My European Delivery Trip - M3 30 Jahre

[nlpamg]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

Hi Everyone,

I'm a bit tardy posting this since I haven't really had time to go through all the pics I took from my ED until just recently. I took delivery of my 2017 M3 30 Jahre at the Welt on December 22, 2016 and spent the next two weeks, into Christmas and New Years driving around Germany and France.

Firstly, I want to give big thanks to my friends at BMW M GmbH and BMW NA (I'm not sure they want to be named in a public post, so I'll keep their names confidential for now ) and also to Garrett and Derek at Shelly BMW for making this all happen and all their hard work, patience and just putting up with all my questions throughout the whole process. BMW M GmbH and BMW NA bent over backwards for me and both showed me why I love this brand so much and why they have my loyalty...

I put a little over 1300 miles on the car during the trip and I'm currently waiting for the car to arrive in Los Angeles. (It will get to port on Feb. 14 and hopefully after Customs and the 1200 mile service being done, it will get to me before March.)

After not having a BMW since I got rid of my E60 M5, I decided to jump back in with the M3. (Before I had the M5, I had an E46 M3 and then after the M5, I went in way different direction with a Nissan GT-R, Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG and a Porsche GT3.) The M3 will replace my CLA45 AMG as my daily driver and since I track all my cars, it will go to the track (not as often as my GT3 though, but I'll probably bring them both out together--I'm really looking forward to seeing how the M3 performs on track).

Even though I was on narrow 255 snow tires and driving in the snow, rain and ~25F cold, the car was fantastic. I loved the torque and straight line power--it definitely has way more torque than my prior M cars and even my GT3. I really enjoyed the ability to easily rotate the car on throttle and let the rear hang loose. The interior, electronics and amenities are great. The seats felt great for long drives, yet were still supportive. When I sat in my car the first time, grabbed the thick steering wheel, it just felt like home...

This was not my first European Delivery. I had done multiple ED's prior with Mercedes and AMG, but this was my first time with BMW. (Although my friends at BMW M were so kind to open their doors to me during my prior trips in a Mercedes.) I have to say though, BMW definitely does European Delivery right. The facility, amenities, hospitality and attention to detail are all top notch.

So, having been my fourth time to Germany and France in less than four years, for this trip, I decided to do some local off the beaten path stuff, while also re-doing some touristy things that I had not done in maybe 20 - 30 years when I was younger with my parents (like the Louvre and Versailles), and then celebrating Christmas and New Year in Europe.

The route was from Munich -> Neuschwanstein -> Stuttgart -> Strasbourg -> Reims/Champagne -> Versaille -> Paris -> Baden Baden -> Munich. Here's a map of my route logged by the GPS function of my camera:



BMW Welt/Museum:














Munich Christmas Market:




Delivery Day:
























Delivery video/Driving out of the Welt:

Neuschwanstein:






Stuttgart:


















Strasbourg:




Reims:






Epernay/Champagne:

[nlpamg]

Versailles:






Paris:
























Baden-Baden:


Dachau:


The obligatory Autobahn blast video:


Log-In-Out Munich:


Overall, aside from the shitty drivers in Paris, the trip was awesome. The car was perfect the entire trip with no hiccups. I used pretty much everything in the car on this trip. I really didn't think I would ever need a heated steering wheel, but wow, it was awesome on those cold mornings. The sideview cameras were super helpful in all the tight spots and parking structures and alleys in France and Germany. I really can't wait to get my car home...

I'm looking forward to doing this again soon, with possibly an M2 variant (please make a CS version!).

More pics can be found in my album here: https://goo.gl/photos/wohWLC2hcDmVTrWu5

And/or check out my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nlpamg/

Thanks for reading and thanks to Dackelone for all his informative posts about things to do in Germany and thanks to everyone that posts their ED stories on Bimmerpost--even though I've done this a number of times already, it never gets old and I always get new ideas from seeing what everyone else does.

Lastly, BMW M FTW!

[BMW F22]

Wow!! Looks like a fantastic trip!!

[KevinM]

Thanks! I've been starved for another ED thread recently. Such a great experience. Congratulations on your car!

[einscot]

i spy what looks to be an alpina (the purple one) in a few of your shots. and looks like a x6m somewhere in there too. awesome

[GOLFFRR]

what a great trip! Thank you for sharing

[nlpamg]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Wow!! Looks like a fantastic trip!!

It definitely was.

Originally Posted by KevinM

Thanks! I've been starved for another ED thread recently. Such a great experience. Congratulations on your car!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by einscot

i spy what looks to be an alpina (the purple one) in a few of your shots. and looks like a x6m somewhere in there too. awesome

Yes, they took delivery of their B7 the same day as me. The color is stunning. It's my understanding that they weren't driving the car around Europe. But, since it was around Christmas and New Years, I think it just sat at Log-in-Out for a while (that's when I saw it again).

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

what a great trip! Thank you for sharing

Thanks!

[bd307]

Congrats to the ride. I was the ymb parked next to you on buttonwillow few weeks ago. See you around!

[nlpamg]

Originally Posted by bd307

Congrats to the ride. I was the ymb parked next to you on buttonwillow few weeks ago. See you around!

Nice, thanks, good seeing you on here. See you at the track!

[MFNATIK]

Nice pics and trip Phil! Glad to see you back in a BMW. Now get rid of that CLA if you're gonna say BMW FTW hahahah

[PatrickM3]

Great trip you have made, and congrats on my car's older brother (or sister).

[termigni]

one day.. one day...

[Jdem2]

Congratulations!! Hope you had a great time!

Question for you. Looks like you took a pic of Neuschwanstein from the bridge or at least really close to it...was it open or did you sneak through the woods?

I only ask because the last couple times I was there, the bridge was closed for repairs. Oh it looks awesome with the snow. I've only ever been there when it was sunny and green.

[EdM5]

driving a brand new M3 in the streets of Paris: brave man

[nlpamg]

Originally Posted by MFNATIK

Nice pics and trip Phil! Glad to see you back in a BMW. Now get rid of that CLA if you're gonna say BMW FTW hahahah

Hahaha! CLA should be gone when the M3 gets here. I won't daily the GT3 in the rain (tracked it once in the rain and that's about it), lol.

[nlpamg]

Originally Posted by PatrickM3

Great trip you have made, and congrats on my car's older brother (or sister).

Thanks! Good to meet another 30 Jahre owner!

[nlpamg]

Originally Posted by Jdem2

Congratulations!! Hope you had a great time!

Question for you. Looks like you took a pic of Neuschwanstein from the bridge or at least really close to it...was it open or did you sneak through the woods?

I only ask because the last couple times I was there, the bridge was closed for repairs. Oh it looks awesome with the snow. I've only ever been there when it was sunny and green.

Thanks!

Yes, the bridge was actually open:


Definitely worth walking up to for the view. Some other people went further and were precariously taking a shot from a ledge... I was good with that though, lol.

[nlpamg]

Originally Posted by EdM5

driving a brand new M3 in the streets of Paris: brave man

Haha, yes, Paris was horrible.

Driving around the Arc de Triumph during rush hour was so sketchy.

Here's a short video I made with my GoPro from that:

[ssuene93]

Originally Posted by nlpamg

Haha, yes, Paris was horrible.

Driving around the Arc de Triumph during rush hour was so sketchy.

Here's a short video I made with my GoPro from that:

It was fun driving around the Arc de Triumph. I managed to take couple of pictures while there were not many traffic.

OP: congrats to the M3. Glad you back to the BMW family.

[ktc]

Awesome pictures and trip, thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed it and congrats on the new car!

Were you good and stayed within the break-in rules?

How was it in the winter? Are those the rental wheels?

[nlpamg]

Originally Posted by ssuene93

It was fun driving around the Arc de Triumph. I managed to take couple of pictures while there were not many traffic.

OP: congrats to the M3. Glad you back to the BMW family.

Thanks!

That is a great shot! You must have taken it at around 4AM.

[nlpamg]

Originally Posted by ktc

Awesome pictures and trip, thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed it and congrats on the new car!

Were you good and stayed within the break-in rules?

How was it in the winter? Are those the rental wheels?

Thanks!

I was good... kinda, lol.

It was great in the winter. Pretty playful on throttle, but still easy to control.

Yes, those ugly wheels are rental wheels with snow tires. They definitely came in handy in the snow, rain and ice.