Will soon be bimmerless & USA bound.

B

bigdog

Senior member
 Walla Walla, Washington
The wife has accepted a job offer in Walla Walla Wa. (where we own a home) and so we are leaving Germany after having lived here for 4 years.
For the first time since 2000 I will be without a BMW of some sort. Sold the Zed and bought a Caterham 7. We are now selling the wife's 328 as we have bought a 2014 M-B GLK 250 Bluetec to pull the Caterham around America. Got a great deal through the M-B military sales program. It's rather flimper spec. Which is what we wanted. Heated seats for the missus & a Becker nav hookup are the only options. Lunch and a tour of the plant in Stuttgart, Then an official handing over of the keys. And shipment to Longbeach Ca. 22,100 quid all in.
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Wow that's a good deal! And lunch included too?? Best of luck with the move, I can imagine a caterham will get a lot of looks over there!

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Going to miss you posting in 'real-time' bigdog, but you'll stick around, right ?

That's a great deal on a motor that'll fit right in over the other side of the pond :thumbsup:
 
Oh that is a shame, but at least our still staying with a German machine and what a steal at that price!

Hopefully you'll get some enjoyment of both cars stateside :driving:
 
Can you import the caterham without issues in the US as I doubt it is type approved there?

Great deal on the Merc though - and even better that you remembered "flimper" spec. He will haunt me for that forever I bet :D
 
I made the move to Seattle WA 6 years ago (from London) and have no regrets at all. I had to sell my beloved MCoupe when I left and I now have a Z4 MC and the wife has an X3. Walla Walla, great wine country!
 
pvr said:
Can you import the caterham without issues in the US as I doubt it is type approved there?

Great deal on the Merc though - and even better that you remembered "flimper" spec. He will haunt me for that forever I bet :D
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No issues with the Caterham as it's just like me "old" and isn't subject to the numpties at the ministry of pedantic halfwits. Oops! I mean the fine folk at the EPA & DOT :)

I think "flimper spec" just rolls off the tongue nicely.
 
dalecan said:
I made the move to Seattle WA 6 years ago (from London) and have no regrets at all. I had to sell my beloved MCoupe when I left and I now have a Z4 MC and the wife has an X3. Walla Walla, great wine country!
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Glad you are enjoying your time in the USA. At least Seattle has the right weather to remind you of good ole blighty. :poke:

We have had a great time in Europe. The German's have been very nice folk to us. And are undeserving of their reputation as a very grumpy lot. I've only been around two that were grumpy.

And boy have we been traveling while here. I wish more American's would travel abroad and get to the out of the way places to meet the real folks instead of the touristy places.

These are the countries we have been to in the last 4 years. We feel very blessed to have been afforded the opportunity to travel to them.
Germany
France
Czech Republic
Portugal
Holland
Belgium
England
Scotland
Wales
Ireland
Poland
Austria
Italy
Switzerland
Canary Islands
Luxembourg
Turkey
 
I'll keep my eyes peeled for a Caterham in my travels I as I go down to Chehalis once in a while. Also pass through there on my to Az..

Enjoy :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 
Bing said:
Going to miss you posting in 'real-time' bigdog, but you'll stick around, right ?

That's a great deal on a motor that'll fit right in over the other side of the pond :thumbsup:
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I'll stick around if I'm allowed.

You know Bing. I would have been happy to have a "normal" car to tow the Cat. But there is a rather big conspiracy by the auto makers. In the EU a VW TDI is ok to haul 3,000Lbs. But VW America says that you can only tow 1,000 max or your warranty can be subject to denial. :scratchhead: I was shocked, But VW USA told me that little gem over the phone. It's the same with every maker that sells cars in the USA, to include the US makers as well. One must buy an overly large gas guzzling SUV or pickup truck to tow. Most shops will not install a hitch rated to tow 3,000 Lbs on a Golf or Passat TDI for fear of litigation. Fortunately that is starting to change. The GLK we bought is the 2.1Ltr bluetec diesel. VW is finally going to import the Tiguan with the 2Ltr TDI engine next year. This towing business has been a heck of a learning experience.
 
pvr said:
Holland? You mean The Netherlands :poke:
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Your right. I humbly ask for mercy. Great place though. I picked that up from my Father who was in Germany in the 70's. (Rhein-main Air Base) He always said "Holland" (his words) was his favorite place in all of Europe.
 
The wife and I took delivery of our GLK on Monday. Very nice experience. The folks at the M-B kundencenter in Boblingen were excellent. After check in we went over all the forms then handed the number plate over to MB. We then went on a tour of the S class final assembly line. In the mean time MB did a final inspection, filled the fuel tank and mounted the plates. After the tour we had lunch. Then with an MB staff member, inspected the car and he took us through all the features and assisted in setting up all the electronic goodies.

The only spanner in the works was the trip home. While on a remote black forest b-road. We fell victim to a very well hidden Mobil speed cam at the bottom of a steep grade. Bloody thing was set up on a tripod that had the camera just barely peeking over the Armco barrier. I had my foot off the fuel pedal and coasted right over the speed limit. Oh well. As the German government moves at a glacial pace. We should be back in the USA before they get around to posting my newest portrait to my former German address. :thumbsup:

Very impressed with the GLK. Great fuel mileage as well. It returned 38.3 to the US gallon in mostly hilly back roads. Not bad for a 4200Lb 4x4 SUV.
 
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