News / Articles

Tuesday afternoon, 28 March, fifteen DelVal Chapter members arrived to be met by General Manager, Eric Lechette.  Eric shared that their mission statement as well, “Brandywine Coachworks exists to deliver best in class repairs and exceptional customer experiences while providing a world class teammate culture”

They are one of a very few private shops that are fully BMW Certified, for all BMWs, and in a close relationship with local BMW dealers-none closer than OTTO’s of West Chester.

We walked the shop floor, seeing many brands, but none more common than the many BMWs. A recent X7 was awaiting some parts to be reassembled, and an IX was present as well, along with ample 2,3,4 and 5 series.  Becoming BMW Certified takes many steps, and is a big investment, but the demand for their precision repairs and flawless paint skills keeps growing.

We also were shown the inside of the paint control booth, with hundreds of tints for their water-based painting system, which can do 5-7 full paint jobs daily.  They can faithfully match ANY BMW paint ever used.  We also saw their parts warehouse. Each vehicle in the shop has it’s own roving cart that holds EVERY removed part, whether it will be replaced or reinstalled, and once all replacement items are in-hand, mechanics can get to work and reassemble everything.

Following this in-depth tour and presentation, our group adjourned for supper at Thornton’s "BierHaul", a thriving gastro-pub in a rambling restored barn building for adult beverages and a discussion about all that we had seen. 

Bimmers, Baldwins and Brews!

We had 20 car loads of DelVal Chapter members join an exclusive close up tour of a magnificent facility dedicated to the preservation and restoration of classic steam and diesel locomotives, fine passenger coaches, tractors, buses and pretty much anything with an engine. We observed the start up and maintenance on a 70 year old ALCO locomotive while it was running. The pistons on these things are the size of a 5-gallon pail! Their business also includes logistics and trans=shipment services for rail freight cars - fascinating business!

Out gathering seemed to attract a number of BMW Touring wagons, so we lined everyone up and got a few photos.

After all this we adjourned to the historic town of Woodstown, NJ for a lovely meal provided by our hosts, Jim, Amy, Bayleigh and Grace Pfieffer and the SMS Team!

SMS is preparing to complete the restoration of the Steam locomotive you see in the photo album in the next couple months. Our chapter will be back to SMS later this year with an opportunity for a rail excursion behind that locomotive - watch the event Calendar!

The very first-ever Touringfest took place on April 22, 2023 in Gainesville, GA. This event drew three participants from the DelVal area, and also from Indiana, Florida and Texas. 12 cars including e36, e34, e39, e46 and e91 wagons represented the "Long Roof" configurations of our favorite marque.

The kick off activity was a beer tasting social/ice breaker to give everyone a chance to introduce themselves, share their favorite locally brewed beers and to explain their attraction to these usually overlooked, but, oh-so interesting wagon style BMW's. The next morning dawned bright and sunny and marked the start of an all day guided swift-paced exploration tour of some of the best driver's roads in Northern Georgia. Spectacular vista's, beautifully curvy blacktop, surprised a number of us from other parts of the country as hidden treasures. The event finished with a hearty meal at an excellent craft-pizza restaurant.

This event will be back next year, and based on the number of folks who expressed their regret for not joining this one, will be an even larger event!