in terms of performance. Why not look at low mileage 335xi? More displacement and 1 more turbo

.

 

[soledoc]

Re: (xman03)

Quote, originally posted by xman03 »

328 is a nice car and all but it's such a downgrade in terms of performance. Why not look at low mileage 335xi? More displacement and 1 more turbo .

I thought about that. Here's my response.

1. I have always gone up in terms of engines/HP. From my '99 SAAB 9-3 to my '01 volvo C70 to my '04 volvo S60 T5 to my current '06 S60R. I guess you can't always keep going up in terms of, as you put it "performance" (meaning HP?). I think the performance of the 328i with a stick and sport package will be great.

2. I didn't want a used car, 335xi as you suggest. Yes that would be the comparable car to the R.

3. BMW has had problems with their new turbos. Volvo has been doing turbos for a while now. Plus I want a N/A straight inline 6 cylinder car with RWD. I live in central IN and our winters aren't horrible (although we did get 12" one day this winter). Plus I've got my V70R if I need AWD.

So that's my rationale for switching cars. Believe me if there was an '09 S60R I'd be getting that. But as many folks here have done they are leaving the R for something else and I think this 328i sedan is going to be exactly what I want.

 

[cmurphy2266]

Well, good luck with the new car! It's a really nice car, and I'm sure you'll really enjoy it. Let us know how it is, and post some pictures up if you get a chance.

 

[02s60t5]

Re: Getting my R replacement next week in Munich (soledoc)

Quote, originally posted by soledoc »

My car will be montego blue (similar to sonic blue), black leatherette, 6MT, sport package, cold weather package, sirius, HD radio, premium sound, bluetooth, xenon, 17" rims.

Nicely equipped! You chose almost the identical options I did, and also avoided the ridiculously overpriced "premium" package. (Mine is crimson red, black leatherette, 6MT, sport package, cold weather package, sirius, HD radio, and 18" wheels. (Logic 7 sound and Xenons were standard on the '08 335.))

Quote, originally posted by soledoc »

Never had a BMW before and never done european delivery, but I've been to europe many times. I'll be staying 3 nights with friends who live an hour south of Munich. Then I'll drive through the Dolomites and spend two nights in Verona. Then I'll drive the final day and drop off the car in Munich and spend the last night there before I leave.

You will have an amazing experience over there. The Welt is top-notch, and you'll never want to leave! Make sure you sign up for the factory tour - I think your son (and you) will be impressed by the robots and the overall Teutonic efficiencies. The museum was closed for remodeling when I was there last year, but that's probably worth checking out also. Last but not least, be sure to sample some of the incredible local brews - there's even a biergarten right at the Munich airport, weather permitting.

 

[soledoc]

Re: Getting my R replacement next week in Munich (02s60t5)

Quote, originally posted by 02s60t5 »

Nicely equipped! You chose almost the identical options I did, and also avoided the ridiculously overpriced "premium" package. (Mine is crimson red, black leatherette, 6MT, sport package, cold weather package, sirius, HD radio, and 18" wheels. (Logic 7 sound and Xenons were standard on the '08 335.)) You will have an amazing experience over there. The Welt is top-notch, and you'll never want to leave! Make sure you sign up for the factory tour - I think your son (and you) will be impressed by the robots and the overall Teutonic efficiencies. The museum was closed for remodeling when I was there last year, but that's probably worth checking out also. Last but not least, be sure to sample some of the incredible local brews - there's even a biergarten right at the Munich airport, weather permitting.

Exactly! No need for that premium package. The nice thing about BMW was you could really pick and choose single options as well as packages. I like that.

I am definitely planning on doing the factory tour...and sampling the local brews. The factory workers are allowed beer for their lunch breaks.
I'll give you guys the report when I get back.

Modified by soledoc at 10:47 AM 3-19-2009

 

[S60inToronto]

The new S80's are very nice but I hardly see any on the roads here in Toronto. Lots of S40's and S60's.

Are the S80's selling well?

 

[mrapczynski]

Re: Getting my R replacement next week in Munich (soledoc)

Quote, originally posted by soledoc »

Never had a BMW

Me http://********************/smile/emlove.gif BMW. RWD is so much fun! And you got an MT! By that description you could hardly find a better car. Your first upgrade should be a short shifter and weighted knob.

 

[soledoc]

Re: Getting my R replacement next week in Munich (mrapczynski)

Quote, originally posted by mrapczynski »

Me http://********************/smile/emlove.gif BMW. RWD is so much fun! And you got an MT! By that description you could hardly find a better car. Your first upgrade should be a short shifter and weighted knob.

I think so. Does the short shifter/knob make a huge difference? I drove the standard stick and it didn't seem it was that long of a throw.

 

[02s60t5]

To whet your appetite, I dug up a few pictures from my Welt delivery last year:

1. The "stairway to heaven" (even though you walk down it.)

2. At the bottom of the stairs, your new car spins on a turntable, illuminated by spotlights.

 

[soledoc]

Re: (02s60t5)

Amazing! That's a beautiful looking coupe you've got. I bet I'll have goose bumps when I see it on the turntable illuminated under the lights. Can't wait. 7 days and counting...

 

[mrapczynski]

Re: Getting my R replacement next week in Munich (soledoc)

Quote, originally posted by soledoc »

I think so. Does the short shifter/knob make a huge difference? I drove the standard stick and it didn't seem it was that long of a throw.

On my 5 it threw like a school bus haha. Made timing with my feet on the clutch/gas very tedious. Funny enough though the most popular homegrown fix is taking the shifter off the current generation 545 (curvy E60 platform as you see them now) and that shortens it a good 40% and makes the gear changes snap into place. Maybe BMW wised up on new generation models and you won't need to be bothered.

I haven't done a weighted knob yet but I'm not sure if I can get much heavier than the one I have now. Sure feels like I could take out a window with the stock knob.

 

[flybynight]

Chris, enjoy the trip. You know I am a big fan of OSD. Best way to buy a car. And you know no one has test driven your car which is nice bonus.
the 328 might not be as fast as the 335, but it is still comparable to your R's acceleration.
It's a good choice of car.

Now you should have gotten your wife the V8 S80!!

LOL

 

[soledoc]

Re: (flybynight)

Quote, originally posted by flybynight »

Chris, enjoy the trip. You know I am a big fan of OSD. Best way to buy a car. And you know no one has test driven your car which is nice bonus. the 328 might not be as fast as the 335, but it is still comparable to your R's acceleration. It's a good choice of car. Now you should have gotten your wife the V8 S80!! LOL

I know you are. I followed your trip for my twin car very closely. I don't need a super fast car anyway. It will accelerate maybe better than mine since there won't be a turbo lag and I know it will handle brilliantly in the curves.

Right

The V8 S80 for the wife. She actually doesn't care so much about the engines...just the look and styling and feel of the car.

 

[xman03]

Re: (flybynight)

Quote, originally posted by flybynight »

but it is still comparable to your R's acceleration.

Noway weighing in at 3350lbs but 230hp/200tq N/A power band it feels like a civic next to an R. I've driven my friends 328i coupe quite a bit.

 

[JAS]

Re: (xman03)

Quote, originally posted by xman03 »

Noway weighing in at 3350lbs but 230hp/200tq N/A power band it feels like a civic next to an R. I've driven my friends 328i coupe quite a bit.

Odd, the 328xi sedan we have is surprisingly quick with the 6MT.

You're going to love the 328. We also didn't go for the premium package, just added a few of the stand-alone options...

Congrats !