[RedLeader]

Well, I finally arrived back from Afghanistan after 14 months of duty. This was my second tour there. My first tour was 03 to 04 for about 10.5 months. Before I left for my second tour I sold my 98 M3 Sedan and banked the money away. Negotiated a good deal at Zimbrick on a 2006 330i with all the goodies (luxury package, window shades, sport, and cold weather packages). Stayed in touch with my salesman about every 2 months. As it got closer we corresponded more and more about the exact day and time I would be showing up. I came back to the U.S. and spent 4 days at Fort McCoy taking care of medical and paperwork issues as SOP. Told my salesman that I was well aware of the care taken to receive top scores on the follow on reviews from corporate BMW. During my 'down time' deployed I explained that I had read and reread the operators manual (downloaded thanks to e90post.com). I just wanted to drop off my cashiers check, have a 10 minute look at the car, and drive straight home. My Dad was kind enough to pick me up from Fort McCoy and drive me down to Madison to pick up the car.

Well the salesman didn't get anything right. The car had a dead battery and was on the charger. It had been in their showroom for a month and was not checked until the DAY I was picking it up. None of the 4 accessories I had emailed him were present. He had to scramble around to find the correct floormats and the map reading light. The trunk liner and the rear seat cargo protector were not there. He botched my license plates and I ended up with 'temp' plates. Told him in advance I wanted Veteran plates and he said they would cost $70. Well a dealer cannot issue Vet plates so we had to redo the paperwork and he had to cut me a check for the plate difference. My trunk liner and rear seat protector were received by me 2.5 weeks after I had the car. Bottom line is that there was a failure to check the details. He got lazy. After 14 months of dreaming of this day I realize I probably had undue expectations but this was supposed to be a 20 minute transaction that turned into a 2 hour nutroll. He mailed and emailed me asking how he could 'make this all right'. I sent back that a couple of nice shirts and all-weather mats would take care of it. Nothing in the mail so far. Can't wait for the BMW call so I can give him a fair assessment.

Love the car by the way. No issues with the sport package or run-flats, love the blinkers, the cup holders, the details of the car, the lights under the handles, the comfort access feature, the color, the interior, EVERYTHING about it. Not as much pep as my old M3 but I'm getting older and the comfort is the key now. I've got 600 miles on her and will be changing the old/filter soon.

[E36_325i]

Sorry to hear about your delivery disaster. Glad you're enjoying the car now.

May I ask why you didnt go the military sales route since you were deployed?

[Joker]

Sounds like a typical dealer. I don't know how expencive products one would have to be bying to get some proper service... But hey, the car is great! And you made it back home in good condition right?

[ToddL]

Red,

I ordered a 325i from Zimbrick and took delivery in May and the process went very smoothly. My sales guy was a little slow on the response time to my inquiries, but always got back to me during the 7 weeks it took from build to delivery. Hopefully this is the most trouble you'll see while owing the 330i ...

[Asiann]

Originally Posted by E36_325i

Sorry to hear about your delivery disaster. Glad you're enjoying the car now.

May I ask why you didnt go the military sales route since you were deployed?

Wondering the same thing. Maybe no sales office where he was at.

[E36_325i]

Originally Posted by Asiann

Wondering the same thing. Maybe no sales office where he was at.

Military sales is designed such that an office is not required where you are deployed to. I was in Kuwait and Afghanistan and bought mine from the Bahrain office. They are setup to do the entire transaction either online or over the phone. I just hope the OP was aware that program existed, or he might be a little pissed.

[RedLeader]

Just a reply to a few things.

1. I have no injuries. Only mental trauma Our base was shelled a few times and I actually went to Iraq for a bit. Got shelled there as well. No issues with that. They suck at lobbing mortars and rockets. IED's are there one most damaging thing. Saw zero BMW's in Afghanistan (Asscrackistan as we called it).

2. Military deal was good but the price from Zimbrick was only about $300 higher. I bought my 98 M3 from Zimbrick at a good price and initial service so I went with them again. The military deal would be really sweet if you didn't have to pay the 2.5% Federal import fee. That part is buried on the military deal websites.

3. Really love the car. I had been reading this forum a lot when I could.