Greetings - Thank again to all the forum members for their help and suggestions. The result is that I ordered a M3LR which is sitting in my garage drinking it's first "meal" on my home charger.
Frankly I was concerned about build quality and delivery problems, but experienced neither. My car is a very recent build - serial #135K series - late October birthday. It was raining when I picked up the car, but I was pleased with the entire process. The delivery team had the car ready for me and the paperwork was very efficient -- about a half hour including my questions about specific features of the car.
My iPhone and my wife's paired quickly with the M3 without incident. All functions seemed to work as expected. I didn't walk through checklists, but had them with me and read all of the posts suggesting things to look for.
Happy Surprises & Impressions:
1) The car is VERY quiet. I owned a Leaf and 2 BMW i3s, one a true BEV, the other a i3Rex - which has the onboard scooter engine that charges the battery when it wears down. The M3 is noticeably quieter than any of them.
2) Fit and finish, another thing I was concerned about, seemed fine. The car felt solid, responded to all my commands and began learning its surrounding quickly. I didn't order EAP, just the standard LR Deluxe interior package. Within a half hour the cameras began to show cars in adjacent lanes approaching or behind me - a welcome feature.
3) I have no regret, at least now, of passing on the EAP. The car is wonderful fun to drive and I enjoy driving. If you are a "seasoned driver" - read you have an AARP card - you may find that you enjoy driving the M3 too. The majority of my time behind the wheel is in local traffic in a mid sized city. EAP may be useful in such driving, but to me I'd rather do it myself. Having the standard cameras showing cars in my area is a very useful feature - also reducing my need for EAP. YMMV.
4) Deluxe audio is surprisingly good in many ways. I've used SiriusXM in all my prior cars for many years. I thought I'd really miss it. Turns out, not so much. As a senior I'm required to listen to Radio Classics on Sirius (if the show isn't at least 40 years old it's considered modern). I enjoy that channel and don't have a ready replacement for it, but Station 32 - The Bridge - on Sirius is a mix of soft rock. There are several soft rock type stations built into the M3, and they're all free! The audio quality, even in standard mode (a higher bit rate is optional if you upgrade your service) is surprising good. Far better than SiriusXM quality. There are also no annoying dropouts - the M3 network connection appears very good. So far, pleasantly surprised, and I'll upgrade to the higher bit rate audio and expect another pleasant surprise.
5) Personal Service is much appreciated. I had a problem with the timing of my delivery -- an unexpected family matter made it unclear if I would be able to get my car before I have to be out of town for an extended and unexpected amount of time. I contacted the local delivery team and they went above and beyond to help in any way they could. My sincere gratitude to Mike Toth (Raleigh NC) and his entire team. They tracked down my car, resolved differences between conflicting delivery dates, and got me my car in time to attend to other family matters. They deliver 20 cars or so a day -- to take the extra effort to help me out is FAR BEYOND the call of duty. I am very grateful to them.
Overall - my first few hours of ownership have been wonderful. The car exceeds my expectations in every way, and the local team is a large part of the reason why. Kudos.
For those that are concerned about build quality, I understand. I was there too, but frankly there were no horror stories when I arrived, the staff was well prepared, helpful and the car was fully ready. The only minor issue was the car battery was only charged to about 115 miles of range - a bit low to drive it all day long, but the Supercharger is a short 15 minute ride from the delivery lot. In about a half hour the car was at 75% battery capacity - my charging target. I drove it for a bit, and it's now finishing it's home charge - pulling about 30 miles of range/hour on a Clipper Creek 40AMP home charger.
Thanks to all for your help. Despite my concerns and fears, I'm happy to report that "All is Well".
If you're on the fence, take the plunge. You'll be as surprised and happy as I am.
Frankly I was concerned about build quality and delivery problems, but experienced neither. My car is a very recent build - serial #135K series - late October birthday. It was raining when I picked up the car, but I was pleased with the entire process. The delivery team had the car ready for me and the paperwork was very efficient -- about a half hour including my questions about specific features of the car.
My iPhone and my wife's paired quickly with the M3 without incident. All functions seemed to work as expected. I didn't walk through checklists, but had them with me and read all of the posts suggesting things to look for.
Happy Surprises & Impressions:
1) The car is VERY quiet. I owned a Leaf and 2 BMW i3s, one a true BEV, the other a i3Rex - which has the onboard scooter engine that charges the battery when it wears down. The M3 is noticeably quieter than any of them.
2) Fit and finish, another thing I was concerned about, seemed fine. The car felt solid, responded to all my commands and began learning its surrounding quickly. I didn't order EAP, just the standard LR Deluxe interior package. Within a half hour the cameras began to show cars in adjacent lanes approaching or behind me - a welcome feature.
3) I have no regret, at least now, of passing on the EAP. The car is wonderful fun to drive and I enjoy driving. If you are a "seasoned driver" - read you have an AARP card - you may find that you enjoy driving the M3 too. The majority of my time behind the wheel is in local traffic in a mid sized city. EAP may be useful in such driving, but to me I'd rather do it myself. Having the standard cameras showing cars in my area is a very useful feature - also reducing my need for EAP. YMMV.
4) Deluxe audio is surprisingly good in many ways. I've used SiriusXM in all my prior cars for many years. I thought I'd really miss it. Turns out, not so much. As a senior I'm required to listen to Radio Classics on Sirius (if the show isn't at least 40 years old it's considered modern). I enjoy that channel and don't have a ready replacement for it, but Station 32 - The Bridge - on Sirius is a mix of soft rock. There are several soft rock type stations built into the M3, and they're all free! The audio quality, even in standard mode (a higher bit rate is optional if you upgrade your service) is surprising good. Far better than SiriusXM quality. There are also no annoying dropouts - the M3 network connection appears very good. So far, pleasantly surprised, and I'll upgrade to the higher bit rate audio and expect another pleasant surprise.
5) Personal Service is much appreciated. I had a problem with the timing of my delivery -- an unexpected family matter made it unclear if I would be able to get my car before I have to be out of town for an extended and unexpected amount of time. I contacted the local delivery team and they went above and beyond to help in any way they could. My sincere gratitude to Mike Toth (Raleigh NC) and his entire team. They tracked down my car, resolved differences between conflicting delivery dates, and got me my car in time to attend to other family matters. They deliver 20 cars or so a day -- to take the extra effort to help me out is FAR BEYOND the call of duty. I am very grateful to them.
Overall - my first few hours of ownership have been wonderful. The car exceeds my expectations in every way, and the local team is a large part of the reason why. Kudos.
For those that are concerned about build quality, I understand. I was there too, but frankly there were no horror stories when I arrived, the staff was well prepared, helpful and the car was fully ready. The only minor issue was the car battery was only charged to about 115 miles of range - a bit low to drive it all day long, but the Supercharger is a short 15 minute ride from the delivery lot. In about a half hour the car was at 75% battery capacity - my charging target. I drove it for a bit, and it's now finishing it's home charge - pulling about 30 miles of range/hour on a Clipper Creek 40AMP home charger.
Thanks to all for your help. Despite my concerns and fears, I'm happy to report that "All is Well".
If you're on the fence, take the plunge. You'll be as surprised and happy as I am.
