[hyperzulu]

I just got back last weekend from taking European delivery of my 2015 M235i. My girlfriend and I spent about sixteen days in Europe, traveling to Paris before taking delivery in Munich and continuing on to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Prague, Berlin, Nürburg and Amsterdam to turn in the car. We then took a day trip to Bruges and had a night in Helsinki before returning home. This trip had been in conception for quite a while and I managed to get us both there and back in first class or business where no first was available. While it was totally worth it to fly on airline miles, I think a couple Xanax pills and a beer would be just fine as well. Luckily I had so many AA airline miles that I could do this.





We spent four days in Paris, which was lovely. It was not peak tourist season, but you couldn't tell by the number of people the city packed. It was crowded. Despite that we had an amazing time, sometimes packing in more than we could handle. But we managed to see a lot - Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Versailles, Notre Dame. We also spent a fair bit of time just walking the streets. I think I enjoyed that most. It's such a lively city.





I started to get a cold while in Paris, but braved on. After four days in Paris, we flew to Munich. The metros in Munich smell like bike chain grease for some reason. The first night we went to the old town square, Marienplatz, for a bite to eat at the Hofbrauhaus. It was pretty epic. This is a place you can just sit, eat and drink to your heart's content and be at peace. Live Oompa band, large tables of family style seating, drunk people being festive. This was right after Oktoberfest, but people here still seemed ready to go. We sat and chatted with a Canadian couple on their honeymoon who said that their hotel hallways still smelled a bit puke-ish, but they were having a ball anyway. They had been at the HB for about five hours before calling it a night.







The next morning despite still feeling sick, I was up early and ready to go. I wanted to spend most of the day at the BMW Welt. We skipped the hotel breakfast as we figured the lounge there would be serving breakfast items for free. Our hotel was a 20 minute walk from the Welt, which was cake, considering how much walking we had done in Paris. Along the way I stopped at a pharmacy to pick up lozenges and the lady behind the counter asked if I worked for the "BMV"... I don't know that I look like someone who works for BMW, but I suppose the English speakers in the area all do.





We arrived and checked in and were given passes for the museum and plant tour. We did the plant tour, which was great and very informative. Afterwards we shopped and went back to the lounge for lunch, but I was super anxious as my delivery was in half an hour. We waited and tried to get a peak of my car on the floor, but couldn't spot it. Finally my delivery specialist arrived and chatted us up before taking us down to the car. Walking down those steps was an awesome feeling.





After we took delivery, I waited for a chance to take some photos and parked by the double cone structure for a few photos.





We then returned to the lounge to get my keychain engraved. I chose to engrave the Zoll plate, which the lady working the machine protested against as if it were a really bad idea. I'm not really sure why she made such an issue of it, but she did it anyway. My girlfriend and I both laughed about it.




The rest of the trip involved trips to the cities mentioned, somehow managing to keep from exceeding 100mph on the autobahn until I hit 1,000 miles on the odometer. At that point I started actually passing other vehicles, reaching speeds above 130mph. On the way to Berlin, we picked up a nail, which delayed us a bit since we had to hobble to Berlin fifty miles with a plug in the tire and wait for the BMW service center to give us a new one. This pushed our day to Nürburg off by several hours and the rest of the trip was driving at night, which meant I wasn't as eager to hit max speed, but it still felt amazing to cruise the highway at 135mph without fear of being pulled over.





We made it to Nürburg late at night, which meant having to wait until afternoon the next day to drive the track. We toured the Eltz Castle via the Mosel River and returned back to have an early dinner at the Pistenklause. I ordered a steak which you cook on a hot stone. Pretty awesome.





Finally the track opened and we were allowed to drive it. I did one lap with my girlfriend. She started to feel sick from all the turns, so I dropped her off the second lap and did that one by myself. It was a thrill. I wanted to stay and drive it all day. Definitely the highlight of the trip for me.







Sadly we had to leave, but were headed to Amsterdam for four days, so it wasn't all bad. I dropped off the car and saw another M235i waiting to be shipped, so I decided to make a sandwich.





The entire trip was amazing. Definitely recommend it to anyone who can swing the time to go. I plan to do it again when I pick up another car. There is no better way to buy a new BMW.

Here are some pics of Rothenburg, which was my favorite of all the stops.









And here's a Youtube video that was pretty funny. My girlfriend has never been on a racetrack and gets motion sickness pretty easily, but she wanted to go for a lap. But not two...

[IM2C]

I can't see the pics

[hyperzulu]

Originally Posted by e90im

I can't see the pics

Thanks. Think it should be fixed now.

[Anderw]

Looks like an amazing trip , all of these ED are making me really regret not doing it with my ordered 235. Well anyway Thanks for sharing !

[hyperzulu]

Originally Posted by kwsw

Looks like an amazing trip , all of these ED are making me really regret not doing it with my ordered 235. Well anyway Thanks for sharing !

In 2011 I wanted to do it and decided not to in haste, wanting to get my car as soon as possible (it would have been a winter delivery, which isn't ideal for driving, or waiting an extra four months). I had major regrets. This time around I would not pick up the car any other way. Totally worth it.

[Anderw]

Originally Posted by hyperzulu

In 2011 I wanted to do it and decided not to in haste, wanting to get my car as soon as possible (it would have been a winter delivery, which isn't ideal for driving, or waiting an extra four months). I had major regrets. This time around I would not pick up the car any other way. Totally worth it.

If you don't mind me asking , on a 235 how much less is the starting ED price compared to the US MSRP? I've seen some numbers and the discount alone makes it even more tempting

[hyperzulu]

Originally Posted by kwsw

If you don't mind me asking , on a 235 how much less is the starting ED price compared to the US MSRP? I've seen some numbers and the discount alone makes it even more tempting

US MSRP was $50,250. I paid $43,515 (after $500 innovations credit applied). So, I got a 13.4% discount without any haggling. A $6,700 discount easily paid for the trip. If I was doing it purely for savings, you could easily get to Munich and back for a fifth of that and cheaper if you did what I did and used airline miles. But there is so much to experience over there. I wanted to take a vacation anyway, so this was perfect.

[Cal]

Great write-up, and congrats on your new car! What an amazing experience and yours just confirms it. I've also wanted to do this in the past but always decided against it due to time, wanting the car NOW, etc. But as you mentioned, the savings and experience alone make this worthwhile. It's best to time it with a planned vacation to Europe, but in the worse case, even if one has to go there just for pickup and signin papers, the savings could be worth it. (One forum member had to do that recently due to changed plans, and as you mentioned, the $$$ saved via ED more than covers flight tickets.)

Anyways, getting back to your car...Now that you had the opportunity to push it, how does it compare to your previous 335is? (Acceleration, handling, steering, power, etc) Any mod plans for your car?

BTW, luckily you didn't get the RFT options as that would have limited you on many occasions. Bummer on the flat you got though, but it seems it got taken care of the same day. (Did you have to pay for a new tire or did you get the tire/wheel insurance? [Not sure if the latter covers things overseas or not, but would be good to know])

Thanks again for the great write-up, and welcome back home.

[Cal]

Originally Posted by kwsw

Looks like an amazing trip , all of these ED are making me really regret not doing it with my ordered 235. Well anyway Thanks for sharing !

Agreed. I'm definitely doing ED for my next one. Just need to start planning a few months before I really need the car and avoid the "need the car ASAP" excuse. In your case, you may have missed on the experience this time around, but in terms of $$$, the deal you got is comparable to an ED purchase.

[hyperzulu]

Originally Posted by Cal

Anyways, getting back to your car...Now that you had the opportunity to push it, how does it compare to your previous 335is? (Acceleration, handling, steering, power, etc) Any mod plans for your car?

BTW, luckily you didn't get the RFT options as that would have limited you on many occasions. Bummer on the flat you got though, but it seems it got taken care of the same day. (Did you have to pay for a new tire or did you get the tire/wheel insurance? [Not sure if the latter covers things overseas or not, but would be good to know])

Thanks again for the great write-up, and welcome back home.

Thanks. I should preface this all by saying that the whole experience was a bit surreal, so my opinions may not be completely untainted regarding the car, its abilities, and how it compares to other BMWs I've driven, including the one I have now.

I'll start with one of the first things I noticed. I opted for the base stereo, non-HK system as I felt it wasn't worth the price. On my 335is, I have the HK system. I think I have a pretty good ear, and I could not honestly find much fault with the base stereo over the HK in my 335is. I think the bass is a bit punchier with the HK option, but over Bluetooth, it is a marginal increase in kick and clarity at louder volumes.

The 335is still feels more powerful which is on account of the overboost that kicks torque figures up to 370. But the 2 felt more eager to go and faster off the line. This is based on how quick it felt moving up in speed, as opposed to how hard the car kicked me back into my seat. I prefer the 2 in this regard. Torque is super fun, but at the expense of linear power delivery, it can be a pain for daily driving.

Handling goes to the 2 series. This car is just so easy to drive fast. My 3 feels planted but wants to under-steer often. Correcting that in the 3 series involves either a hard jab at the throttle (which with it being non-linear can either be satisfying or a bit of a mess) to break the tires a bit and induce oversteer, or letting the nannies take care of it. Either way, it feels heavy when the car is plowing. The 2 series on the other hand can be put in the same predicament and you'll feel the car roll a bit, but it eats right into the corner and responds to your input without drama. On the Ring I underestimated how much off-camber one of turns was and had to correct the steering angle. The car had no problem. Granted, I wasn't going very fast, but I can imagine what it would have felt like in the 3 - would have been a very uninspiring maneuver.

The steering goes to the 2 as well, oddly enough. Steering feel really works well with the chassis. I think the hydraulic steering would make the car feel very nervous. On the Ring you have a ton of off-camber positions, the track constantly pitches back and forth. If you watch the video, my girlfriend is trying hard to keep the camera level, but even without turning, there is still a lot of bobbing. The old steering rack would have been a white-knuckle affair, but in the 2, you feel the road well enough due to the chassis being a little soft. I think it works well. On the autobahn, I was pushing 135mph and I didn't feel a shortage of road feel. Not anywhere on the level of what the hydraulic feels like, but the wheel remained tight and easy to handle, unlike the hydraulic at high speeds on a pitchy road surface.

There are a few things I like about the 335is more than the 2. Looks wise, I still prefer the shape of the 3. The DCT is still faster, but only by a slight margin. It is still a more inspiring tranny to go fast with. The ZF8 is a better transmission for day to day. The DCT could prove to be clunky sometimes. No clunkiness ever with the ZF8.

Overall though I think this car is a total upgrade in almost every way except size. My gf is still getting used to it. She really dislikes that the larger iDrive knob gets pushed by her knee when she sits indian style on the seat and the center armrest she is always using to prop herself up, which causes it to slide backwards on her. There is also no handle above the door for her to grab onto when I'm taking corners quickly (she really disliked this). Women...

I'm not sure what mods I'll do yet. Lowering springs perhaps, as I prefer the look (the roof of the 2 could be a little lower). More for cosmetics than drive I think. I need more time with it in a different state of mind than the one I was in while I was in Europe.

[Anderw]

Originally Posted by Cal

Agreed. I'm definitely doing ED for my next one. Just need to start planning a few months before I really need the car and avoid the "need the car ASAP" excuse. In your case, you may have missed on the experience this time around, but in terms of $$$, the deal you got is comparable to an ED purchase.

True that! But still doing ED next car

[hyperzulu]

Originally Posted by Cal

BTW, luckily you didn't get the RFT options as that would have limited you on many occasions. Bummer on the flat you got though, but it seems it got taken care of the same day. (Did you have to pay for a new tire or did you get the tire/wheel insurance? [Not sure if the latter covers things overseas or not, but would be good to know])

Oh yeah... Allianz insurance seems to cover everything except road hazards like a tire puncture due to debris.

Stateside insurance (tire/wheel) would not apply here, even if I had purchased it.

It cost me $300 out of pocket, but I was able to get a new tire the day after the incident. It occurred on a Sunday, and nothing is open on Sundays. I was lucky I pulled off the highway when the TPMS came on and happened to exit right in front of an emergency car repair shop that WAS open on Sunday. Some Mario Bros. looking guy who spoke no English called another guy who came by and helped out. He jacked the car up, pulled the bolt/nail and plugged it with some sticky slim-jim looking stuff. It held the whole way to Berlin and I put a bit more air the next morning with the compressor that's included with the car. Again, luckily the dealership I went to had the tire. Part of the reason I wanted to brave the trip all the way to Berlin instead of stopping in Dresden was that Berlin is a much larger city and I figured if I was going to find a tire for a car as limited production as the 2 is, it would be there. I was watching the PSI levels via iDrive the entire way.

[IM2C]

Congrats! MR really pops. I'm seriously considering it with oyster int.
Just curious what do people drive while waiting for re-delivery?
How does ED work if one is turning the leased vehicle in?

[hyperzulu]

Originally Posted by e90im

Congrats! MR really pops. I'm seriously considering it with oyster int.
Just curious what do people drive while waiting for re-delivery?
How does ED work if one is turning the leased vehicle in?

I love it. The car doesn't have the presence of the old e92 m-sport or the true M series cars in terms of drama, but the Melbourne Red sure turned a lot of heads.

For ED you want to try to time it right with a leased vehicle. In California it's a bit of a hassle if you have one daily driver that's leased and are doing ED because if your car arrives late, even though BMWFS will let you keep the car a little longer without a problem, to continue driving the car past the registration expiration requires registration for a full year... and on a car as expensive as a BMW, you're talking $450 to drive the car a few weeks. At that point, might as well get a long term rental car.

Luckily I planned to give myself a two month lead time from drop off before my current car is due, but if I miss the deadline, a friend is loaning me his e46 M3 cabrio to drive until my car gets here.

I think you want to schedule things so that you drop off the vehicle 2.5 months before you have to return the old one. That's probably the best way to do it. BMW will take the old car back early if you've already paid the last month on your contract.

And yes... I paid for two lease payments in September (October is covered by BMWFS), and November I pay for, but I also get a $500 rebate from BMWCCA for being a member, so that kinda offsets things. I initiated my lease a bit early via Fedex to avoid the hassle of driving up to Santa Barbara (two hours away) the day before I was scheduled to depart for Europe.

[IM2C]

Excellent info! Thanks man!

[Cal]

Thanks for the very detailed comparison between the cars. A few more general comments:

- It's great you were able to use AA miles for the trip, but I can't fathom what the fuel surcharges on that trip would be! (Or is this only a BA issue on trans-atlantic flights?) Nevertheless, it's still worth it though compared to paying out-of-pocket cash for the entire trip.
- That steak cooked on the stone look yummy-licious.
- The video is hilarious. For a non-car enthusiast, your g/f is very supportive (and brave) to go on the track with you. It's easy to get spooked when you have loud, high-powered cars zooming by you at full-throttle (especially if you don't know they're coming from behind really fast). I know you were taking it easy for her sake, but the speed (and noise) difference really added to her fear.
- The wait for the car to arrive stateside would be unbearable for me, but it may be ok for you especially since you still get to drive the 335is.
- Great selection of pics!

[hyperzulu]

It's not necessarily a BA thing. BA does impose heavy fuel surcharges, but flights out of London are heavily taxed as well. Avoid flights OUT of LHR. I paid $150 for two tickets through Helsinki on our return and $10 for our tickets to Paris. I could have flown into London on AA and paid out of pocket for a connection.

Yeah I think she was fine until the Yas Marina Blue M4 sped past us and slammed on his brakes. Plus she gets bad motion sickness. I think it was worth it for comic relief.

Yeah the wait would be tough if I was driving a different car in the mean time. So far I'm not even sweating the wait.

[VMRWheels]

Amazing trip... and car! Congrats!

[NY10]

Awesome pictures looks like you had an amazing trip and gorgeous car too

[hyperzulu]

Thanks guys. The trip was epic. Pics and words, especially such an abbreviated report, hardly do it any justice. There was so much that happened and so many emotions throughout the trip. Everyone should try it once, even if just to drive on the Ring. There's nothing like it.

[Pparana]

Cool trip, I get my m235i ed next week. Doing the ring and then the f1 spa track. Any tips for the car at the ring? Any brake fade, how did the tires hold up? Did you drive the stock tires in any cold temps. Just curious what I'm in for.

[hyperzulu]

Originally Posted by Pparana

Cool trip, I get my m235i ed next week. Doing the ring and then the f1 spa track. Any tips for the car at the ring? Any brake fade, how did the tires hold up? Did you drive the stock tires in any cold temps. Just curious what I'm in for.

I didn't drive it too quickly. Even my second lap without my gf in the car was tame compared to other traffic. I think my average speed was around 90mph, which felt like I was standing still when a ring taxi passed me. The car is easy to drive. I was in sport+ mode the whole time, and it never felt bothered. If you know the track well, then I see no reason why you can't give it a good run, but I wouldn't get overconfident if you aren't familiar. The track has a lot of camber that isn't evident until you drive it. There are several places you can hit 155 from a downhill slope, and meet a hard stop and off camber turn that you weren't expecting.

The track is super long. Brakes should hold as they have time to cool between corners, but you may pit the tires if you're running hard. Have fun. It's a freaking blast.