2011 X6 50i Performance Center Delivery Report

flipside99 · 07-23-2010, 10:20 AM

After and almost excruciating wait, I finally have her home with me. The Performance Center Delivery is an amazing experience that I can not recommend enough. Here's a little trip report.

I ordered my X6 50i on June 5th. Your CA informs the factory about the PCD and they get back to him with a list of available dates. For me, the first available date was July 21st. About 2 weeks later I received the email from BMW with a "packet" of information including the hotel info, local attractions and what your daily activities will be. They explicitly state not to make any travel arrangements until 3 weeks before your scheduled date. For those that don't know, the PCD experience is completely free to anyone that purchases a new BMW. The only thing you have to do is get there. Once there, BMW covers your dinner the night before, your hotel, breakfast, lunch and transportation to and from the Marriott.

Coming from NY there weren't many options to get into Greenville/Spartanburg (GSP) airport, with just about every single flight connecting to a prop plane in Charlotte and all over $600. There were many options to fly into Charlotte, which is about an hour and half away, and the average fare was $70. I decided to rent a car and just return it at the airport in Spartanburg, cost $40. I later found out from one of the guys in our delivery group that there is a shuttle that runs between the airports for $60 with tip.

When we arrived that the rental car return at GSP I called the Marriot for the shuttle to pick us up. I gave them my name and they said "Oh, BMW delivery customer. We'll be there in 5 minutes in a gold GT." And 5 minutes later a gold Grand Turismo pulls up. I asked the driver if everyone gets this treatment and he said only the PCD people, everyone else gets the shuttle van. BMW supplies the hotel with an X5 and GT just for this.

The Marriott is spectacular. I've been to hundreds of Marriott's all over the world on business travel, and this is by far the nicest of them all. The staff were spectacular, the food was great. We really didn't spend much time there as we got in late and left early.

You are required to be ready to go in the lobby at 7:45 where they have a shuttle van to take you over to the PCD building.

Upon arrival, off to the right you see all the delivery bays, where I got my first look at my new toy!

First thing on the agenda: Driving! First we take a brief intro course with our instructor. I forget his name, but he was awesome.

Then we sign the release forms and we're off to the fleet!

Everyone pretty much got the car they bought except for a woman who got a 550i instead of the 550GT that she purchased, and me, who instead of the X6 50i that I purchased got this:

First this we did was ABS testing on a wet strait, which was a blast.

Then off so slalom and a small race course which was amazing in the X6 M, I really beat the hell out of that thing. It is stunningly fast.

We were out there for nearly 2 hours, and it felt like 10 minutes.

After a quick break, it was delivery time!

Then we had lunch and our instructor asked us if we wanted to go for a hot lap in an M5. How could we refuse?

The hot lap was much longer then the vid, and was incredible. He really showed us what that thing can do. I still can't get the smile off my face.

After that we went on the off road trail in an X5, which was scary as hell at some points. Then off to the factory tour! We were allowed to drive our new cars to the entrance of the building and leave them there for the duration of the tour.

No cameras allowed. It was an hour and half tour, and it was just amazing to see these things getting built. I felt like we were in a terminator movie with all the robots doing their dance and sparks flying everywhere.

On the line, it seemed as if for every 4 or 5 X5's there was one X6. Of the X6's it looked like 95% of them were going overseas as they either had right hand drive, or amber turn signals. What really pissed me off is I saw the side view cameras on a few X6's coming down the line. When I placed my order they told me they wouldn't be available until September production!

So that's it! I can't recommend highly enough for anyone in the US to do the PCD. A "once in a lifetime" experience and probably the most fun I've had in years. Kudos to BMW for such a great time.

dmlgc · 07-23-2010, 10:48 AM

Thanks for sharing this with all the pictures and commentary. It looks like a fun experience. Your car is brand new and it had NY plates already ?

flipside99 · 07-23-2010, 10:53 AM

It was a great time!

I brought the plates with me, they were installed while we were going over the car.

flipside99 · 07-23-2010, 11:19 AM

A couple of other notes:

The Active cruise control with stop & go is spectacular. It was nerve racking as hell the first time not knowing how it was going to work, but it really is fantastic in stop & go traffic.

The active ventilated seats and really great, especially the "active" part that ever so slightly raises and lowers your butt cheeks to keep your spine in motion and eliminates the back pain I would get after a long drive.

The premium sound is amazing. I'm a bit of an audio snob, and I was stunned at the quality of sound at all levels.

I probably could have done without the lane departure warning. It's easily shut off though.

Rac10000 · 07-23-2010, 12:16 PM

Wow! Great pics and thanks for all the info. I can't wait for my PCD on Aug. 5th.

Can you please explain to me the process you used to get your plates?

flipside99 · 07-23-2010, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rac10000

Wow! Great pics and thanks for all the info. I can't wait for my PCD on Aug. 5th.

Can you please explain to me the process you used to get your plates?

Thanks!

No real process for the plates. I requested new plates from the dealer instead of a transfer from my lease return. When I went in to sign the papers they gave me the plates to take with me with a temp reg.

Rac10000 · 07-23-2010, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flipside99

Thanks!

No real process for the plates. I requested new plates from the dealer instead of a transfer from my lease return. When I went in to sign the papers they gave me the plates to take with me with a temp reg.

Okay, I am using a dealer in MD who said they will mail me the plates (which won't be until after I get back from the Performance Center). I think I will get a temp tag from the Performance Center. I am not sure about my registration. I'll have to ask about that.

Again, congrats on the car

bmwrockzz · 07-23-2010, 03:18 PM

Congratulations for the wonderful car

, it was a pleasure reading your BMW experience

, Can I request you a favour if you don't mind?

Please can you post more interior and exterior pictures and the list of options you got with your BMW X6

.

aas5 · 07-23-2010, 03:43 PM

awesome! did you ask for x6m or they just didn'y have x6 5.0?

flipside99 · 07-23-2010, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmwrockzz

Congratulations for the wonderful car

, it was a pleasure reading your BMW experience

, Can I request you a favour if you don't mind?

Please can you post more interior and exterior pictures and the list of options you got with your BMW X6

.

I'll get some more pics posted when I clean her up a bit.

Options:

Black perforated Nevada leather/Active vent. seats
Cold weather package
Premium Package
Premium Sound Package
Sport Package
20" Wheels
Rear view camera with top view
Comfort Access
Soft close automatic doors
Lane departure warning
Active cruise control
Head up display

Nuggett · 07-23-2010, 05:31 PM

AWESOME...I am officially JEALOUS i want to go to that school!

vladberca · 07-24-2010, 03:00 AM

Thx for sharing your great experience!

Joeko23 · 07-24-2010, 09:46 AM

Flipside, do you know how many people you can bring to the performance center delivery?

flipside99 · 07-24-2010, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joeko23

Flipside, do you know how many people you can bring to the performance center delivery?

Only 1

scottjays · 07-24-2010, 10:14 AM

did u get the chance to do the X5 off road course? I mentioned at to the PCD Staff I wanted to do that and we hopped in few X5's and proceeded to the wild off road course. fun.

flipside99 · 07-24-2010, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottjays

did u get the chance to do the X5 off road course? I mentioned at to the PCD Staff I wanted to do that and we hopped in few X5's and proceeded to the wild off road course. fun.

Yep we did. It was on the agenda, didn't have to ask.

Joeko23 · 07-25-2010, 01:17 PM

Does anyone know if I can do the performance delivery but not take delivery of the vehicle? I want it to be shipped to my BMW dealer so I don't have to drive it back.

flipside99 · 07-25-2010, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joeko23

Does anyone know if I can do the performance delivery but not take delivery of the vehicle? I want it to be shipped to my BMW dealer so I don't have to drive it back.

Check with your CA, but it states everywhere in the documentation they send that delivery from the center is your responsibility.

REInvestor · 07-25-2010, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joeko23

Does anyone know if I can do the performance delivery but not take delivery of the vehicle? I want it to be shipped to my BMW dealer so I don't have to drive it back.

Once you take delivery at the performance center, you will be responsible for transporting it. Why don't you want to drive it back?

Joeko23 · 07-25-2010, 09:21 PM

Well mostly because my wife is not going to want to drive for 10 hours back. Also we are leasing so I will rack up miles. Thanks for the answers though.

aas5 · 03-07-2011, 08:10 PM

Great write-up. I just did the same last Friday and my experience was exactly like yours. We get outside to drive the cars on the track and Roy, our instructor, goes: "Sorry we don't have your x6 to drive today...after a short pause he goes...so we got you an x6m"

The experience is truly amazing and gets you very comfortable with what x6 canreally do and the fact that you will never probably come close to testing its handling limits in the normal driving situation.

You forgot to mention the most important thing...when they put us in class at the beginning of the day to go through some intro stuff, the instructor said: remember the most important three letters of the day - NYC. And no, not New York City, NYC stands for Not Your Car! so this is your chance to experience the handling limits of these cars without worrying about the car, the engine or the tires, etc.

likecarz · 03-08-2011, 12:00 AM

Simply awesome! Just ordered my 2012 X6 5.0 BLack Sapphire / Oyster Leather / Dk. Bamboo...loaded (less the active cruise control). Looks like your X6 on the outside!! Build is week 14 (April 4 - 8) and am going to book my Delivery Center date tomorrow!
THanks for sharing..!

07-23-2010, 10:20 AM	#1
flipside99 Second Lieutenant 74 Rep 225 Posts Drives: iX M60 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: New York Metro iTrader: (0)	2011 X6 50i Performance Center Delivery Report After and almost excruciating wait, I finally have her home with me. The Performance Center Delivery is an amazing experience that I can not recommend enough. Here's a little trip report. I ordered my X6 50i on June 5th. Your CA informs the factory about the PCD and they get back to him with a list of available dates. For me, the first available date was July 21st. About 2 weeks later I received the email from BMW with a "packet" of information including the hotel info, local attractions and what your daily activities will be. They explicitly state not to make any travel arrangements until 3 weeks before your scheduled date. For those that don't know, the PCD experience is completely free to anyone that purchases a new BMW. The only thing you have to do is get there. Once there, BMW covers your dinner the night before, your hotel, breakfast, lunch and transportation to and from the Marriott. Coming from NY there weren't many options to get into Greenville/Spartanburg (GSP) airport, with just about every single flight connecting to a prop plane in Charlotte and all over $600. There were many options to fly into Charlotte, which is about an hour and half away, and the average fare was $70. I decided to rent a car and just return it at the airport in Spartanburg, cost $40. I later found out from one of the guys in our delivery group that there is a shuttle that runs between the airports for $60 with tip. When we arrived that the rental car return at GSP I called the Marriot for the shuttle to pick us up. I gave them my name and they said "Oh, BMW delivery customer. We'll be there in 5 minutes in a gold GT." And 5 minutes later a gold Grand Turismo pulls up. I asked the driver if everyone gets this treatment and he said only the PCD people, everyone else gets the shuttle van. BMW supplies the hotel with an X5 and GT just for this. The Marriott is spectacular. I've been to hundreds of Marriott's all over the world on business travel, and this is by far the nicest of them all. The staff were spectacular, the food was great. We really didn't spend much time there as we got in late and left early. You are required to be ready to go in the lobby at 7:45 where they have a shuttle van to take you over to the PCD building. Upon arrival, off to the right you see all the delivery bays, where I got my first look at my new toy! First thing on the agenda: Driving! First we take a brief intro course with our instructor. I forget his name, but he was awesome. Then we sign the release forms and we're off to the fleet! Everyone pretty much got the car they bought except for a woman who got a 550i instead of the 550GT that she purchased, and me, who instead of the X6 50i that I purchased got this: First this we did was ABS testing on a wet strait, which was a blast. Then off so slalom and a small race course which was amazing in the X6 M, I really beat the hell out of that thing. It is stunningly fast. We were out there for nearly 2 hours, and it felt like 10 minutes. After a quick break, it was delivery time! Then we had lunch and our instructor asked us if we wanted to go for a hot lap in an M5. How could we refuse? The hot lap was much longer then the vid, and was incredible. He really showed us what that thing can do. I still can't get the smile off my face. After that we went on the off road trail in an X5, which was scary as hell at some points. Then off to the factory tour! We were allowed to drive our new cars to the entrance of the building and leave them there for the duration of the tour. No cameras allowed. It was an hour and half tour, and it was just amazing to see these things getting built. I felt like we were in a terminator movie with all the robots doing their dance and sparks flying everywhere. On the line, it seemed as if for every 4 or 5 X5's there was one X6. Of the X6's it looked like 95% of them were going overseas as they either had right hand drive, or amber turn signals. What really pissed me off is I saw the side view cameras on a few X6's coming down the line. When I placed my order they told me they wouldn't be available until September production! So that's it! I can't recommend highly enough for anyone in the US to do the PCD. A "once in a lifetime" experience and probably the most fun I've had in years. Kudos to BMW for such a great time.
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

07-23-2010, 10:48 AM	#2
dmlgc Lieutenant Colonel 89 Rep 1,882 Posts Drives: 2022 BMW X6MC - 335D Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Carlsbad, CA iTrader: (0)	Thanks for sharing this with all the pictures and commentary. It looks like a fun experience. Your car is brand new and it had NY plates already ?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-23-2010, 10:53 AM	#3
flipside99 Second Lieutenant 74 Rep 225 Posts Drives: iX M60 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: New York Metro iTrader: (0)	It was a great time! I brought the plates with me, they were installed while we were going over the car.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-23-2010, 11:19 AM	#4
flipside99 Second Lieutenant 74 Rep 225 Posts Drives: iX M60 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: New York Metro iTrader: (0)	A couple of other notes: The Active cruise control with stop & go is spectacular. It was nerve racking as hell the first time not knowing how it was going to work, but it really is fantastic in stop & go traffic. The active ventilated seats and really great, especially the "active" part that ever so slightly raises and lowers your butt cheeks to keep your spine in motion and eliminates the back pain I would get after a long drive. The premium sound is amazing. I'm a bit of an audio snob, and I was stunned at the quality of sound at all levels. I probably could have done without the lane departure warning. It's easily shut off though.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-23-2010, 12:16 PM	#5
Rac10000 First Lieutenant 29 Rep 321 Posts Drives: 981 Cayman S Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Westchester, NY iTrader: (0)	Wow! Great pics and thanks for all the info. I can't wait for my PCD on Aug. 5th. Can you please explain to me the process you used to get your plates? __________________ 2024 BMW X7 M60i - Ordered!
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-23-2010, 03:18 PM	#8
bmwrockzz BMW - The Joy Of Life 16 Rep 32 Posts Drives: None Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: CANADA / INDIA iTrader: (0)	Congratulations for the wonderful car, it was a pleasure reading your BMW experience, Can I request you a favour if you don't mind? Please can you post more interior and exterior pictures and the list of options you got with your BMW X6.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-23-2010, 03:43 PM	#9
aas5 Captain 173 Rep 901 Posts Drives: 2022 Tesla Model 3 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NY iTrader: (0)	awesome! did you ask for x6m or they just didn'y have x6 5.0?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-23-2010, 05:31 PM	#11
Nuggett New Member 4 Rep 22 Posts Drives: BMW M5 and BMW X6 ActiveHybrid Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Texas iTrader: (0)	AWESOME...I am officially JEALOUS i want to go to that school! __________________ 2006 BMW M5 2010 X6 ActiveHybrid
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-24-2010, 03:00 AM	#12
vladberca Major General 763 Rep 5,561 Posts Drives: '18 octavia 2.0 tdi dsg Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Craiova iTrader: (0)	Thx for sharing your great experience!
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-24-2010, 09:46 AM	#13
Joeko23 Private 6 Rep 74 Posts Drives: 2011 X6 35i Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	Flipside, do you know how many people you can bring to the performance center delivery?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-24-2010, 10:14 AM	#15
scottjays Starfleet Command 315 Rep 785 Posts Drives: 2020 X5 M50i Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: SoFla iTrader: (0)	did u get the chance to do the X5 off road course? I mentioned at to the PCD Staff I wanted to do that and we hopped in few X5's and proceeded to the wild off road course. fun.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-25-2010, 01:17 PM	#17
Joeko23 Private 6 Rep 74 Posts Drives: 2011 X6 35i Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	Does anyone know if I can do the performance delivery but not take delivery of the vehicle? I want it to be shipped to my BMW dealer so I don't have to drive it back.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-25-2010, 09:21 PM	#20
Joeko23 Private 6 Rep 74 Posts Drives: 2011 X6 35i Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: NJ iTrader: (0)	Well mostly because my wife is not going to want to drive for 10 hours back. Also we are leasing so I will rack up miles. Thanks for the answers though.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-07-2011, 08:10 PM	#21
aas5 Captain 173 Rep 901 Posts Drives: 2022 Tesla Model 3 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NY iTrader: (0)	Great write-up. I just did the same last Friday and my experience was exactly like yours. We get outside to drive the cars on the track and Roy, our instructor, goes: "Sorry we don't have your x6 to drive today...after a short pause he goes...so we got you an x6m" The experience is truly amazing and gets you very comfortable with what x6 canreally do and the fact that you will never probably come close to testing its handling limits in the normal driving situation. You forgot to mention the most important thing...when they put us in class at the beginning of the day to go through some intro stuff, the instructor said: remember the most important three letters of the day - NYC. And no, not New York City, NYC stands for Not Your Car! so this is your chance to experience the handling limits of these cars without worrying about the car, the engine or the tires, etc.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-08-2011, 12:00 AM	#22
likecarz Private First Class 17 Rep 120 Posts Drives: 2014 650i xDrive Convertible Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Geneva, IL iTrader: (0)	Simply awesome! Just ordered my 2012 X6 5.0 BLack Sapphire / Oyster Leather / Dk. Bamboo...loaded (less the active cruise control). Looks like your X6 on the outside!! Build is week 14 (April 4 - 8) and am going to book my Delivery Center date tomorrow! THanks for sharing..!
	Appreciate 0 Quote