Back in Denver with my M3 (Trip details)

[Dereleek]

My life has been crazy since last Wednesday...

Wednesday 4/25-- Sell my 2010 BMW 328i xDrive coupe to Schomp BMW around 9am...

Thursday 4/26--Up at 3am to get a full days work in before catching a 12pm flight to Jacksonville, Fl. Arrive in Jax at 6pm and head to see the M3 for the first time. It is immaculate! Turns out the loan check cleared his bank, but he won't be able to cash the cashier's check until the next morning and doesn't want to release the car to me until all money has cleared. Sigh.

Friday 4/27--At the bank when it opens at 9am to ensure finalize remaining funds. Straight back to his house to complete bill of sale and finally take possession of the M3! This would be my first time ever driving an M3...I can't stop smiling.
No time to waste...have to head to the DMV with bill of sale and proof of insurance so I can get temporary tag for trip back to Denver.
Head straight from DMV to Lowes to pick up 2 rolls of painters tape...I can't have bugs all over the front of my new favorite possession. Spend the next hour completely covering the front end of the vehicle (pics below).

Finally depart for Denver at 1230pm eastern time. Drive for 1050 miles straight and finally stop at hotel in between St. Louis and Kansas City. Made many phone calls during long drive--my favorite was setting up Sirius radio in the new "M"--was able to spend most of evening listening to NFL Draft live.

Also had large tire from semi in middle lane of I-64 almost takes me out. Also...have close call with herd of deer on side of interstate in Tennessee.

Saturday 4/28-- Check in hotel at 0330am central time after driving 1050 miles. Set alarm for 0800am (4.5 hrs sleep) so that I can get early start and be home for dinner.
Reach Kansas City early morning and narrowly dodge 6 baseball helmets (large pole ran through ear holes of helmets) laying in left hand lane of interstate. Didn't want to think of what that would've done to my carbon fiber front lip and rest of bumper.
Get pulled over 30 miles outside Denver for not signaling lane change on
I-70. I tell the officer that I just travelled 1720 miles in an M3 and have gone out of my way not to get pulled over--He lets me go with a warning.

Arrive back to Denver at 6pm sharp after a second day of non-stop driving. Immediately pulled all the painters tape off and head straight for local auto parts store to stock up on car cleaner/bug remover to clean bugs off front end TONIGHT.

Relax with a beer and look forward to getting new Pilot Super Sports mounted tomorrow....then head for full detail appointment in the afternoon. Oh yeah--head to work on Monday AM and watch friends and everyone else drool over my car.

Couple of notes:

1.) First time driving an M3 was Friday...it is unbelievable in every way!
2.) Big fan of all the carbon fiber mods the previous owner did (full interior, front lip, rear spoiler, and rear diffuser.)
3.) The exhaust note makes me happy.
4.) I averaged 22.1 miles per gallon during trip
5.) The painters tape did an excellent job of keeping bugs to a minimum...some of the tape did peel back slightly after a slight rainstorm.
6.) The enhanced audio sounds great.
7.) I actually scared myself at sea-level when I floored it to get on interstate for first time...it felt like a rocket.

I'm really glad to join the family and I can honestly tell you after 48hrs of ownership that this will be the first of many "M" cars that I will own in the future, but for now I'm gonna enjoy every minute of this one.

Can't wait for the get-togethers.

-D

[baliano]

Congrats...glad you made it home without incident. Colorado is starting to have quite a few AW M3's...

[M3Denver]

Welcome home

[jaehshim]

Looking great
Congrats!!

[ShakeNBake]

congrats! time for me to wrap my car a new color with all these AWs in CO haha

[signes]

Congrats and welcome back, good to have another M in the area. Great write-up and very impressed you did it in two days by yourself. Great work getting out of the ticket, too. Curious how much different it felt at sea level, hopefully not too much a let down once you got home. BTW, who's doing the detail?

[mamadub]

Loved your write up and I'm so happy everything worked out so well for you. The car is beautiful....let us know what all your co workers think on Monday!

[Dereleek]

Thanks. I have been taking my cars to Jazz detailing. The owner Keith is a really nice guy and they do great work. I would do it myself, but I'm in a townhouse and don't have the right setup. However, once I close on my new house..no one will touch my car, but me.

The car was insane at sea level...way too fast.

Originally Posted by signes

Congrats and welcome back, good to have another M in the area. Great write-up and very impressed you did it in two days by yourself. Great work getting out of the ticket, too. Curious how much different it felt at sea level, hopefully not too much a let down once you got home. BTW, who's doing the detail?

[dnvrdrvr]

Originally Posted by derek0812

The car was insane at sea level...way too fast.

Welcome home - good job dodging all the obstacles along the way! Drove my car at sea level two summers ago... It's almost a completely different animal.

[Mile High M3]

Nice! That would be a pretty cool experience. Hit any bad weather? I saw that you mentioned rain.

[Dereleek]

Originally Posted by jzbm3

How did Jazz do on the detail?

Thinking about dropping my M off for a bit of spring cleanup.

Awesome. Dropped it off the morning after I returned to Denver for hand wash and premium wax. Of course I stood right next to the car while it was washed and waxed because I'm obsessive, but they did an unbelievable job and the car looked like a million bucks afterwards.

I usually go there every few months for a coat of sealant and premium wax to keep the car looking great year round. He uses the best products around. Ask for Keith when you go...he is the owner and really really nice guy. He knows how we are about our cars...and he makes sure the jobs done right.

Tell him Derek referred you.