I recently made a killer deal on a new 2008 M3 Convertible....what an amazing ride!! First off the deal...back in July '08 right after the 2008 M3 retractable hard top vert first came out, I was looking at trading my GT 500 for an M3 vert and they were pretty proud of the car having just came out. They wanted full MSRP (and more dealer markup at a couple of dealers I spoke with) so I decided to just wait. Well, a few weeks ago I received a mailer from BMW about the 0.9% financing on all M3's through 10/31/08....that got me to reconsider and I started internet shopping again. I quickly found out that in CA alone, some dealers had as many and 30+ M3's (coupes/sedans/verts) in their inventories and were eager to make a deal. I ended up being referred to Coast BMW (SLO town, CA) and they made me a deal at $500 over invoice with the 0.9% financing. First they had to find the M3 I was looking for as they were actually low in stock for M3's - one of the few!! I was nicely surprised that (Scotty Boulanger, Coast BMW) went the extra distance to find and have my M delivered from Weatherford BMW in Berkley, CA. Thank you Scotty for an excellent deal and a great sales experience...there is absolutely (well almost ) nothing like picking up your dream ride and driving home

The car - Jerez Black 6MT convertible with Bamboo Novillo interior and sycamore wood trim. Technology package (M drive YAY), Preimim package, 19" M wheels, IPod/USB, Sirus Sat, Enhanced Preimum sound package, pretty much all the options except the DCT tranny, PDC and extended leather. I would have opted for the latter two options but this was pretty close so I did the deal. I don't really know how to describe the M - except to say it "fits like a glove" and "BMW - got it right" The "M Drive" is fantastic, and it is awesome to be able to program the M Drive dynamics into a single button on the steering wheel...when I press the "M" button the car just lunges ahead (which is pretty much all the time) I still haven't figured out how anyone can NOT drive in the "M" mode. It's killing me to take it easy (not over 4.5K RPM's until 1200 miles (and this V8 revs to 8400rpm's) I can just feel it starting to get into the powerband and have to let up. One of my main concerns with the M3 vert was the weight...but not anymore - BMW somehow disguised the weight and the car handles teriffic...none of the front dive or even convertible head shake that sooooo plagued my Shelby GT 500. That car was a beast off the line (5.4L V8 Supercharged) but even though it weighed 100lbs LESS than my M3 - it felt twice as heavy - especially in the nose!! I'll always be nostalgic for Mustang muscle cars but this M3 is so well balanced it's downright scary how EXCELLENT it handles in the curves....

Driving this M3 is a pure pleasure, from the comfort access entry/exit to the retractable hard top (what an amazing engineering feat how smoothly the top folds into the trunk and how solid and quiet it feels in the raised position. Check this out - I can do a global UP with the Key fob...part of the top raising sequence! My M3 is fully loaded (similar to my 535) and they are very similar in many ways...the leather seating of the Novillo interior is nicer than the Dakota leather - much softer and feels stronger as well. Another note is that the M's extended preimum sound is better than the 535's preimum sound package (forget exactly what it is called - but I did order the optional sound package with the 535), I miss the 535's HUD and the seats have a few more adjustments - although the M's have better side bolstering and many of the same adjustments. They are both amazing cars, the 535 has the sport package and handles extremely well - very well balanced but, well the M is the M. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to have access to both of these great driving machines....gonna have to trade the Honda streetbike in on a BMW bike next

Sorry for the long post and I'll put up good pics once I have had the chance to detail her up and snap a few. For now I have a couple that I took in the garage last week - enjoy!