You are absolutely
CORRECT !!! When the car first came to the dealership I went to see it immediately. I thought it looked a little high in front and suspected that the shipping blocks must still be in. Keep in mind that this is my first BMW ever.
I have seen my previous new Audis with shipping blocks in also, but these are clearly visible when you look at the suspension, and the ride height is up by a lot. Also the blocks are both at the front and rear so the ride is REALLY harsh when you drive it with the blocks.
When I took delivery I noticed that the ride height hadn't changed but figured oh well, maybe it will settle a little. It seemed high, but not so high that one could blatantly say that something was wrong. The rear looked fine, and I was used to seeing shipping blocks on all four corners. The M3 only has front shipping blocks.
When I drove the car it did seem harsh. I had posted on another forum that sport mode on the EDC really felt brutal. Again, I didn't think anything of this because I remember watching an episode of Top Gear where Clarkson commented on how sport mode on the ZCP M3 was so harsh. I said to myself "Hmmm....Clarkson was right". Also some of the roads where I live are pretty beat up, and I attributed some of the ride harshness to the roads. In comfort mode the car felt pretty much like my previous Audi RS4 on the Stasis Motorsport coilovers I had. Still there was a piece of me that still kept thinking that something was not quite right and hence my initial post about the ride height.
Interestingly, when I took the car on a very spirited drive on some really pristine country roads, it handled incredibly even with the shipping spacers in.
Now.....the shipping "blocks" have been described elsewhere on this website as white "donuts" that sit in between the springs. Well, I checked my springs and there were no white donuts so I concluded that this was not the issue.
Anyway, upon seeing the pics here, and on people's recommendation, I took it in to the dealer. The mechanic looked at the car and diagnosed the problem immediately.
The shipping "blocks" are actually white and blue plastic RINGS (3 per front side) that sit INSIDE the rubber shroud of the shock absorber. They are completely invisible from the exterior. He popped them out and that was that.
Well, needless to say the ride comfort of the car drastically improved. With the blocks in the difference between comfort, normal, and sport was there but less pronounced. Big difference now between the modes. Front fender height is now 26.75, down from 27.5 and the car looks absolutely perfect in its stance.
Fortunately, I only have 186 miles on the car, although the rings don't do any damage other than making your car a little more prone to rattling (of which I still had none BTW).
The sales manager that I worked with was there and was very apologetic and pissed off.
Shit happens in life. It isn't a perfect world, but they took of the problem promptly.
I'm good to go