[ENCBimmer]

Hello all,

We currently have the PC delivery scheduled for our 45e on 2/16. My dealer reports that if it is shipped to them, we will probably end up with the car about a week early, maybe even more.

I have never been to the performance center before - seen the factory, etc. I have been to the BMW museum in Munich. The plant is about a 5 hour drive for me.

Simple question, but please elaborate as much as you are willing:

Is the performance center delivery worth it?

[LarsOtium]

If you have the time I’d do it. Was fun and well run by BMW.

Added advantage is you get some solid run in time on your new vehicle driving home.

I used it to drive in Sport Mode and put some miles on the ICE to help along the break in period.

[cmyx6go]

Absolutely worth it. You'll have a blast. They put you in the same model you bought and you do all kinds of exercises. They keep reminding you - NYC - Not your car. You can jump on it, blast around the track. Do braking stuff. You really get a feel for your vehicle before you get in your vehicle.

I highly recommend it.

EDIT - I found this post on another forum I belonged to when I did PCD back in 2009.

I had the time of my life yesterday. What a great experience. I can't recommend PCD enough. If you are ordering a BMW, you MUST do PCD.

I missed my calling in life. I should have been a race car driver. I owned the slalom! They split us up into groups of three. My group consisted of me in the X6 50i and two 3 series. The slalom is a mini road track with cones set up on the straight away that you need to weave through. You can go as fast as you want, provided you don't get sloppy. For the road track, they set up cones as "marks" so you know your line, where to brake and where to accelerate. I started out as the lead car and tore up the course. I did it so fast, I wound up up the ass of the last car. : I hit every mark, every time. Took the slalom like a pro and didn't knock down any cones. The instructor took the other guys off the course and made me run it solo. He told me that I was doing great, but he would make me do it better. So as I drove, he called out instructions....full throttle, break hard now...Ray (the instructor) couldn't believe I never had professional instruction. I thought he was blowing smoke up my butt, until my friend Tina overheard Ray bragging to Donnie Isely (professional race car driver and instructor at PCD) how I hit every mark every time. I think M driving school is next. They will remember I was there. And for the record, I DID tell Donnie, in front of a room full of people that I heard he was better than a roller coaster.

The X6 is amazing. NO BODY ROLL and what a beast. I behaved myself coming through Virginia but tore it up as soon as I hit WV. Once I was in NJ :zoom:

I also got 17.5 mpg on the trip. Now that's impressive

[popper]

Do it, if you don't you missed out on a fun day.

[GerryC]

I would recommend it. We did it last August. It was about a 12 hr drive for us.

Got a 1-way car rental and drove up the day before. BMW covers the hotel and dinner the evening before. Checked in at the hotel and then dropped the car at the airport and took the hotel shuttle back. After breakfast the next morning, the shuttle took us and 3 other couples to the performance center.

Checked in. I gave them my license plate so they could put it on before delivery. We then went out back and got to do some driving. Great fun pushing the X5 through the slalom. They also has us get an intro to stability/traction control on the skid pad in a 3er. Then there was the off-road section for those buying X vehicles. That was fun driving in places I'd never go normally.

Finally lunch and a factory tour followed by the delivery with a genius to walk you through all the setup and tech aids - lots of new stuff even though this is our 9th BMW. After that you're on your own. We took a tour of the Zentrum and then headed back to the hotel.

We booked a second night there as we preferred to head home the next day.

Since the drive home is also break in, I took an effort to be sure that I didn't just let it run on cruise at one rpm for long periods. Kept varying the revs while keeping them below 3k or so.

Absolutely worth it.

Gerry

[Auricom]

I've had 3 PCD deliveries and it's been a great experience – the environment, Genius, driving classes and factory tour. Plus it's a great opportunity to get to test out all the features and break in your X5 on the drive home. The BMW Genius at the delivery center are very knowledgeable and assist you in setting up and personalizing your vehicle and connected services. The quality in vehicle prep work is better than most dealers.

https://g07.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...37&postcount=2

Nothing like driving up to PCD and seeing your X5 in a delivery bay:

[jad03060]

On my first BMW, I had it delivered in Munich, did the whole factory tour, Weld thing, and the museum. Spent two weeks driving around southern Germany, dropped it off at the airport and had them deliver it back to the PCD, so I got both things in on the same purchase. They've stopped the US European delivery program (hopefully, it's not a permanent thing). I'd lived in Germany about 40-years ago for about a year, but went to areas I'd not spent time in previously. Bavaria is a pretty area.

PCD, if you can arrange the time for it, is worth the effort. It's a nice drive on the Blueridge Parkway, if that doesn't take you too far out of the way coming home. Watch out for storms...that could be closed or messy if it gets snow or ice. Nicer in the summer, but less traffic in the winter.

[ENCBimmer]

Thanks to all. Very helpful. We'll go for it!

[IrishSpuds]

DO IT!!

[X7NJ]

Wildblue has a great write-up on his PCD experience.

https://g07.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1803710

[specracer]

Our last one (not the one we got last week) we did it, and it was a good experience. We are in the Boston area, so ~950 miles home, we took our time and broke it up staying 2 nights on the way home. Would do it again.

Funny someone mentioned Welt, we were fully intending to do an EU delivery, but sadly that program is no longer offered. Porsche still does (911?).....

[thereef510]

I had planned to do an extensive write up of our trip to Greenville for the PCD experience, but the pandemic hit basically a couple of weeks right after we went and I never really got around to it. Maybe I will still. Suffice it to say, unless I get some unicorn screaming deal on a new BMW, I will never be buying from a dealer lot ever again.

Some on the forum have had similar, if not better experiences with other brands and the European delivery service but for us, the whole experience is simply amazing. The Marriot staff, the entire staff at the Performance Center are marvelous and could not be more welcoming: its worlds different than buying a car off a dealer lot, even having your vehicle delivered to the dealer. They really go out of their way to make you feel so special for making the trip up to SC; nevermind how much fun it is to spend the whole day learning about your vehicle, what its capable of, what happens when you really are able to push it in a totally safe and controlled environment, and finally, getting to drive the tires off it. I've included some pictures from our time there in an Imgur album in the link below.

The really unique part is getting to be the delivery bay itself to take possession of your car. I've never felt so special to take possession of my car in a totally isolated room by myself and the client advisor. Its so much more exclusive than buying off the floor after closing a deal in a salesman's cubicle. Or knowing that the only people who ever sat in your car were the people who built it and the Performance Center folks. No test drives, no joy rides, no unexpected scuffs. Additionally, these are the most knowledgeable BMW folks you'll find. Before I went up there, I asked the kind folks here what to expect and to make a checklist. Going over that checklist, we found that the Drive Recorder app didn't load correctly. Immediately, the client advisor sprang to action and fixed the issue within the hour. That's what they do and they are very very good at their job. I wish I had taken more pictures of the delivery bay but I'm sure other forum members will post theirs. But maybe its best not to ruin the entire experience before you get there.

Below is a link to a youtube video I took of our hot lap with chief instructor Matt Mullins in the driving rain. It doesn't do it justice what these machines are capable of in the hands of a true professional driver, but I hope my feeble attempt to hold my phone still provides some context to how exhilarating that lap around their track was. The level of control and mastery he (and all the other driving instructors) displayed over the M5C is almost worth the trip alone.

Suffice it to say, you're in for a treat, enjoy it!

View post on imgur.com

[skyline408]

Amazing thread! I want to do this someday! I've been to the welt in Munich and that was amazing as well.

[ChiTownM]

As others said, it is very well orchestrated but it will add time to your delivery and push it back by a couple of weeks. I picked a Friday delivery allowing me to enjoy the ride home to Chicago. If you can add the tail of the dragon or similar spots do it. As another poster said, the delivery itself is amazing, to a point where they even set up the hot buttons with me with their preferred short cuts like tire pressure for example. Owning BMWs for more than I'd like to admit to I even learned a couple of things, and had a a blast. Bring a friend or your better half, it makes it twice as fun and is included.

[ncmarcb]

This was great info! We did European delivery for partners Mercedes. Going to do PCD for my BMW! Can't wait!!

[mikebbmw]

Hi,
I've never ordered a car before and I have an X5 on order, starting production next week. When I found out about the PCD and how great it was, I started bugging the sales guy to get it added, but I've gotten no response except "I don't think they do that anymore". Is there any way I can get it added myself?
Thanks,
Mike

[jiggie]

Originally Posted by mikebbmw

Hi,
I've never ordered a car before and I have an X5 on order, starting production next week. When I found out about the PCD and how great it was, I started bugging the sales guy to get it added, but I've gotten no response except "I don't think they do that anymore". Is there any way I can get it added myself?
Thanks,
Mike

They're lying. They absolutely still do it, but with how close you are to production, you might be too late? I've also be hearing with the influx of people requesting, its pushing dates out... They only do 8 cars a day, 5 days a week, so it can fill up quickly.

We just did our PCD on Wednesday and they were telling us how the popularity was picking up again.

[justinpetercushing]

Originally Posted by mikebbmw

Hi,
I've never ordered a car before and I have an X5 on order, starting production next week. When I found out about the PCD and how great it was, I started bugging the sales guy to get it added, but I've gotten no response except "I don't think they do that anymore". Is there any way I can get it added myself?
Thanks,
Mike

I’m doing PCD in three weeks. Car production is already finished so it can add a few weeks to the wait. They definitely still do it but it might be too late to switch to PCD. Your SA should inquire asap!

[jad03060]

The waiting list is fairly long. If you're willing to wait to take delivery, it can happen, but you may not want to wait that long.

I've done it once, but it was way back in 2011. They were doing it in larger groups then (pre-COVID) of I think it was 16 or so, but since most people had two per car, maybe it still was 8!? In that case, I had a long lead time on the vehicle, so it wasn't a big deal...I did European delivery and drove it around Germany, and instead of having it shipped to my dealer, had it delivered to the PCD for ultimate (second) delivery. They're not offering US European delivery any more. Too bad, as it also gave you a decent, no hassle discount and the experience was nice with a visit to a factory and the museum there in Munich. I'm guessing if you live in Europe, you can still pick it up there, but don't know for sure. That came also with a voucher to use in the gift shop and at the restaurant. They treated you well there.

[thereef510]

Originally Posted by mikebbmw

Hi,
I've never ordered a car before and I have an X5 on order, starting production next week. When I found out about the PCD and how great it was, I started bugging the sales guy to get it added, but I've gotten no response except "I don't think they do that anymore". Is there any way I can get it added myself?
Thanks,
Mike

It costs the dealership like $300-350 for you to do the PCD. That's why many dealers discourage or lie to get out of it.

[mikebbmw]

Hi Everyone,
Sorry for not posting my thanks earlier, but I was waiting to see if I could actually get the PCD to happen. Thanks to all of you for pointing it out to me and encouraging me to push my sales guy. I'm now scheduled to pick it up in 3 weeks. I'm really looking forward to it. I would have never found out about it if it wasn't for you all.
Thanks again,
Mike
P.S. I'm picking up an X5 40i...my first BMW (my wife has a 328i). I have a feeling it will make my 2005 Avalanche feel a little dated. Especially if it has a working audio system with more than AM/FM and one functioning speaker

[skyline408]

Originally Posted by mikebbmw

Hi Everyone,
Sorry for not posting my thanks earlier, but I was waiting to see if I could actually get the PCD to happen. Thanks to all of you for pointing it out to me and encouraging me to push my sales guy. I'm now scheduled to pick it up in 3 weeks. I'm really looking forward to it. I would have never found out about it if it wasn't for you all.
Thanks again,
Mike
P.S. I'm picking up an X5 40i...my first BMW (my wife has a 328i). I have a feeling it will make my 2005 Avalanche feel a little dated. Especially if it has a working audio system with more than AM/FM and one functioning speaker

congrats! Are you driving cross country back to SF?