I've done a write-up and posted pictures of my Performance Center Delivery experience last Thursday, May 26. I took delivery of a 2005 Silver Gray/Gray M3 Coupe. Here are the links to the write-ups:

Entire Write-up (http://blien-pcd.blogspot.com)
Part 1 - Arrival, Day Before (http://blien-pcd.blogspot.com/2005/05/performance-center-delivery-part-1-may.html)
Part 2 - PCD Driving Events (http://blien-pcd.blogspot.com/2005/05/performance-center-delivery-part-2-may.html)
Part 3 - PCD Delivery and Tour (http://blien-pcd.blogspot.com/2005/05/performance-center-delivery-part-3-may.html)
Part 4 - The Drive Home (still to come)

And here are links to pictures if that's all you want to see:
PCD Pictures (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lien/sets/389645/)
Blue Ridge Parkway Pictures (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lien/sets/399346/)

Also, don't miss the following videos (they take a while to load from the putfile.com server):
Skidpad DSC Demo (http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=pcd_skidpad_768k) (written up in Part 2 (http://blien-pcd.blogspot.com/2005/05/performance-center-delivery-part-2-may.html))
Instructor hot-lap 2nd half (http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=instructor_hot_lap_skidpad_768k)
Instructor hot-lap in-car (http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=instructor_hot_lap_in_car_768k) (both written-up in Part 3 (http://blien-pcd.blogspot.com/2005/05/performance-center-delivery-part-3-may.html))

awesome! :eek2:

sick

thanks for the fun-to-read thread, good pics, videos, and illustrations. So what did you think you've learned is most interesting at the PCD? Congratulations on you new ride, enjoy it!

awesome writeup, i'm only about halfways thru and still enjoying it.

Wow! Congratulations!

So what did you think you've learned is most interesting at the PCD?I really enjoyed the autocross portion of the driving events. Even though speeds were kept relatively low for the short, tight course they set up, it gave you an opportunity to put your new car (but not really yours, BMW's) through its paces.

From what I've read of other people's PCD experiences, the driving portion of the day can vary a bit, with some people saying that they only did some ABS braknig demos.

The actual delivery was nice, but mine was a little unorthodox due to it taking place in the entrance and not a delivery bay, and the Placard Incident, which meant they drove it out back to resolve the issue, instead of allowing me to drive it out myself.

As it is, I'm not sure they would have let me drive out from the entrance area anyway. They had to open up the main doors, and the car was not lined up to drive straight out.

intersting to know how big the variation of what you get to do at the track. Let me know how do you like the SMG, I had one and I loved it. Oh, also, I'm one of the few that loves the rasp sound of the exhaust, are we on the same side? Cheers!

Great writeup and congrats on the purchase! I also live in Fairfield so I'm sure I will be seeing your newly acquired beast out on the streets.

Let me know how do you like the SMG, I had one and I loved it. So far, so good. I'm not as smooth with it yet as I am in my '93 325i 6MT. But it's a learning process. it seems to work a lot better when driving more aggressively (not too surprising), but takes a little effort to drive smoothly when driving lightly around town.

Oh, also, I'm one of the few that loves the rasp sound of the exhaust, are we on the same side? Cheers! The sound of the exhaust from inside the car is awesome. Edgy, with purpose. The only time I've heard it from outside the car is on videos on the 'net. Admittedly, it does sound a little metallic, but you know what? I'm not going to worry about that right now! I'm having too much fun driving the d@!# thing!

nice :redspot

great write up! i miss that place. i did the m driving school about 9 months ago (september). ben is a great guy and more importantly a GREAT teacher. in fact, all of the instructors were great. :D

congrats on the new m3. dispite what most people think, i love the sound of a stock e46 m3. so great! :D

-mike

That was such a fun read. Congrats on your new purchase!

Thanks for the great post! I'm also taking delivery at the PC next month.

What time in the morning did you take the shuttle over to the center?
Did BMW make the reservations for you at the Marriott or did you use some group code type thing to make your own reservation? I've not received any information from BMW yet on this yet and am curious as to what the next step is. Your post has already been a big help in filling in some of the blanks. Thanks a lot!

:redspot

JRM
Mystic Blue Metallic '05 M3 -
Currently floating along somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic.

Thanks for the great post! I'm also taking delivery at the PC next month.

What time in the morning did you take the shuttle over to the center?
Did BMW make the reservations for you at the Marriott or did you use some group code type thing to make your own reservation? I've not received any information from BMW yet on this yet and am curious as to what the next step is. Your post has already been a big help in filling in some of the blanks. Thanks a lot!
The shuttle is scheduled for 7:45am. In reality it left a few minutes later, at around 7:50. YMMV.

Reservations at the Marriott were taken care of by BMW. I didn't have to do anything except tell my client advisor that I wanted Performance Center Delivery (and get myself down to Greenville/Spartanburg airport).

You should receive a couple of letters from BMW shortly. In the meantime, I'd just verify with your dealer that you are indeed signed up for PCD. In fact, you should probably talk with them to schedule a visit in order to finalize the purchase paperwork, and fill out the key/memory programming options.

Now the waiting gets *really* hard... :)

Enjoy your PCD!

I want my M :bawl

awesome writeup. I had no idea BMW offered you the chance to take classes rather than do the normal delivery.

How different is this from the normal driving school? I've always wanted to do the M driving school but it's so damn expensive.

awesome writeup. I had no idea BMW offered you the chance to take classes rather than do the normal delivery.

How different is this from the normal driving school? I've always wanted to do the M driving school but it's so damn expensive.Thanks.

Just so you know, the Performance Center Delivery option includes some driving time, but calling it a "class" would be stretching it a bit, IMO. It's just some basic classroom talk with 1.5-2 hours of driving. The basic thrust of PCD is to familiarize the buyer with his car.

I haven't taken any driving schools, but I would imagine they are more extensive in both classroom and seat time than what you experience during PCD. Can anyone who's taken both PCD and M Driving Schools elaborate on the differences?

excellent write up, i enjoyed the entire read :) . I can't wait to do this some day.