[checkmate1]

Considering today has been slow, figure its best to be productive and start a journal here.

First off I can't tell you how much this community has helped with my M3 ownership especially with the E46 (sold ) so without further delay..this is my journal.

I've owned the following cars before my new ///M. Those cars in no particular order are as follows:

2007 Blue Ford Mustang V6 w/Pony Pkge (gave it to my sister)
2005 Sterling Gray BMW Z4 3.0i Sport (sold)
2004 Imola Red BMW M3 coupe w/SMG (sold)

Needless to say the car I miss the most is the IR E46 M3 Coupe (Pic below)



There are number of reasons why I should kept the E46 but put it simply-it was time for me to move on.

I think its best to document my step towards the E90 M3 starting with my Performance Center Delivery experience below:


Introduction

6 months ago I started off on a journey to replace my E46 M3. The E46 was a blast to drive and needless to say the S54 screaming at the top end was an anthem to rock away my blues any day-anytime. BUT it was time to replace it.
I was getting married soon and could not keep a car that my wifey could not drive. It was time to move on to something more civil and dare I say-practical.

The new E9X M3 was something I hated at first. The thought of M engineers ditching the epic inline 6 was foreign to me. Not to mention, the added weight, 'refined' steering and yes-no dipstick!! I am someone who wants to keep a car for a long time and advocate DIYs. The new M3 seemed more daunting than my previous one.

After a lot of consideration and thanks to this forum-I realized that this wasn't as bad as the turbo charged set up in the future. What really sold me though was the sound. A test drive of the car led me to believe how stiff the suspension was compared to the old one. Icing on the cake was the Jekyll and Hyde personality that was even more pronounced now thanks to the added refinement & the S65 integrated so well with the chassis. It was time to put a deposit down and check of an options list.

I searched countless pictures and read about the options here before I elected mine. I chose the E90 simply because IMO it looked better than the E92 with that bulldog stance that I appreciated in my E46 M3. No offense to E92 owners-you guys have a beautiful car too but it just wasn't for me. The additional doors with all the promise of practicality and aesthetics beckoned.

ELECTION:
ALPINE WHITE
FOX RED INTERIOR
MDCT
NO Moonroof
NO EDC (Normal mode is standard suspension)
19' FORGED WHEELS
CONVENIENCE PKGE (Navigation,PDC, AntiTheft etc..)
SPLIT FOLDING REAR SEATS
HEATED SEATS


Once we finalized the order-the wait was next. Considering I was busy with the wedding planning-the wait didn't seem so bad. My wedding took place the same day hurricane Irene hit the Mid-Altantic. Thankfully we dodged the hurricane by 2 hours. Our wedding was over by 4pm and this was when the rain was simply starting near the Philly area.

My car arrived at the port of Baltimore on my wedding day and sat there for a week before being transported down to SC for the PCD. The big day was going to be 9/22. I could hardly wait.

9/20: Northwest BMW

I met up with David, Bob Harris and Joy Chilcoat at Northwest BMW for paperwork.

9/21-9/22-Destination:SC

Me and my wife flew Southwest into Greenville on 9/21 where we were greeted at the airport by the Greenville Marriot 5 series GT which we rode to the hotel (only 7 minutes away).



Needless to say our stay at the hotel was excellent. Some pics below.



9/22-THE BIG DAY

It started off as a rainy day but that did not dampen my spirits.The Marriot shuttle took us to the Performance Center. Our itinery for the day was to start promptly at 8am.


As soon as we pulled in to the front lobby. Guess what awaited us??? My heart skipped a few beats when I saw this gorgeous Alpine White/Fox Red E90 M3 chillaxin' and about to greet us as we walked in. It was simply stunning! I think both mine and my wife's jaw dropped-it was love at first sight... and the best part was that it was ours







Next up-was the classroom hosted by YES-Donnie Isley! Donnie explained BMW's braking prowess and what the different technologies entailed as far as keeping the driver safe while amplifying fun at their discretion.



After that was over-it was my favorite part next. Me and the wife were to sit in one their M3's and blitz up and down the track to perform braking exercises, testing DSC on/off but best of all-TRACK TIME!!! Boy-did I rev the nuts out of our M3, Donnie told me to keep my foot planted in the oh-so-sweet right pedal while I danced the car away around the track. Rain? What Rain?

Our AW/Comp Pkge M3 for the morning


After we had fun in our designated NYC (Not Your Car) and of course the braking exercises-we were then going to have Donnie do a hot lap in the M5.



A few more shots-notice the 1M's parked on the far side of the track? :rolleyes: (Don't worry-these cars were intentionally slipping and sliding by the instructors to give the passengers a lot of oh-$#@! moments)


I took a lot of random shots around the track. My wife thought I was nuts but hey-I was kid in a candy store that day.

After all that good fun-the group was split up into two-one was to do the X3/X5 off road course and while others were scheduled for the product delivery. Me and my wife were scheduled for the latter. The time had arrived and my wait was finally over!

After that-the car was ready to be pulled out :thumsup:


And with the key handed to us-we then proceeded for lunch followed by the X5 offroad course.


After that exercise-the group took their cars to the Zentrum and the Factory Tour which was great!

We departed for VA Beach/Busch Gardens where we had lots of fun. We pretty much hit every single ride with no lines thanks to kids being back in school.

Summary
This was an amazing trip to pick up our M3. I couldn't have done it any other way. All we needed to do was to schedule a long weekend. The people at the ///M Performance Center are so grounded and humble about the awesome jobs they have. Kudos to all the folks there especially Donnie and Willie for making our delivery the best ever.

Here's the car as she currently sits:



Mods thus far:
Painted AW Reflectors
Matte Black Grills
GoMiniGo Tow Hook plate holder
35% Tint
Apex ARC8 wheels

Future mods under consideration:
Vanguard Titanium Exhaust or the cheaper OEM Exhaust Mod-PENDING
18' Wheels (should function as track and winter wheels-suggestions welcome)-DONE
15MM and 12MM spacers-PENDING

First Track Day pics...@ VIR:
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showp...8&postcount=30

[JUICINBIMMER]

congrats!

[QuickShark]

Congratulations for the new car and also for the wedding

[m3freak86]

Looking forward to seeing the progress on this one Sanjay!

[usdmej]

no dipstick? so is there at least an electric oil level sensor then?

[kaiv]

Congrats and enjoy!!

I too moved on to an E90 and couldn't be happier!
Can't agree more with the jekyll/hyde personality comment you've made ahah

[EricM06IR]

congrats with the E90!! It looks so good may the mod bug begain!!!

[flipm3]

Good way to start a new build journal!!

E90 M3s are incredible in every way imaginable!!

With these E90 M3 Build Journals, I feel like I should start one...except I have no immediate plans to modify anything because my wallet told me "NO!!!!!!" haha

[EikouM3]

Congrats on the car and I hope you enjoy it.

[BlazenXLT]

Congrats! The new car looks awesome. If I were to buy new, I think I'd go PCD also.