Hi guys,
Just a quick introduction..I've been in love with BMWs since I purchased my first BMW (95 M3) sophomore year of college. Prior to the M3, I had a Mercedes-Benz C280 and a Nissan 300zx twin turbo. Realized that the BMW was a nice mix of the comfort Mercedes had to offer and the all around fun of the Nissan. The 300zx had a couple bolt ons, but it was with the M3 that pushed me down the endless black hole known as automobile modifications. I started relatively minor (cosmetics, suspension, etc) and finally graduated to forced induction (RMS Stage 2 followed by a custom turbo kit built by myself and my dad, with a lot of help from Mike Radowski at Maximum PSI). Still have my turbo E36 M3 (it's my baby), but have gone through a good deal of cars since then: 2007 BMW 335i, 2009 BMW M3, 2001.5 Audi S4, 2003 BMW M3, 2009 Audi S5.
A couple pics of my current E36 and past rides:
Avus Blue Turbo M3: PT-61, AEM EMS, etc
Black/Black 335i: 6MT, JB3, UR Intake, etc
Alpine White/Fox Red M3: 6MT, Stock
Nogaro Blue S4: 6MT, APR tune/exhaust
Alpine White/Cinnamon M3: 6MT, Stock
Sprint Blue S5: 6MT, B&B Exhaust
And now for my newest addition:
Once I sold my S5, I kicked the search into high gear for the next E92 M3. And one of my cars.com searches actually turned up a 2011 M3 "Orange" at Fields BMW of Daytona Beach, but no pictures were included. I found it interesting and used this great vin checking tool (http://www.etk.cc/bmw/EN/vin/decoder/online/) to see if it really was Orange. To my surprise, the color turned out to be "Sonderlackierung", aka "Individual/Special Order". OK, now we're onto something! I then googled the vin number to see any pictures listed on the web and to my surprise there were. I was shocked to see the car being sold was actually PSI's Project Fire build. Quickly sent Sean@PSI a PM to get some more details. The E92 was traded in when Sean picked up his new Sakhir Orange M4. And Sean was absolutely fantastic answering all the questions I had about this car. The thing that excited me the most (and I'm picky) was that Sean had Recaro seats, Alcantara steering wheel, MS Shift knob, etc inside. So I knew the OEM interior I was getting was going to be absolutely MINT!
So now I had this nearly stock CPO 2011 M3, 27k miles, Individual Fire Orange, Extended Leather, 6MT...listed at a very reasonable price. Contacted the dealership immediately and worked out a deal with Matt Hoffman, who made the entire transaction quick and easy. He reassured me that Sean takes amazing care of his cars so that pretty much sealed the deal. Sent my deposit, booked my flight, and I was on my way to Daytona Beach.
Matt picked me up at the airport in a new 3 series and brought me to the dealership. I was actually surprised when I walked into the dealer as the Fire Orange M3 was sitting in the showroom.
Now at this point I got giddy as I never purchased a car and drove it right off the showroom floor.
Took it for a test drive and signed all the paperwork! Again, I can't say enough good things about Fields BMW. Every member of their staff I spoke to was great and I would think about going back to them in the future (even if they are in Florida).
Left the dealer around 11am to begin my 13-14 hour drive home, right? That's what most normal people would probably do. However, I talked to Sean about the BC Racing ER coil-overs (with Swift Springs) he had on Project Fire and he still had them around. Figured I would take a 1 hour trip south to Winter Park and visit the shop/pick up the coil-overs. Sean and my timing didn't sync up so I didn't get a chance to meet him in person. Instead I met with RC and we talked cars and I actually got a chance to be in their BMW Orange Comparison Photoshoot (Thanks PSI for letting me borrow the pics).
The guys were super nice and after the shoot I started the trip home. I drove from Winter Park to Fredericksburg (Virginia), slept in the car at a Wawa for 2 hours, and then finished my ride home (suburbs of Philadelphia). It might sound horrible but I loved every minute of it.
Wanted to get some mods on it for Bimmerfest East. Already had the coils and was planning to install them Saturday (7/26). Except I needed the car to sound a little meaner. Found a used Eisenmann Race exhaust on the forums, at a very good price so met up with the seller Saturday morning. So Saturday I got to work installing the exhaust and BC coil-overs. Absolutely LOVE both the sound of the Eisenmann and the drop/ride of the BC coils!
Short instagram of the exhaust:
http://instagram.com/p/rDe6McIgSo/?modal=true
Following the coils, I needed to replace the OEM 18s with something a little different. Janis (jbraslins) was selling a set of black 19" BBS CH-R's at a very reasonable price. He wrapped the wheels amazing and they got to me safe from NC.
Best thing about Bimmerfest was that it exhausted our new lab puppy!
Along the way, I've been talking to many other vendors to either get suggestions or pricing. A few of them were Vincent at Bimmerzone, Sal/Matt at AUTOcouture Motoring, Tom at EAS, and Sam/Nicholas at Mode Carbon. Thanks to all of you for the help!
Next up will be a Mode Carbon V1 lip, Mode Carbon Performance Spoiler, ACM Test Pipes, and BPMSport Tune/Coding. Will get some professional shots taken once the MC pieces are on! All comments or suggestions are welcomed! Thanks for reading!!
-Mike
Just a quick introduction..I've been in love with BMWs since I purchased my first BMW (95 M3) sophomore year of college. Prior to the M3, I had a Mercedes-Benz C280 and a Nissan 300zx twin turbo. Realized that the BMW was a nice mix of the comfort Mercedes had to offer and the all around fun of the Nissan. The 300zx had a couple bolt ons, but it was with the M3 that pushed me down the endless black hole known as automobile modifications. I started relatively minor (cosmetics, suspension, etc) and finally graduated to forced induction (RMS Stage 2 followed by a custom turbo kit built by myself and my dad, with a lot of help from Mike Radowski at Maximum PSI). Still have my turbo E36 M3 (it's my baby), but have gone through a good deal of cars since then: 2007 BMW 335i, 2009 BMW M3, 2001.5 Audi S4, 2003 BMW M3, 2009 Audi S5.
A couple pics of my current E36 and past rides:
Avus Blue Turbo M3: PT-61, AEM EMS, etc
Black/Black 335i: 6MT, JB3, UR Intake, etc
Alpine White/Fox Red M3: 6MT, Stock
Nogaro Blue S4: 6MT, APR tune/exhaust
Alpine White/Cinnamon M3: 6MT, Stock
Sprint Blue S5: 6MT, B&B Exhaust
And now for my newest addition:
Once I sold my S5, I kicked the search into high gear for the next E92 M3. And one of my cars.com searches actually turned up a 2011 M3 "Orange" at Fields BMW of Daytona Beach, but no pictures were included. I found it interesting and used this great vin checking tool (http://www.etk.cc/bmw/EN/vin/decoder/online/) to see if it really was Orange. To my surprise, the color turned out to be "Sonderlackierung", aka "Individual/Special Order". OK, now we're onto something! I then googled the vin number to see any pictures listed on the web and to my surprise there were. I was shocked to see the car being sold was actually PSI's Project Fire build. Quickly sent Sean@PSI a PM to get some more details. The E92 was traded in when Sean picked up his new Sakhir Orange M4. And Sean was absolutely fantastic answering all the questions I had about this car. The thing that excited me the most (and I'm picky) was that Sean had Recaro seats, Alcantara steering wheel, MS Shift knob, etc inside. So I knew the OEM interior I was getting was going to be absolutely MINT!
So now I had this nearly stock CPO 2011 M3, 27k miles, Individual Fire Orange, Extended Leather, 6MT...listed at a very reasonable price. Contacted the dealership immediately and worked out a deal with Matt Hoffman, who made the entire transaction quick and easy. He reassured me that Sean takes amazing care of his cars so that pretty much sealed the deal. Sent my deposit, booked my flight, and I was on my way to Daytona Beach.
Matt picked me up at the airport in a new 3 series and brought me to the dealership. I was actually surprised when I walked into the dealer as the Fire Orange M3 was sitting in the showroom.
Now at this point I got giddy as I never purchased a car and drove it right off the showroom floor.
Took it for a test drive and signed all the paperwork! Again, I can't say enough good things about Fields BMW. Every member of their staff I spoke to was great and I would think about going back to them in the future (even if they are in Florida).Left the dealer around 11am to begin my 13-14 hour drive home, right? That's what most normal people would probably do. However, I talked to Sean about the BC Racing ER coil-overs (with Swift Springs) he had on Project Fire and he still had them around. Figured I would take a 1 hour trip south to Winter Park and visit the shop/pick up the coil-overs. Sean and my timing didn't sync up so I didn't get a chance to meet him in person. Instead I met with RC and we talked cars and I actually got a chance to be in their BMW Orange Comparison Photoshoot (Thanks PSI for letting me borrow the pics).
The guys were super nice and after the shoot I started the trip home. I drove from Winter Park to Fredericksburg (Virginia), slept in the car at a Wawa for 2 hours, and then finished my ride home (suburbs of Philadelphia). It might sound horrible but I loved every minute of it.
Wanted to get some mods on it for Bimmerfest East. Already had the coils and was planning to install them Saturday (7/26). Except I needed the car to sound a little meaner. Found a used Eisenmann Race exhaust on the forums, at a very good price so met up with the seller Saturday morning. So Saturday I got to work installing the exhaust and BC coil-overs. Absolutely LOVE both the sound of the Eisenmann and the drop/ride of the BC coils!
Short instagram of the exhaust:
http://instagram.com/p/rDe6McIgSo/?modal=true
Following the coils, I needed to replace the OEM 18s with something a little different. Janis (jbraslins) was selling a set of black 19" BBS CH-R's at a very reasonable price. He wrapped the wheels amazing and they got to me safe from NC.
Best thing about Bimmerfest was that it exhausted our new lab puppy!
Along the way, I've been talking to many other vendors to either get suggestions or pricing. A few of them were Vincent at Bimmerzone, Sal/Matt at AUTOcouture Motoring, Tom at EAS, and Sam/Nicholas at Mode Carbon. Thanks to all of you for the help!
Next up will be a Mode Carbon V1 lip, Mode Carbon Performance Spoiler, ACM Test Pipes, and BPMSport Tune/Coding. Will get some professional shots taken once the MC pieces are on! All comments or suggestions are welcomed! Thanks for reading!!
-Mike
Hope you enjoyed bimmerfest East 
