[biggripper]

I’m an officer in the United States Air Force. My M journey began when I was stationed in Italy a few years back and had an opportunity to buy my very first M via the BMW Military Program. My first was a 2016 F82 M4. It was a Silverstone Silver II over full Sakhir Orange, well-loaded with pretty much all the options minus the CCB’s. I enjoyed that car for the remainder of my time in Italy and then a three-year tour in England. After we moved back to the US, I traded it in for an M2C which I had for a short time and sold for cash to put into home renovations. I purchased another M2C a while later which I had again for around 6 months or so before trading it in on a mint 2018 YMB F80 ZCP that was fully PPF’d and ceramic coated with less than 9k original miles. I’ll always have a soft spot for the F8x cars. They weren’t perfect but for me they’ll always be the best-looking generation outside maybe the E46.



Fast forward to the present. I took another assignment in England and was able to bring my YMB F80 with me. It had been a great car and as much as I loved it my short attention span and my love for M’s was compelling me to seek out the next adventure. I’d read so many glowing reviews about the G8x platform that I knew it was time. I went to the local dealer and saw a G82 for the first time in the flesh and I was struck by how compelling the whole package is. While the G8x cars aren’t as classically beautiful as the F8x cars (especially F80, F82) were for me, I quickly developed a love and appreciation for the G80/82 as its own animal. Super aggressive!

Since I was stationed overseas again, I was able to make use of the BMW military sales program. Unfortunately, British BMW dealerships don’t offer the BMW Military Program to US military. This meant I would have to purchase the vehicle in Germany. I reached out to Euler BMW Military Sales in Kaiserslautern. I picked this particular dealership because of its close proximity to the US Air Bases that I would need to visit in order to complete the registration process. The process can be painful and a bit convoluted but would ultimately be worthwhile since I would be getting a 10% discount off MSRP!

I sent the dealer my build code from the configurator, they quickly sent me back a quote, and I put down my deposit. They had plenty of build slots available, so I had lots of time to deliberate on build choices. I went back and forth quite a bit this time on M3 vs M4. It was honestly agonizing. My decision was a moving target. One day the M4 was the sexiest, the next it was the M3. I went back and forth several times but ultimately since I was buying the car without the luxury of a test drive, I was swayed by the resale edge that the M3 enjoys. They’re both beautiful cars and there is no winning in subjectivity arguments.

Color was mostly easy for me. I liked the idea of sticking with launch colors and I also really like BMW’s motorsport-inspired color naming convention which is part of why I also really loved SSII and YMB. For this reason, I was stuck on Isle of Man Green from the outset. While I was never really one for greens, Isle of Man Green was special and clearly not an ordinary green. Like some of BMW’s best colors, IOMG is a dynamic color that changes under various lighting conditions which ups the fun factor for me. I did briefly consider BMW individual colors and the semi-individual colors Dravit and Tanzanite Blue II. Cost considerations ultimately assisted me in sticking to my first choice and committing to IOMG.

Delivery
Ordering went smoothly and there were no production snags. I spec’d most options minus CCB’s and the driver assistance package since I didn’t want the radar sensor in the lower grill. The car showed up at the dealership the second week of August and the dealer sent me pictures and the real excitement began. Unfortunately, I would have to wait until September 10th to fly to Germany and collect because of manning constraints where I work. The upside is that the car would be fully PPF’d and ceramic coated before delivery as the dealer coordinated all the work through a reputable local PPF installer (https://www.instagram.com/mirroreffectlackveredelung/).

I wanted delivery to be special, so I decided early on that I was going to plan a European delivery experience inspired by the many such accounts I had enjoyed reading here on Bimmerpost. I opted to plan a more condensed delivery trip since I already live overseas and frequently travel around Europe anyway (https://www.instagram.com/lensjourner/). My agenda had to include a trip to Munich to see the usual BMW stuff (BMW Welt, Museum, BMW factory tour) and a trip to the Nürburgring. I had called BMW before the trip and managed to snag the only available spot on the factory tour for the entire week of the 11th. I had a place on the 12th at 1300. The agenda was set!

We flew into Frankfurt, rented a car, and drove to Kaiserslautern on the 10th. The timeline for the whole trip depended entirely on getting the car registered and getting my temporary tags from the nearby US Air Base on the 11th. Sadly, the tiny registration office on the base had unusually high traffic due to the high volume of military personnel coming to the base or departing the base for new assignments—what we military folk know as PCS season. This meant I didn’t get tags for my car until after 4 PM on Monday and I would still need to clear German customs and their office was already closed for the day—the factory tour was now off the table.

Since we were forced to spend another night in Kaiserslautern, we decided to make the most of it. Fortunately, the hotel had a great bar area and magnificent outdoor space. We popped down to the bar and had a fun night of darts, pool, pizza, and beer. Germans are awesome! I can’t recall ever seeing darts or a pool table in any American Hotel. Ha!

The next day I returned the rental car. My SA from Euler picked me up in a brand new X1 (I was quite impressed with how far the X1 has come) and took me back to the dealership for collection. I had already popped into the dealership late the day before and set all the iDrive stuff up on my knowing that I’d be intent on making a clean and efficient getaway. For delivery day then, I opted to keep proceedings paired down to the basics. Paperwork, keys, a few pics, and then onto customs. We cleared customs in about 45 minutes and then hit the road to Munich!

I was bummed about missing out on the factory tour but, for me, it was still worth the drive to Munich to see the Welt and the BMW Museum and get some quality “break-in compliant” time on the Autobahn. Even if the Munich stuff was somehow a disappointment, I knew I would still have the excitement of the Nordschleife ahead.


Delivery Day

Attachment 3279867
Attachment 3279866

BMW Museum





M Exhibit

I loved the collection of F8x wing mirrors on the wall. Of course, I had to locate the ones I had in my driveway!



Fisting the 3.0 CSL



BMW Welt


It’s a cool place but it is mostly a giant BMW showroom.

I spotted this IOMG M3 Touring up on the delivery level.


After our overnight in Munich, we began the drive to the Nürburgring. We made a brief stop for lunch and a stretch in the beautiful city of Heidelberg. I’d always loved the city and wanted my wife to finally see it.



After a long drive, we arrived at the Nürburgring and got checked into the Congress Hotel and dropped our stuff. We made it just in time for the 1700-1900 open session at the Nordschleife. There was, of course, quite a variety of cool cars waiting for the course to open. So cool!


Thanks to the multitude of track photographers stationed around the circuit I was able to hop online and snag a bunch of great shots. I think I paid 98 euros for 10 photos. Totally worth it! No shit-talking my racing line. For most of my lap, I did not even attempt to adhere to the line. In keeping with the established protocols, I mostly stayed to the right. Since I was well under my break-in miles, I had to keep things fairly tame which meant I was the slowest dude on the track. Let me tell you though, even keeping the revs under 5500 this car has so much power and I enjoyed the…welp “hell” out of the Green Hell! What an experience! I was really scared to eff up on the track, but it was epic. I’m so glad I did it! Additionally, I am grateful that I spent a fair amount of time learning the track via YouTube videos—especially Misha Charoudin’s track walk video. The best part for me was that I actually convinced my wife to ride along with me.


After my lap, we went back to the hotel and had an excellent meal in the restaurant with great views of the mountains and the local roads. Dinner was enhanced by the views of cool cars speeding by and the soundtrack of distant burnouts. Haha! The next morning, we began the long drive back to the UK which included a trip on the Eurotunnel to cross the channel.

[SaxyBMW]

Congrats on your new ride! I picked up my IOMG/KO G80 in June and love it. Oddly enough, I am taking a job in Germany and planning to bring the car over from the US. I will be based right outside of Kaiserslautern - I was tempted to unload the car here and get an M3 touring, but I think I'll hold off on that. ha! Enjoy the new whip!!

[biggripper]

Originally Posted by SaxyBMW

Congrats on your new ride! I picked up my IOMG/KO G80 in June and love it. Oddly enough, I am taking a job in Germany and planning to bring the car over from the US. I will be based right outside of Kaiserslautern - I was tempted to unload the car here and get an M3 touring, but I think I'll hold off on that. ha! Enjoy the new whip!!

You’re going to love it. The roads are so good! What a treat to live somewhere where you can fully enjoy the car! I saw several tourings on thr trip, they are super cool for sure!

[biggripper]

More pics from the trip!

[showmatic]

Looks like a great experience. I just retired from 20 years in the Army and never got the chance to be stationed in Germany (or anywhere in Europe, for that manner). I was stationed in Korea 3 times for a total of 10 years, though.

[biggripper]

Originally Posted by showmatic

Looks like a great experience. I just retired from 20 years in the Army and never got the chance to be stationed in Germany (or anywhere in Europe, for that manner). I was stationed in Korea 3 times for a total of 10 years, though.

Thanks for your service! I feel very lucky to have had such good fortune with my assignments.

[MJBO]

While the G8x cars aren’t as classically beautiful as the F8x cars (especially F80, F82) were for me, I quickly developed a love and appreciation for the G80/82 as its own animal. Super aggressive!

It’s so nice to see when people get this

My F82 was gorgeous, but TBH it looked a bit too close to an M440i. In comparison, there is no mistaking a G8x for any other 3 series, it looks like it means business.

Congrats on the G80!

[Needsdecaf]

Thank you for your service and congrats! Great trip!

[hhkb]

Originally Posted by MJBO

It’s so nice to see when people get this

My F82 was gorgeous, but TBH it looked a bit too close to an M440i. In comparison, there is no mistaking a G8x for any other 3 series, it looks like it means business.

Congrats on the G80!

I just took it to the track yesterday. All stock everything. The car didn’t skip a beat afte4 five sessions!

[biggripper]

I don’t doubt it! Definitely looking forward to taking mine out to the local circuit (Snetterton) at some point after my running in service. I’m pretty much have to go to the track to enjoy my cars here in the UK—the roads are truly awful!

[mirob]

Is it still European Delivery if you're in Europe or is it just delivery? J/K man, enjoy in good health and thank you for your service!!!

[biggripper]

Originally Posted by mirob

Is it still European Delivery if you're in Europe or is it just delivery? J/K man, enjoy in good health and thank you for your service!!!

Bahaha! Fair point!

[chicagofan00]

Congrats on the new M and thank you for your service!

I really hope that one day they’ll bring back the European Delivery experience…

[christianb5s4]

That looks like an incredible experience, those ring pictures are phenomenal!

I too thank you for your service.

[nosbocaj]

Congrats! I did ED years ago with my M2 and it was amazing. Looks like you were able to hit all of the high points, without having to wait two months for your car to ship back.

I'm really jealous of that 10% off MSRP too. I wish we could get something like that in the states instead of the silly $750 military appreciation rebate.