Euro Delivery F80 M3

[stressdoc]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

My third ED. Total cost of trip including airfare, hotels, 100 octane fuel, tolls, meals, etc. = about 3k each (less than ED savings for me!). Super happy that the dealer here (Machens) was able to get me an allocation with a delivery date during summer break.

Flew into Munich on a Tuesday morning; Eugene/Sixt waiting to pick us up even though flight was early and bags Priority. Nice easy ride in new 7 series diesel right to Hotel Opera. Great location, good price, fantastic breakfast (well, not at Kempinski 5 star champagne & caviar decadence level, but nice). Walked all over Munich that afternoon & evening -- englischergarten was beautiful, surfers going nuts on that little branch of the Iser that I found in a previous ED; viktuelmarkt was fun with the footballers partying. Climbed up St. Peters for the view. Fantastic time, I love Munich!

Next morning more walking, did the full circle. Rained a lot, but flowers and gardens were happy. Visited the i-BMW center. Packed up and took a quick taxi to the Welt. Checked in, then got some lunch and did some cruising. Sweet 507 at the museum.

My biggest surprise was seeing Bernhard Hausmaninger again. He is such a great BMW guy!!!

[stressdoc]

So... we take off from the Welt, headed to see Mad Ludwig's fantasy. Got an unbelievably cool corner room with a great view of Neuschwanstein. Little rainy, then: Boom! An amazing rainbow right over the castle! Fantastic dinner at place down towards Hohenschwangau on the little lake. Great hike in morning up to Neuschwanstein; love the bridge and little hiking trails. Took off for Lago di Como, took the fast route past Chur.

[stressdoc]

Next morning drank a lot of great espresso. Drove over to Villa Balbianello -- of star wars & Bond Casino Royale fame. The whole lake district is freakishly beautiful, but the villa is a place to see at some point in your life.

Ossuccio is wonderful, tons of incredible stone walking alleys, nice restaurants, very affordable.

Next we were off to Portofino. Some very fast autostrada battles with some feisty Alfas. The M3 is so competent in the curvy sections, no real problem putting the rabid Gran Prix wannabees in the rear view mirror. My first real taste of how fast the M3 is. A bit hard on my passenger though.

Hilga (the Nav -- car computer was loaded with the European maps, so German version of Lups' "Candy") was awesome, providing perfect, timely navigational instructions.

Soooo wow, Portofino is amazing. Extremely difficult driving with the buzzing scooters attacking at all angles, but once safely parked away, strolling about the Plaza was most interesting. Even better are the hikes around the peninsula. Found a nice secluded beach to snorkel at.

[DocWeatherington]

Congrats, bring back great memories

[stressdoc]

After a couple days seeing how the elite have a good time we were off on a long drive to süd tirol and Austria. The Dolomites are really interesting mountains, and full of wonderful little back roads to explore. We eventually found our Pension in Heiligenblut, an idyllic alpine village under the shadow of the Großglochner. We hiked and drank too much bier for a couple days, then headed over the pass and back to Munich. Unfortunately the weather was difficult; the fog/clouds so thick we had to take the downhill slope rather slow.

One huge accomplishment, however, was determining the source of the color choices for the F8x. Initially we thought that Yas Marina Blue was mimed from the Italian Polizei. It was a kick to see how terrified the Alfistas were when our carabinieri-blu monster screamed up behind them... But no, the true source of the M colors was to be found among the Gartenzwerg. Perhaps the original inspiration for Les Schtroumpfs (smurfs), garden gnomes come in three colors: Austin Yellow, Sakhir Orange, and of course, Yas Marina Blue.

[stressdoc]

The Großglochner was a bit socked in, but the views on the South side were still incredible. The drop off at loginout was easy, although the street to the Kempinski a little hard to locate. I felt rather dumb, stuffing myself with one last giant German feast and a few litres of pilsner, only to find the Surf and Style wave center, which I would have loved to try out under less burdened condition.

[stressdoc]

So, what do I think of the car?

First, the options: YMB, extended black leather, adjustable suspension, Harmon Kardon, manual transmission, 19" silver/gray rims.

In comparison with my 335 (and E46, and 2002tii...), the F80 seems large. Seating position higher. Greenhouse reduced, less visibility out windshield. I miss the sunroof. The Harmon Kardon is excellent; the NAV freaking awesome with the Euro maps loaded directly into the computer. The ride and the limits are amazing, but in some ways less engaging to drive. Adaptive suspension is astonishing in its ability to keep everything under control. The clutch is seamless; the LSD brilliant. I prefer the rough M steering wheel on my 335 to the smooth wheel on the M3. Seats are still undecided; I love the way the side bolsters can really hold you in on the 335. I think I should have opted for the Speed cloth, it's a better fit for my needs. The M3 is rather noisy at high speeds, and I have not decided what I think about the exhaust brrratttle. The manual transmission is fine, the rev matching OK once you get accustomed. The gear knob is not my favorite, and too high. The turning radius is less than nimble. Some have suggested that the F8x is a bit more M5-like in character; I tend to agree. It does hide its super-car abilities from one's senses -- it was a bit surprising to handle high speed curves with relative ease whilst all around the Alfas, Peugeots, and the lot of Gran Prix wannabes were squirming and sliding at their more earthly limits.

It is arguably the ultimate multi-purpose high performance vehicle.

Oh yeah, and Yas Marina Blue is all right. It got tons of positive comments from bystanders. It stands out in a friendly sort of way.

[volkl23]

Looks like you had a fantastic trip! My pickup is a month away from now and I just cannot wait! I'm hoping this will be the first of many ED trips.

[dreamsongs]

Great post, I love to read about the different places you can go. It seems there's not enough time to see everything you'd like to see.

Maybe we can put a thread about the "must see" places on your ED. Congrats and keep'em coming....

[myzmak]

Excellent thread and good pics.

[Lynchmob6]

Excellent…congrats!

[NOcastillo]

Congrats on a great trip! Car is beautiful btw!

[stressdoc]

Thanks! I'm thinking we should create new sub-sections with ED threads, Shipping, Pricing, Misc.

[KevinM]

Great post! Seems as if you had a wonderful trip. These kind of posts strengthen my resolve to do an ED. I've owned/own many BMWs but have never done ED, in part because of OCD worries that I'll damage the car while driving in Europe. I guess I'll have to get over it...

P.S. Love the shot of the Italian beauty looking over the balcony.

[FTS]

Lovely read, thanks for the wonderful pics too, glad you had good time.

[stressdoc]

Originally Posted by KevinM

Great post! Seems as if you had a wonderful trip. These kind of posts strengthen my resolve to do an ED. I've owned/own many BMWs but have never done ED, in part because of OCD worries that I'll damage the car while driving in Europe. I guess I'll have to get over it...

P.S. Love the shot of the Italian beauty looking over the balcony.

Get over it. Stick to Germany & Austria at first.

P.S. She is not Italian.

[mpbruin108]

Originally Posted by KevinM

Great post! Seems as if you had a wonderful trip. These kind of posts strengthen my resolve to do an ED. I've owned/own many BMWs but have never done ED, in part because of OCD worries that I'll damage the car while driving in Europe. I guess I'll have to get over it...

P.S. Love the shot of the Italian beauty looking over the balcony.

I don't think you have to worry about that. You have european insurance for a reason. The car will be fixed and cleaned up for you by the time it reaches the states. I doubt they can deliver a damaged car to the US especially since they require the car be clean before you drop off the car at a drop off location.

DO IT!

[IMrMark]

Cool! Enjoy the wait part 2

[stressdoc]

Aaaaagh! Really glad I have my 335 to pass the time with.

[KevinM]

Originally Posted by stressdoc

Get over it. Stick to Germany & Austria at first.

P.S. She is not Italian.

Looks like I will! I love Italy but not driving there (actually I don't mind driving there as long as it is not my car!).

My apologies, I didn't realize she was yours as she only was in one picture - I thought it was a random picture. I don't make a habit of commenting on people's SOs in posts.

Originally Posted by mpbruin108

I don't think you have to worry about that. You have european insurance for a reason. The car will be fixed and cleaned up for you by the time it reaches the states. I doubt they can deliver a damaged car to the US especially since they require the car be clean before you drop off the car at a drop off location.

DO IT!

Good point. It's the small imperfections (curbed wheel, paint chips) that I worry about, but in the end the car will not remain jewel-like even if I take US delivery!

[turbo666]

Great post and great pictures!

[voodoogeek]

very nice ! definitely have to do the italy roadtrip, but that will be in spring/summer 2015, already planned

the comment on YMB being almost the same as the italian Carabinieri/Police cars is very interesting. should've gone for that color and scaring people off on the autostrada when I travel to south italy in summer