The Last of the Breed - 2011.75 E90 M3

[Veritable]

With the imminent demise of the E90 M3 Sedans (and none forthcoming for the next generation), I decided to get my hands on one of the last ever to be built, exchanging my '08.

While in the car shopping mood, I made good on my threat to consider the Cadillac CTS-V Sedan, and actually located a rare 6MT one locally, with all the fixings. With the supercharged LSA V8, Delphi's MagnaRide suspension (electric-controlled hydraulic shocks and dampers, same as those found on the Ferrari 599, more advanced than the Audi R8, and of course borrowed internally straight from the Corvette ZR1), vented Recaro front seats, backup camera... it actually became my first choice.

However, after visiting no fewer than 4 GM dealerships, putting down and then withdrawing 2 separate deposits, including a last-ditch effort at the place where the car is actually located, it became clear that somehow they weren't very interested in getting rid of this bastard child of a MANUAL Cadillac at a price that I'm comfortable with.

Rather, BMW gave me an excellent trade-in value for my '08 M3, which none of the GM dealers were willing to approach. And, since the CTS-V is under the Employee Pricing Discount, and since they don't receive the full margin under such discount, they weren't able to move much on the price at all, either on the new vehicle or on the trade-in. That, combined with the higher financing rate, meant the Cadillac ended up being more expensive than the M3. I do like the car, but not THAT much :-P

The final straw was the way that GM dealers operated. The GM.ca website has a Build Your Car section, like all other car manufacturers. I know what optional equipments that particular vehicle has, so I "built" it, and the website gave me a price of $73.3k after all ADVERTISED discounts. Out of the 4 GM dealers, ONLY ONE said right off the bat that that's the actual selling price. The rest argued with me that the $1500 additional rebate that apply to all CTSs does NOT apply to the Vs. I even called GM Canada to complain, and their customer service's reply was "well, all dealers are independent so we can't control their pricing." I've heard of "dealers may sell for less," and I'd think "market pricing adjustment" wouldn't apply to a vehicle that's been sitting on the lot for the past 100 (yes, ONE HUNDRED) days. So, back to BMW.

Going from an M3 to an M3... what do I get out of it?

#1 M-DCT. I've had the pleasure of riding in one such-equipped vehicle in one of our auto-x's, and I've been sold ever since. For my daily drives, I often go through all 6 gears on the upshift before I even get to city cruising speed, and then when I have to slow down, I'd go down to 3rd to take advantage of the 12:1 compression ratio engine braking. The DCT seems to suit that driving style.

#2 New updated iDrive. I personally never minded the < 2008 version that my '08 had, but as most of you have read about already, the '09+ is a night-and-day difference.

#3 Speed Cloth. MUCH more grippy than the smooth Novillo Leather, and cheaper to boot.

Beyond that, of course I'd want the Audiophile Package (for the premium sound system and so I can keep my Sirius Satellite Radio subscription). All others are up for discussion.

As some of you might have heard, M3 Sedans are rare. M-DCT M3 Sedans are much more rarer. Since I'm already too late to do a factory order, I have to pick something coming in. Satisfying all the requirements, I can choose from.... ONE Melbourne Red one for late July, and then THREE black ones for late August. That's it. That's all the E90 M3 Sedans ever coming into Canada. No more.

Back to Melbourne Red it is. M-DCT, Speed Cloth, Carbon Leather trim, iDrive as part of the M-Drive package, Audiophile, High Gloss Shadowline, Parking Sensors.

Here's some pictures that I've taken with my phone (Samsung Galaxy S2) over the past couple of days, since the surprise delivery on Tuesday.































The sharper-eyed amongst you may have noticed that I'm still running the Continental ExtremeContact DWSs on the new car. Since these tires are not original-equipment for the BMW M3s, the dealer could not sell my old car as Certified Pre-owned. So, for an extra $1000 on the trade-in value, the dealer swapped the new M3's tires onto my old car, and I get my DWSs back. I would have been sad if the new car came with PS2s, but thankfully it didn't. It came with ContiSportContact 3s, which by most accounts isn't that... great. Privately I said that if the new car came with the CSC3s, I would have offered to trade for them anyways. Don't tell the dealer that though :-P

[sawzall]

Congratulations, your E90 looks sharp - haven't seen many sedans in red! No doubt you won't look back at the CTS-V.

[Lorde]

Oooooh, there's a new DSC OFF button.

[KRUZNM3]

Good choice!!

[Davin]

Another E90 Yaaaay!!

[jonasaurus]

Congrats!

[Veritable]

Originally Posted by shizzle

No doubt you won't look back at the CTS-V.

Honestly I really like the CTS-V. It would be something I would proudly drive. However, I just didn't want to deal with the GM dealers to buy it :-P

Besides, my brother-in-law is looking to trade his 2005 Porsche 911 C2S for a 2009 Nissan GT-R. For me to stay with 4 doors, I might need that CTS-V's 6.2L supercharged LSA V8 to keep up :-P

[stefan]

YES speed cloth. You will thank yourself later on, this is going to be a hot option. Love the MR. Good call on not falling for EDC and ZCP hype.

[Johan@WSTO]

Great color combination and I like the speed cloth as well! Congrats!

[jeff@autocouture]

nice choice

[BMWPower06]

Congrats! Love the red

[soursamo]

I have seen your previous 3 a few times when visiting Van, great choice on the new one. Those sport cloth seats look fantastic.

[gthal]

Originally Posted by stefan

Good call on not falling for EDC and ZCP hype.

Yeah, because you didn't opt for it it's all hype

OP... beautiful car. You will like the DCT. Love how your nav shows the outlines of buildings... mine doesn't do that (and it is a 2011.75 as well). I suspect it is because they don't have that for the smaller city I live in.

[aajami]

Originally Posted by gthal

Yeah, because you didn't opt for it it's all hype

OP... beautiful car. You will like the DCT. Love how your nav shows the outlines of buildings... mine doesn't do that (and it is a 2011.75 as well). I suspect it is because they don't have that for the smaller city I live in.

Yeah, I have an 09 iDrive but I don't have 3D buildings either. Was that feature introduced in MY11s and on?

[Technic]

Originally Posted by aajami

Yeah, I have an 09 iDrive but I don't have 3D buildings either. Was that feature introduced in MY11s and on?

If where you drive is not mapped for 3D in the map data then it will not show up in the screen as such.

[Rob@StrasseWheels]

WOW i'm in love! Congrats she's a real beauty!

[Vise]

Congrats! I did the same thing, trading in my 2008 E90 for a 2011.75... did a factory order early July as I wanted to ensure I got it exactly to my specs. Going from Melbourne Red/Black Leather to Alpine White/Fox Red Leather so a bit of a change. Its currently on a boat on the way here, delivery should be late August. Can't wait!

[flipm3]

Congrats and you got great taste!!

We have an 2009 E90 M3, Melbourne Red, Speed Cloth, DCT....that's all. No other options, haha.

[cghempel]

I really like the Melbourne Red. Your car definitely "pops"

[IND-Distribution]

Very nice! Congrats!

[catch]

great looking car! love the interior too

[E92LNGCGY]

Nice ride. Red is rare for any M3 let alone E90. How do you find the cloth interior? Is it durable? It honestly doesn't look like fabric from the pictures.