I'm currently in an A4 2.0T lease that still has almost a year on it, but just for fun I went to drive the new sedans, and fell in love the 335xi sedan! Well, not every single thing ... I hate the cup holders :-)

I'm thinking of going with European Delivery, ordering a 2008 some time in February so I can have a nice spring vacation in Germany and France, and still give the car enough time to ship to the US so that it's delivery coincides with turning in my A4 lease.

Anyway, I may stop in from time to time with questions but I wanted to introduce myself!

Oh, and I plan on going 335xi MT Sapphire Black w/ Premium, Cold, iPod, Comfort Access. Don't see a reason for Sport pkg w/o getting a suspension out of it.

Oh and my first question is actually about the tires. I see people suggesting getting non-RFT for money/ride reasons. For people who have done that, what about a spare?

I'm currently in an A4 2.0T lease that still has almost a year on it, but just for fun I went to drive the new sedans, and fell in love the 335xi sedan! Well, not every single thing ... I hate the cup holders :-)

I'm thinking of going with European Delivery, ordering a 2008 some time in February so I can have a nice spring vacation in Germany and France, and still give the car enough time to ship to the US so that it's delivery coincides with turning in my A4 lease.

Anyway, I may stop in from time to time with questions but I wanted to introduce myself!

Oh, and I plan on going 335xi MT Sapphire Black w/ Premium, Cold, iPod, Comfort Access. Don't see a reason for Sport pkg w/o getting a suspension out of it.
lol, not the cupholders again! Well at least you are a reasonable guy, one other guy said he decided not to buy the 335 because he hated the cupholders, go figure!
Anyway, sounds like a great plan you have there. And why not get the Sports package, the seats and steering wheel are worth the price in my opinion.

How about you just negotiate a deal on the car and take a trip to Europe...you really don't save much on the car since you spend more than that on the trip.

How about you just negotiate a deal on the car and take a trip to Europe...you really don't save much on the car since you spend more than that on the trip.
Maybe or maybe not, but you do get to drive a brand new BMW in Europe :stickoutt. I really wanted to do ED last year during the world cup, but I would have had to plan for it in 2005 and back then my budget didn't allow a new BMW purchase. If only I got the new job 2 years ago! It would have been perfect to combine 3 of the top things on my wish list (attend a WC final, drive a fast car on the autobahn, and visit Munich). Oh well, there is always next time for ED, but unfortunately no WC, unless I wait till it is in Europe again which is another 16 years or so :(.

I was in Italy during the WC, well technically flying there when the won the game to get into the finals, and on a plane back when they were playing...sucked. Heard some good stories from some buddies who were in the center of town.

BG - I'm interested in a trip to Germany and France anyway, so I don't mind spending the money on the trip. But thanks for looking out for me!

About the cup holder, I've seen worse (Look at the rear cupholders of a 2001 Jetta). For the 3 series, the BMW Accessories catalog has another cup holder that attaches near the dash trim somehow, so you don't have to use the stock ones. That tells you how bad the stock cup holders are.

For tires, I'm switching to non-RFT 245/45ZR17 High Performance Radials for winter. If they're smoother, I may leave them on. I'm also putting a full size spare, lug wrench, and scissor jack in the trunk this winter for the non-RFTs. Iy'll add 60 pounds, but is worth it to me for winter mobility. I found the scissor jack at grizzly.com for just $16. It's brand new, so I know it's clean.

About the cup holder, I've seen worse (Look at the rear cupholders of a 2001 Jetta). For the 3 series, the BMW Accessories catalog has another cup holder that attaches near the dash trim somehow, so you don't have to use the stock ones. That tells you how bad the stock cup holders are.

For tires, I'm switching to non-RFT 245/45ZR17 High Performance Radials for winter. If they're smoother, I may leave them on. I'm also putting a full size spare, lug wrench, and scissor jack in the trunk this winter for the non-RFTs. Iy'll add 60 pounds, but is worth it to me for winter mobility. I found the scissor jack at grizzly.com for just $16. It's brand new, so I know it's clean.
High performance tires in winter? I hope it doesn't go below freezing where you are otherwise kiss your traction bye bye, those tires are worthless below freezing, they wouldn't stick to superglue.

About the cup holder, I've seen worse (Look at the rear cupholders of a 2001 Jetta). For the 3 series, the BMW Accessories catalog has another cup holder that attaches near the dash trim somehow, so you don't have to use the stock ones. That tells you how bad the stock cup holders are.

For tires, I'm switching to non-RFT 245/45ZR17 High Performance Radials for winter. If they're smoother, I may leave them on. I'm also putting a full size spare, lug wrench, and scissor jack in the trunk this winter for the non-RFTs. Iy'll add 60 pounds, but is worth it to me for winter mobility. I found the scissor jack at grizzly.com for just $16. It's brand new, so I know it's clean.

If those are the General tires, they are great. I run the same size, only on 1/2" wider than stock rims.

LOL, I actually like the cupholders.

Spending more on the trip is only if you stay longer / don't negotiate well. I'm saving 4200 by doing ED.

Trip: 5 days
Airfare from Boston: 700$ RT.
Reasonable hotel: $100/night.
Food/etc: 100/day.
Touring / whatever: 100/day.

Total: 2.2k.

Therefore, cost savings even AFTER expenses to travel in germany: 2k.

Oh yeah.... and a awesome vacation.

If I stayed longer, or wanted to blow tons of money, then sure, maybe it would exceed 4.2k.

BTW: My 4.2k figure was as follows:

'08 335xi invoice prices for US delivery vs ED were a little less than 3k in savings right there.

Then, don't forget the difference in dealer profit:

Ordering an '08 today for USA delivery, dealers are sticking to their guns especially considering it counts towards their monthly allocation and it's a brand new model year: ordering today, really really GOOD deals are 1k below MSRP.

ED, on the other hand, doesn't count against allocation, good deals (Irv, etc) are 1,250 above ED *INVOICE*.

So, take that addl spread, add it to the initial ED savings, I came up w/ 4.2k savings for me to do ED.

Even if I underestimate expenses (cabs, etc), let's take out another $1,000 for those 5 days in Germany. I'm *still* left with $1,000 in my pocket after it's all said and done, and I had a great vaca (well, at least for someone like me who has never been there).

About the cup holder, I've seen worse (Look at the rear cupholders of a 2001 Jetta). For the 3 series, the BMW Accessories catalog has another cup holder that attaches near the dash trim somehow, so you don't have to use the stock ones. That tells you how bad the stock cup holders are.

For tires, I'm switching to non-RFT 245/45ZR17 High Performance Radials for winter. If they're smoother, I may leave them on. I'm also putting a full size spare, lug wrench, and scissor jack in the trunk this winter for the non-RFTs. Iy'll add 60 pounds, but is worth it to me for winter mobility. I found the scissor jack at grizzly.com for just $16. It's brand new, so I know it's clean.

Two issues with hi-perf tires for the winter. Snow AND temperature. These tires do not react well to temps below 40 F

No food or drink in my car. So the cup holders aren't used. Easy solution.

Maybe or maybe not, but you do get to drive a brand new BMW in Europe :stickoutt. I really wanted to do ED last year during the world cup, but I would have had to plan for it in 2005 and back then my budget didn't allow a new BMW purchase. If only I got the new job 2 years ago! It would have been perfect to combine 3 of the top things on my wish list (attend a WC final, drive a fast car on the autobahn, and visit Munich). Oh well, there is always next time for ED, but unfortunately no WC, unless I wait till it is in Europe again which is another 16 years or so :(.

2023 BMW 3-Series? Sounds like a sweet ride to me. The Nav should be perfect then. Should I put in an order now with my SA and take ED with you.:D

2023 BMW 3-Series? Sounds like a sweet ride to me. The Nav should be perfect then. Should I put in an order now with my SA and take ED with you.:D
That's a deal. Bring your gun along, or would that be a laser by then :smilielaz;).

So I'm a little afraid that, being someone who used to lease, in 3 years I'll want a new car - whether it's a new 3 series, 5 series, who knows?

If I buy the car, at what point is trading in or selling privately not a kick in the wallet?

Looking at the ED discounts online it does show that much of savings.

Hotel for $100 in Europe? LOL...Have you been to Europe. You do know our dollar is worth nothing. I'd say an hotel will cost $200 a night after the conversion.

It's a good way to get the car, but you really aren't saving that much. You can get certain cars at about invoice. Unless that ED is on top of what the negotiated price is...its' not that good of savings.

Spending more on the trip is only if you stay longer / don't negotiate well. I'm saving 4200 by doing ED.

Trip: 5 days
Airfare from Boston: 700$ RT.
Reasonable hotel: $100/night.
Food/etc: 100/day.
Touring / whatever: 100/day.

Total: 2.2k.

Therefore, cost savings even AFTER expenses to travel in germany: 2k.

Oh yeah.... and a awesome vacation.

If I stayed longer, or wanted to blow tons of money, then sure, maybe it would exceed 4.2k.

BTW: My 4.2k figure was as follows:

'08 335xi invoice prices for US delivery vs ED were a little less than 3k in savings right there.

Then, don't forget the difference in dealer profit:

Ordering an '08 today for USA delivery, dealers are sticking to their guns especially considering it counts towards their monthly allocation and it's a brand new model year: ordering today, really really GOOD deals are 1k below MSRP.

ED, on the other hand, doesn't count against allocation, good deals (Irv, etc) are 1,250 above ED *INVOICE*.

So, take that addl spread, add it to the initial ED savings, I came up w/ 4.2k savings for me to do ED.

Even if I underestimate expenses (cabs, etc), let's take out another $1,000 for those 5 days in Germany. I'm *still* left with $1,000 in my pocket after it's all said and done, and I had a great vaca (well, at least for someone like me who has never been there).

LOL, I actually like the cupholders.+1 They'll solidly hold up to a 20oz cup under full acceleration. In fact they seem to be made for the 20 oz soda cups, they fit snugly. Gives me an excuse to avoid the top-heavy super gulp drinks, and I prefer it to getting poked in the forearm with straws like my last cupholders, situated in the center console along side the emergency brake. The arm rest actually came out over the top of the drink so it was a chore getting them in and out.

+1 They'll solidly hold up to a 20oz cup under full acceleration. In fact they seem to be made for the 20 oz soda cups, they fit snugly. Gives me an excuse to avoid the top-heavy super gulp drinks, and I prefer it to getting poked in the forearm with straws like my last cupholders, situated in the center console along side the emergency brake. The arm rest actually came out over the top of the drink so it was a chore getting them in and out.
Make your passenger be the cupholder :D.

My friend did ED on his 530i about a year or so ago.... he said he saved about $3K as compared to buying the car here.

From the dark side: You need to spend $ for the trip PLUS you need to wait 2-3 weeks for the cars to be shipped to the U.S. So if you lease, ED may not be a good idea.... you'll be paying 50-75% of one month lease payment for nothing.

From the bright side: Well, vacation w/ family or friends is priceless especially knowing that part, if not most, of your vacation expenses are covered by the difference in price.

I'd love to do ED despite the fact it may be more expensive at the end of the day.... but so far I haven't found a compelling reason to buy a new car (given the depreciation).

BTW, there is nothing in Munich :D If I do ED, I'll drive the car directly to Austria.... particularly Grossglockner pass & Salzburg.

Looking at the ED discounts online it does show that much of savings.

Hotel for $100 in Europe? LOL...Have you been to Europe. You do know our dollar is worth nothing. I'd say an hotel will cost $200 a night after the conversion.

It's a good way to get the car, but you really aren't saving that much. You can get certain cars at about invoice. Unless that ED is on top of what the negotiated price is...its' not that good of savings.

Go to Hotwire for your hotel deals. In the last 2 weeks, I used them three times. $49/night in a 3-star in Vegas (Four Queens) for my trip, $79 in 4-star in Chicago (Hilton) for my mom's trip, and one in Europe.

My family just went to Spain for a week. I booked them a 4-star hotel smack in the middle of Madrid for $69/night. That's right USD 69, not EUR 69. They were beyond thrilled when they checked in!

Oh, and if you are clever, you can figure out which hotels they offer before you purchase. There are not that many 4-star options in most areas. ;)

What can I say, I am quite a satisfied customer!

Go to Hotwire for your hotel deals. In the last 2 weeks, I used them three times. $49/night in a 3-star in Vegas (Four Queens) for my trip, $79 in 4-star in Chicago (Hilton) for my mom's trip, and one in Europe.

My family just went to Spain for a week. I booked them a 4-star hotel smack in the middle of Madrid for $69/night. That's right USD 69, not EUR 69. They were beyond thrilled when they checked in!

Oh, and if you are clever, you can figure out which hotels they offer before you purchase. There are not that many 4-star options in most areas. ;)

What can I say, I am quite a satisfied customer!
Don't go below 4 stars in Europe. I was unpleasantly surprised at the low quality of 3 star large chain hotels. Oh btw, if you go in the summer, make sure the rooms have AC. That is not a given in Europe as I discovered the hard and sweaty way.

hard and sweaty way.

Lets keep this a PG forum please!:eek: