Will be picking the new baby up in the first week of March, and had planned to do a loop through Zurich, Milan, Venice, and back to Munich. Will I have weather problems/pass closure issues with this, or does the Gotthard tunnel make this doable? My snow driving skills are now nonexistent after living in SoCal too long, and a mountain pass does not seem the ideal location for re-acquiring them. Any help/advice will be greatly appreciated.
Wish I had some advice, but I just don't know what you'll be up against - you might try emailing Satch who's had any number or trips overseas, or calling the National office & see if Frank Patek or anyone else there might have some insight or suggestions of who would.
Check with your sales advisor - I am aware of a German requirement for winter tires - These should be available upon pick up IE mounted on your car - Weather and pass conditions vary as they do throught out the world - Choose the lowest elevations for passes (or tunnels) and have a plan B, Plan C etc. Enjoy - Sometimes the best part of a trip is the unplanned - or at least the embelished story part !
I found the experiences from others on bimmerfest European delivery very helpful Rolf pickd me up at the airport and was extremely helpful - Started the experience in a great way - all unplanned
+1 On the Bimmerfest recommendations. Head over to www.Bimmerfest.com forums, or go to http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25 for the Euro Delivery forum. The wiki page is great, and if you have questions about timing and winter tires, this is a great place to find out because there is a lot of traffic and experience there. This is also a common topic, so you will probably find an answer on it by searching there first. I can tell you I just went in January and had winter tires mounted from WinterTiresED.com, which was a great service and worth the piece of mind. This is the company that the BMW ED folks have linked to on the BMW site.
Just a note on Zurich. When I went there (rental car, 1995) it was nearly impossible to find street parking. My hotel didn't have its own parking lot. I got a parking ticket when I parked a few blocks away while checking in to my hotel. And I had to park overnight in some kind of shopping mall lot. It cost me about $30 IIRC. Never paid the parking ticket, hoping I'm not on an Interpol list of persona non grata. :-(
Always exceptions, but typically at that time of the year snow is only falling at higher altitudes. As already posted, stay low and you will be fine. Lived outside of Geneva for several years and never had snow tires, just chains for going to the mountains to ski.
