E92 M3 'Demuro Edition' - A Review

"Maddox Kay" (thestigssocalcousin)
05/09/2015 at 10:18 • Filed to: m3, carmax, e92, oppo reviews, bmw

Today, I met one of my heroes. This wasn’t a planned, anticipated meeting. It transpired in a Carmax parking lot on an overcast Friday morning in an upper-middle-class suburb of Los Angeles, California. Let’s rewind a few hours.

My A3 needs brake pads and lines that don’t suck, so I stopped in to my favorite performance shop (Pacific German, they’re great guys, take your Volkswagen/Audi to them, I swear this isn’t a commercial, they only paid me $5 to write this.) After a lengthy discussion which ended with me coming to the sad realization that my stock brake rotors are roughly the size of milk bottle tops, I found a nearby shopping center and consumed an unhealthy amount of Jamba Juice.

As I sipped my genetically modified and puree’d strawberries, I perused the Carmax mobile site for unreliable German sports cars as I am wont to do at times of boredom. And then, I saw it. Three miles away. The two cars I’ve dreamed about owning as my next car are the Porsche Cayman and the E92 M3, and I wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to see how I liked one of them. A few minutes and some minor smoothie-induced stomachache later, I was walking through the blue-and-yellow automatic doors of corporate used-car America.

I was immediately greeted by a very helpful and friendly gentleman. When I told him I was here to look at an M3, his eyes lit up. Turns out he’d worked at the BMW test track in South Carolina before relocating here. We set out down a seemingly endless line of cars, and eventually found BMW Land. 528s, 335s, and every sort of X-contraption, outstretched across the tarmac. But no sign of a 2008 M3 with 86k miles (that YOU can buy for less than a new Accord - Tavarish.)

Eventually, we found it nestled between an Audi A7 and a dumpster (or maybe it was an X6, I couldn’t tell.) I unlocked the doors and slipped into the contoured black bucket seat. It fit me like a glove. After adjusting it to a low, close, and upright position, it felt nearly perfect. My hands found the nine and three positions on the thick-rimmed, small-diameter wheel with excitement.

I eased the car out of the lot, appreciating the tight, heavy steering and feeling the dual-clutch let out smoothly as I smoothly pressed the accelerator. My new friend pointed me through a fun loop which consisted of a gently curving, lightly trafficed four-lane byway, a fun freeway onramp, and a highway stretch. I couldn’t keep a smile off my face as I rolled onto the gas in third and heard the V8 absolutely scream. The steering was magnificently telepathic, and the car felt like it was brand new, not approaching 87,000 miles. My only gripe was that the M-DCT was slow to downshift upon a press of the paddle, and I now realize that I probably didn’t have the transmission in its most aggressive setting. In any case, that could easily be fixed by purchasing the three-pedaled version. After a few miles and a lot of fun, I ended up where I’d began. It was over too soon, and I was back at Carmax.

That was when I noticed the black button by my knee. “Sir,” I asked, “What’s the function of this button?” I gestured inquisitively towards the rectangle which read “Power.” “Well,” the sales associate responded, “I could go inside and wait for someone to look at a minivan, or we could take another lap and find out just what that power button’s all about.” I think you can guess what I chose.

I’ve ogled the E92 M3 ever since its release. It’s always been one of those magical “someday” cars for me, and now it’s nearly within reach. I will almost certainly own one in the future (with a Carmax warranty), and driving one motivated me to work hard to get there. They say not to meet your heroes unless you’re prepared for disappointment, but the M3 was everything I expected it to be and more. No, officer, I don’t know how fast I was going.

What I loved:

- fantastic driving position and nice simple BMW interior

- high-revving, beautiful-sounding naturally aspirated V8

- razor-sharp, perfectly weighted steering

- the price ($29k!)

- I instantly felt comfortable behind the wheel

What I didn’t:

- M-DCT can be slow to react

- Sumitomo tires

- Abysmal MPG

- That I didn’t have more time in it

The Verdict: I met my celebrity crush, and she’s every bit as hot in person.

- Maddox

Edit: If a fellow Oppo wants to give a good car a good home, here is the link.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

DISCUSSION (20)

CAcoalminer > Maddox Kay
05/09/2015 at 02:34

How did you like the Space Grey paint?

Arben72 > Maddox Kay
05/09/2015 at 02:52

Dct should be instant. Chances are you were in a slow shift speed. Or it was running the original dct software, which was known to be a bit laggy. Whoever puts sumitomo tires on a m3 should be shot though.

718Rogue > Maddox Kay
05/09/2015 at 05:37

You write pretty well.

boxrocket > Maddox Kay
05/09/2015 at 07:51

I'm glad you got to drive a newer M-DCT. I had the unfortunate fate to have to spend almost a week in the prior generation, and it was irritating as heck. Being a convertible M3 didn't help. The manual is definitely better, and my puny human brain can't make out the difference in a few milliseconds of shifting times.

I visit my local CarMax regularly, and I'm struck at how differently yours sounds laid out. Mine keeps all the available cars unlocked, and organizes them by size/class, which is great if one is on the fence about what specific car one wants but knows the general class and performance level. If course, this can mean a 911 is parked between a BRZ and a Camaro, but who's to say someone shopping for a sporty coupe wouldn't be considering all three? At least when browsing through BMW Ms and AMGs the X#s and bus-like GLs are way down at the bottom of the lot with the other SUVs, and one's field of view isn't blocked by a bloated land yacht.

That salesperson sounds like a gem. Can they transfer a Cayman in for you?

E92M3 > Maddox Kay
05/09/2015 at 09:29

BUY it!

Maddox Kay > boxrocket
05/09/2015 at 10:08

They actually had a 2009 Cayman S in stock, but it was pending sale so I couldn’t drive it. My salesman was fantastic, even though he knew I wasn’t buying yesterday he made sure I was well taken care of and that I got to drive the car like it was meant to be driven.

Yeah here they were for the most part laid out by manufacturer. Though a few of the “best” cars were right by the door as you walk out onto the lot (Panamera turbo, C63, 2012 M3, 991 911.) This Carmax is in a wealthy area with lots of car enthusiasts so they get tons of good stuff.

Maddox Kay > Arben72
05/09/2015 at 10:09

Yeah, I figured. The tires sucked; I never lost traction but I got squeal coming around corners when I wasn’t anywhere close to the limit. Pilot Super Sport FTW!

Maddox Kay > CAcoalminer
05/09/2015 at 10:14

I really dig it! I want either white, grey, or bright red for my next car. Currently I have a deep metallic blue car, and it looks great for 24 hours after I wash it, and then it’s a giant dust magnet. I’m ready for a change.

Maddox Kay > 718Rogue
05/09/2015 at 10:14

Thank you!

Maddox Kay > E92M3
05/09/2015 at 10:15

Oh I would, but I’m leaving for college again in three months. There is DEFINITELY one in my near future, though :)

CAcoalminer > Maddox Kay
05/09/2015 at 10:36

That’s great.

sellphones2493 > Maddox Kay
05/09/2015 at 10:43

Kinja'd!!!

This irks me. Blue and white are the colors of Bavaria - I feel like it’s stomping on tradition.

Maddox Kay > sellphones2493
05/09/2015 at 10:46

I honestly prefer the stock badges as well. But these ones did look good with the color of the car.

titsinmymitts > Maddox Kay
05/09/2015 at 11:50

I like the e92, but it’d have to be manual and a sedan if I were buying.

If the only choice was the DCT I’d probably end up in a C63 AMG instead.

Andrew T. Maness > Maddox Kay
05/09/2015 at 19:19

Was this at CarMax Burbank? I was thinking about an E90 M3 briefly but insurance is insane on those and the E92, too many kids crashing them I guess.

Glad you had fun, I had a shit experience with a used BMW lot in Glendale today, they sold the 135i M-Sport that I had made an appointment to drive earlier in the week and didn’t give me a heads up. I suppose they were hoping that once I showed up I would be easily talked into the 128i base model they did have.

Maddox Kay > Andrew T. Maness
05/10/2015 at 17:32

Carmax in Irvine. That sucks that you drove all the way out there and they didn’t have the decency to tell you they’d sold the car

Andrew T. Maness > Maddox Kay
05/10/2015 at 20:09

Yeah, LA Bimmers can 100% suck it.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > titsinmymitts
05/11/2015 at 10:12

That’s the way I got mine. =)

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Maddox Kay
05/11/2015 at 10:13

It is so sweet, isn’t it? I got my ‘08 (E90, manual) three years ago. Still love it like the first time I drove it...

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Maddox Kay
05/11/2015 at 10:14

Kinja'd!!!

Cheesy (not standard equipment)...