[drexplode]

Originally Posted by NightWriter

Sweet. What's the painter's tape for?

+5 horsepower and self-made racing stripes

[figuec56]

@NightWriter

How was your delivery?

[itrocks4u]

vj123 does PCD option need to be selected BEFORE car goes into 150 (production) i.e. it needs to be in the build sheet? My vehicle is currently at the port and dealer saying I cannot do PCD anymore.

[vj123]

Originally Posted by itrocks4u

vj123 does PCD option need to be selected BEFORE car goes into 150 (production) i.e. it needs to be in the build sheet? My vehicle is currently at the port and dealer saying I cannot do PCD anymore.

PCD can be requested even after production is complete. My CA told me that PCD has to be requested before the vehicle reaches German Port, not sure if thats the hard deadline.

[SpeedyATL]

We just did PCD for my wife's new X4. Overall a great experience. Below are a few observations/opinions from our visit (some or all of this may have been covered above, but didn't have the patience to read through the thread):

1. Hotel is getting a bit dated, but still nice and clean (and free). Not sure why you would want to spend a second night there though.
2. Hotel staff is friendly and generally helpful. Once they realize you are with BMW, they perk up quite a bit and will do ANYTHING for you.
3. Dinner menu is limited to select items and a couple of the items were 'sold out' by the time we sat down at 7pm. Food looks better than it is, but again it's free.
4. Breakfast is hot/cold buffet style with a lot of good choices.
5. The PCD staff is great and they make sure you have a good time. Be prepared to rag the crap out of whatever car you are assigned (generally its similar to what you bought). We bought an X4 30 M-sport, but they ONLY had an X4 M for us, so there's that...
6. Lunch was at the PCD cafeteria (free again) with several good choices.
7. The 1-2 hour car intro session is very helpful although we had to guide the conversation with questions a fair bit.
8. If you buy any swag in the PCD store, you get a 10% discount off what are already fairly reasonable prices so it's worth looking to see if anything catches your eye.
9. Check your car well for damage or build issues. Even though our car spent an entire week in QC, it had some damage to the airbag cover on the streering wheel, so now we have to go to the dealer to have it fixed...how did this get by the various QC checks as well as the detail shop? Also, why could they not replace the part at the factory for us, isn't that what happens in the QC process?
10. The car was nicely waxed and had very slick feeling paint - I know it's new, but it had clearly been prepped/waxed.
11. The factory tour is pretty neat but you are limited to just walking along a main wall in the facility and it takes about an hour.
12. The BMWCCA foundation museum is not worth the time to visit unless you are just killing time. The tickets are $12 and they only have 20-25 cars to see.
13. The Zentrum is a better photo op outside than worth the time to go inside. Just a handful of cars inside and a fairly weak swag shop.
14. They give you a discount code for 20% off any other PC classes. I will probably try to use it on a motorcycle class. It's only good for 3 month after your visit though.
15. There were no M-cars being delivered the day we were there (4 X3, X4, X5 and 2 I4). This struck me as odd....

Definitely worth it if you are anywhere close to the factory. We'll probably never custom order again (thanks supply chain), so likely a once in a lifetime thing for us.

[BoomWasabi]

Originally Posted by vj123

You cannot attend the program without taking delivery in PC and this very similar with every other manufacturer.

I think there is (or was) some flexibility there. I did two PCDs, and waiting for the 3rd one. And my very first time I picked the car from the dealer and had my PCD experience (hotel/dinner, driving, factory tour and X experience) several months later. I did not want to go in the winter and waited till summer. The dealer just offered it to me after the deal closed.

This happened 10+ years ago, not sure if this is still an option.

[vj123]

Originally Posted by BoomWasabi

This happened 10+ years ago, not sure if this is still an option.

If this was an option before, not sure when the rules were changed.

[Discstu347]

Are you able to slip parts of the PCD to leave early? For those who have a long drive back home - are the tours last (and mandatory)?

[vj123]

Originally Posted by Discstu347

Are you able to slip parts of the PCD to leave early? For those who have a long drive back home - are the tours last (and mandatory)?

You can ask them to schedule your delivery in the morning and leave after that. Its not mandatory to be a part of all sessions.

If driving sessions & tour is in the morning, your delivery will be post lunch and vice versa.

[NorCalAthlete]

Originally Posted by NightWriter

Nope, 100% free. They even include the hotel the night before and meals. You just have to get yourself down there (and then back home).

*sigh* if only they did that for Thermal.

Can anyone elighten me as to exactly what differences there are in the driving experience portions, at least, between Thermal and PCD in SC? All I've been able to tease out from BMW is "they have completely different capabilities thus it is impossible to do PCD at Thermal."

I'm just sitting here like, "dude I can skip the factory tour and museum if the driving experience is similar / identical on a different track."

Like, Thermal has a track, skidpad, etc. They do the Ultimate Driving Experience stuff there, the teen driver safety classes, everything. What is it lacking that south carolina has?

[calbears]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

*sigh* if only they did that for Thermal.

Can anyone elighten me as to exactly what differences there are in the driving experience portions, at least, between Thermal and PCD in SC? All I've been able to tease out from BMW is "they have completely different capabilities thus it is impossible to do PCD at Thermal."

I'm just sitting here like, "dude I can skip the factory tour and museum if the driving experience is similar / identical on a different track."

Like, Thermal has a track, skidpad, etc. They do the Ultimate Driving Experience stuff there, the teen driver safety classes, everything. What is it lacking that south carolina has?

For PCD, you're doing a braking exercise, skid pad, and a handling courser. There's really no difference for the braking exercise. The skid pads are different. Thermal is more slick so you'll lose the back end fairly quickly and no sprinklers on. The handling course at SC has elevation changes, Thermal does not.

The offroad courses are different, but the same idea.

What's different at Thermal is the facilities. There are no delivery bays or room to do any sort of delivery for any cars. There's no detail shop either and no place to store customer cars--they'd be placed outside like the performance center cars (can't recall how much room is at SC, but it's also limited).

[i42me]

Originally Posted by vj123

If this was an option before, not sure when the rules were changed.

My CA told me last week that with any new BMW, the owner can experience the PDC whether the car is delivered at the dealership or PDC. I would do some more digging and pressing before giving up on a PDC visit.

[vj123]

Originally Posted by i42me

My CA told me last week that with any new BMW, the owner can experience the PDC whether the car is delivered at the dealership or PDC. I would do some more digging and pressing before giving up on a PDC visit.

Yes, everyone who gets a new vehicle since 2020 can participate in new driver experience without doing PCD. That's separate from PCD and not sure how different the course experience is.

[GoBlue0310]

Originally Posted by vj123

Yes, everyone who gets a new vehicle since 2020 can participate in new driver experience without doing PCD. That's separate from PCD and not sure how different the course experience is.

We did the owners track drive at the Spartanburg, SC PC in 2021 after purchasing our X7 in 2020. You have one year from the date of purchase to call and schedule the visit. The visit itself does not have to be done by the one year mark.

During the visit there is a classroom portion that introduces participants to techniques they will use while driving on the track. Once that was completed we split into two groups with one group going to their off road course and the second group going to the track portion.

In the off road course participants drive X5 40i and M50i Xdrives through high water, over steep incline and declines, and even teeter the vehicle on two wheels. It was neat to see what the vehicle could do but honestly I would NEVER take my X7 off roading like that. In one portion of the course you activate the hill descent function and let the vehicle crawl (<4 mph) down a steep hill. Neat and fun but not near the thrill you get on the track.

While doing the track drive there were four vehicles available to drive on the track. A convertible Z4 M40i, M2C, X3MC, and M4C. The track is fairly small and curvy with one decent straight away where I was able to get around 90 mph before breaking for the turn. The cool part was the crew made you feel comfortable about driving on the track. They encouraged you to push the vehicles to get a real feel for their performance. Each driver, typically two to a car get to do a couple of laps in each vehicle. For me it was insane because that was my first experience with a performance vehicle of that caliber. My only disappointment was the M4C was a F82. I had hoped they were running the G8X cars at the PC before we went because I had been eying the G8X cars since release the previous year. Not that there is anything wrong with the F8X series I just knew I intended to buy a G8X and wanted to experience the performance prior.

Once both groups completed the track drive and off road course you one of the PC Pro drivers/instructors takes you on the big track for a hot lap in an M5C. During that lap you hit the skid pad and drift around the skid pad. The things they do to that car are pretty intense. Probably not recommended for someone who gets motion sickness in a car....

Once you finish the hot lap you have some time to visit the performance center gift shop where you get a discount. I believe 10%. You also get a coupon for 20% off one of the PC classes. Has to be booked within 3 months I believe.

Overall it was a great experience. I can't answer about the differences as I have not done the PCD yet but plan to with my M3CX. Between this post and the OP post for this thread you can probably figure out the differences.

While there I did see someone tearing around the course in an X7 M50i which was pretty impressive for the size of the vehicle.

Anyway, hope this helps. The link below is a short clip of an M5C going around the skid pad.

http://MikesBigHouse2.synology.me/ph...ring/7hmNV2WVG

[i42me]

GoBlue0310, Did that include the overnight with meals? Basically everything but the delivery of your new car? Thanks for the detailed info in your response.

[vj123]

Originally Posted by GoBlue0310

Overall it was a great experience. I can't answer about the differences as I have not done the PCD yet but plan to with my M3CX. Between this post and the OP post for this thread you can probably figure out the differences.

Thank you for the detailed summary and I am the OP of this thread. Based on your summary, it looks like new owner experience is almost similar to PCD except overnight stay, delivery and factory tour. With PCD, one will be able to drive the exact vehicle which you are taking delivery but it might be a random one with new owner experience. It might be worthy to participate in new owner experience if one is in the area.

In the past, people reported that they were about to upgrade new owner experience to a better class by calling PCD but looks like thats not an option anymore.

[GoBlue0310]

Originally Posted by i42me

GoBlue0310, Did that include the overnight with meals? Basically everything but the delivery of your new car? Thanks for the detailed info in your response.

No, the new owner track drive only includes the track, off road, and hot lap portions. You're responsible for the travel, hotel, and meals. I live in north Florida so the drive wasn't too bad. We actually made a long weekend out of it and when we were done at the PC we drove to Charleston for the rest of long weekend. Great town to visit if you've never been there. Lots of good food, shopping, and historical sites to see. Plus for me it's on the way back home.

[wtwo3]

Was at my dealer today getting service done on my m340i. Asked my CA about submitting paperwork for PCD. Apparently since I'm still status 102 I can't request it yet - I have to be in status 111 or higher.

[calbears]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Was at my dealer today getting service done on my m340i. Asked my CA about submitting paperwork for PCD. Apparently since I'm still status 102 I can't request it yet - I have to be in status 111 or higher.

Don't think that's true. We just did an individual color submission for a client with PCD. The PCD is already in his VIR as is the individual color. The paperwork is an electronic form, all you need is the production number to my knowledge (plus other details)

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by calbears

Don't think that's true. We just did an individual color submission for a client with PCD. The PCD is already in his VIR as is the individual color. The paperwork is an electronic form, all you need is the production number to my knowledge (plus other details)

On the electronic form in the instructions it did say the car needs to be in status 111. But I guess the form doesn't account for individual colors if you're saying you're able to submit for PCD even before that? Any idea if there's any benefit to requesting PCD now vs waiting till it hits 111 in terms of scheduling later on?

[calbears]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

On the electronic form in the instructions it did say the car needs to be in status 111. But I guess the form doesn't account for individual colors if you're saying you're able to submit for PCD even before that? Any idea if there's any benefit to requesting PCD now vs waiting till it hits 111 in terms of scheduling later on?

I can't think of any other than just getting it done.

[wtwo3]

Does anyone know - if you've specified your guest when submitting the PCD request - are you able to change who you bring later on if the original guest isn't able to make it?

I'd like to bring my brother in law along, but his schedule is iffy and providing a 1 month notice on the date might be tough for him.