Vuel's YMB F80 M3 Journal

[Vuel Egham]

Hi. I’m a first time poster, long-time reader. I recently acquired a YMB M3 and am now part of the family. I wanted to start a ‘journal’ to capture my experience owning my first M.

My car backstory.
I recently test drove a Mineral White on Sakhir M4, but ultimately passed on it — and it was the only new M3/4 available in UT — because the coupe wasn’t practical enough for a daily driver for me. And with eight custom orders ahead of me at my local dealer, I had just enough self-control to stick with my current car (an S4, more on that later). But days after looking in to several different cars — mostly Audis like an S3, S6, TTS (had an order on the first in UT that fell through), or just a new B8.5 S4; but I also looked into a 335xi, a M235i xDrive, and a 435 xDrive Grand Coupe — I decided to stay put for another year or two. Then… I got a note saying this YMB (a gently used 2015 that I’d actually ridden in last year when it was brand new) was available for a great price from a local sales person who had a new Ferrari Red M3 on order. So I traded in my 2011 S4 and picked this up. I couldn’t not.

I loved my 2011 B8 S4. I custom ordered it in brilliant red with the Titanium package and it was very unique in UT; I didn’t see another one for years. It was the best car I’d owned. It was fast (with GIAC tuning it was faster than my friends E90 at this altitude), comfortable and easy to drive all day long, and it was a monster in Utah winters. No, it was never as dynamic as an E90 or an F80, but for $50K, not much can touch it. So I've entered another category, what I call the $65-85K category, or the pre-911 category.

And that brings me here.
This community has already impressed me. The sheer number of people modding M cars is exponential compared to Audi. After years and thousands of posts on VWVortex, Fourtitude, and Audizine, I couldn’t believe the level of support and interest I've seen in this community. I’ve been a close follower of Money2536 and have read all of his journals and most of his YT videos. I have to say, it’s made me an addict and I 100% identify with that level of intense obsession. So it’s safe to say I’m hooked and I’m diving in head first.

And the requisite photos:












And my dearly departed, the day I picked her up fresh off the truck:






Glad to be here.

[SamS]

Welcome! Beautiful car(s) and home.

[wazzza]

Welcome, and congrats!!!

[wazzza]

Originally Posted by SamS

Welcome! Beautiful car(s) and home.

+1 on the home lol

[Doctor///M]

Welcome to the community, and great cars! How do you like the DCT and the speed cloth? Seems like part of your post got chopped off though.

Cars aside... both your house and the neighbor's are stunning! Seems like there's also a view to match

[pikkagtr]

Nice color choice!
And nice house
I'm jealous

[Vuel Egham]

Originally Posted by Doctor///M

Welcome to the community, and great cars! How do you like the DCT and the speed cloth? Seems like part of your post got chopped off though.

Cars aside... both your house and the neighbor's are stunning! Seems like there's also a view to match

Thanks! Love the DCT — I was coming from DSG in the S4 and this is light years ahead in terms of speed. And I actually really like the cloth. I would have probably gone with leather if I was placing an order, but coming from GTIs and GLIs, I'm perfectly at home with sport cloth. And I look forward to not sweating on it.

And thanks! I'll post most house pics at some point, but yes we've got a great view of Utah county (the house faces North but our living room has a view South-West). I could share more specifics if anyone is familiar with the area. And my neighbors house is stunning. It was my builders 'Parade of Homes' home this year. That's a big thing in Utah during the summer, though I know it's not held everywhere.

[m3rxn]

Congrats

[supremesquid]

Congrats, and beautiful house btw!

[chillindrdude]

sweet view from your house. looks like a new construction in a new development.


i was in the same boat as you. was driving a B8 S4, sold it, and acquired my YMB M3.

enjoy it!

[dawgdog]

Nice photos and beautiful car! Congrats.

[W///]

Great intro. I love that your car has cloth, that would definitely be my choice too.

And your house looks amazing like everyone else said, wow.

[///bproden]

Nice m3 and house looks awesome!

[azula]

Congrats, both awesome cars, would love more pictures of that house!!!!

[damnitBobby]

awesome house and awesome car!

[-JLT-]

beautiful M3 and home!

I, too, came from a 2011 B8 S4 before my F80 M3, lol.

[Irishace]

Gorgeous!

[lsturbointeg]

Gorgeous car!

[Vuel Egham]

So, Thursday, two weeks ago, I got my car back after taking it to a local body shop to have some giant dings in the hood repaired and resprayed, some paint-less dent removal, and clear bra installed on the hood and front fenders. The previous owner had clear bra'd the front bumper, headlights, and mirror, but not the hood for some reason.

That Saturday, I took the car to my dad's to show it to him. It was happy and all was well.



Moments after leaving his house, I was rear-ended by some jerk in a '96 4Runner. So next Monday I get to take the car back to the body shop to have the rear end fixed this time.



Other people are the reason I can't own anything nice.

[Vuel Egham]

On a brighter note, I purchased some new black kidney grills from http://ind-distribution.com/ind/brands/ind and replaced my existing ones which were chipped up (oddly the slats were fine). iND has a nice video on YouTube about the installation, but it was definitely more difficult than they made it seem. But I got it done. It was also a good excuse to do a quick detail behind the grills and along the inside lip of the fender under the hood.

Pardon the low-light iPhone pics.

Open nostrils:


Left:


Right:


Installed:


Reinstalled and cleaned engine bay:

[Vuel Egham]

Next up: Painted reflectors from iND. I was able to get the fender liner removed, but actually prying these away from the bumper seems a difficult task. Does anyone have pointers on how to peel the adhesive away easily without damaging the car?

[jballs16]

Looking good man. Keep the pics coming