[billwoods]

Umbrella is the most common gift from BMW. bit of cheap, but better than nothing.

[xrooster]

Sorry to dredge up an old thread. Regarding gifts & drive days. It was 14 months after we bought our 235i that we were contacted by BMW ( not The dealer ) informing us our voucher was about to expire, it is supposed to come with your welcome pack. we new nothing about it. long story short, we just had a day at Norwell Motorplex on gold coast. Free of charge except $70 for my wife to enjoy the catering etc. It was a great day well run, catering top shelf, seafood lunch all day coffee etc. dissapointed no M2 but i think they maybe in short supply. A big congrats to BMW from us

[SparklingRed]

Any one know if M135i get the drive day voucher as well?

[MY 235]

Im still waiting to find out if we get one, we only picked up the car last wednesday. However we did get heaps of other things, mug, key ring, key case t-shits jackets etc.

[dtcoff]

Originally Posted by SparklingRed

Any one know if M135i get the drive day voucher as well?

I was told that all ///M and M Performance models qualify, so yes M135i should be.

[SparklingRed]

Originally Posted by dtcoff

I was told that all ///M and M Performance models qualify, so yes M135i should be.

Cool, might try and contact someone at BMW about this.

[SparklingRed]

Oh yeah I received an umbrella, crappy pen and crappy sports water bottle.

[2er]

Originally Posted by koston

That's great news, ! I'm waiting for the next intensive down there.

DanielGr The dealer was not helpful. You are better off emailing BMW Australia directly. You may want to use the line below:

"In December 2015, Talea Leenarts, BMW Driving Experience Coordinator, advised that all new M235i owners receive a driving experience course voucher. I have also spoken with a number of M235i owners who have received vouchers."

Contact details provided below:

General Manager Sales - daniel.odman@bmw.com.au
General Manager Marketing - stuart.jaffray@bmw.com.au
Area Manager - murray.anderson@bmw.com.au
‎Events & Sponsorship Manager - miriam.filippi@bmw.com.au
Driving Experience Manager - doug.greenslade@bmw.com.au (would not recommend this contact)
Driving Experience Coordinator - lesley.dodds@bmw.com.au

It also doesn't matter what year your car was made, as owners from 2014 and 2016 have received vouchers.

A week or two before delivery I contacted them by email and provided my VIN. They noted my complimentary voucher was recorded against my contact details. Shortly after, I started receiving emails reminding me to redeem it.

Start with Lesley first and if you have any issues try someone higher up in the hierarchy.

Edit: Forgot to add - always be polite but assertive, never aggressive.

Guys, by contacting the people mentioned above I managed to secure a spot on the next drivers day on October 5th in Sydney.

Thanks to Koston for posting

Wouldn't have happened for me if I didn't make the calls. Purchased my 2er in Jan

[Mudnut]

I got a baseball cap, and it came with an X5!!

It was the most expensive cap I have ever purchased though.

This was in 2007. On following BMW purchases in Cairns, received gifts, up to certain value (depending upon savings of car during negotiations). My wife likes the idea of picking what gifts we get. Better than a hamper in my opinion.

Cheers,

Ken

[2er]

Attended the BMW Drivers Day yesterday at Eastern Creek. Was an awesome morning.

First half was autocross in the mini's. Was a timed event. I am sad to report that my wife beat my best time by a 10th of a second - 19.80 versus 19.81. Will never hear the end of that. Mind you - she beat 85% of the others attending and was the only female.

The other half was my favourite which was 5 laps in the M2 followed by 5 laps in the M235i on the track. Very interesting driving the two back to back.

Was capped of with a hot lap in the M3

Now thinking of attending the full day intensive course

[SparklingRed]

This is the response I got from Lesley.

"A complementary Driving Experience entitlement is given to all BMW M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, X5M and X6M purchases in their Welcome Pack.

Unfortunately, M235i and M135i do not qualify, unless the dealer has added this as an extra."

[Slamau]

Originally Posted by 2er

The other half was my favourite which was 5 laps in the M2 followed by 5 laps in the M235i on the track. Very interesting driving the two back to back.

Thanks for the feedback, sounds like you and your wife had a great day. How would you compare the M2 and the M235i? Was the main difference around corners? Were these flat out timed laps?

Originally Posted by 2er

Now thinking of attending the full day intensive course

So which course did you attend yesterday? I thought the first course is the "Intensive", next level up is the "M Dynamics"?

[2er]

The event was called "Experience Adrenaline - BMW Driving Experience"

And included:

Put your driving skills to the test with expert driving tuition from the team of highly qualified BMW Driving Experience instructors. You will have the chance to experience the excitement of driving some of our most dynamic Ultimate Driving Machines, including the BMW M product. Take on a Hot Lap of the circuit by one of the BMW Driving Experience Instructors in the awe‑inspiring BMW M3 Sedan.

The half day experience will commence with a safety briefing followed by a timed motorkhana event on a wet skidpan and paced circuits.

At the risk of starting yet another M235i V M2 pi$$ing contest - Re driving the M235i & M2 back to back... well it was interesting. You could definitely feel the difference in the tight off camber corners - in fact any really tight corners at speed. But overall the difference wasn't the step up I had hoped to experience. Personally, whilst I could afford to change up - I just don't see the value in it. Would be different is I was a track rat - in which case the M2 would be the preferred weapon. But as I do not track, for street use, I just couldn't justify the additional $30K ( Auto versus DCT ). The value proposition to me doesn't stack up. For street use, throw in a JB+ for USD199 and Some Dinan springs and bump stops, and IMHO - you would have all the thrills you need. The M240i would bridge that gap even more.

Best summed up by the Car & Driver review below:

The M240i’s greatest achievement is that it doesn’t feel like a compromise next to the M2, but rather makes its own case as a more usable and more comfortable alternative for less money. If you plan to spend many weekends working out at a racetrack, by all means stretch for the M2. If you’re just looking for a lively driving companion for daily commutes and weekend getaways, the M240i is the better M car for that job

[Brucer]

just taken delivery of my grey M240. salesman at BMW sydney told me that it doesnt qualify for a track day.
very poor experience from the salesman and dealership allround.
Welcome pack?
not sure what this was, maybe the $100 voucher to spend in BMW Sydney.

[2er]

Have bought 2 cars from Rushcutters and both the worst experience I have ever had. Never again.

Bought the 235 from Wollongong - and a far better experience. Was actually pleasant.

Try contacting the GM of Sales listed earlier in this thread. That's how I secured my driver day

[Brucer]

Bought my wifes X4 from Sylvania in December very enjoyable experience.
Large leather bag, umbrella, cap and pen. very nice.
should have stuck with them.

[DiRty_1]

If you are in Melbourne, BMW South Yarra is the place to go. BMW Brighton used to be the best but they have recently lost all their best staff to Brighton.

Oh, and I know this because I have just purchased a M240i with M Performance front lip splitter, rear diffuser, side skirts, CF mirror caps, rear spoiler, black kidney grill, and 19" wheel upgrade. Delivery in late Jan/early Feb :P

After almost 4 months of shopping around and trying to find the best price on a 435i, the game changed for me when the M240 was released. My mate has a 340i and the thing is just a beast, but i prefer 2 doors, so my only option was 435i until July when the M240i dropped. After reading everything on the net about the 240 and 235's the choice was easy. So excited!

[den525]

To touch on the "service" and "experience" part of dealers. I find BMW Sydney to be decent. Some other dealers might be better, but at the end of the day what's the most important thing? The price!

BMW Sydney's turnover on cars are by far the highest, they get the highest allocations out of all the dealers, they simply can do much better deals. Ok. I didn't get leather bags, pens, umbrellas, or a driving experience course. But I got my fully loaded M235i nearly 2 years ago for $81k, which at that time was by far the cheapest (now that's expensive lol), other dealers in Sydney were offering $87-90k, and a mate of mine works at another dealer, and even he told me to take the other deal, as there's no way they can match it. So overall I was happy.

Of course, overall experience of buying a car is important, but at the end of the day, people will always go for the best deal.

[Troppo]

I recently bought an X3. Got a lovely hamper, complete with very nice picnic basket.

[Troppo]

Originally Posted by Brucer

just taken delivery of my grey M240. salesman at BMW sydney told me that it doesnt qualify for a track day.
very poor experience from the salesman and dealership allround.
Welcome pack?
not sure what this was, maybe the $100 voucher to spend in BMW Sydney.

So, he might like to explain why they use M240s on the driving course, then...

I did the PI course recently - fantastic. Really well organised.

[2er]

Originally Posted by den525

To touch on the "service" and "experience" part of dealers. I find BMW Sydney to be decent. Some other dealers might be better, but at the end of the day what's the most important thing? The price!

BMW Sydney's turnover on cars are by far the highest, they get the highest allocations out of all the dealers, they simply can do much better deals. Ok. I didn't get leather bags, pens, umbrellas, or a driving experience course. But I got my fully loaded M235i nearly 2 years ago for $81k, which at that time was by far the cheapest (now that's expensive lol), other dealers in Sydney were offering $87-90k, and a mate of mine works at another dealer, and even he told me to take the other deal, as there's no way they can match it. So overall I was happy.

Of course, overall experience of buying a car is important, but at the end of the day, people will always go for the best deal.

Wow... I always had exactly the opposite experience with BMW Sydney. Bought two cars from them. Never again. Agreed about their allocation, but they are of course factory owned. Allocation was the only reason I bought one of the two from them. I shopped them when buying the 2er, but got a far better deal from Woolongong. Their finance department will screw you if you deal with them on rate.

[Troppo]

There is only 1 dealer where I live (FNQ). They are excellent.