F80Gold's Journal

[TheDailyDriven]

Hi all ! It's been about almost a month with the F80 and I figure I share my story.

Instagram: F80Gold








About Me: I've always been a car fanatic since I was young. I started out in the JDM scene and owned a 2006 WRX back in college. Since then I was exposed to the close-nit culture of the "car community". While owning the WRX, I've always admired BMWs and finally "pulled the trigger and bought one". I am here on the F80 forum to learn and be a part of a great car community. I intend on updating this post as my car progresses.


December 2013
I went into Rallye BMW of Westbury NY and placed my order for a 2014 BMW F30. Since this was my first BMW, I wanted to make sure I had all the options I wanted. A brief summary of the options I had was:

Took delivery - March 2014
335 X-Drive (N55)
6-Speed manual #SaveTheManuals!
Alpine White exterior with Dakota Coral Red interior
Driver Assistance Package
Dynamic Handling Package
Premium Package
M-Sport Package
M-Sport Brakes
Navigation


Modifications:
Active AutoWeke's Tune Box (N55)
M-Performance Exhaust
H&R Sport Springs
Velgen's VMB7 20x9 and 20x10.5
AFE Intake
15 % tint

Here are a few photos of the F30 (The car had 47,500 miles in 4.5 years)

















I opted on getting the F30 with the X-Drive option because of the unpredictable winters in New York. During the course of owning the F30, I ended up moving down to the Sunshine state FLORIDA (South Florida)! After owning the F30 for about 4.5 years, I decided to part ways. The car treated me well except for the DSC failure which caused my rear rotors, rear brakes and calipers to over heat on the highway. I was out of the BMW factory warranty but luckily after doing some reading on the BMW Forums, I was reminded about the Geico MBI Coverage I had.

A brief summary of the Geico MBI Coverage : Covers the vehicle that is New with less than 15 months older and with less than 15,000 miles. Since I ended up getting the added coverage ($20 extra a month), they covered my $9,000 + worth of repairs on the F30 . All I had to pay was a $250 deductible. I would highly recommend adding that coverage if you plan on holding the vehicle past the factory warranty.

October 2018
After having the car in the shop, I thought to myself, its probably time for an upgrade. I began looking though various websites for F80's and in particular I was looking for a Austin Yellow or Sakhir Orange.

November 2018
What I noticed is that the Austin Yellow and Sakhir Orange F80s weren't staying on the market for long. After having no luck and getting impatient, I decided to put a deposit on a 2018 Alpine White F80 that was located at International Autos (Wisconsin). I ended up dealing with a sales person that was "shady" and gave me the run-around. I was given a bogus story on how the internet price was marked below market and they needed up raise the price. After negotiating, we agreed on a deal. The next day, I was told the car was sold even though I had put a deposit down. Salesman said "someone else" had put their deposit down before mine. Which was a lie lol.

You can see my review here - https://www.google.com/search?ei=fpI...=1547408008512

November 2018 Continued
Back to the drawing board! After searching the internet, I found a 2018 Austin Yellow, 6-Speed with Marino Black Interior that was located at Motorwerks BMW (Minnesota). The car was listed as used and about market price for the mileage, options and year.

I ended up calling the dealer up November 16th and spoke to a sales person, David Fuhs. David went above and beyond. Believe me, I asked for a ton of photos, negotiated for about an hour and half over the phone and he treated me like a saint. Below are some photos that David sent (Excuse me for the ehh, O.K photos lol). I put my deposit down and I was one step closer to one of my Dream Cars!













Here's the extras on the Austin Yellow F80:
Black Extended Marino Leather
19" M Wheel 437M
Active Blind Spot Detection
Wireless Charging
Black Kidney Grills
Carbon Fiber Mirror Caps
Carbon Fiber Rear Spoiler
M Performance Side sill decals
Black Side Grilles
LED Door Projector

Everyone says they got a great deal and I'm not knocking them. I do have to say, THIS was an AWESOME deal ! Here's why:

1- Motorwerkes BMW is a Penske affiliated dealership and the Austin Yellow F80 was an "executive vehicle". Basically driven by one of the executives and never sold.

2- I am the first person to be on the title of the vehicle (Even though its a "used" vehicle)

3- Since I am the first person to own the vehicle, I still get all of BMW's maintenance covered for the life of the factory maintenance period.

4- This vehicle is eligible for Geico's MBI coverage. Basically I'll have all the major components covered on the vehicle up to 7 Years and up to 100,000 miles. In stead of me paying $3,000 to $8,000 (depending on the warranty provider) for an extended warranty, i'll end up paying less than $2,000 for Geico's MBI coverage.

5- The car was in show room condition minus a few rock chips.


November 16 Continued
After discussing the logistics on getting the vehicle delivered to me from Minnesota to South Florida, I decided it wasn't worth it for me to have it shipped. Here's what I factored into my decision:

1-I figured to have the car shipped on a closed carrier from Minnesota would have cost me $1500 or more especially during the holidays.

2-A notary that the dealership was going to send out would have cost another $250.

3-Probably would have taken 2 weeks to a month to arrive (since all the "Snow birds" begin to head south)

4-The "road trip" would only cost me a fraction of what it could of cost me to have it shipped.

I decided I was going to fly out to Minnesota and drive the car back to South Florida. That alone is about 1,800+ miles and more than 26 hours of driving. I figured I start my vacation November 18 and thought why not? It would be an epic road trip in an awesome car.

November 17
All the logistics were almost set and I ended up convincing my girlfriend's brother to help me out of this epic road trip. The plan was to fly out the 19th and be back by the late night of the 20th. Of course he agreed since, all expenses were paid by me and he was getting the chance to drive an F80 .

November 19th
The night before I couldn't even sleep because I was so excited about picking up the F80. I ended up taking two flights to Minnesota and since my girlfriend's brother was located in central Florida, I had him fly out to Chicago. I had him fly to Chicago because he had to work on the 19th and by the time, I finished all the paperwork at the dealership he would be ready to be picked up at the airport. Plus I always wanted to try Chicago's deep dish pizza lol.










November 19 Continued (I wish I took more photos of the whole journey)
Finally I landed in Minnesota and was greeted by my salesman David at the airport. I got picked in a brand new X3 and David had the seat warmers on since it was about 10 degrees in Minnesota.

After a short ride from the airport, I finally got to see my F80 for the first time. My god I fell in love.




The paperwork took about an hour and half but I knew I had a long journey to Chicago. I opted to not get the car clear bra'd because even though the dealer would have warrantied the work, there was no way they were going to fly to Florida for any warranty claims and vice versa.

While my salesman finalized the paperwork and I waited for the finance department, I decided to at least protect the paint to the best of my ability. I ended buying Frog tape (Painters tape) to tape of the front end. Luckily they had YELLOW





While taping the front end up, other employees and customers were like what are you doing? lol. I was like, I'm driving the car back to Florida ! I was only able to tape less than I wanted because, I was running behind schedule. I was supposed to be out of the dealership and on the road to pick up my girlfriend's brother about an hour ago!


As I made my many stops at various gas stations, I added more layers of Frog tape to the front of the car.



About 6 hours later, I made it to Chicago and finally got to try some well known Chicago Deep Dish Pizza (Really wish I took more photos)

This is a screenshot to a video. We were somewhere in cold Chicago having some deep dish pizza and of course, I added some more tape! The Frog tape did its job and prevented anymore rock chips. For $7 a roll, it was worth it.



After a total of little more than 1,800 miles, about $26 in tolls and about $280 in gas, I finally got her back home! I am not going to lie, that road trip was rough but totally worth it.




Cost analysis of the road trip vs. having the car shipped

Approximate cost to have the car shipped and the notary was about $1750

Approximate cost of the "road trip" expenses (Not factoring wear and tear) :
Both flights (mine and my girlfriend's brother's ticket) - $220
Gas - $280
Tolls - $26
Food+Coffee - $80
Total = $606

An epic road trip......Priceless!


Insert Random Photo:


Thank you for reading my journey!

[NYBulldog]

This awesome. Congratulations. Seems like you are already enjoying.

[FatRear08]

Cool story. Congrats on the upgrade looks awesome. Your 335 was set up nice as well. You did ok with that for the time u had it. Although no contest now as you already know!

[4DRS55]

Beautiful and congrats!
Love AY such a beautiful color.

[zamboni]

Congrat nice color excellent write up, I just did the same trip picking mine up in LA and drove her home.

[TheDailyDriven]

Originally Posted by NYBulldog

This awesome. Congratulations. Seems like you are already enjoying.

Every time I get behind the wheel, its like a kid in a candy store

Originally Posted by FatRear08

Cool story. Congrats on the upgrade looks awesome. Your 335 was set up nice as well. You did ok with that for the time u had it. Although no contest now as you already know!

Thanks! Yeah it was a big upgrade and definitely no contest lol!

Originally Posted by 4DRS55

Beautiful and congrats!
Love AY such a beautiful color.

Thanks, The AY is a unique color. Def. breaks necks.

Originally Posted by zamboni

Congrat nice color excellent write up, I just did the same trip picking mine up in LA and drove her home.

Thanks! I bet it was a ton of fun with that drive!

[Irma the imola red M4]

that was awesome man excellent decision to drive, man i could feel the excitement teh nite before haha, right on this is what life is about, make the most of each moment, as for me i cannot wait till we have some sunshiny days again lol, nice car, nice story, awesome energy !

[psuibmw]

[TheDailyDriven]

Originally Posted by Irma the imola red M4

that was awesome man excellent decision to drive, man i could feel the excitement teh nite before haha, right on this is what life is about, make the most of each moment, as for me i cannot wait till we have some sunshiny days again lol, nice car, nice story, awesome energy !

Thank you ! It was a no brainer. Especially since I probably had to wait 2 weeks to a month. Sounds like you need to relocate! We dont have that issue in Florida. It's always "M" season

[mike@x-ph.com]

Congrats

[TheDailyDriven]

The frog tape (Painter's tape) did it's job on protecting the front end from that cross county trip but It was time to have the front end protected for years to come. There are mixed reviews on PPF and for me, I see a lot more pros than cons.

November 27

After doing some research on the forums, I decided to have the frontend (front bumper, full hood, mirrors, front fenders and head lamps) protected with Suntek Ultra PPF. The vehicle was also tinted with 15% 3M Film.

On the side note, I ended up going to a shop that was recommended from my co-workers. They all raved about this shop and I saw the review online and they were pretty much all 5 stars. I should have seen their work before having it done. The shop (will stay nameless at this time) did a mediocre job and cut corners on getting the film onto the vehicle. I already had the shop redo the car twice and its been the same results. They are willing to redo it again, but what's the point when its going to be the same results. My thought process is to leave it on the vehicle for a year or so and then have it redone at Auto SuperShield (Boca Raton) or another reputable shop. If anyone has a hook up in South Florida, let me know!





What I can say about having the film is that it gives you a piece of mind while driving on the highway. Obviously the film isn't impenetrable but it does allow an added layer of protection.

Here's the film's hydrophobic properties beading the water away

[Bch53211]

That’s a cool story, happy for you. These cars are absolutely incredible. I had a ‘15 YMB M4 and now have an ‘18 MG M3 ZCP. I’m hooked now and plan on getting the next generation when my lease is up in 2021. I’ve never seen AY other than in pics , I love the color and imagine it’s even more impressive in person. Enjoy the car, best of luck.

[xfactor]

Car looks beautiful...the world can use more AY love for sure.

[TheDailyDriven]

Originally Posted by Bch53211

That’s a cool story, happy for you. These cars are absolutely incredible. I had a ‘15 YMB M4 and now have an ‘18 MG M3 ZCP. I’m hooked now and plan on getting the next generation when my lease is up in 2021. I’ve never seen AY other than in pics , I love the color and imagine it’s even more impressive in person. Enjoy the car, best of luck.

Thank you! It was definitely a unique story which I had to share. I know what you mean on being hooked. The F80 community is pretty solid and its great to be apart of it.

BMW has a was of creating these colors where the lighting really changes the look of the car. The AY is a head turner and a hard color to find on the market. Thank you again !

[TheDailyDriven]

Originally Posted by xfactor

Car looks beautiful...the world can use more AY love for sure.

Thank you, I agree with your statement! lol

[HKMP7]

Looks awesome good job on the PPF. I think the Adams ceramic spray will be more durable than bead maker combo. The cost is a bit high tho.

Let me know what you go with. I'm curious to try that Adams spray.

[TheDailyDriven]

Originally Posted by HKMP7

Looks awesome good job on the PPF. I think the Adams ceramic spray will be more durable than bead maker combo. The cost is a bit high tho.

Let me know what you go with. I'm curious to try that Adams spray.

So far its holding up pretty well. I replaced my detail spray with Bead Maker and currently use that as my drying agent. People bash Adam's Ceramic coating but they forget that it isn't your typical "Ceramic Coating". It bridges the gap between a full blown professional coating to a product that a rookie could use.

I am probably going to coat the rest of the car with Adam's ceramic spray and see the longevity with it. It's too new of a product to see the durability. I see some people on YouTube have put it through a torture test but I garage my car and only use it on the weekends. So I think it will do just fine. I'll be sure to update.

[TheDailyDriven]

After owning the BMW M3 for over four months, I had to address the ride height. The stock height on an non-ZCP M3 is relatively in my opinion awkwardly high.

After searching Bimmerpost.com and seeing what others have had to say about this, I decided to look for a H.A.S Kit (Height Adjustment Springs). More specifically, I narrowed it down to the M-Performance H.A.S Kit and the KW H.A.S Kit. Ultimately I decided to purchase the KW Kit. I know there are far more superior suspension upgrades than a H.A.S Kit but this is my weekend car that I'll maybe track once a year. Additionally when I move onto different set of wheel, I'll be able to adjust the height. Which is why I didn't just go with springs.




I ended up documenting my first modification in this video for fun.

For the ones who aren't familiar with what a H.A.S Kit is ��

From the KW website : "Height adjustable spring kit is used for lowering of the vehicle in combination with the standard dampers. Unlike to conventional spring kits, a customized height adjustment is possible within the tested adjustment range. For this solution, vehicle-specific spring seats with adapted KW lowering springs and matching elastomers as well as dust protection systems are used. The standard damper system for example with electronic or hydraulic control, continues to remain active".

Along with the spacers, I decided to move forward with the H&R 15mm Spacers for the front and rear. I honestly love the "OEM Plus" look.







I ended up going to a shop called Euromotive Performance in Halendale Beach FL. First impressions of the shop is that its CLEAN. The staff at Euromotive Performance were extremely knowledgeable and treated me with great customer service.


Here are some photos of the final ride height. Used a Canon M50 to take some of these photos. Still learning how to use this camera so I would say its amateur shots.










Ill be sure to update soon!

[ntg44]

For whatever reason, I don't see a lot of Austin Yellow sedans. Was seriously considering before I chickened out and went with Mineral White.

Looks good

[TheDailyDriven]

Originally Posted by ntgarage44

For whatever reason, I don't see a lot of Austin Yellow sedans. Was seriously considering before I chickened out and went with Mineral White.

Looks good

I love how Mineral White Looks it def glows in the sunlight. I came from a A/W F30 and needed a change. It took me a while to find the Austin Yellow M3. There's not many around on the market.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by f80_austiny3llow

I love how Mineral White Looks it def glows in the sunlight. I came from a A/W F30 and needed a change. It took me a while to find the Austin Yellow M3. There's not many around on the market.

Yeah I hear you. After re-reading my first post, I realize that I'm very much a part of the problem for not seeing many in Austin Yellow haha. Cool car. I think if I were to order mine again without an individual color, I would have gone with yellow.

[TheDailyDriven]

It's been about a little over a month of having the KW H.A.S Kit installed with the (15mm Spacers all around) H&R Spacers. Here are my initial impressions about the current set-up.

By far it has transformed the look of the car on making it an aggressive stance. I have gotten a lot of positive feedback from other car enthusiasts to regular people while I fill up at the gas station.

Being able to utilize the EDC makes it a plus and I find myself leaving it in comfort when I have other passengers that aren't the "sport car enthusiast". Majority of the time the car's suspension is in sport and I find it fine for my driving habits.

The only thing that I have noticed, is when there is a large dip in the roadway, the rebound is a bit rough or so to say "bouncy". Which is noticeable compared to the stock set-up. There is absolutely no rubbing issues with the 15mm spacers all around. I am on the stock tire setup from factory (Continental SportContact 5P). Overall for the price and what I use the car for I think its been a great overall.

Here are so additional photos on how the car currently sits: