[BMWGirlFL]

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

It is a sad day...

VERY sad after 50+ years ...

ca. April 1969

[LOW4LYF]

Has nothing to do with the current pandemic tho.

The Automotive industry all around the world is changing right now and this is a small part of it.

Electric, Car Sharing etc. will be the future not European delivery. I know it's sad fo petrol heads, but that's just the reality currently.

AUDI is out of the DTM etc., the priorities just changed for the manufacturer after very successful years in the past.

[SabineBimmer]

... Oh well. Well, that's a kick in the kisser. Was looking forward to doing this for an M2 this next year.

[Dudley346]

Bummer, but I'm really glad that I took advantage of it in 2017 on my 2018 M4. It was my wife's first trip to Europe and we had a blast driving through Germany, down through Switzerland to Milan, then by Monte Carlo to the East coast of France, then up from Montpelier to Bordeaux, then to Normandy and finally into Paris. Beautiful weather and scenery along the way.

I was hoping to do it again in a few years, but this time down into Barcelona, over to Madrid then back to Paris. Guess I will have to cross my fingers that the program reemerges in a few years.

[PaulM]

I find it quite funny when so many of you vow to move away from BMW just because you can't get the car with ED (maybe a re-alignement of priorities forced on by this very political virus is needed).
I'm honestly curious, what cars would you get to replace the 340/440, M2/3/4? And don't give me that BS about getting a Porsche. If you had the ability to get a Porsche, you already would have (I know I would have).
I seriously tried to answer that question recently, and guess what I found out? All other options out there, in the same price range, are garbage.

[Jason]

Here's the formal statement:

Ultimate Delivery Experience Continues in SC as Sun Sets on European Delivery
European Program to Begin Phasing Out Operations in May

"As the global market has evolved and BMW NA sales volumes have shifted more heavily towards SAVs during the past several years, the Performance Center Delivery in Spartanburg, South Carolina has seen continuing growth. Since its beginning in 1999, Performance Center Delivery has grown to more than 28,000 vehicle deliveries, while European Delivery, which has delivered approximately 30,000 vehicles since the 1970s, has experienced a significant decline in participation. Although BMW NA has historically represented an average of 2,000 European Deliveries annually, such deliveries have declined in recent years to under 500. Based on these trends and long-term evaluation, BMW Group will end the European Delivery Program in 2020 and cease accepting reservations as of May 18, 2020.

Our delivery programs have always provided owners with the opportunity to expand their BMW ownership experience and while BMW Group is ending the European operation due to declining global demand, we are proud to continue offering the Ultimate Delivery Experience to our customers through the Performance Center in Spartanburg," said April Vigilante, department head, corporate & special sales, BMW NA. "We encourage all centers to leverage this exciting program to immerse customers in the culture of BMW at the Zentrum, explore the factory and experience the 'Ultimate Driving Machine' on the track."

[Venom]

This is really sad but I can definitely say that I am very lucky to have been able to get my M2C via eurodelivery in 2018 and enjoyed oktoberfest (wiesn). Here's hoping it comes back. Those memories are unforgettable.

[shamun160]

Originally Posted by Jason

Here's the formal statement:

Ultimate Delivery Experience Continues in SC as Sun Sets on European Delivery
European Program to Begin Phasing Out Operations in May

"As the global market has evolved and BMW NA sales volumes have shifted more heavily towards SAVs during the past several years, the Performance Center Delivery in Spartanburg, South Carolina has seen continuing growth. Since its beginning in 1999, Performance Center Delivery has grown to more than 28,000 vehicle deliveries, while European Delivery, which has delivered approximately 30,000 vehicles since the 1970s, has experienced a significant decline in participation. Although BMW NA has historically represented an average of 2,000 European Deliveries annually, such deliveries have declined in recent years to under 500. Based on these trends and long-term evaluation, BMW Group will end the European Delivery Program in 2020 and cease accepting reservations as of May 18, 2020.

Our delivery programs have always provided owners with the opportunity to expand their BMW ownership experience and while BMW Group is ending the European operation due to declining global demand, we are proud to continue offering the Ultimate Delivery Experience to our customers through the Performance Center in Spartanburg," said April Vigilante, department head, corporate & special sales, BMW NA. "We encourage all centers to leverage this exciting program to immerse customers in the culture of BMW at the Zentrum, explore the factory and experience the 'Ultimate Driving Machine' on the track."

Was looking to do another M3 next year and really sorry to hear that won’t happen. I guess it makes my 2014 experience that much more special. We will see if it influences my next purchase decision. Definitely will wait to drive the new M3 before ordering.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by Poochie

It's not that people don't want to opt for it but in my experience, twice, the dealership discouraged this option and for some strange reason, downplayed its advantage and benefits.

If someone knows real reason why the franchise dealers are not too keen on pushing this program, please educate me..

It's actually worse from the dealer standpoint than the suppositions posted here—and a loser for many customers, too, from several perspectives.

First, I have been a BMW owner since 1971. I've been heavily involved with BMW CCA for over 40-years and was the founder of one chapter over 30-years ago. Second, I have been employed by our local BMW dealership off-and-on since the 2002 was a model and not just a year. I have a broad perspective, and I love BMWs.

The last Euro Delivery I did for a customer cost him more than if he'd purchased the car stateside and, due to change of company travel, he never even got to drive his new BMW in Germany. Cost more? Well, the dealer incentives such as rebates and loyalty discounts do not apply to Euro Delivery. The customer can't get them and the dealer doesn't get them. That amounts to a lot more than the pitiful discount built into the program.

Next you guys, the BMW buyers, are shopping for your best deal and won't stop until you find some dealer who knows he won't have to ever see you again and will discount the price to cost or below just to add a unit to their sales total. You know people here working for dealership who have become a Euro Delivery mill offering huge discounts including below cost to make their quotas. So when you come into my dealership wanting to test drive my M3 Competition and asking me questions about how the car should be ordered, knowing the whole time you intend to place your order with a broker of a mega dealership, you are wasting my time—as nicely as I will still treat you.

And the dealer, as stated by others, won't get their AVP money to offset discounts. They also have to give up an allocation of the same model in order to place your Euro Delivery order if it is for any M-car of other hard-to-get model. I give up a car to match your $300-below-cost-deal from some desk-jockey in DC and I loose one car I could sell to a local customer who may really want one. You come to me to test-drive a stick-shift M-model no one in the metropolitan area stocks, knowing full well you're gonna order it from the lowest offer. And I would lose another allocation to sell you a car by matching your deal. But I still let you drive it, didn't I? And I treated you the way a BMW buyer wants to be treated, didn't I? And you know who you are!.

So, if the car can be purchased for less under US delivery or even Performance Center Delivery, why not take a trip to Europe, rent a BMW, drive the 'Ring, and not subject your new car to the threat of damage, or the delay of usually 60-days or more between paying for it and having it at home? Is it the photo op you'll miss? With PCD you get to drive BMW's car at the PC track, not yours. They pay for your hotel room and food for two people, and it costs you nothing. You get all your discounts and your travel time and expense is minimal.

Those are the reasons I see the program for US customers dwindling. That's why the dealers don't promote it. That's why the customer pays more for it, and that's why fewer and fewer opt for it every year. It's similar to those who complain about the demise of small businesses and bemoan the Wal-Marting of America, and yet they'll travel cross town to save 50¢ on toilet paper.

I see regular customers coming into our service department who I sold their first M3 to 25-years ago. But now they're having us service the latest M3 they bought from a faceless dealership 2-hours away where they've never been and wouldn't trust to service their car because our store wasn't willing to lose $500 and an M3 allocation to match their internet pricing. And I still smile and shake their hand.

These days we'll tip our stimulus check for a carry-out meal during a pandemic to help restaurant workers getting more in unemployment than they were earning before the pandemic, but we'll still take hours of a salesperson's time knowing we're not buying a car from them.

Good riddance to the program! If BMW wants to know how to do it right and make everyone happy, they can simply ask me. They tell us regularly how the new generation of BMW buyers are more interested in experiences than relationships. Let me provide a big participation trophy for you. Or maybe a program that helps you get the car you want and the Euro Delivery experience without wasting a salesperson's time and without the lopsided distribution that encourages larger impersonal dealerships to blow out inventory we can't even get enough of.

I sold a Hockenheim Silver M2 Competition manual-transmission off the showroom floor to a disabled vet yesterday. We worked with her for hours to make sure we could do what she wanted us to do in terms of trading a new car she was upside-down in, and getting financing that worked. We stayed 2-hours after closing, but when she and her husband left, we knew they'd be loving their first BMW because we treated them the way we'd want to be treated ourselves. And I've been doing it that same way years before I drove home the first E30 M3 the day it arrived at our dealership.

These days most BMW buyers are getting what they deserve, and that's usually the lowest price with the lowest level of service. And then they complain about the dealers. Days like yesterday make me glad I haven't yet chosen to retire. But that doesn't happen enough to keep me in the business much longer.

All the best to all of you who love your BMWs. I'm headed out to the garage to work on the 1600 Cabriolet my wife and I bought on our honeymoon in Europe almost 40-years ago.

[BMthusiast]

I'm glad I did an ED with my F80, but to be honest it wasn't anything too extravagant for me. I've been to Munich and BMW Welt many times prior. I think taking a trip to Munich and renting an ///M car from BMW Welt is just as good if not better because the rentals are already past break-in. When my F80 ED was first revealed at the pickup level of Welt it was definitely a memorable moment for me though!

[SabineBimmer]

Originally Posted by BMWGirlFL

VERY sad after 50+ years ...
Attachment 2302942
ca. April 1969

Hey look! Proportionate grilles! Maybe that's why they canceled it, all the bitching about the grilles. :

[INDVDL///M]

Sad news indeed. That saying "all good things come to an end" fits the bill for this news well.

I feel fortunate that myself and @fmlysdn were able to do ED with the F80 back in 2015. Complete with earning my Nurburgring sticker for her. It was most definitely a trip of a lifetime and a boatload of fun all around.

As there are no new BMWs in our foreseeable futures, the memories and photos along with the bucket list items completion will have to suffice!

[jsublime]

What the actual F BMW? Of course participation is down, you took away all the incentives. Very sad though, did it once and was hoping to do it again next year. Hope it comes back.

[///M TOWN]

Originally Posted by PaulM

I find it quite funny when so many of you vow to move away from BMW just because you can't get the car with ED (maybe a re-alignement of priorities forced on by this very political virus is needed).
I'm honestly curious, what cars would you get to replace the 340/440, M2/3/4? And don't give me that BS about getting a Porsche. If you had the ability to get a Porsche, you already would have (I know I would have).
I seriously tried to answer that question recently, and guess what I found out? All other options out there, in the same price range, are garbage.

No BS needed, just hard ass work.

I will absolutely step up and get me a new Porsche.

[Thescout13]

Originally Posted by PaulM

I find it quite funny when so many of you vow to move away from BMW just because you can't get the car with ED (maybe a re-alignement of priorities forced on by this very political virus is needed).
I'm honestly curious, what cars would you get to replace the 340/440, M2/3/4? And don't give me that BS about getting a Porsche. If you had the ability to get a Porsche, you already would have (I know I would have).
I seriously tried to answer that question recently, and guess what I found out? All other options out there, in the same price range, are garbage.

I feel like you are forgetting that Mercedes exists.

[Thescout13]

Originally Posted by GodfatherNiko

So, as a European, can I do Alabama delivery if I order a new X5?

Built in SC, Mercedes SUVs are built in Alabama. But point taken lol.

[euro*]

People saying that they will step away from the brand just due to ED? That's hilarious, I guess with such attitude, BMW would not be on your next list of cars anyways. For me ED was just a sweet juicy bonus.

About Mercedes ED, I've heard nothing but horror stories, I've had a friend who did it, and when he ended up coming to Germany for his scheduled dated his car was not even ready. Plus experience as a whole nothing thought out like BMW's.

About Porsche. Can anybody post a link to somebody's good ED journal how everything works with Porsche ED? Similar to what many owners did here regarding our ED's with BMW. I'm curious how Porsche does it.

Audi doesn't have a ED program anymore, but I would never buy an Audi anyways

[Scrippy]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

$5. Oh, big spender.

You said the launch.

Trying to wiggle out it seems.

No wiggles, I'll stick with that launch date When the day comes let's pay up lol. I just think it'll be back when there is less safety liability but I've been wrong many times before.

[PKumarM3]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

It's actually worse from the dealer standpoint than the suppositions posted here—and a loser for many customers, too, from several perspectives.

First, I have been a BMW owner since 1971. I've been heavily involved with BMW CCA for over 40-years and was the founder of one chapter over 30-years ago. Second, I have been employed by our local BMW dealership off-and-on since the 2002 was a model and not just a year. I have a broad perspective, and I love BMWs.

The last Euro Delivery I did for a customer cost him more than if he'd purchased the car stateside and, due to change of company travel, he never even got to drive his new BMW in Germany. Cost more? Well, the dealer incentives such as rebates and loyalty discounts do not apply to Euro Delivery. The customer can't get them and the dealer doesn't get them. That amounts to a lot more than the pitiful discount built into the program.

Next you guys, the BMW buyers, are shopping for your best deal and won't stop until you find some dealer who knows he won't have to ever see you again and will discount the price to cost or below just to add a unit to their sales total. You know people here working for dealership who have become a Euro Delivery mill offering huge discounts including below cost to make their quotas. So when you come into my dealership wanting to test drive my M3 Competition and asking me questions about how the car should be ordered, knowing the whole time you intend to place your order with a broker of a mega dealership, you are wasting my time—as nicely as I will still treat you.

And the dealer, as stated by others, won't get their AVP money to offset discounts. They also have to give up an allocation of the same model in order to place your Euro Delivery order if it is for any M-car of other hard-to-get model. I give up a car to match your $300-below-cost-deal from some desk-jockey in DC and I loose one car I could sell to a local customer who may really want one. You come to me to test-drive a stick-shift M-model no one in the metropolitan area stocks, knowing full well you're gonna order it from the lowest offer. And I would lose another allocation to sell you a car by matching your deal. But I still let you drive it, didn't I? And I treated you the way a BMW buyer wants to be treated, didn't I? And you know who you are!.

So, if the car can be purchased for less under US delivery or even Performance Center Delivery, why not take a trip to Europe, rent a BMW, drive the 'Ring, and not subject your new car to the threat of damage, or the delay of usually 60-days or more between paying for it and having it at home? Is it the photo op you'll miss? With PCD you get to drive BMW's car at the PC track, not yours. They pay for your hotel room and food for two people, and it costs you nothing. You get all your discounts and your travel time and expense is minimal.

Those are the reasons I see the program for US customers dwindling. That's why the dealers don't promote it. That's why the customer pays more for it, and that's why fewer and fewer opt for it every year. It's similar to those who complain about the demise of small businesses and bemoan the Wal-Marting of America, and yet they'll travel cross town to save 50¢ on toilet paper.

I see regular customers coming into our service department who I sold their first M3 to 25-years ago. But now they're having us service the latest M3 they bought from a faceless dealership 2-hours away where they've never been and wouldn't trust to service their car because our store wasn't willing to lose $500 and an M3 allocation to match their internet pricing. And I still smile and shake their hand.

These days we'll tip our stimulus check for a carry-out meal during a pandemic to help restaurant workers getting more in unemployment than they were earning before the pandemic, but we'll still take hours of a salesperson's time knowing we're not buying a car from them.

Good riddance to the program! If BMW wants to know how to do it right and make everyone happy, they can simply ask me. They tell us regularly how the new generation of BMW buyers are more interested in experiences than relationships. Let me provide a big participation trophy for you. Or maybe a program that helps you get the car you want and the Euro Delivery experience without wasting a salesperson's time and without the lopsided distribution that encourages larger impersonal dealerships to blow out inventory we can't even get enough of.

I sold a Hockenheim Silver M2 Competition manual-transmission off the showroom floor to a disabled vet yesterday. We worked with her for hours to make sure we could do what she wanted us to do in terms of trading a new car she was upside-down in, and getting financing that worked. We stayed 2-hours after closing, but when she and her husband left, we knew they'd be loving their first BMW because we treated them the way we'd want to be treated ourselves. And I've been doing it that same way years before I drove home the first E30 M3 the day it arrived at our dealership.

These days most BMW buyers are getting what they deserve, and that's usually the lowest price with the lowest level of service. And then they complain about the dealers. Days like yesterday make me glad I haven't yet chosen to retire. But that doesn't happen enough to keep me in the business much longer.

All the best to all of you who love your BMWs. I'm headed out to the garage to work on the 1600 Cabriolet my wife and I bought on our honeymoon in Europe almost 40-years ago.

Wow! 100% spot on. As a former Porsche sales person, you're right.

Re: Porsche experience - it's wonderful as well.

[hinckley]

Originally Posted by drklion

This was back in 2007, before the Welt. After 8 European Deliveries since then I will miss my European trips with a brand new BMW. Very sad day.

My first three EDs were at that old facility, but you've got me beat . . . I did six in total (my cars and friends' cars) and had no intention of stopping. I did get to do a PCD a few months back. It was a lot of fun, but it was no ED. A very sad day indeed.

Some of my memories (although my first in 2004 was too long ago to have digitized photos!).

[white2abbit]

RIP

I sincerely hope this isn't the end. I completely agree with a lot of people about being pushed away from the brand because of this.

It's not that I'm going to love BMW's any less, it's that I'd almost certainly consider a pre-owned car instead.

When I purchased my M2C I did so because I wanted to do European Delivery (a lifelong bucket list item for me). If it weren't for that, I would have purchased a used F80, E90 or E46 M3.

Going forward, there's very little incentive for me to purchase a new BMW – I can save money getting one pre-owned, and in general I tend to like the older stuff more than the newer stuff.

I guess it might just be time to move...

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by PKumarM3

Wow! 100% spot on. As a former Porsche sales person, you're right.

I was only a Certified Porsche Sales Representative for 19-years! I think my cards said "Gold" something or other.

Winner of the Porsche national product knowledge contest some time back in the '80s or '90s.

Thanks for your comment.