[maxdrive]

Has anyone here got their car shipped home after buying it from a remote bmw dealer. I found an M2 that I like in LA but the dealer has no partner dealer here in the bay area so trying to see if I can get it shipped after buying it.
Any recommendations about any shipping company and what are the risks involved in it and precautions to take.

[mrdudley]

Originally Posted by maxdrive

Has anyone here got their car shipped home after buying it from a remote bmw dealer. I found an M2 that I like in LA but the dealer has no partner dealer here in the bay area so trying to see if I can get it shipped after buying it.
Any recommendations about any shipping company and what are the risks involved in it and precautions to take.

Why not fly down and drive it up?

[minn19]

Agreed, that close I’d fly down and get it if you can swing it. Hit some great roads on the way back that are perfect for break in.

[maxdrive]

Originally Posted by minn19

Agreed, that close I’d fly down and get it if you can swing it. Hit some great roads on the way back that are perfect for break in.

I was tempted to drive it back but I'm just worried without any PPF or coolant protection it might be risky. The car Also has frozen grey color

[ajchoi]

Yeah seems like this is doable by flying down and driving up. If you didn’t live in CA I’d warn that CA makes you pay their sales tax if you take delivery from a CA dealer regardless of which other state you live in

[TallGibbs]

Look at all the people who do Performance Center Delivery. Pretty much that exact situation; fly down one-way, get the car then drive home.

[fzr100098]

Originally Posted by minn19

Agreed, that close I’d fly down and get it if you can swing it. Hit some great roads on the way back that are perfect for break in.

Long trips are the worst thing you can do for break in, which shows most people still don't understand it - heat cycling is priority 1 - it's not about miles. Shorter trips, frequent bursts of throttle, full cool down, repeat - 10-20 cycles and you're 90% there. Dyno proven countless times. "1000 miles" is just cya by manufacturers

Get it shipped

[minn19]

Originally Posted by fzr100098

Long trips are the worst thing you can do for break in, which shows most people still don't understand it - heat cycling is priority 1 - it's not about miles. Shorter trips, frequent bursts of throttle, full cool down, repeat - 10-20 cycles and you're 90% there. Dyno proven countless times. "1000 miles" is just cya by manufacturers

Get it shipped

Sure sure, everyone has an opinion on the perfect break-in.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by minn19

Sure sure, everyone has an opinion on the perfect break-in.

Exactly. I've purchased multiple vehicles from out-of-state and driven them home (700 mi, 800 mi, 1,200 mi). No issues. OP will be fine with the ~400 mi drive from LA.

[mrdudley]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

Exactly. I've purchased multiple vehicles from out-of-state and driven them home (700 mi, 800 mi, 1,200 mi). No issues. OP will be fine with the ~400 mi drive from LA.

400 miles and you can easily row through 3rd-6th on the highway (or whatever gears that corresponds to in the auto). Or make it a two day trip and do some of the windy bits with some breaks.

[IanH]

The statement that break in processes are "dyno proven" is wild.

The only thing about break in that I truly know as an engineer is that the car should be carefully/fully warmed up, RPMs varied, and throttle application variable. Perfectly possible on any drive, even if its kind of tedious to do artificially.

[99Turbo]

Originally Posted by maxdrive

I was tempted to drive it back but I'm just worried without any PPF or coolant protection it might be risky. The car Also has frozen grey color

Track wrap? Did this when I picked up mine in CT and road tripped to AZ through Chicago. Was a fun trip.

[maxdrive]

Originally Posted by 99Turbo

Track wrap? Did this when I picked up mine in CT and road tripped to AZ through Chicago. Was a fun trip.

Will check this out. I only have this weekend to plan this as I will be out of country for a month from next weekend. I also have to order the zunsport coolant protector it might not make it before that

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

Drive it back & try to have fun with it.

[RockCrusher]

Originally Posted by maxdrive

Has anyone here got their car shipped home after buying it from a remote bmw dealer. I found an M2 that I like in LA but the dealer has no partner dealer here in the bay area so trying to see if I can get it shipped after buying it.
Any recommendations about any shipping company and what are the risks involved in it and precautions to take.

Back in 2020 I looked into shipping a car (either my MINI JCW or my Hellcat) from CA to AR.

I elected to use:

https://intercitylines.com/

This is the company that carries vehicles for Porsche among other brands. At least it was the shipper I saw dropping off picking up vehicles at the local Porsche dealer.

I got a quote but decided to sell the JCW before I left CA and drive the Hellcat.

Before you arrange to ship the car you need to be sure you know what insurance you need to have on the car just in case. Car carrier accidents. Theft. Damage from a vehicle leaking fluid down on your car or from any other cause.

My advice is if you can arrange the time fly down pick up the car drive it home. I drove my M2 200+ miles from KC MO dealer home.

A month before that I drove a new JCW nearly 900 miles from the Loveland CO MINI dealer to home.

With both the JCW and M2 I avoided prolonged cruising at a steady speed/RPM. And adhered to the RPM and speed limits called for during break in.

Both cars were equipped with a manual gearbox so I'd down shift one even 2 gears and drive for a bit. Then go up the gears to 6th gear for a while.

(And the preceding Dec. I drove a new MINI S with a 7-speed dual clutch transmission from where I bought the car in Merriam KS to AR and used the transmission in manual mode to chose a lower gear in which to drive for a bit.)

Also, traffic permitting I'd let the car slow down -- I'd pick an upgrade so the car would slow quicker -- then at some speed (IIRC around 50mph) I'd ease on the throttle and accelerate the car up to speed.

Sometimes I could do this several times in succession.

The 200+ mile drive home in the M2 was too short but with the JCW by the 2nd day and after covering 500 miles the engine began to perk up.

I'm more comfortable with driving a new car home vs. shipping it.

Some recommend avoiding the freeway and drive great roads. Well, I chose to drive a great road -- highway 50 east from Reno towards Ely and points further west -- just a few weeks after buying my 996 Turbo.

On this great road I encountered a mule deer which inflicted over $25,000 damage to my car. (See pic.)

After that you couldn't get me to drive a great road in a new car for love or money.

[BroDoze]

Dayum

[IanH]

Not trying to victim blame but driving a remote road at night its pretty likely you are going to see some deer.

Also, you cant really avoid a good deer strike, theres no amount of instant reaction time that can stop a car as fast as they pop out in front of you. Learned that driving around olympic in a rental car and having like 4 deer miss the car by feet to inches.

I guess, what im saying is, I cant really see what hitting a deer has to do with driving a new car home unless you arent insured for some reason.

[RockCrusher]

Originally Posted by IanH

Not trying to victim blame but driving a remote road at night its pretty likely you are going to see some deer.

Also, you cant really avoid a good deer strike, theres no amount of instant reaction time that can stop a car as fast as they pop out in front of you. Learned that driving around olympic in a rental car and having like 4 deer miss the car by feet to inches.

I guess, what im saying is, I cant really see what hitting a deer has to do with driving a new car home unless you arent insured for some reason.

Sure I grant you any reasonably remote road could have deer appear.

I was aware of that. Due to a number of factors I was driving below the limit. It was dark. Road was unfamiliar to me. It was raining off and on and I had encountered fallen rocks on the road. Not in my lane but on the inside lane. Still the next turn could have anything on the road in my lane.

Animal came right out from behind a guard rail and stepped directly into my path. I put on the brakes -- and the Turbo had awesome brakes -- but they couldn't defy the laws of physics.

I mentioned the mule deer incident to give the OP pause before driving "interesting" roads home in his new car. Sure even a freeway is not immune from a deer or other large animal but 3 times I have encountered deer on roads these encounters have been on "interesting" roads.

[IanH]

Originally Posted by RockCrusher

Sure I grant you any reasonably remote road could have deer appear.

I was aware of that. Due to a number of factors I was driving below the limit. It was dark. Road was unfamiliar to me. It was raining off and on and I had encountered fallen rocks on the road. Not in my lane but on the inside lane. Still the next turn could have anything on the road in my lane.

Animal came right out from behind a guard rail and stepped directly into my path. I put on the brakes -- and the Turbo had awesome brakes -- but they couldn't defy the laws of physics.

I mentioned the mule deer incident to give the OP pause before driving "interesting" roads home in his new car. Sure even a freeway is not immune from a deer or other large animal but 3 times I have encountered deer on roads these encounters have been on "interesting" roads.

That makes sense! It's always shocking how quickly they can appear. I think the night time is the main thing to avoid but my experiences have been during the day too.

My buddy and I were driving to a remote location in maine at night and maybe doing 30mph he spun his car avoiding a moose that crossed right in front of him.

[Scott Z]

Uship.com

I've done this multiple times and never had an issue. You let them bid on the ship and you can evaluate and decide if you want to use them based on their reviews etc..

Easy peazy.