[Enkur]

I did ED with my very first BMW in 2007. It was one of the best experiences ever. In the intervening time I had to get my finances in order so only bought used cars. Last year I did financially really well and wanted to treat myself to a new BMW which will be an M3 and was super disappointed to find out that ED program has retired.
My previous ED was before the Welt was built so never experienced that at all.

['Cane]

Originally Posted by BugKiller

Cannot comment on BMW Euro Delivery (ED) specifics, but some may find this interesting. Incidentally, another thread in this forum recently was asking us to petition BMW to reinstate ED.

I gather that in one form or another, BMW, MBZ, Porsche, and Saab all had formal ED programs (apparently in that order by quantity of cars delivered). BMW and MBZ discounted 7% on standard cars and 5% for high performance lines (Ms and AMGs). Porsche did not discount and I do not know about Saab.

MBZ's ED cars had other benefits (anybody with BMW ED experience please enlighten us). Destination fees did not apply to ED cars and they did _not_ come from a dealer's allocation; they came out of some special factory allocation. Most CAs did not understand this, and many that did resented it.

In 2018 I asked a dealer what kind of discount I could get for an ED C63s coupe. They told me a 5% manufacturer discount. I asked "No dealer discount?" They said "No, we are selling all of our allocation," meaning that they would begrudgingly take an order at MSRP and they would prefer to sell an on-the-lot or already ordered car that was bloated with expensive options.

I contacted one of the two U.S. MBZ ED specialists then, Herbert Hammer who then worked out of an Escondido dealership and handled 80+ ED cars per year. I bought and took ultimate delivery in Escondido but Herbert had sold two cars ultimately delivered in Anchorage the month before. MBZ had a set sales commission split on ED cards: selling dealer got 4 parts and delivering dealer got 1 part. One phone call and two emails later I had a deal totaling 9.25% off MSRP.

I paid my deposit January 2nd, picked up my car on May 17th, and dropped it off in Bremerhaven on May 31st. I toured the Sindelfingen and Affalterbach (AMG) factories, and after the wear in period I did 160 mph briefly on one section of the autobahn (truth be told, there is very little of the autobahn anymore were it is practical to do 120 mph for more than 1-2 minutes).

Other than the formal ED programs there were and may still be other options. In 2005 a MBZ CA suggested ED in place of an apparent pre-existing European Pick-up (EP) program. Under EP one could order a U.S. spec car and go use it in Europe. There was no discount and no formal pick-up ceremony. How one handled insurance, licensing, etc. I do not know but it was doable. With enough money anything is doable.

I took U.S. delivery on my '18 C63s in Escondido California on August 6th. It still had its EU license plates and California had not started using paper temporary plates yet. On September 1st I drove to Fort Lauderdale Florida. My EU plates raised a few eyebrows, including two drivers of EU-plated cars in South Beach. They had literally shipped their cars over from Europe, and they has assumed I was a fellow oligarch.

That’s not quite correct, BMW was 7% initially, but in like 2015 (maybe +/- on the year) it was dropped to 5%. I did my ED on my F82 in 2016, and even though it was 5%, I was able to get 11% off from my CA.

[snareman]

Originally Posted by Enkur

I did ED with my very first BMW in 2007. It was one of the best experiences ever. In the intervening time I had to get my finances in order so only bought used cars. Last year I did financially really well and wanted to treat myself to a new BMW which will be an M3 and was super disappointed to find out that ED program has retired.
My previous ED was before the Welt was built so never experienced that at all.

I did the same in 2007! Such a great experiences only to be topped by my Welt deliveries. To think we'd just go into 'the garage' to get our cars when you think of the Welt experience in comparison.