2016 AW F80 M3: My Amazing European Delivery Story - Journal Complete 05/17/16

[UNTAMDM3]

EPIC.....

[ArthurL]

Amazing journey! Love these ED threads!

[m3freak86]

Great thread, Ricky. Glad to see you finally got to live the dream and do this amazing trip. Kudos for bringing the family around and sharing that experience with them. I am still a few years out from doing this, but it is definitely on my bucket list. Looking forward to more updates. Enjoy the car in good health!

[///M///]

Originally Posted by m3freak86

Great thread, Ricky. Glad to see you finally got to live the dream and do this amazing trip. Kudos for bringing the family around and sharing that experience with them. I am still a few years out from doing this, but it is definitely on my bucket list. Looking forward to more updates. Enjoy the car in good health!

Thank you. Back from the dead Chris? Been a long time. Good to hear from you. last I checked you had gone the Jeep route Hope to see you back soon.

[For///Mula 1]

Beautiful car. Drive it like you stole it

[m3freak86]

Originally Posted by dsm918

Thank you. Back from the dead Chris? Been a long time. Good to hear from you. last I checked you had gone the Jeep route Hope to see you back soon.

Haha, i've been rummaging about here ever since I sold the M3. Got married, had a kid, bought/sold the Subaru, picked up the Jeep for family duty. Been busy! Can't wait to get back into an M.

[Rooz]

What an awesome way to document your trip, thank for doing that. Really makes me looking forward to mine this coming year!

[slalomfever]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing the remarkable experience!

[E46M3forRay]

Love it - felt like I was there. Makes me not want to do any ED anymore in the future. lol

Great job for putting it all together.

[stylinexpat]

Very beautiful pictures and very nicely put together

[snareman]

Congrats! Beautiful car and great pics!

[mpizutti]

Originally Posted by dsm918

Haha. Great to see you on here. I do remember your wife on our flight back from Zurich. She hooked us up with anything we needed Infact just as we got into the flight she noticed the "M" shirt and came up and said hi. She mentioned you guys had just finished the euro delivery for a M as well in a blue color. I figured it was a Yas Marina blue but she said it wasn't so I figured it may be a custom color but then she said it was a M2 I knew then it was probably a 235M especially because Estroil blue seemed to ring a bell with her. Awesome awesome color Still don't know why they don't offer that as a standard color in the M3. It is a great car from what I have read. Enjoy in good health and once again, really happy to heard from you and your wife



Thank you man. I did a whole lot of planning because I am a planner by nature but I have to tell you this.....two things I learnt on this trip:

1) Whatever you plan, double the time on the road. By that I mean, if google map shows you it will take 3 hrs between two points, go with 6hrs. The fact is that with a small child everything takes longer plus you will stop on multiple occasions to see the amazing sights along the way and in general it is more enjoyable to do it that way than rush from one place to another.

2) Spend atleast 2-3 days at each location and that should not include the day you arrived. As fun as this vacation was we felt extremely fatigued throughout and it would have been a lot more enjoyable if had done half the destinations. We could not settle down and enjoy a place as much as we wanted to. We seemed to be always moving. So keep this in mind.

Here are a few pics..AND I agree about the time thing..we wish we would have planned more time in Bellagio..next time we are looking at a new car for the wife and I will be getting an M3 next year..

[///M///]

Originally Posted by mpizutti

Here are a few pics..AND I agree about the time thing..we wish we would have planned more time in Bellagio..next time we are looking at a new car for the wife and I will be getting an M3 next year..

That color is amazing. Congrats

You can switch your car in a year? Lucky you

[mpizutti]

Originally Posted by dsm918

That color is amazing. Congrats

You can switch your car in a year? Lucky you

Might be even sooner.. I had to eat $10,000 on my 750li. So you never know might do ED same time next year..We had the BEST Weather..it looks like you did also. it makes the pics so much better..

as soon as the car get to the dealer on Monday they are putting on the new exhaust and rear diffuser..also did the gloss black grills and I am having the mirror caps painted gloss black also

[mpizutti]

Originally Posted by dsm918

That color is amazing. Congrats

You can switch your car in a year? Lucky you

I just noticed you picked your car up on the 28th..i picked mine up on the 27th..i was going to fly over on the flight you took but we decided to go on Monday the 24th missed you by a day

[///M///]

Originally Posted by mpizutti

I just noticed you picked your car up on the 28th..i picked mine up on the 27th..i was going to fly over on the flight you took but we decided to go on Monday the 24th missed you by a day

Hah. That is crazy. I'll make sure I check with you next time we fly to Munich Gotta get that free upgrade if available

[mpizutti]

Originally Posted by dsm918

Hah. That is crazy. I'll make sure I check with you next time we fly to Munich Gotta get that free upgrade if available

Will do Better yet pick up new cars together next time..I fly Munich at least once a month..but we spend most of our time in Rome or Venice

[C_Treadwell]

I'm taking Euro delivery on my next M3 for sure. I absolutely love this car in Alpine White, looks fantastic with the carbon bits. Beautiful photos and love that your brought your family along for the adventure. Enjoy!

[Jay-K]

real nice man,
thanks for sharing!

[absoluteis350]

EPIC thread..

Major props.. I LOVE these ED threads with lots of pictures.. Takes me right there to the moment !

CONGRATS

[catalinbarb]

Congrats.

[///M///]

continuing...........

Day 8 - Milan

So reached Milan in the evening of Day 7. I really don't have much to say about Milan because honestly I really didn't like anything about the city. Other than the Duomo, I didn't find anything else that interested me in the short time we were there. The main reason for visiting Milan was to be able to take a train to Cinque Terre. It is not advisable to drive into CInque Terre as there is really no easy parking there other than Monterosso and even that is through crazy narrow streets and multiple inclines. Not a place you would want to risk taking your new M. So I booked a really nice apartment in downtown Milan though AirBnb for 2 nights and arranged with the owner to let me leave my M3 in her garage for the 3 days we would be away in Cinque Terre. The cost was only Euro 27 per day This was a really good arrangement because my other option was to leave it in a public garage which can be really risky especially with the crazy valet's. The garage was a 2 car garage with plenty of space and the whole building was secured by a gate so it was a really secure location for the car.
So back to when we reached Milan on the evening of Day 7. We were tired after the day's drive so got Pizza at a close-by place and called it a night. I was not prepared for what was coming the next 2-3 days. I woke up with a heavy head and not feeling so well. But I pushed along, got ready and we all headed out to see the "Last Supper". Honestly there was not much to it but something that had to be done. I started to feel a lot worse but I trudged along. Briefly saw the Duomo and by this time I literally could not stand. We headed back to the apartment and my health went downhill Got a fever of 102 and hadn't felt so weak and helpless in a long time. Called a friend back home who is a doctor and based on my symptoms she prescribed some antibiotics for 7 days. Lucky for us, there are so many Pharmacy's in Italy and antibiotics don't require a prescription So between the antibiotics and Tylenol I started to feel better over the next 3 days.
So that was it in Milan. A totally forgettable stay

Here are some pictures that capture the one full day in Milan

Gelato and Cappuccino to start the day






So the parking in the building to get to the private garage was a little tricky thanks to this ramp that came down pretty steep to this flat portion and then descended again at a very steep incline. I went as slow as possible but scraped my exhaust flange very slightly on the way down. It wasn't an issue when we were leaving and I zig-zagged my way up













The car will be safe here for the next 5 days





This is where "The Last Supper" Resides








Duomo di Milano



Timelapse Videos

Milan Central Station





They charge 1 Euro to use the Rest Room at Milan Central Station





Next Up - The amazing villages at Cinque Terre, Italy


to be continued....................Stay tuned