If you are in the market for a new or leased BMW, you should consider the BMW European Delivery Program. BMW discounts the vehicles by approximately $2,500-$5,000 depending on the model which helps offset the cost of a vacation to Europe. They also cover shipping and insurance on the car for two weeks while driving in Europe. And the best part is you pick up your car at the BMW Welt which has high end restaurants, a wonderful welcome lounge, all BMW Group vehicles on display, and the ultimate pickup of your vehicle. The Welt is located next to the Munich BMW plant, the Corporate Headquarters (the famous 4-cylinder building), and the BMW Museum.
We just completed our fifth BMW European Delivery this past May. The journey began on May 18, 2017 when we picked up our 440ic at the Welt in Munich. But before we drove off with our car we were treated to food and beverages in the VIP lounge. This is where you relax prior to going down to the floor where all the BMW’s are rotating on discs. What a great presentation to see all sides of the car. A representative spends about 30 minutes going over all aspects of the car. Our representative even programmed all the stops on our route thru Switzerland and Italy. We drove the car back to the Platzl Hotel which is a 4-star hotel that BMW recommended. It was spectacular and the breakfast was to die for.
After three days in Munich, we drove on to Lucerne, Switzerland for two days. The city is located on Lake Lucerne. We took a boat tour of the surrounding areas which is a must if you visit. There are several great restaurants in Lucerne but food is extremely expensive in Switzerland. We then went on to Bellagio on Lake Como, Italy for three days. George Clooney owns a mansion across the lake from Bellagio which seems to be a big draw to this area. We came here once before many years ago when we did another European delivery. We liked the area so much, we decided to return. This is a great place to relax and enjoy the beautiful mountains surrounding the lake.
On to San Gimignano, Italy which is in the center of Tuscany. We did some serious wine tasting for 4 days. We stayed at a quaint apartment named Il Borghetto. The only set back was the last two miles to the apartment was on a dirt road. With a new white BMW, it was very frustrating. The good news was we did find a car wash on the day we were leaving, so all was good. We then traveled to Asti, Italy which is in the center of the Piedmont wine region. We stayed in Asti for three days and traveled around this area visiting wineries and tasting some great Italian wines. Our final stop in Italy was a small medieval town called Aosta. It is close to the French and Swiss borders. We had also visited it several years ago. It is a walled town with many Roman influences. A great place to take photos.
We finished our trip by stopping back in Lucerne for one night and then back to Munich. We returned our car at the Munich airport. There are about a dozen places you could drop your car off in Europe but we learned early on that your best chance of getting your car back in 8 weeks is to return it to Munich. BMW pays for one month of lease if you are leasing. The downside is you have to wait two months to get your car from Europe. We still think it is worth it.
This was our fifth (and probably last) European delivery. Our first was way back in 2000 when we visited Austria. In 2007, we went to Italy for the first time. In 2010, we traveled to France and dropped the car off in Nice (a big mistake). And in 2014 we went to Prague and then around Germany. I have included a few photos to give you a flavor of our travels. Ciao
Pat & JoAnn McGoff, Past President
