[dkbimmer]

The travel (to PCD) portion of my experience is a bit long...

June 7th

My original travel plan was to fly to Charlotte, NC, and rent a car to Greenville, SC. Flying directly to Greenville was extremely expensive.

11:30 am
Before my wife and I left for airport (O'Hare in Chicago) we found out that our flight was cancelled due to high wind. After several phone calls we were able to book another flight directly to Greenville at no extra cost arriving at Greenville at around 9 pm.

12:30 pm
Our second flight was cancelled.

2:00 pm
We decided to go to the airport and try to book another flight rather than calling.

3:00 pm
After waiting for an hour or so in line, we booked anther flight to Charlotte, NC for later that evening. We were also on several standbys for earlier flights. All flights to Greenville were cancelled due to high wind and the weather was suppose to get worse as the day went on...flights were getting cancelled and delayed every few minutes.

3:30 pm
Somehow we were able to get on a flight (business class upgrade) to Dulles in DC connecting to Greenville arriving at Greenville at 11:45 pm. The ticket agent told us to run because they were about to close the door...in the mean time he said he saw 2 open seats for the connecting flight and he'll book it. We had to get out of Chicago incase more flights got cancelled.

7:30 pm (now in Dulles)
We checked in with a ticket agent in Dulles and he said we were on the 10 pm flight to Greenville and will get the seats at the gate. Great!

9:00 pm
We checked in at the gate for seat assignments and then we were told that we did not have confirmed seats and we were on standby (#9 and #10)...WTF!!! It seemed like our ticket agent in Chicago wasn't able to grab the final 2 open seats. As the boarding time approached, United Airlines asked volunteers to give up their seats for free round trip tickets since the flight was overbooked. I never understood the overbooking theory.

10:00 pm
Again, somehow they called our names at the last minutes for the last 2 open seats. We ran to the plane and sat down. Then it happened. The F#$%*&@ ticket agent came into the plane and told me and my wife that we need to get off the plane because 2 confirmed ticket holders arrived. Then 2 people volunteered to give up their seats for us so they can get free round trip tickets. The ticket agent said that's not possible because they can only give up seats for "confirmed ticket holders" not "standbys". We all argued with the agent, even the captain came out to support us. But the agent said no and just walked away. She was basically done with us. So, we got kicked off...back to airport.

10:30 pm - 11:30 pm
After running around the airport with no good news. The next flight to Greenville was an 8 am flight with no open seats...standby, again. No thanks! So decided to rent a car and start driving.

12:00 am (June 8th... 8 hours away from my PCD)
We rented a beautiful Pontiac Grand Prix for $200 and were on our way to Greenville, SC. I thought about cancelling my PCD but I just couldn't. We drove and drove.

7:30 am (30 minutes from PCD)
After making 2 quick stops, we finally made it!

Sorry for the long intro...and now my PCD experience. It was simply AWESOME even after a day long battle with airlines and 7.5 hours of night driving with no sleep.

The day started by meeting the staff and a brief introduction by Donnie Isley. I think there were 6 deliveries that day. Three X5s, one X3, one 525, and my 335i. The guy who was picking up the 5 series was doing the ED/PCD combo. After the intro we were off to the track.

We were split into 2 groups. My group started the day with anti-lock breaking exercises. I had an AW 335i with terra interior. BTW, white with terra looked awesome. Then we were off to the mini road course. I was so pumped, the lack sleep didn't bother me at all.


After a short break, we took turns going on the skid pad. This was a blast! It was amazing to experience how DSC/DTC worked.


Then it was time for me to meet my new ride. It was so clean! Donnie Isley was my delivery guy. He was great. He programmed everything, setup the Sirius radio, and made sure the bluetooth worked with my phone. He went over all the details. Awesome delivery! After the delivery was over, Donnie asked us if we would like to go for a ride in a M5 after lunch...hummmm, does anyone say "no" to this?


Lunch was great too. I mean, everything about this experience was first class...well, not counting traveling to Greenville.

After lunch, Donnie and one other instructor took us out for rides in M5s. When my wife and I got in the car, Donnie asked, "would you like to feel 500 hp?" Oh My God! I was laughing the entire time! I didn't realize one can change directions of the car that fast without losing control. I think we were going side ways the entire time...poor tires. It was crazy!

Finally, we had a chance to drive a X5 through their off-road course. It was really fun to see what these cars can do when the surface isn't so perfect.


At this point, my wife and I were really running out of gas, so we decide to skip the museum tour and start heading back home (Chicago).

Thanks to Donnie Isley and his awesome staff, my PCD was an incredibly fun experience. I would do it all over again...as long as I can fly down there next time. Even my wife said this is the way to pickup a car.

Lastly, I installed black line tail lights this morning.

[rwwong]

Sounds like a great experience, one that you will not soon forget. Nice car too!

[chbrules]

Woah, I didn't know the delivery in SC could be that fun. I figured they just let you go for a couple loops on a track they setup or something. That sounds really fun! I don't think it'd beat ED, but nothing like seeing these monsters at work on the track and hazards. I really would love to get an M5 next!

[Johnny Lin]

Seems like a fun experience. Congrats!

[RyBMW]

Sounds like fun!

[KL2DC]

What a story...one you won't soon forget

I don't understand the theory behind overbooking as well What airline was that?

Congrats on the car, btw

[LI E90]

congrats sounds like a great experience minus the trip to Greensville

[LEDZEP]

Airlines deserve to go bankrupt. No sympathy for them from me.

Glad you had a great experience despite the horrible start to the trip!

[oneshare325]

Cool pics!! Congrats on your new ride!

[Stinger]

Thanks for sharing. I so wish I had time to do this. Maybe next time.

[Enkur]

awesome... I did my ED/PCD last month and I would say the PCD was a better experience than the ED. Actually the Delivery part of ED was a let down .. but the European part more than made up for it. I would still do ED any time and also highly recommend PCD to anyone thinking of buying a new BMW. For the folks wondering about the ride in the M5.. check out my PCD video here

[omg516]

Did you drive your car back to chicago or have it delivered to your dealer? I am very interested in doing the PCD and was wondering what the distance was back to chicago or how much it costs to have the vehicle shipped.

[dkbimmer]

Originally Posted by omg516

Did you drive your car back to chicago or have it delivered to your dealer? I am very interested in doing the PCD and was wondering what the distance was back to chicago or how much it costs to have the vehicle shipped.

We drove back. I believe it was about 700 miles back to Chicago and took us about 12 hours to get back. We spent a night in Tennessee. I'm not sure about the cost to ship your car back. Maybe ask your CA? You should go for it. It was a blast!

[dkbimmer]

Originally Posted by KL2DC

What a story...one you won't soon forget

I don't understand the theory behind overbooking as well What airline was that?

Congrats on the car, btw

Thanks everyone! It really was an incredible experience.

We were with United...they are the worst.

[dkbimmer]

Originally Posted by LI E90

congrats sounds like a great experience minus the trip to Greensville

+1

Trip to Greenville

PCD :rocks::rocks::rocks:

[hannibal1209b]

WOW!!! All I can say is WTF on the trip itself!! I hope mine goes more smoothly (IN 3 DAYS!!!!). Congrats on the ride. Looking good.

[rmorin49]

Originally Posted by hannibal1209b

WOW!!! All I can say is WTF on the trip itself!! I hope mine goes more smoothly (IN 3 DAYS!!!!). Congrats on the ride. Looking good.

I'll be there the day after you. Counting down the days!