Prodution completed!

"Your vehicle production is complete and is waiting to be released to the carrier." - the voice on the other side of the telephone line made my heart race! It has been completed! Yay! The only thing left to do is to pick it up from Munich... and pay for it. :)

Other news: Purchase order has been signed and notarized (it is always great to have a Notary Public in your immediate family!). It has also been sent to my CA. The turnaround time: less than 20 hours.

Blog news: thanks to a friend of mine Peter, the blog has a new header image! Good job Peter, thanks!

Purchase Order arrived!

Another day, another nice surprise from BMW!

I just got an email from my CA with a purchase order attached in a PDF format! It looks really official, with all the logos, fine print and my car with all the build options itemized. I have to sign it and notarize it before sending it snail-mail to my CA. There is only lease agreement left.

Quick update

Just a quick post with a few details:

I just called BMW NA and here is what I heard: "Your vehicle is in the paint shop, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 19 2009" Yay, beautiful Crimson Red is being applied!

Yesterday I received a Fedex package from BMW NA with welcome materials for the European Delivery. Also included were some nice tags, for both of us. I am starting to feel like it is no longer smoke and mirrors, it is slowly materializing!

I have not signed any POs yet, but there is still time. I also have not finalized my lease through BMW FS. Two months MINUS one day from today...

Somebody pinch me, please!

Got my VIN... and some doubts...

I called BMW NA to check if they can tell me where my car is being built. The person on the other side apologized and said that this info was not available but, surprise surprise, he had my VIN which he gave me!

The problem arouse when I asked if it was normal to have my car being built so far in advance on this forum. The answers I got, especially from Irv made me worried. Unfortunately, Alex has his Blackberry turned off and the voicemail greeting says he is on vacation until next Wednesday. Oh well, while he enjoys his time off, I will be awaiting anxiously his return to confirm if everything is OK and on track. We will see, I am keeping my fingers crossed!

In production!

I finally found my production number and re-enabled my BMW account. After typing in the number, the car of my choice popped up with a status just like you can see in the screen shot to the right. It turns out, my car is IN PRODUCTION already. Just to confirm, I called BMW NA at 1-800-831-1117 and asked a nice IVR system for "vehicle production status" and I was told that my car is in production since 2/11 and would be finished on 2/19. Just to confirm I opted to talk to the customer service representative who just confirmed what I just heard!


So, it is semi-assembled. Which is weird, as it is still over two months until pick-up. I guess they are not all that busy there and are my building my car as I type this! It also turned out what some say, that the car is built just a few days before Munich delivery. I will be calling daily to check on the status! I can't wait for the pickup.

I also decided to call a big family meeting (all two people) and dial-in the schedule, hotels and create a budget. I still have to find some time to do just that, but it is in the works!

Third round

Back in mid December '08 we decided to take another look at the BMW, since the 09s were in! We went to the local BMW dealer in Hartford, CT. After reading some disappointing reviews I didn't have high hopes when we arrived. It turned out I was right. The customer service was sub-par, car inventory was limited and we left the dealership with a bad vibe. The sales guy knew some facts about the car, but I got the feeling he was just doing his job, in fact didn't even drive a BMW (I guess he mentioned Porsche) and on top of this his communication skills were lacking.

We managed, however, to test drive the 328xi sedan and the 335xi coupe. We liked the sedan, it felt like a grown-up kind of car. And then there was a coupe. Great car for two people, wide doors, comfortable seats, awesome looking swooping roof line. It was much more hip and fun. We fell in love, my wife just nodded with a smile. I knew I was going to get it.

Then, on the New Year's eve I took a friend of mine, for a kind of peer review, and we test drove a BMW x-Series in the fresh, powdery, unplowed snow, and the combination of ABS, DSC and TC was magnificent. After about 20 minutes behind a wheel combined, we left with a great feel for the electronics in the vehicle in the snow. It felt playful and controllable. Predictable and safe. And I got an OK from my friend, he liked how it handled, praised tight turns and great grip.

We went back in and asked for a quote. I told I want to lease a 335xi coupe, with European Delivery, Premium, Sport and Cold Weather packages and some other little perks. The monthly payment came just shy of $1000. Way too much for me. I do not know how he arrived with that price, but in my opinion it was outrageous. I asked if there is any haggling possible, which met a firm "No" so I thanked politely and we were on our way. I haven't spoke with them since...

I guess, I appreciate Bimmerfest's philosophy, when it comes to choosing a dealer: try your local first, then try one of the board's sponsor. This is what I did and I am really satisfied.

Approved!

Hehehe, I am so excited now.

On Saturday we learned that we got approved for a lease on a new 328xi with a delivery date of 4/18/2009.

On 1/12 I contacted Alex Dytko from BMW of Peabody, one of the sponsors of Bimmerfest. I have to admit, it was a slam dunk. After having such bad experience with the other guys, I didn't have high hopes, but Alex turned out to be very responsive, attentive to details and just plain down-to-earth guy. After exchanging couple emails and a few phone calls, we decided to go and check the place ourselves.

After about 1.5 hour drive we arrived at BMW of Peabody. Alex met us in the lobby, but he was with some other couple. We were invited to a beautiful waiting room with a flat screen TV and an unlimited supply of Coke and coffee. Then, Alex came and met us, we went to the parking lot, picked the color (Beige on Crimson Red) and returned to finish paperwork. We got our passports xeroxed and we filled out some paperwork, Credit Applications and such.

A week passes by with a few emails exchanged and couple documents scanned and emailed (BIG plus while working with a Internet/email/Blackberry addicted CA) and just last Saturday, I got an email you see above. We were on town, coming back from a dinner with friends and I decided to check my email. My heart skipped a bit, when I saw it. My wife smiled when she saw it, but we didn't spill the beans and we kept our mouths shut until the end of the night. Great news! Thanks Alex.