[W///]

After many years on this subforum, I finally caved and got an M2C, which I think has a good chance of being my last ICE car. I've always had a thing for this platform, and it's surreal to finally have one in the garage.

The car:
My work schedule has been unbelievably hectic the past few months with few days off. To blow off steam, I went on Autotrader to look at the new M3's and M2C's. I found this car at Porsche West Houston. It caught my eye because it's a 2019, specced exactly how I'd order it, 1 owner, 5800 miles at an OK price. I went back and forth with the salesman, Len (who was absolutely amazing to deal with btw). After a while, we came to an agreement for what is a really good price when taking into account for COVID market.

Car had some CF goodies installed at the dealership, was well maintained and even still had the protective stickers on the dead pedal and seat emblems! The car also had a front clear bra on, tinted windows and not one single scratch on it. The first owner only drove it 2500 miles per year and it is absolutely mint.

Here it is at the dealership:




I drove the M2C back from Houston to SC over 48 hours with an overnight stop in Mobile, Alabama.



One last stop in ATL for lunch before making it home at one of my restaurants there (Barcelona Wine Bar)



And finally at home with its siblings. The car was just driven 1000 miles in multiple storms so it's absolutely filthy, but I just had to capture this "pinch me" moment:


Proper pictures to come, as well as thoughts about the car compared to the other M's. It's been an absolutely crazy 48 hours, but I'm thrilled to join the club. It's not a perfect car in my opinion, but when you look at the package as a whole, it's one of my favorite M's to date.

[MadViper]

Mazal tov!!!!

[Foggins]

Oh man, great story and congrats!!!

[CSBM5]

You finally did it, congrats! I seem to recall thinking you were pondering the M2C for a while now. In another month, I'll have had essentially the same spec car for three years - hard to fathom. 13k miles on it now. It's a great complement car for the E90 M3.

[Zagnificent55]

Did they still have the 918 Spyder there at Porsche West Houston?

[Capt Canuck]

That pic is just crying out to have Tony Hawk or Bart Simpson jumping a skateboard over them ;-)

[IcewaterPete]

Absolutely fantastic! Congrats and enjoy. I bet the other three in the stable are going to get a lot of rest now that you have the M2!!!

[akkando]

Just need a diffuser, front reflector delete, and a CS tune then you'll be all set!

[KevinM]

Great to hear! I know you've been on the fence for a while. Fantastic stable!

[AUSf22]

Congrats! and it has no sunroof, the spec to get in my opinion for M2s

[W///]

Originally Posted by CSBM5

You finally did it, congrats! I seem to recall thinking you were pondering the M2C for a while now. In another month, I'll have had essentially the same spec car for three years - hard to fathom. 13k miles on it now. It's a great complement car for the E90 M3.

Yes it is! While I'm excited about the G87, I don't think it'll be as good of a compliment as the F87 as I never plan on selling the E92. The F87 is definitely a special car though, considering it's only a few years old, it has an old school feel to it.

Originally Posted by KevinM

Great to hear! I know you've been on the fence for a while. Fantastic stable!

Thank you! I was never really on the fence on whether I wanted one or not, but it was more of what would have to go if I got one as it's easily the most expensive car I've ever purchased. But I've realized our time with ICE is not infinite, so might as well enjoy it while I can.

[chris719]

Looks great. Definitely interested in comparison to your Z4M, as I sadly no longer have mine.

[Moflow]

Congrats on FINALLY getting one! Really puts the lineup over the top!

[ALX_B]

Congrats!

[M3R1]

Hell Yeah brother! Congrats!! These cars are a hoot and a half..

[popcornten]

Congrats! I had been watching that car (out of curiosity since I watch the local market, have a ‘21) and it looked really nice! What was the final sales price?

[W///]

Got a bit of time to write a few thoughts about the car so far. I'm 4 days into ownership with 1000 miles of driving.

What I love:
- The car is just stunning, especially LBB. Easily one of my favorite colors made by BMW, even surpassing Techno Violet. The car doesn't have a bad angle
- This thing has personality, it's something I have not seen on other F or G generation cars. It actually captures some of the magic of the E generation cars
- This thing is a little hooligan and you can tell it doesn't take itself too seriously (which I love). I had the chance to drive a G80 a month ago, and you can tell how different the mission statement is for each car is. The M2 is so much fun to drive in the wet with MDM on, it just keeps daring you all the time
- Just the right amount of tech that could reasonably be maintained if the car ends up being a long term keeper
- The torque is fun, I do see what people mean about it flattening out at the top, but it's not something I see every single time I drive the car. This car is more than fast enough IMO --> You can really have fun at normal speeds unlike the F90 M5 for example.
- Footprint is spot on. It falls somewhere between my E36 and E92 M3's, so maybe closer to an E46? Very refreshing to see.
- While the materials aren't the very best, the interior seems pretty well built and would last a long time. No squeaks and rattles apart from the arm rest.
- Ride is stiff, but acceptable in my eyes. This is what I expect from the sportiest M car.

What surprised me:
- Doesn't sound THAT bad. Sure, it can't touch my E92 M3 with catless Eisenmann Race exhaust, but it sounds better than the F80/2. Maybe this is the case of the S54 sounding much better in the Z4M than E46 M3. Not making changing the exhaust setup a priority
- Coming out of newer cars (including BMW's), the car is so intuitive to use. HVAC is about as simple as it gets for example
- HK system is fine for me

What I don't like, although clearly not enough to not get the car:
- Shifter is the worse out of all 4 M's. I can normally get away with just a clutch stop and ZHP knob. That made the E92 M3 completely fine even though the throws were super long and rubbery to begin with. I've never bothered buying an SSK, but maybe this one will be different. Sure you get used to it, but I don't quite understand why it's worse than the last of the E generation cars. I do like rev matching though
- You sit way too high in my opinion. I'm not super tall or anything, but as others mentioned, you feel like you're sitting on top of the car. Once again, you get used to it, but it could be better, feels like the E36 Vader seats in that regard.
- Weird complaint, but the arm rest on the door panel is so stiff. After driving 8 hrs, my elbow was sore from resting on it. Some padding would have been nice

Overall, I think this could be one of the very best M's out of the box I've ever driven. Sure, it doesn't have the intake howl of the S54 or S65, or maybe the steering feel of an E36 M3, but if you take everything in consideration, this is a car that has it all (unless you need a 4 door). Looks, plenty of power, 6MT offered, enough tech to make life easier, perfect size AND I managed to get high 20 MPG (calculated) pure highway on the way home. This is genuinely the first car I've ever bought and don't really have a giant urge to modify it.

I personally think this car will be a classic for sure. Having driven the G generation cars, I think they'll be great, but maybe just different, and maybe a little too clinical. We shall see!

[JEM3]

Congrats! LBB ftw

[tkl]

congrats! You have almost the same spec as me. i just got DCT

[KevinC]

As a former 2x Z4MC owner, I can totally relate to the comment about the S54 sounding better (or "different" at least) in that car than the E46 M3. My M2c replaced my accident-damaged Z4MC and while there are some aspects of the Z4MC I really miss (i.e. the sublime hydraulic steering rack), the M2c is more than a worthy replacement for it, with SO many more pluses to outweigh the few and (mostly) minor minuses.

I'm now 5k miles in. I've never felt like I sit up high in this car. I think part of why that's a common impression is that the dash sits rather low, other than the iDrive screen protruding up in the center. I'm also OK with the shifter, but hey, I'm comparing to previous BMWs, none of which are stellar, so this one seems fine in that context and it's kinda what I'm used to. My Golf R has a cable shifter, and the BMW shifters are superior to any cable shifter any day of the week (possible exception: Porsche).

Otherwise my initial impressions very much echo yours. Really happy to have snagged an M2c before they ceased production. It's a keeper for me for sure.

[Bruuuce]

congrats no the new ride. I am on my second M2 and they are great, from M2 to M2C. I also can not find a reason to get rid of the E92 M3.

Such different cars, I still think the M2 platform is the one to get now. Its also a price performer in many ways, IMHO.

[ChiTownM]

We need to start a new sub forum for the e92 crowd that went to the M2 platform and are unable to let the e92 go. When I got my M2CS the dealer had employees asking me if I will trade it in or sell it. Recently I was asked by a friend who's client saw my car If I will be willing to sell. I have been debating if there is a price point where I would sell it though, in my case it is a single hump 2009 e92 stripper with 38K miles and an AA signature cat back exhaust that sounds ridiculous

Then I just drove the e92 on Monday and I was like

Regrettably I sold my e36 M3 and my e46 ZHP.