Does anyone know a dealer that will do a European Delivery on an M3? BMW of HNL won't.:shifty

BMW of Honolulu did do ED before. They usually go up during spring as a group. I have info on it , but not sure where it is right now. There is Irv Robinson who is on BF that does ED. I think he's in Chicago. Check out www.edBMW.com. I just built one on the BMW site. Been dreaming about that too. :) LOL!

Is it specific to the M3? Did they have bad experiences with people not following break in procedures before getting on the 'bahn or the 'ring?

I know of a black E46 M3 w/19s that did ED and was delivered here.

And a former boss did ED on his 04 7 series.

BMW of HNL told me that it is specific to the M3. They will do other models. I'm going in the fall so wanted to pick one up then. I have a friend in the Army based out of Germany. Does anyone know about the rules regarding military purchases? Could he buy it for me?

He can purchase it but has to keep it for one year before he can sell it to you. There is a site you can look at. If your friend is close to the BMW dealership there they deal with the military. They will ship your car all the way to Cali then you will have to pay to have it shipped here from Cali.

http://www.pentagoncarsales.com/ or http://www.militarycarsales.org/home/home.html

Tom - DO NOT have someone in Germany buy the car for you. I think Ben can chime in on this as he had problems with his ZHP. I don't think he could Lemon Law the car as it was not bought in the US.

BMW of HNL told me that it is specific to the M3. They will do other models. I'm going in the fall so wanted to pick one up then. I have a friend in the Army based out of Germany. Does anyone know about the rules regarding military purchases? Could he buy it for me?

if a military member purchases, and takes possession, of a U.S. legal vehicle while on a PCS assignment, it comes home to the U.S. duty free...:D

Tom - DO NOT have someone in Germany buy the car for you. I think Ben can chime in on this as he had problems with his ZHP. I don't think he could Lemon Law the car as it was not bought in the US.

Oh god can I chime in on this, but where do I start? I became aware of certain ailments that ZHPs are prone to suffering shortly after moving here from Germany. BMWNA will not acknowledge that there is actually a problem with the cam/timing/lubrication systems (even though the problem applied to at least 65% of ZHPs in circulation) and as such would not issue a recall on them. On top of that, the Hawaii lemon law could not be brought into play because the car had been registered and operated elsewhere prior to its arrival into the state. Likewise, the equivalent lemon law in Germany (where the car was originally purchased) would not apply due to the fact that the car was no longer located in Germany. At the end of the day, I became so frustrated with the situation, my car being in the shop for the two of my first for months on the island, that I got the hell rid of it as soon as I could. There were also some serious issues with the integrity of BMW Honolulu's technicians and shop foreman that I simply could not stomach. All in all I would NOT go through that hassle again, especially if it meant having to deal with BMW/H for even the smallest of details.


a military member purchases, and takes possession, of a U.S. legal vehicle while on a PCS assignment, it comes home to the U.S. duty free...

And just for clarification, the importing of vehicles is not quite that simple. As stated earlier, the purchaser has to either have one complete year remaining on station (in Europe) or been on station (in Europe) for at least 2.5 years prior to making the purchase to be eligible in the first place. You can find yourself SOL if you go over there on a two year tour and do not plan the timing right. Also, you will still get hit on taxes (in some states) when you initially register the car in the US, but on the value of a used vehicle instead of the value of a new vehicle.

Wow, thanks guys. I guess I'll stay away from my friend buying the car. If I can't Euro delivery an M3 I may have to get something else. Bummer.

M cars unlike other Euro Delivery cars come out of the Dealer's allocation so that explains why BMW/H won't do it. For other cars a Euro Delivery is a extra allocation so they should happy to do it. I am sure you can find a dealer on the left coast to do it, but the redelivery would be to them and you would pay the shipping cost to Hawaii which at the rate we are going could be $1,200 by then. Remember there is no discount for ED on M cars.:(

And just for clarification, the importing of vehicles is not quite that simple. As stated earlier, the purchaser has to either have one complete year remaining on station (in Europe) or been on station (in Europe) for at least 2.5 years prior to making the purchase to be eligible in the first place. You can find yourself SOL if you go over there on a two year tour and do not plan the timing right. Also, you will still get hit on taxes (in some states) when you initially register the car in the US, but on the value of a used vehicle instead of the value of a new vehicle.

Don't know what kind of restrictions that the military may impose, but this is what I was referring to as far as duty free treatment of vehicles imported by returning military members...

In the case of Military and Civilian Employees of the United States, the privilege of free entry under subheading 9805.00.50, HTSUS does not apply to "Articles which have not been in the direct personal possession of the claimant, or a member of his household, while abroad." In the case of a vehicle, the claimant must have taken possession of and registered the vehicle while overseas. If proof of registration is not provided, the vehicle is not entitled to free entry pursuant to 9805.00.50 and the appropriate duties must be assessed and paid.

M cars unlike other Euro Delivery cars come out of the Dealer's allocation so that explains why BMW/H won't do it. For other cars a Euro Delivery is a extra allocation so they should happy to do it. I am sure you can find a dealer on the left coast to do it, but the redelivery would be to them and you would pay the shipping cost to Hawaii which at the rate we are going could be $1,200 by then. Remember there is no discount for ED on M cars.:(

I'll keep looking. Don't really care about the discount since I'm going to Germany anyway and I am making reservations on the ring taxi instead of driving the ring, but I would like to experience picking the car up in Munich.

Try Cunningham BMW in San Diego or Fred Opert Racing in NJ. http://www.fredopertracing.com/tourbmw.htm

M cars unlike other Euro Delivery cars come out of the Dealer's allocation so that explains why BMW/H won't do it. For other cars a Euro Delivery is a extra allocation so they should happy to do it. I am sure you can find a dealer on the left coast to do it, but the redelivery would be to them and you would pay the shipping cost to Hawaii which at the rate we are going could be $1,200 by then. Remember there is no discount for ED on M cars.:(

I'm by no means an expert on this, but I thought I read somewhere that you could have it delivered to any BMW dealer regardless of where the ED purchase was made.

Don't know what kind of restrictions that the military may impose, but this is what I was referring to as far as duty free treatment of vehicles imported by returning military members...

In the case of Military and Civilian Employees of the United States, the privilege of free entry under subheading 9805.00.50, HTSUS does not apply to "Articles which have not been in the direct personal possession of the claimant, or a member of his household, while abroad." In the case of a vehicle, the claimant must have taken possession of and registered the vehicle while overseas. If proof of registration is not provided, the vehicle is not entitled to free entry pursuant to 9805.00.50 and the appropriate duties must be assessed and paid.


Gene as ben stated before you will get hit with state sales tax when you register the car in that state. I brought a car back from Germany my first tour there and I had to pay $2000 in taxes that was in Texas though. I would always stress to my Soldiers that they will pay taxes when they get back to the states because all the dealerships stress to the military is tax free. As far as shipping the car. The military will ship one car at no cost to you. If you have another car that you want to ship you will pay out of pocket. But then again we are there on official military business and we do everthing through the military including registration so that may be the difference.

I'm by no means an expert on this, but I thought I read somewhere that you could have it delivered to any BMW dealer regardless of where the ED purchase was made.


This may be something worth looking into

I'll keep looking. Don't really care about the discount since I'm going to Germany anyway and I am making reservations on the ring taxi instead of driving the ring, but I would like to experience picking the car up in Munich.


If you are going to do this why not purchase the car and have BMW ship it back for you think its like an additional $900 for shipping (to the mainland)

Gene as ben stated before you will get hit with state sales tax when you register the car in that state. I brought a car back from Germany my first tour there and I had to pay $2000 in taxes that was in Texas though. I would always stress to my Soldiers that they will pay taxes when they get back to the states because all the dealerships stress to the military is tax free. As far as shipping the car. The military will ship one car at no cost to you. If you have another car that you want to ship you will pay out of pocket. But then again we are there on official military business and we do everthing through the military including registration so that may be the difference.

It appears that we are talking about two different things, state taxes and customs duties...as I quoted previously, military members may bring back a car free of import duties (currently 3.2%, I believe), if they meet the prerequisites...:D

2xM -
Whatever you decide to do, I'll keep your Turbo running for you as long as you're away...take your time and a long vacation!
I thought you were going for an M5?

Oh, btw...you make me sick with all your toys! :D

Gene I think you are right !!! been a long week for me

When I imported my E36 M3 from Japan, I didn't have to pay import and customs fees. There was no charge since I had proof that the car was originally imported to the mainland from Germany after build and two months later, sent to Japan. Since it was in the States previously, there was no cost. The price that killed me, was the $5,000 shipping cost from Japan:eyecrazy
But, good thing I only paid $5,600 for the car:)

This may be something worth looking into

Found this on an unofficial site so you should investigate further:

Q: Can I order at one dealer and have it shipped to another?
A: Yes, although the receiving dealer may want to charge you up to $500 for vehicle prep since they made no commission on the sale. This is fair.

http://www.e46fanatics.com/faq/eurofaq.html

I believe the car first arrives for prep in SC so I'm not sure what the $500 a local dealer would charge gives you.

Found this on an unofficial site so you should investigate further:

Q: Can I order at one dealer and have it shipped to another?
A: Yes, although the receiving dealer may want to charge you up to $500 for vehicle prep since they made no commission on the sale. This is fair.

http://www.e46fanatics.com/faq/eurofaq.html

I believe the car first arrives for prep in SC so I'm not sure what the $500 a local dealer would charge gives you.
That's a courtesy delivery fee. It's just $$$ so the dealer is happy about making the delivery w/o making a sale. A friend bought his Z06 on the mainland and JN was the only one that would do a courtesy delivery...for $2500. :eek:

cutter used to do it for 1500...when i was gonna buy a C5 Z06, i told the sales guy- why dont you match the mainland dealers price, and tack on 1500...then we'll all get what we want...but they said they wouldnt do it...


i told him "so you'd rather lose a sale and just make $1500, instead of making the sale and the $1500???" they said yes...guess they figure they'd find some schmuck to pay 10k over sticker for a car...

cutter used to do it for 1500...when i was gonna buy a C5 Z06, i told the sales guy- why dont you match the mainland dealers price, and tack on 1500...then we'll all get what we want...but they said they wouldnt do it...


i told him "so you'd rather lose a sale and just make $1500, instead of making the sale and the $1500???" they said yes...guess they figure they'd find some schmuck to pay 10k over sticker for a car...And you know what, that Z06 just sits in the garage. It has maybe 500 miles in 18 months.

my balls hurt to think sports cars dont live the life they were bred to do...

2xM -
Whatever you decide to do, I'll keep your Turbo running for you as long as you're away...take your time and a long vacation!
I thought you were going for an M5?

Oh, btw...you make me sick with all your toys! :D

The M5 is still too big for me but if I can't get an M3-4 I'll get a pre-owned M5.

which pre-owned.... e60 or e39...?

which pre-owned.... e60 or e39...?

e60. Future wife needs SMG.

ahh... which would you prefer????




6 speed E39 M5 FTW!!!!

ahh... which would you prefer????




6 speed E39 M5 FTW!!!!

I would prefer 6-speed e39.

The M5 is still too big for me but if I can't get an M3-4 I'll get a pre-owned M5.
Okay...now what about the part where I keep your Turbo running and nice and warm while you're away? :D
j/k I don't want to drive something I can't afford. I got into enough trouble driving Jeff's Targa!!

Okay...now what about the part where I keep your Turbo running and nice and warm while you're away? :D
j/k I don't want to drive something I can't afford. I got into enough trouble driving Jeff's Targa!!

Hey I said you are welcome to take it out.

Hey I said you are welcome to take it out.
Yeah I know, I'm just giving you some rash because you have such nice Toys!:D

e60. Future wife needs SMG.

Make sure you tell her "don't push the power button":evil2

Make sure you tell her "don't push the power button":evil2
I don't think that will help...according to history it'll make it worse!
God told Eve not to eat the fruit from the tree of Good & Bad... and it's been a struggle ever since for mankind. :D

Yeah!!! I will be able to Euro delivery a new M3 Sedan. :redspot
Scheduling it for September.

Yeah!!! I will be able to Euro delivery a new M3 Sedan. :redspot
Scheduling it for September.

Congrats, Tom!

Yeah!!! I will be able to Euro delivery a new M3 Sedan. :redspot
Scheduling it for September.

Whatcha going to do with your other M's? ;)

Whatcha going to do with your other M's? ;)

Haven't decided. Going to keep the e30 as my project car. Debating whether to sell the e46 or give it to my sister. Probably going to sell the the ZCP wheels and brakes seperate.

Haven't decided. Going to keep the e30 as my project car.

You sure? Id sure love to have it....:buttrock

Haven't decided. Going to keep the e30 as my project car. Debating whether to sell the e46 or give it to my sister. Probably going to sell the the ZCP wheels and brakes seperate.

How many miles on the '02?

How many miles on the '02?

26k miles

Hmmm... Maybe we should talk if you decide to sell it... ;) What colour is it?

Hmmm... Maybe we should talk if you decide to sell it... ;) What colour is it?

Silver. Here is a pic.

sweet car...if you do decide to sell it and Ben isn't interested, I could be...

Pic looks great! What colour is the interior? And all importantly, 6spd?

Silver gray interior. Sorry...SMG II.

Ok, ok. I will take it just as long as you discount the price by $10k for the transmission. ;)

Ok, ok. I will take it just as long as you discount the price by $10k for the transmission. ;)Cool. I think Tom was asking $45k for the car. lol