[Space gray]

This is my story. I put down a deposit last year at my dealer. Some time later he told me they'd gotten 7 allocations for the whole year and he was expecting around the same for this year. I actually don't recall what position in line I was at the time so it was a surprise when I received an email in mid-January asking if I wanted an allocation for early March. I accepted almost immediately. It was only a few weeks later that I decided to make it an ED. That's when he told me that I'd have to pick up the car no more than 30 days after the car was built. It took more than a week to confirm the delivery date because my 3 choices were fully booked, but somehow they managed to squeeze me in on April 1st (no fooling).
Specs: white (with the black interior ), 6MT, executive, and car play.
It was a week 10 build and got lucky with Continentals.

[Space gray]

Before picking up the car, I went to visit M Studio in Garching, which I had arranged beforehand. Took the U-Bahn out to a mostly business park setting and walked the last a few blocks. I saw a company newspaper in the lobby. I was met by a cool guy who has a 1M as his personal car. He showed me around the studio (where pictures are OK). They had an M4 GTS, an M1, and a few other M (not necessarily in current production) and Individual cars.
He explained that since the M2 is produced in the same production line as the other 2 series, only every n-th car can be an M2 because many parts take longer to assemble and they cannot slow down the production line. I forget what the proportion was for M2, but for M3 the ratio was only every eleventh car on the production line could be an M3. There has been only 1 non-standard color M2 because the 2-series is not set up for customization. The Austin yellow one was painted on a Sunday so that the crews could set up the special color and clean up and set back up for the standard colors. I tried to set up a plant tour in Leipzig but they were full, only offering spaces in May.
Went outside the building where pre-production and camouflaged cars are parked. No pictures allowed here and he told me a story about how last September some German car journalists flew a drone over the fence and snapped some pictures before security caught up to them and made them delete the pictures.
He would not confirm or deny changes for 2018 M2 other than front and rear lights. When I asked about the X3M he replied "lalala lalala" LOL.
Interesting thing I saw were some of the prototypes have a big red industrial style kill switch on the dash.

[Space gray]

Broke the car in by going to Berlin, via Leipzig and Dresden. I was warned by the guy at M Studio that the A9 Autobahn to Berlin has many unrestricted sections and that it would be hard to keep it under 4,500 rpm's. Man was he right. The A9 is in very good condition (no construction) and traffic is relatively light, so the left lane traffic is really flying. As it turned out, there was a huge traffic jam just before Leipzig. I decided to get off the A roads and drove most of the way in B roads. Unlike most big cities in Europe I've seen, Berlin is actually car friendly. Drove to some museums and parked really close. Another stop was Wartburg Castle in Eisenach, which I think may be one of the better castles to visit in Germany.

[Space gray]

Fearing they might not speak English, I called from the Welt to make an appointment at the dealer in Stuttgart but everything was fine. When I got there, I mentioned that I would visit the Mercedes museum while the car was serviced. The guy at the counter offered tickets for the light rail, which stops outside the dealer.
Does everyone gravitate to the 300SL? Check out the link for a 360 view, and there's the very rare 300SLR Uhlenhaut coupe (only 2 made ever).
https://goo.gl/photos/nDYVrQVomQ2hWY8T7

The service cost €392. The technician came out when I was picking up the car and explained what the service included. Unfortunately, the explanation was in German and the people at the front desk couldn't translate "Einfahrkontrolle", but when I offered "rev limit" the tech agreed right away.

[Space gray]

Went to Spa. Had some instruction from the guys at RSR. Funny both of the RSR guys I met dreamed about being at Laguna Seca. Unfortunately, the event photographer only takes bank transfer for payment so all I have for now are thumbnails. I've asked to see if they'll take paypal, but I haven't heard back. I just don't want to go into bank to spend $35 wire fee for €8 photo.

Getting gas at Spa is not getting gouged. Same price as in town. I got 2 tankfuls here. I think the track is very fast and you could do it almost entirely in 4th gear, except La Source which is the hairpin at 2nd gear.

Unlike the guy from Drive Tribe who was trying to take Eau Rouge flat out, I was chicken and lifted just before turning into it, every time. You're going downhill and hit the dip and then start going uphill and you can't see the pavement.

[rouxeny]

Looks like a great trip!

[AngryBaby]

Sounds like you enjoyed yourself. Thanks for sharing.

[McPurrs]

Awesome post, thanks for sharing. Curious, is the break in rev limit 4500 RPM and does the first service remove that?

[SW19]

Thanks for the write up and great looking pics.Looks like you had an amazing vacation in your new M2.

Enjoy!

[Space gray]

I ordered some Nurburgring pictures and just got them today. The process of finding yourself is somewhat haphazard because there are maybe a dozen photographers any given day, some with their own websites. This portal (https://www.ringportal.nl/en/photography) claims to have all photographers. That's me approaching the Karussell.
The reloadable card is new this year I think.
I pulled off the road outside the Ring near Pflanzgarten to take some pictures. Great scene with plenty of spectators. I stuck my phone through the fence and got some shots.

[Space gray]

Drove a little over 2,000 miles. Paid for 320 liters of gas at an average of €1.469 per liter, just under $6/gallon. My gas consumption was right around 25 mpg, until I got to Spa. I didn't calculate the mpg at the track but I arrived with a nearly full tank, and then I filled up twice before leaving.
Dropped off in Munich and saw an M2 that was going to Canada. Don't mind the "aggressive" parking. Kathrin at Log In Out told me that she rearranges the cars when she starts to run out of room.
For anybody going to BMW Welt for ED, if you need to find something to spend your €10 credit, I found this Mini branded water bottle fit well in the door pocket, no rattles (I think it was €16).
Closing it out with a picture worthy of the M2 getting gas thread.

[Space gray]

Originally Posted by McPurrs

Awesome post, thanks for sharing. Curious, is the break in rev limit 4500 RPM and does the first service remove that?

The 4500 rpm is just an advisory thing they tell you at the new car briefing. Car will rev well over 4500 (in theory, as I didn't try)

[pruettfan]

Very cool trip, congrats on the M2 also. I wasn't able to get Euro done on mine which is the only regret I have but it gives me an excuse to buy another M car in a few years to get my Euro trip in.

[Space gray]

Originally Posted by pruettfan

Very cool trip, congrats on the M2 also. I wasn't able to get Euro done on mine which is the only regret I have but it gives me an excuse to buy another M car in a few years to get my Euro trip in.

Thanks. I've done 6 EDs with BMWs and 1 other. It never gets old and we keep finding new places to explore. You will have fun when you do it.
Also, this is the first time I've gone to Nurburgring and the whole atmosphere in and around the Ring I thought was incredible. Very worthwhile experience and I'm pretty sure I'd go back to do one the Ring driving schools.

[piesauce]

Originally Posted by Space gray

Before picking up the car, I went to visit M Studio in Garching, which I had arranged beforehand. Took the U-Bahn out to a mostly business park setting and walked the last a few blocks. I saw a company newspaper in the lobby. I was met by a cool guy who has a 1M as his personal car. He showed me around the studio (where pictures are OK). They had an M4 GTS, an M1, and a few other M (not necessarily in current production) and Individual cars.
He explained that since the M2 is produced in the same production line as the other 2 series, only every n-th car can be an M2 because many parts take longer to assemble and they cannot slow down the production line. I forget what the proportion was for M2, but for M3 the ratio was only every eleventh car on the production line could be an M3. There has been only 1 non-standard color M2 because the 2-series is not set up for customization. The Austin yellow one was painted on a Sunday so that the crews could set up the special color and clean up and set back up for the standard colors. I tried to set up a plant tour in Leipzig but they were full, only offering spaces in May.
Went outside the building where pre-production and camouflaged cars are parked. No pictures allowed here and he told me a story about how last September some German car journalists flew a drone over the fence and snapped some pictures before security caught up to them and made them delete the pictures.
He would not confirm or deny changes for 2018 M2 other than front and rear lights. When I asked about the X3M he replied "lalala lalala" LOL.
Interesting thing I saw were some of the prototypes have a big red industrial style kill switch on the dash.

Very cool and sweet pictures!

That "big red industrial style kill switch", from me experience as an engineer at an automotive company, is on all manufacturing vehicles that are used as test vehicles. The cars have so much being done to them that if for some reason it were to go haywire they need an instant shutdown option for the vehicle.

[dtmurf]

Congrads on the car and what seems to have been a epic road trip!

How many days were you on the road?
Do you have a map of your route?
How did you arranged M Studio tour?

[Space gray]

Originally Posted by dtmurf

Congrads on the car and what seems to have been a epic road trip!

How many days were you on the road?
Do you have a map of your route?
How did you arranged M Studio tour?

For the M Studio tour I emailed individual at bmw dot de
I know it's a generic email and you initially get an automated reply, but later somebody wrote me back and I was able to arrange it.

I don't have a map of the route I took because I had no planned drives other than arrive in Berlin on Sunday, for example. I drove often on B roads when there was a choice. So in broad strokes I went from Munich, to Bamberg, then Leipzig, Berlin, Dresden, Eisenach, Stuttgart, Spa, visited a friend in Liege, then Nurburg, Nuremberg, Ingolstadt, and back to Munich.

[dtmurf]

Thanks for the info and you certainly had a great drive to enjoy your M2!

[Lotus99]

I'm doing my ED in a month, and am scrambling to put together my trip. Would love any tips from an expert. I've got 10 days in Europe, and need to make sure I work my itinerary around doing a day at the Ring.

Originally Posted by Space gray

Fearing they might not speak English, I called from the Welt to make an appointment at the dealer in Stuttgart but everything was fine. When I got there, I mentioned that I would visit the Mercedes museum while the car was serviced. The guy at the counter offered tickets for the light rail, which stops outside the dealer.

The service cost €392. The technician came out when I was picking up the car and explained what the service included. Unfortunately, the explanation was in German and the people at the front desk couldn't translate "Einfahrkontrolle", but when I offered "rev limit" the tech agreed right away.

Services, including oil changes are included free of charge in Canada. I'm assuming it's the same in US? How come you didn't just wait for the car to be shipped back and have it done for free? I can understand it's not ideal to have the old oil sit in the engine for 6 weeks or so, but $500 is pricy...

Originally Posted by Space gray

I ordered some Nurburgring pictures and just got them today. The process of finding yourself is somewhat haphazard because there are maybe a dozen photographers any given day, some with their own websites. This portal (https://www.ringportal.nl/en/photography) claims to have all photographers. That's me approaching the Karussell.

The reloadable card is new this year I think.

That's an awesome tip about photos! Would have never thought of that.

Originally Posted by Space gray

Thanks. I've done 6 EDs with BMWs and 1 other. It never gets old and we keep finding new places to explore. You will have fun when you do it.

Also, this is the first time I've gone to Nurburgring and the whole atmosphere in and around the Ring I thought was incredible. Very worthwhile experience and I'm pretty sure I'd go back to do one the Ring driving schools.

From what I've read so far, there are only certain days and times you can go on it, right? So I've got to figure that out first, then arrange my trip around it?

And can you just buy the lap tix when you get there?

I've heard it's a great idea to get an instructor to come with you. Any tips on who to go to?

[bobert]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

Services, including oil changes are included free of charge in Canada. I'm assuming it's the same in US? How come you didn't just wait for the car to be shipped back and have it done for free? I can understand it's not ideal to have the old oil sit in the engine for 6 weeks or so, but $500 is pricy...

Service is free for first 3 years in US too, but you'll want to get the first service done in Europe after you reach your first 1200 miles, so you can unleash the beast on the autobahn; however, you have to pay for the service out of pocket if it's done in Europe, though BMW NA will do a "courtesy reimbursement" when you return - just save your receipt and send a copy of it to your CA when you get back, and BMW NA will reimburse you. That is, assuming they also do this for customers in Canada - taking an educated guess that they will (since it's BMW "NA"), but you can call BMW NA Special Sales at 1-800-932-0831 to confirm.

Originally Posted by Lotus99

From what I've read so far, there are only certain days and times you can go on it, right? So I've got to figure that out first, then arrange my trip around it?

And can you just buy the lap tix when you get there?

It's true - the Ring is not open every day for tourist laps, but there are many days when it is - you'll want to go to the Ring website where they have a calendar of events - the calendar shows when they are open for tourist laps - it's not every single day nor is it all day long. It's often a couple hours in the evening, around 5-7pm, but the times can vary slightly day to day so be sure to check the times for tourist laps on specific days and work it into your schedule based on that. You can buy lap tickets when you get there.

PS - beware, only if you happen to be booking a stay at Land-gut-Hotel zur Burg Nurburgring for your Ring visit, that this hotel will charge you the full amount even if you have to cancel for a provable emergency hospitalization.

Check out my ED trip post (see link in my signature) for more ideas if you like. Also, in addition to this thread & mine, there are other good M2 ED threads you can search for, such as by longbeachbluem2 and hoyasaxa.

[Space gray]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

From what I've read so far, there are only certain days and times you can go on it, right? So I've got to figure that out first, then arrange my trip around it?

And can you just buy the lap tix when you get there?

I've heard it's a great idea to get an instructor to come with you. Any tips on who to go to?

I hate to rain on your parade but I'd go to the Ring with great caution or not at all. There's a report in the M3 forum where the driver crashed and the ED insurance is denying the claim for repairs and damage.
See here: http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1508604
I imagine the insurance for Canadian ED is similar or same as US ED.

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by Space gray

I hate to rain on your parade but I'd go to the Ring with great caution or not at all. There's a report in the M3 forum where the driver crashed and the ED insurance is denying the claim for repairs and damage.
See here: http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1508604
I imagine the insurance for Canadian ED is similar or same as US ED.

Thanks for the heads up, I figured that's the case. It's no different than using your car at HPDE days in North America.