[MystroX5]

Way to go. This is what we do...

[BklynNYBMW]

Congrats on the beautiful X7. The perfect vehicle for a trans continent drive. This I am sure will be a great adventure. I did PCD 3 times but passing on it for the incoming car. I agree that every BMW owner should do this at least once. Look forward to reading about the travels. Just be safe and careful. Again very awesome and congrats.
__________________________________________________ _______________
2017 X6 5.0 MSport, Carbon Black Metallic w/ black leather. All options except vented seats and B/O sound system. AKA the Tumbler
2018 340i MSport Xdrive sedan. Glacier Silver w/Oyster. All options except active cruise control and window shades. AKA Airstream
*On order 2021 M304i xdrive. Tanzanite Blue with W/Oyster with Red Calipers. All options except M suspension, Driver Assistance Professional Package, Cooling and High Performance Tire package. No Nickname as of yet

[darksilkx1]

Congrats! David is solid and easy to work with. I've done 5 PCDs so far and it never gets old. Number 6 coming up 12/21. Just need to figure out what I'm replacing my 2019 X5 with. 😂 Hot laps in M5's now? That's new...

[FizzyElf]

I wish I’d have known about this! I’m just doing regular old dealer pickup on my x3. Being built now!

Have a safe trip home!

[kristobias]

Great write-up! Looking forward to your tales from the road. I did Welt delivery of my M2 and it was an amazing adventure.

[Wanderer73]

What a write-up! I'm looking forward to the rest of your adventure. So happy you connected with David. He's the best of the best. Safe driving and take it all in!

[Mail4loys]

Congratulations! Nice write up … enjoy your drive. I'm glued to this thread now 😊

[NorCalAthlete]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

Hotel, food, transportation shuttles, awesome track and off-road driving time, professional driving instruction, concierge introduction of your new car and all it can do—it's all provided for two people, and paid for by BMW. All you have to do is get yourself to Greenville, SC, and get your new BMW home.

...well, too late now. I thought you still had to pay for hotel + food since the UDE and such are like $2k and the "M driver's school" for M orders is a $2500-ish add-on option. Crap. My car is on a ship about to hit the Panama Canal on Friday or I'd have gone with PCD delivery had I known this.

Good to know on the BMW CCA though, guess I'll go sign up for that. Also...epic road trip and I'm looking forward to following this thread! When you get out to California and are on the Pacific Coast Highway....if you happen to cruise through a little place called Half Moon Bay, I'd strongly recommend a pit stop at the Ritz Carlton there for dinner at sunset (or perhaps a round of golf).

[Auricom]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

...well, too late now. I thought you still had to pay for hotel + food since the UDE and such are like $2k and the "M driver's school" for M orders is a $2500-ish add-on option. Crap. My car is on a ship about to hit the Panama Canal on Friday or I'd have gone with PCD delivery had I known this.

Good to know on the BMW CCA though, guess I'll go sign up for that. Also...epic road trip and I'm looking forward to following this thread! When you get out to California and are on the Pacific Coast Highway....if you happen to cruise through a little place called Half Moon Bay, I'd strongly recommend a pit stop at the Ritz Carlton there for dinner at sunset (or perhaps a round of golf).

Ja, since BMW sunsetted the European Delivery Program last year, PCD provides an excellent delivery experience for all BMW models not just X SAVs. Not quite as breathtaking as The Welt but still very great experience:

https://bmwperformancecenter.com/deliveryfaq

And I highly agree on your suggestion at making a stop at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay - I used to be a brand associate

[MomoM3]

Wow so very happy for you! It's about time you got the X7! Very nice spec. Great job getting it PPFed and ceramic coated while picking her up in SC. Not knowing what detailer to go to and coordinating schedules can be daunting but well worth the hassle.

Enjoy the rest of your trip and be safe!

[Wild Blue]

Thanks to all!

So much more to come. We're only scratching the surface and getting started.

Fixed some links, pics, and formatting in the original post. Note to self: don't ever try to edit a big post in the Bimmerpost app.

I also added a video of the PCD autocross portion on day 1.

That video isn't my best lap--was still dialing it in at that point, but still good. I love Laura the instructor's comments you can hear on the video.

Originally Posted by akBMWGrandRiver

congrats on the X7!!!

Sorry if already asked but I am wondering when will you install winters on the trip? somewhere in Canada?! enjoy the drive back home

This is a bit of a longer story, as I needed some trip planning flexibility, and wasn't able to purchase my winter wheels and tires far in advance. Thus, when I nailed it down, the style I wanted was out of stock for this year. Thought I had a dealer able to get them in CA, but in the end, found a pair that are right now waiting for me at Sandia BMW in Albuquerque. That'll work, as I have the potential for some higher elevation weather driving in AZ/UT/CA. Just as long as the current 22" set fits in the trunk behind the captain's chairs!

Originally Posted by FizzyElf

I wish I’d have known about this! I’m just doing regular old dealer pickup on my x3. Being built now!

Have a safe trip home!

FizzyElf it may not be too late for you to change your delivery. Call your dealer immediately and ask!

[Wild Blue]

Daily report: Next day after PCD

I chose to stay an extra night at the Marriott, which was convenient, not having to check out before the PCD. For those that do check out, BMW holds your bags for you during the day, and then even loads them into your car for you. But with my car in the shop for a week, I had plenty of spare time.

Early in planning, I found that the Performance Center was also offering an instructional “Performance Driving Class” the day after my PCD, so I signed up. Discount as a BMWCCA member. The Performance Center offers various classes, currently a few days throughout the month. This course was a light 2-hour class, and they offer other fare, up to 2-day full racing instructional classes. Although the PCD is only offered In SC, classes are actually offered at the Performance Centers on both USA coasts.





They didn’t have to, but the great Marriott people gave me another free ride in an X5 over to the center in the morning, where I met our instructor Derek, who is also the Performance Center lead instructor. We were a fairly small class of 6. Four people were family couples, and one other guy and I were there as singles. For COVID, Derek kept us singles by ourselves. This was HUGE, as it meant every time we did a driver swap with the couples and re-accomplished an exercise, I got to stay behind the wheel in my car by myself, and got twice as much track time. Double my money’s worth, double the fun!





First, we grabbed X5’s and another instructor Raphael took us through the off-road course twice—once for each driver, taking slightly different routes. This part was a direct duplicate of the same portion in the previous day’s PCD, which meant by myself and nobody to driver swap, I actually did three run-throughs of the course over the two days. This was fine, as it was fun, and I tried slightly different course lines affecting vehicle performance but it did get a little old the 3rd run. I had politely asked Derek again if I could take an X7, and he did think it over, but then had to give the same answer I got the previous day, that unfortunately it had to be only the X5’s.

A few pictures different from yesterday’s write-up. I got a so-so video of the point balancing on two wheels, rocking my body back and forth to make the car rock between the wheels up in the air. That was fun. A testament to BMW’s perpetual 50/50 weight distribution design.

The biggest vehicle lean I got a picture of at 23 degrees, and the biggest I saw of the day was 25 degrees. I think Raphael said the course can get up to 27-28 degrees. Felt significant.




Then we did an hour of autocross, using a larger part of the track than the previous day.








For this exercise, we were taken to a group of four M cars. I instantly keyed in on the last car in line, a beautiful M8 Competition. Moving up the line, there was an X3M Competition, M4, and brand new Z4 M40i convertible. Each of us were put in one of the cars, and I went straight into the M8. This turned out to be a timing mistake, as we rotated through each of the cars, and I started with the best. It only went down from there in performance. Had I known, I would have tried to do the M8 last.





The hardest part of the whole exercise was just to figure out the differences in shifters, buttons, and parking brakes between the 4 cars. Three of them had electronic parking brakes in different places, and the M4 still had a traditional parking brake lever. Before heading out to the track, we started the cars, and Derek walked down the line, putting each car into optimal sport modes, making each one as he said “extra spicy”.





Derek hopped in his M5C, and led us in a caravan around the course twice, emphasizing proper lines, techniques, and pointing out cone symbols. Just as yesterday, he spoke to us through walkie-talkies in each of our cars. Then we lined up in the pit, me in the rear with the M8C, and he released us one at a time onto the course with good spacing.

Ho..
Ly…
Crap…

That M8C was a BEAST! I warmed up for a lap, getting acquainted with her, and then beat her to a pulp, screaming expletives of joy, alone by myself in the car, of the kind of performance she provided.

The course started with the straight away out of the pits, then hard on the brakes to dump speed before turn 1. Standing on the brakes, she rocked straight to a stop, and I quickly learned I could brake later and later with her, keeping up my speed before the turns, getting into the 90 mph’s on the straight away. One early lap, still dialing it in, I braked too late and overshot the turn 1 cones. Derek noticed and rightfully called me out. I was easily able to correct on future laps.

Very quickly, I was coming up on the vehicle in front of me, and had to ease off the last couple laps. No passing on the course, and I wasn’t about to put $100k+ vehicles in any chance of collision. Of course, we came into the pits for driver swaps, and being by myself, I got another full round with the M8C. She easily did everything I demanded of her.





Next, I moved forward to the X3M Competition. Fantastic car, but it just wasn’t anywhere remotely fair going to her straight from the M8C. Totally different class of car, and it was immediately apparent that yes, I should have done the M8C last. I was cautious so as to not expect the same performance in the X3M and do something stupid, then brought her right back to her limits. Two rounds in the X3MC.





Next, I moved forward and did two rounds of laps in the M4. Wow! Definitely a true track car. She performed great on the track, a strong second to the M8C, with great power, braking, and handling. I had her squealing her tires in joy, again coming up on the vehicle in front of me.





Last, I drove the Z4 M40i convertible. What a fun little car, zipping around the track, but behind the M4 and M8C in pure track performance.

After the last lap rounds, Derek led us back to the schoolhouse, and it was time to cap it off with another instructor hot lap. I had been kicking myself the previous day that I didn’t try to video the hot lap from inside the car, so I did this time. Please excuse the mediocre filming here, as I’m bouncing around the car, hand-holding my phone. Proper video would have used a stationary mount. But you can get a sense of how Derek blew the doors off his M5 Competition with us. Great driver, great car, and tons and tons of fun. The second video just shows the last portion of other hot laps we were able to see from the schoolhouse parking lot after our turn in the car.

And that was it, the 2 hours gone in a flash. Being such great people, Raphael even then went above and beyond, giving me a personal ride to the airport in a PC X5. Granted, the airport is literally only like 8 minutes away, but it was still a really nice gesture.

And I appreciate some more positive feedback Raphael gave me on my autocross driving. He had been a safety observer during that portion, watching from the side of the track.





Again, how better to cap off a day of fast car and jets, than a tasty meal? To many of you, Chick Fil-A is probably no big deal, but being that we don’t have any in Alaska, it’s a super yummy treat that just can’t be passed up.





As a teaser here, I got a couple in-process pics from Extreme Colors of them working on my vehicle. I love every bit.





I also was playing with the BMW Connected app, which I haven’t had use of before, and checked out the car 360 surround camera view, remotely uploaded. Being that the car is in Extreme’s shop, I got some hilarious sneaky pics from the car body cameras as they were actively attending to my baby.











I intentionally started this thread a few days after my actual PCD, so as to not have a week-long gap while she was being wrapped and protected. So tomorrow is actually the pickup day from Extreme Colors and the start of the road trip.

I think I’m probably just as excited for tomorrow as I was for the PCD, knowing that after more patient waiting, I’m about to pick up a kick-butt car that’s even better now, and finally get some time driving her. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to post tomorrow night. From here on, I’ll give updates as I can of the car and interesting things throughout the trip.

Hope people are finding this interesting!

[xDrivex5]

Great reading material and enjoy your new car

[MystroX5]

As far as I am concerned this is THE X7 thread of the year so keep up the great pics and chronological entries as you go. You will want to document as much of this journey as possible. Just get it on the forum and you can come back and edit parts you need to at a later date if needed.

[zhangyi17]

Looking forward for the rest of your experience.
Great writeup. Much appreciated from those of us who missed the PCD experience and who are locked down at home with a new BMW sitting in the garage most of the time....

[somberlaine]

Thank you for sharing your experience and congrats on your purchase. I did Euro Delivery in 2019 and I am hoping to do a PCD in the future.

It's impressive the attention to details by these BMW Reps. it makes the experience truly unforgettable.

since you will be driving through Albuquerque, check out Dog House. it's nothing fancy but it's the best damn hot dogs i ever had. This place was also featured in Breaking Bad.

[bradythedog12]

Awesome, WB! Thank you!! Keep it up and safe travels on your journey!!

[Fugly M3]

I just did PCD back in December with my new M2C and drove home across the South. It's not ED, but it's still amazing. Also went to Extreme Colors! Enjoy. One question...how on earth do you plan on getting into Canada during Covid?

[ChiTownM]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

...well, too late now. I thought you still had to pay for hotel + food since the UDE and such are like $2k and the "M driver's school" for M orders is a $2500-ish add-on option. Crap. My car is on a ship about to hit the Panama Canal on Friday or I'd have gone with PCD delivery had I known this.

Good to know on the BMW CCA though, guess I'll go sign up for that. Also...epic road trip and I'm looking forward to following this thread! When you get out to California and are on the Pacific Coast Highway....if you happen to cruise through a little place called Half Moon Bay, I'd strongly recommend a pit stop at the Ritz Carlton there for dinner at sunset (or perhaps a round of golf).

You can still opt for your car to be rerouted to PDC. I just did the same with my M2CS while in transit.

[NorCalAthlete]

Originally Posted by ChiTownM

You can still opt for your car to be rerouted to PDC. I just did the same with my M2CS while in transit.

What? They're going to offload it and switch ships in Panama? That doesn't seem likely to me...I'm on the Volans Leader and it's scheduled to go through the locks in like 3 days with no other stops planned before then. Next port call is San Diego, it's coming to California.

edit - just confirmed with my dealer, it's too late to change it .

[toddwalton]

This is awesome! Thank you for posting such great detail.

[HC707]

Wild Blue, awesome build and congrats!! Have a safe and wonderful journey! I will be glued to this thread and leave reruns of Law and Order on the backburner. Hopefully no issues at the Canadian border!