hinckley

I'm beginning to plan my late-September ED, but have never done one with Porsche and have a question about the process for those who have done it before.

Quick background. I've lived, worked and traveled in Europe on and off for many years, and I'm very familiar with language, driving and generally getting around there. Also, I've done five BMW EDs. I go with an old (emphasis on old) college friend. The wives roll their eyes and we run away for a long weekend. We have a routine - Fly into Munich, get off the plane, take a taxi directly to the pick-up center, sign a few papers and drive away as quickly as we can. For three days, we eat and drink all night and drive fast all day. By the end of the long weekend, we crawl onto the plane and pass out (cuz we're not in college any more ).

My Porsche ED question. I know Porsche has a whole 24-hour ED program, although their site does say that you can ask for an expedited process. But I'm not sure that I can just get in and get out. And while I'm positive that the Porsche tours and restaurant shouldn't be missed, it's just not what these trips are all about. Fwiw, it looks like we'll fly into Frankfurt and take the train to Stuttgart, arriving at the central station around 8:15 in the morning. Does anyone know if it's possible for me to pick-up my car and get out of Stuttgart by 10:30 or 11?

lbcgolf

...and then what?!

Reason I asked is: You're leaving the U.S. for Germany on what amounts to a 7 hour redeye flight, catch a train for a couple of hours, take a taxi to the factory and pick up your car. 10 to 12 hours transit time (counting airport check in, time between flight and train, etc.), 6 hour time difference, and you're still in decent shape to enjoy yourself?

I sure ain't. I've made that trans-Atlantic hop on more times than I can count (albeit, I'm on the west coast), and it never fails to kick my ***.

I understand your desire to maximize your experience on the ground and with your new baby, but that proposed itinerary sounds a heck of a lot more like a business trip than a vacation.

TSpyder

Yes, it's possible to skip the tour, museum and lunch, but I sure wouldn't want to. I've done a couple of BMW ED's, and they make better sense financially, but the Porsche pick-up day at the factory is not to be missed IMO.

We took the relatively short drive to Tubingen--wonderful university town on the Neckar river with cobblestone walk streets--after leaving the factory. Quite a wonderful day.

Spyder

stealthboy

The factory tour is not to be missed! I wouldn't rush it. I got there at 9am and didn't leave the factory grounds with my car until nearly 5pm.

alanjcook

I got into Stuttgart two days before my pickup. Spent Day before porsche pickup at Mercedes museum. Echo comments above: I got to porsche factory very early, didn't leave until late afternoon, wish I would have stayed in Stuttgart one more night before driving off to next city.

hinckley

I really don't mean to sound blasé about the pick-up experience. It's just that these trips are meant to be stupid, boys' weekends, rather than some sort of real vacation. With that said, I'm seeing the pattern here. So, do you think we could get to Porsche by 9, do the factory tour (but maybe not the museum) and still take delivery of the car at the end of the day? That way, we could take off first thing the following morning.

stealthboy

Here was my schedule:

- Arrived at 9am for some orientation, went over some insurance docs
- Tour started at 10am
- Lunch at 1pm
- Introduced to car at 2pm, went over it in detail for over an hour
- Museum at 3:30pm
- Finally done at 5pm

After that I went to a nearby town for dinner, then back to the hotel in Stuttgart.

Perhaps it's all about what you're expecting. If you really just want to get the car and go, then do it! For me this was a once-in-a-lifetime dream come true so I wanted to savor every minute of it. It was truly a *big deal*.

fbroen

Our schedule was arrive at 9. Quick paperwork and see car. Drove it outside to customer parking and then tour, lunch, and museum. Nothing would have prevented us leaving as soon we had car, so could have been out of there by 10-10:30 (depending on how patient one can be with the whole zillion settings in PCM briefing). We were in Austria by that evening (despite doing the tour, lunch, and museum, and Neuschwanstein castle after that.) Love me some fast moving tourism. ;-)

hinckley

Thanks Stealth. That's very helpful.

That's my style too!! At least on these trips. On my BMW EDs (not all to pick up a car for me), we mainly did the Alpine and southern routes (drop-offs in Vienna, Geneva, Rome, Nice). This time, I'm thinking about heading north - first to the Ring if all the scheduling can be done around one of the days it's open to the public. If time permits, I may then try to get over to Normandy since this year is the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings. It's quick drive from there to Paris to drop the car off. Fast moving tourism, indeed!

fbroen

Sounds like a great route to mix things up. Normandy beaches would be powerful.
We stopped at a Maginot Line bunker/museum with Allied military equipment. A pic here:
https://rennlist.com/rennforums/show...1&postcount=52

hinckley

It's hard not to be moved in that part of Belgium and France if you know your history. I haven't been to the D-Day beaches since the 80s and have never been so proud to be American as I was those couple of days. Greatest generation, period.

Did you drive the Nordschleife on your ED?

Edit: I just read the entire post about your ED. Epic. BUT - can anyone confirm the requirement for the front license plate bracket install?? BMW just uses double-sided tape. I know that this may sound crazy, but that could be an ED deal-breaker for me!

StudGarden

I don't know if I'd be comfortable parking a 911 in Normandy with a massive d day thing going on.

2cardinalalums

You could pick up in Leipzig, where apparently they will use double sided tape. In Stuttgart, they were very strict. There was a post where someone was not allowed onto the 'ring with a tow hook plate, but there are other posts saying no problem.