Grassroots Motorsports
Issue link: http://grassrootsmotorsports.epubxp.com/i/397024
Grassroots Motorsports 68 "AND YES, WE KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING: WHAT THE HECK IS A BMW 2 SERIES? BASICALLY, IT'S THE SLIGHTLY LARGER SUCCESSOR TO THE 1 SERIES. AND AFTER DRIVING AN M235I AT A PRESS INTRODUCTION, WE KNEW IT BELONGED IN OUR DRIVEWAY." We know what else you're thinking: "Uh, isn't a new M-car expensive?" Well, yes and no–this car starts at $43,100. That's a lot of money, but compare it to a similarly equipped Camry, which is north of $30,000. If you can come up with an extra $50 per week for the life of your six-year loan, you'll be able to drive a new BMW with an "M" badge on the back. We suggest quitting your Starbucks habit or eating out less, because either will save you enough money to put you in the driver's seat of an M235i. So, we tore up our Olive Garden rewards card and ordered an M235i. Except instead of driving the car off a local dealer lot like most people, we chose the path that few buyers have even heard of: BMW Performance Center Delivery. Performance Center Delivery allows you to pick up your new BMW at the company's Performance Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina. You and a friend get time on the race track in a BMW similar to yours, a factory tour, and a few hours with a BMW product specialist, who teaches you what literally every single button does on your new car. Oh, and BMW feeds you and puts you up in a luxury hotel. The price for all this? Nothing. Zero. Nada. Just buy a new BMW and pay the standard $950 des- tination and handling fee, and delivery at the Per- formance Center is free. You'll have to get yourself to South Carolina, but fights are cheap and it's a fairly central location. We said yes without a second thought–after all, we'd done fy-and-drives before, but usually with $2000 eBay Motors purchases. Field Trip! After getting off the plane in South Carolina, we stepped into a waiting BMW and were driven to the Marriott. The next morning, full of room service breakfast and expectations, we rode a shuttle over to the Performance Center. And wow, were we amazed when we arrived. We expected something fancy, but we didn't expect the Performance Center to look like a museum. The view out the shuttle's windows featured a gigantic silver complex that looked like something Steve Jobs dreamed up. And on display in one of the glass garages stuck to the front was our new BMW. The scene was straight out of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Well, mostly–we didn't plan to valet our Bimmer any time soon. 7. a car from Big Jim's used car e happens in a private, air-con- ditioned garage. 7