Let's hope the wrenches get nice and dusty: 2016 M3

[Beej]

My dad has always rolled his eyes at my old cars.  I distinctly remember telling my old man after graduating college that it was simply unnecessary, financially irresponsible, even, to own anything other than an old BMW.  I'm now nearing that old man status, he had a point, and this isn't necessarily financially responsible.  The bullet points are 2016 M3, sakhir orange over individual amaro brown extended leather, competition package, DCT.






After some nine years with the e46 and four with the e39, it's finally time for a change.  Simply owning and maintaining two vehicles (in addition to my wife's) is just not really something I'm interested in doing anymore - much less two 100k+ mile M cars.  They've honestly treated me really well and I'll defend them until the end, but the chance of having a problem is only going to increase, and I've found I don't enjoy turning wrenches as much as I used to.  I'm also really tired of juggling them around the driveway, which isn't really well suited to the situation.  I'm a little disappointed I won't be reppin' my favorite era of M cars, but this move should simply life quite a bit.  I think I'm at a point where I'll miss them fondly as opposed to regretfully. #smilebecauseithappened #livelaughlove

So I'd been thinking about it for a long time, and going down to one car - hopefully one I won't have to worry about much - would be a very welcome change in scenery. After months of lusting over a c6 z06/e39 M5 combination, I've come to my senses and whittled myself down from 16 cylinders to 6.

Granted there hasn't been a whole lot of time for much to go wrong, but F80/2 M3/4's, which I'm already sick of typing, seem to be pretty solid cars.  The old M's have their charm, but I think this'll make me every bit as happy for street and occasional autox use.

Finding one I liked took a nationwide search but it wasn't a long one - this car was shipped over from CA (after OH and TX car purchases, I ain't driving one back from CA).  I originally only wanted white on red or brown, but then this thing popped up. It's a little flashier than I'd usually go but you only go around once, what's wrong with a little flava?  Just tell my wife it's red and not orange. It's pretty loaded...missing I think only the rear sunshade? And no carbon brakes which would've been a dealbreaker anyway. On top of regular options, it looks like the PO went gangbusters in the M performance accessories catalog, as it has a decent e30's worth of CF bits.  Also it's horseshoe that ventilated seats weren't even an option.

Lastly, the transmission.  I can hardly believe it myself, but after driving both 6spd and DCT versions, I really felt the DCT suited the car better - something about the manual didn't feel right. DJ mentioned it's the ratios and that may be, but this motor just really seems to prefer not having such a large break between shifts. I've had nothing but 3 pedals for 15 years, so here's hoping the withdrawal isn't too strong. Plus now it'll be much easier to text while driving and my wife can ram that low splitter into curbs without having to worry about stalling it.

So! It's a Carmax car with a Carmax warranty (after the factory BMW one expires next summer) and a 7 day return period. I'm gonna take it to Delta V for a post purchase inspection and cross my fingers.

Mods/plans? Not much considering the warranty, aside from bagging it, fabric tow hooks, and tire stickers.  I originally disliked the wheels when I first saw the GTS/ZCP in pictures - why 2-dimensional wheels with fenders like that, you dickheads? - but I like them in person.  I imagine I'll swap to a 19 or something with more shape to it at some point - maybe all seasons for winter.  Other than that, there are apparently 243 combinations of settings between comfort/sport/sport+ in the throttle/suspension/steering/transmission departments, so that should keep me busy.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves - I hope to have a "first impression" reply and now a "had to take it back" one soon.

Justin what cool shit can be coded?