Presentation of the ED Program

How does it work?

1. Select a BMW at your regular US dealership

2. Place the order and choose a date to take delivery of the car in Munich (Germany), home of BMW

3. Drive the car for up to 6 months through Europe

4. Leave the car at one of the drop off centers that you selected in advance

5. The car will be shipped to the original dealer for redelivery in the US

How much does this program cost?

Whereas other car manufacturers such as Porsche charge extra for their customer to take advantage of the program, BMW offers it at no extra-cost and even gives a 7% discount (simply select 'Euro Delivery Munich Pick Up' in the delivery drop down on the top right of the configurator of bmwconfig ).

The buyer only has to pay for the plane ticket (typically, between $500 and $1,500 round trip, depending on the season, the point of origin in the US and when the ticket is bought).

On top of the discount, BMW offers:
    2 weeks of insurance
    Redelivery of the car to the US dealer
    A Factory tour

Pre-conceived Ideas

•  This is expensive è WRONG, see below for a concrete scenario

• I have to speak German, find a German dealer, and buy the car off his/her inventory, all of this wearing the traditional Bavarian outfit è WRONG

• It is too complicated to bring back the car to the US è WRONG

• I have to drive the car for x,xxx miles in Europe, and keep it there for x weeks è WRONG

• When the car comes back from Europe, I have to convert it to meet the US specifications è WRONG, the car already meets the US standards, but on the other hand would need to be converted if it were to stay in Europe longer than 6 months

• When buying a car off the lot, I’m getting a discount anyway, so I’m not saving any money è WRONG, one can combine both Euro-Delivery savings offered by BMW and the traditional dealers discounts.  

Let’s take a concrete example

Today, a 2011 BMW 335i Sedan, taken into account the 2011 March price increase, displays a US MSRP of $43,125 (including Destination & Handling, and Training Service Fees). The same car, via Euro-Delivery displays an ED MSRP of $39,980, representing savings of $3,145, just a bit more than 7%.
Customers usually manage to negotiate their final price around $500 to $1,000 over Wholesale (Invoice) price; In this case, the ED Invoice price is $36,855.

Assuming one pays $1,000 over ED Invoice price, and purchases a flight ticket for $1,500 (conservative estimates) the total price is $39,355.

It sounds too good to be true!

There is no catch!

•  No hidden costs such as transportation of customs processing, they are already included!

• One can take delivery in Munich, drop off the car right away for redelivery, and just enjoy the ED discount.

Why does BMW do this?

• BMW expects to build Customer Loyalty via an unforgettable experience.

How can BMW afford the program?

• Even though the customer signs the paperwork at the US dealer, the car never enters the dealer inventory and hence is not part of the sales incentive given back to the dealer.

• There are also some speculations on possible savings for BMW when importing the car to the US, as it is used and of less value

Are you contemplating buying a new or slightly used BMW?

Then do yourself a favor, and seriously consider the Euro-Delivery program!

Cons of the ED Program:

• Cars built ONLY in the US are not eligible for ED delivery (today, X3, X5, X6 are built exclusively in Spartanburg, SC)

• It takes approximately 4 - 6 more weeks to take delivery of the car in the US as compared to a traditional order as the car needs to be built in advance of the delivery in Munich, then sent to the port in Germany for redelivery in the US.

Pros of the ED Program:

• Makes economic sense

• Can be combined with vacations to Europe, leveraging the transatlantic flight, and saving on car rental fees while in Europe

• One gets to drive the car on the Autobahn, the freeway for which the car has been built!

Photos credits to Janitha - more pictures, and the journal of his happy ED experience