# Finally got myself an M3 - F80 Yas Marina Blue



## Dan Clark (Jun 25, 2007)

It's been a childhood dream to get an M3; many times in the past I've had the opportunity to own an E36 or an E46 but the timing wasn't right. Now I've sold my 520d M Sport, the work situation is right to facilitate a change to an M3, whereby I don't need to be worried about fuel even though I cover 20-25k a year.

So whilst I was in the BMW dealer the other week for a service and MOT I spotted the 15 plate Yas Marina blue example they had in the used car section. It must have been the free coffee or the showroom lights but I took the plunge after a swift test drive. :driver:

Massively impressed with the F80 - docile when needed and then utterly insane at the push of a button.

The example I have has covered 36k miles and is nice and clean. Just no carbon interior bits - boo. Minor defects in the paint that will be corrected over time - as well as the usual stone chips and alloy dullness. Also a patch of leather that needs some life reinjected to it. The head up display is awesome though and paddles are quick to get used to.

I've only had the opportunity for a quick wash and I noticed that there is was a previous MOHS Gyeon stamp on the door frame from 31/01/17. So it cleans up nicely indeed.

So from this...










To this...





































Leather on the drivers seat bolster...










More detailing to follow I guess... :buffer:

Dan


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## nbray67 (Mar 22, 2012)

That's a sweet colour.

You'll love the purr and then growl of that engine in no time at all.

We are just in the process of selling our 240i so that the wife can have a SUV she has been craving in her pursuit of a dog. Although different engines, I'm seriously going to miss the symphony that the BMW 6pot produces.

Enjoy.


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## Benfr16 (Dec 3, 2016)

Perfect. Spent many hours browsing these on autotrader


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## davies20 (Feb 22, 2009)

wow!

excellent choice sir!


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## Dan Clark (Jun 25, 2007)

Thanks chaps.

Can anyone recommend a product for the leather repair / conditioning. Been looking here:

http://lttleathercare.com/product/leather-bolster-repair-dabber-whites-creams/

They do a colour match for the Silverstone leather.


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## nbray67 (Mar 22, 2012)

Dan Clark said:


> Thanks chaps.
> 
> Can anyone recommend a product for the leather repair / conditioning. Been looking here:
> 
> ...


LTT are a sponsor on here Dan with a very good rep.

Pop onto their page and ask them for advice as they are pretty spot on with advice/replies etc...

www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=208


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## Ads_ClioV6 (Apr 27, 2014)

Love it


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Strong value for money in the M3/M4s now. Prices are already crossing over with the E9x models.


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## muchoado (Dec 5, 2016)

just epic


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Nice colour, i've always thought the M3 looks so much nicer than the M4, the flared arches seem more purposful


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## GaryKinghorn (Dec 10, 2017)

Nice looking car sir.

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk


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## Philb1965 (Jun 29, 2010)

Love this colour and I'd have the M3 over the M4, good choice fella!


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## Serkie (Dec 8, 2007)

Congratulations pal, lovely motor.


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Dan, you have an awesome motor there, as they say you only live once and that's a lovely Blue as well, enjoy it. :driver:


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Loving the new car and that colour really suits it  

Enjoy :thumb:


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

Awesome motor there, little tip, just be gentle on that throttle to begin with  I’ve just switched from an oil burner to a 400bhp v8 merc, I thought it had issues pulling away, erm nope it was just me wheel spinning everytime I tried to pull away applying pressure to the accelerator as I’ve been used to..lol thank god for esp.


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## DTB (Dec 20, 2017)

Fantastic looking car you have there! Got to love the look and sound of an M3.


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## Dan Clark (Jun 25, 2007)

DLGWRX02 said:


> Awesome motor there, little tip, just be gentle on that throttle to begin with  I've just switched from an oil burner to a 400bhp v8 merc, I thought it had issues pulling away, erm nope it was just me wheel spinning everytime I tried to pull away applying pressure to the accelerator as I've been used to..lol thank god for esp.


Ha!

Funny you mention that - overtook a tractor the other day, damp conditions, certainly woke me up a bit with the traction control light flickering in 3rd and 4th as I just buried the loud pedal. 

Like you say thank god for esp. :thumb:


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## G105ALY (Dec 6, 2006)

Absolutely stunning mate. Although I would have insisted that BMW had done something about that seat.


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## Dan Clark (Jun 25, 2007)

G105ALY said:


> Absolutely stunning mate. Although I would have insisted that BMW had done something about that seat.


Know what you mean - but it's a simple fix and I think I'd rather do it than let bmw loose on it. :lol:


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## JJ_ (Oct 26, 2005)

Absolutely love it! The colour is a firm favourite of mine.


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## JwilliamsM (Dec 20, 2011)

lovely mate, i have a green one myself, i never tire of it.


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## bluechimp (Dec 21, 2017)

Great car, looks amazing!


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## bazz (May 15, 2007)

lovely looking car and a very nice colour


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## tmitch45 (Jul 29, 2006)

That's a stunning car in a great colour and contrasting wheels! Its great to hear of another member finally getting the car of their dreams! Enjoy every second of owning it!


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## Tim662 (Aug 19, 2014)

Very nice, don't think I ever spotted the 5 in Malvern but this will be much harder to miss :wave:


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## Dan Clark (Jun 25, 2007)

Tim662 said:


> Very nice, don't think I ever spotted the 5 in Malvern but this will be much harder to miss :wave:


Yeah Tim - not spotted yours either. Although we've moved out of Malvern now but still local. You cannot miss the M3; does exactly blend in. :lol:

Thanks for all the comments guys. :thumb:


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## G105ALY (Dec 6, 2006)

Dan Clark said:


> Know what you mean - but it's a simple fix and I think I'd rather do it than let bmw loose on it. :lol:


Probably a good move! I bought an ex-demo e46 Convertible in 06 and BMW
must have used Stevie Wonder to repaint damage to the wheel arch!


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## MSwiss (Sep 25, 2017)

Like all the other comments, cracking colour and the interior really suits that colour. Really common issue with the bolster but like you say its easily fixed so nothing to loose sleep over.

Have fun its a beauty !


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## camerashy (Feb 9, 2014)

Very, very nice love it


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## J4Y (Mar 24, 2012)

Love the colour! An M3 is also on my hit list, just haven't got round to it yet. Enjoy!


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## billyali86 (Jan 14, 2009)

Lovely mate, I've had 2 m4s in Yas Marina and now and M3 CP in Mineral Grey


Yas is a lovely colour, alot of people think its a flat colour but has a lovely fleck running through it


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## JAISCOSSIE (Apr 11, 2006)

Lovely colour, silverstone interior is hard to keep on top of, my yes marina M4 started showing wear on the bolster after just 6k miles,


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## boost monster (Jul 19, 2013)

Your car is fantastic and weirdly I prefer the M3 to the 4.


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## andyfish (Feb 4, 2006)

Lovely colour (reminds me of the Co-Op stores - just like my RS3!). Looking forward to the updates


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## Dan Clark (Jun 25, 2007)

Cheers all once again. 

First week of ownership with work mixed in; 500miles back and forth to Cumbria. Managed an impressive 39mpg on the way up at motorway speeds with the odd boot session mixed in. And 36mpg on the way back (more booting....). Very impressive for a car of this nature. 

Only pain in the **** was on the hottest day of year the air con packed in - so it’s back to BMW on Friday next week. Not all was a loss though as I entertained myself with the flappy paddles whilst the windows where down in sport plus mode.


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## MSwiss (Sep 25, 2017)

Dan Clark said:


> Not all was a loss though as I entertained myself with the flappy paddles whilst the windows where down in sport plus mode.


:lol:love it !:driver:

They do have a nice sound track!


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## neilb62 (Jul 30, 2007)

Beautiful car in the best colour. You can stuff your M4's for me... :thumb::thumb:


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## James_G (Mar 6, 2009)

Great stuff, the interior colour works really well with the exterior and it looks like you live in a part of the UK where you can enjoy it.

Like others I prefer the M3 to the M4 although what's odd is that the previous generation M3 wasn't as strong a seller as a saloon compared to the coupe and I can't quite understand why. As a result prices still seem really firm for those compared to both their coupe counterparts and other similar cars on the market (C63 for example).


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## JwilliamsM (Dec 20, 2011)

James_G said:


> Great stuff, the interior colour works really well with the exterior and it looks like you live in a part of the UK where you can enjoy it.
> 
> Like others I prefer the M3 to the M4 although what's odd is that the previous generation M3 wasn't as strong a seller as a saloon compared to the coupe and I can't quite understand why. As a result prices still seem really firm for those compared to both their coupe counterparts and other similar cars on the market (C63 for example).


the main reason i took the m3 over an m4 was the rear arches, i think most would agree.

they look huge on the m3 due to the proximity of the door, but not so pronounced on the m4

sort of shows it here, i chose same colour as mine for fairness ha
Untitled by Jason, on Flickr


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## sevenfourate (Mar 23, 2013)

JwilliamsM said:


> the main reason i took the m3 over an m4 was the rear arches, i think most would agree.
> 
> they look huge on the m3 due to the proximity of the door, but not so pronounced on the m4
> 
> ...


I followed / was around a White M4 for quite a few miles of my journey on the motorway yesterday. When i first came across it and it came past me waiting at a roundabout, i didn't glance twice at it - because it didnt stand out immediately as anything special. For me was very uninspiring to look at from some angles and had zero road presence. Likely because of the flat arches as you point out.....

That of course in itself; may be a plus-point to some.


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## JwilliamsM (Dec 20, 2011)

sevenfourate said:


> I followed / was around a White M4 for quite a few miles of my journey on the motorway yesterday. When i first came across it and it came past me waiting at a roundabout, i didn't glance twice at it - because it didnt stand out immediately as anything special. For me was very uninspiring to look at from some angles and had zero road presence. Likely because of the flat arches as you point out.....
> 
> That of course in itself; may be a plus-point to some.


white for me is one of the worst colours for an M4 as it really does blend in with the 420d M sport, which you tend to see loads of in white


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## Dan Clark (Jun 25, 2007)

JwilliamsM said:


> the main reason i took the m3 over an m4 was the rear arches, i think most would agree.
> 
> they look huge on the m3 due to the proximity of the door, but not so pronounced on the m4
> 
> ...


Absolutely bang on. Aggressive stance and body lines. M3 win all day long. And...it's an M3. :thumb:


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## Dan Clark (Jun 25, 2007)

Not done much with the M3 over the past few weeks; other than pile some miles on it 

Still amazed how much of a Jekyll and Hyde the car is...

Anyhoo, sunny today, so some sun on the bonnet after a wash over.



















Will get some better pics at some point. :thumb:


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## Dan Clark (Jun 25, 2007)

8weeks into ownership and YMB is one of those colours that looks very different in varying light; tonight I gave mine a quick clean to remove the dust and bugs and grabbed the camera before the last of light disappeared.

Not the best of photographic excellence but always amazed at how well this motor cleans up and how sometimes the colour is matte/satin and metallic.

Glad the previous owner had some detailing sense giving the car a Gyeon coating and it fits well with my OCD as a good base to expand on - despite the 39k miles covered :thumbsup:




























(bit ****ty focus on this one - needed my tripod)



























ah the view seen by so many other road users...









Must get some better scenic pics from around the Malvern Hills


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## matty.13 (May 3, 2011)

Great looking car 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Bear_Ash (Aug 20, 2018)

Best colour and very clean thanks for sharing=D


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Saw this along with an M3 and a gorgeous M5 at Silverstone at the weekend - wife says no 










They were taking big wigs / sponsors round the track in the M3 and M5 - both sounded awesome.

1st lap M3 came back with front brakes smoking, 2nd lap the were on fire as he sat there swapping passengers


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## maigrait (Mar 4, 2013)

Great car love it. Although not a colour I would choose but it suits the M3 to a tee. Love the interior. Let us know how you get on with the leather marking. Mine is marking in my 540 with light coloured leather. Safe driving. 


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## Benfr16 (Dec 3, 2016)

Dream car! 

Age 23 so probably not for a while yet. Insurance would be greater than the value of the vehicle anyway


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## Dan Clark (Jun 25, 2007)

Benfr16 said:


> Dream car!
> 
> Age 23 so probably not for a while yet. Insurance would be greater than the value of the vehicle anyway


Keep working towards it mate. I did and eventually got one (albeit at 34). :thumb:


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## LSpec (Apr 7, 2013)

good for you, both are beatiful cars


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