Well, the day has finally come, I took delivery of my M3 this morning. Big shout out to Danny and Andrew of Circle BMW for making the process short and easy!
For those of you who didn't have your eyes glued to the Don Carlos thread, I ordered my M3 back in 2021 when I lived in NJ and have since moved to Texas. I was originally going to ship the car….but after doing some quick math it seemed like it would be cheaper and more fun than enclosed transport.
Needless to say, I have an appointment with BMW Houston North on Thursday so the clock is ticking. Our goal is to do the trip in two days, have the break-in service done, and put in some track time this weekend if at all possible.
I have done this trip before in a 28ft box truck, that took three days. This should be a breeze considering that thing was limited to 70 mph.
It will be a wild three days…
Since picking her up around 12 EST, I have packed her up and I must say the M3 has surprisingly awesome trunk space, especially with the rear seats down. Contents include a bunch of my girlfriend's crap, but more importantly a Unit 17 front lip and brake duct things, H&R Sports, Eventuri Intake, and some other little goodies.
As of right now, my brother is driving her from NJ to DC, and I am picking up a buddy at Union Station in Washington DC. Uur goal is to make it to Roanoke, VA tonight.
For those of you who may consider doing something similar, I will make a list of things you absolutely must remember. For now, I have the following:
1 - Radar Detector
2 - EZ Pass / Coins For Tolls
3 - Glass Cleaner
Update 1 - Departed NJ at 4:47 pm EST. ETA to Union Station for pickup is 8:25. Going to try and get some shots in front of some of those monuments. Might see if Biden wants to go for a ride…if not I hear AOC appreciated a good luxury sedan.
The first couple of observations. The car draws a ton of attention. Doesn't seem to matter age or vehicle, it gets noticed.
The orange interior is as my brother says beeping awesome/breathtaking. Carbon buckets are certainly more comfortable than anticipated (keep in mind we are both 5ft 9 and between 150 and 175 pounds).
The car is really very quiet when below 2K RPM and wind noise is significantly less than the M2 and maybe even the M5.
ZF is slightly slower than DCT for sure, but not a performance sucker at all, and certainly not a deal breaker.
Update 2 - At exactly 122 miles, a solid 12-inch crack appears on the windshield. A tiny rock chip caused it (shown below). Crossing the Susquehanna River was pretty cool, and she got her first fill-up!
Will update this thread along the way!