M3 Longterm

[alpineweissM3]

I tend to keep my cars for a very long time. I'm about to sell my trusty '01 325i and pick up a leftover '08 e90 M3. Over 95k miles, I have replaced the usual preventative maintenance items. Historically, have the M cars needed all the preventative maintenance as the non M's? IE: Radiators, Expansion Tanks, CAB's?

Also, I'm concerned about the longevity / expense of the Electronic Dampening shocks. After about 60k miles, I needed to replace my worn out Sachs OEM shocks on my 325. Does anyone care to venture a guess on the longevity of the M3's shocks? Also, I would imagine when you replace them you would need to replace them with expensive OEM electronic dampening shocks?

[bigmaze]

Originally Posted by alpineweissM3

I tend to keep my cars for a very long time. I'm about to sell my trusty '01 325i and pick up a leftover '08 e90 M3. Over 95k miles, I have replaced the usual preventative maintenance items. Historically, have the M cars needed all the preventative maintenance as the non M's? IE: Radiators, Expansion Tanks, CAB's?

Also, I'm concerned about the longevity / expense of the Electronic Dampening shocks. After about 60k miles, I needed to replace my worn out Sachs OEM shocks on my 325. Does anyone care to venture a guess on the longevity of the M3's shocks? Also, I would imagine when you replace them you would need to replace them with expensive OEM electronic dampening shocks?

i wouldnt be concern about replacing the shocks if your not going to the track 7 days a week or having a 300lbs person in your everyday of the week while your driving on the most bumpiest road in your town or city,good thing about the m3 is that its built for the track with luxury to go with it!!! .the shocks that are on the m are made with cerfisticated material and designed in 3 different settings with sensors, basically you wont be able to wear down the shocks even if you did have a 300lbs person in your car for seven days of the week really -not for at least the first 4 years that you have the car according to bmw when the shocks are worn you will have to pay only half price if you turned the shocks back in to the dealer at the time your getting them replaced..if they break before 4 years (not worn) then its free absolutley free of charge hope this helps a little

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by alpineweissM3

I tend to keep my cars for a very long time. I'm about to sell my trusty '01 325i and pick up a leftover '08 e90 M3. Over 95k miles, I have replaced the usual preventative maintenance items. Historically, have the M cars needed all the preventative maintenance as the non M's? IE: Radiators, Expansion Tanks, CAB's?

Also, I'm concerned about the longevity / expense of the Electronic Dampening shocks. After about 60k miles, I needed to replace my worn out Sachs OEM shocks on my 325. Does anyone care to venture a guess on the longevity of the M3's shocks? Also, I would imagine when you replace them you would need to replace them with expensive OEM electronic dampening shocks?

I'm also planning on keeping my M3 for a long time. So, I'm just going to subscribe to this thread for now. However, I'm also interested in the "preventative" maintenance that you performed on your 325. Could you post up, or PM me more information on what you did?

[alpineweissM3]

I have documented EVERYTHING in an Excel Spreadsheet since I took delivery.

If you'd like, PM me your email and I'll send you the spreadsheet.

[e46e92love]

No offense, but an //M3 was not designed to last forever. If you are concerned about things wearing out past 50k, //Ms, AMGs and RSs and high end 911s probably aren't the cars for you.

[mkoesel]

My M3 is tank. Mileage below. No engine work done except the rod bearing recall, an alternator, and one belt. Can't vouch for the E9x obviously.

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by e46e92love

No offense, but an //M3 was not designed to last forever. If you are concerned about things wearing out past 50k, //Ms, AMGs and RSs and high end 911s probably aren't the cars for you.

I'm certainly not expecting it to last forever. But a 10 year run would be nice. Roughly 110k-120k miles. mkoesel's reply is promising!

[FrenchBoy]

Same here. I am replacing my 01 325Ci with about 97K miles on it. I have done a lot of preventive maintenance on it and have upgraded quite a few parts (most work done by me), mainly for track use.

Except for the fact that maintenance parts are more expensive on Ms, I am expecting my 09 E90 M3 to last just as long and to work on it the same way I did my E46. There are plenty of E36 and E46 M3s with high miles running just fine out there. Don't see what the E9X would be any different.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

My M3 is tank. Mileage below. No engine work done except the rod bearing recall, an alternator, and one belt. Can't vouch for the E9x obviously.

+2

[ismelllikepoop]

Originally Posted by e46e92love

No offense, but an //M3 was not designed to last forever. If you are concerned about things wearing out past 50k, //Ms, AMGs and RSs and high end 911s probably aren't the cars for you.

i dont get posts like this saying that these cars arent for you? get over it, its just a bmw 3 series, and i would hope it would last more than 50k miles. unless you are tracking it every day and abusing it, it should be more than fine.

[McLuVan]

Originally Posted by e46e92love

No offense, but an //M3 was not designed to last forever. If you are concerned about things wearing out past 50k, //Ms, AMGs and RSs and high end 911s probably aren't the cars for you.

high end 911's?
what do you mean
there's a low end?

porsches last forever dude
well......I donno about the CGT
but the 911's do
my dad had a 1991 porsche C4
never touched anything, nothing ever broke, nothing replaced
the car was sold with 60k miles on it
as for the m3
I'm sure it's pretty much the same story
some dude had 80k miles on a supercharged e46 m3
another dude on autotrader had a 01' m3 for sale with 400k miles

[alpineweissM3]

Originally Posted by FrenchBoy

Same here. I am replacing my 01 325Ci with about 97K miles on it. I have done a lot of preventive maintenance on it and have upgraded quite a few parts (most work done by me), mainly for track use.

Except for the fact that maintenance parts are more expensive on Ms, I am expecting my 09 E90 M3 to last just as long and to work on it the same way I did my E46. There are plenty of E36 and E46 M3s with high miles running just fine out there. Don't see what the E9X would be any different.

I have done the majority of the work on my e46 mainly because I enjoy wrenching and getting a little dirty! I guess I'm kinda strange, but I look forward to when my M3 will be out of warranty and I can start working on it! I know M3 parts cost more, so I am a little concerned about that. Especially the shocks.

[ihyln]

There's no reason for a M to not last longer than 10 years. If it can't then BMW has failed. Look at the E30.

[skierman64]

Originally Posted by e46e92love

No offense, but an //M3 was not designed to last forever. If you are concerned about things wearing out past 50k, //Ms, AMGs and RSs and high end 911s probably aren't the cars for you.

I can't disagree more. I know folks that have M3s way past 100K miles including guys that have track only M3s at 100K plus. The cars are bulletproof, especially the engines.

Granted, no one knows how the E92 M3s will fair, but based on the previous three generations, I'm not concerned.

I plan on keeping my E92 for 10 years minimum. Hopefully it will do as well as the previous generations.

[stickypaws]

Originally Posted by McLuVan

porsches last forever dude
the 911's do
my dad had a 1991 porsche C4
never touched anything, nothing ever broke, nothing replaced
the car was sold with 60k miles on it

fwiw, I have a 993 that is the most reliable car I've owned. Parts and service are somewhat expensive, but it's been flawless. Part of the trick, as we all know, is preventive maintenance and finding a mechanic who respects you and your car. (I always give a year end $$ gift to my mechanic )

[PoorMan]

Originally Posted by e46e92love

No offense, but an //M3 was not designed to last forever. If you are concerned about things wearing out past 50k, //Ms, AMGs and RSs and high end 911s probably aren't the cars for you.

Thats one of the dumbest statements...

Anyone one of those cars can last at least 100k if taken care of... Worth it? Depends on the person... I know a few people who have kept some of those exact cars you mentioned past 70k..

LOL Porsche's and M's are some of the most long term owned autos out there dude.

Like others have stated its all about "Preventive maintenance" ...

[coaster]

If M3s last that long (10 years) then why doesn't BMW offer the 100,000 mile, 6 year warranty it does on the non-M cars?

I was talking to a friend yesterday who also picked up a left-over 08 recently and he said keeping the M3 beyond the 4-year factory warranty is "financial suiside" and that's why BMW doesn't offer the certified-pre-owned program on M3s.

In short these cars are not meant to last long because the expectation is that they will be driven hard (very very hard) during their 4-year lifespans.

As a new owner, I am actually kind of pissed by the fact that BMW bails out on M's after the first 4 years. They obviously have not shown much confidence in their product for the "long term". Of course if you buy it and drive it like a granny it will last many many years but who is going to do that?

[Big Windy]

Originally Posted by McLuVan

high end 911's?
what do you mean
there's a low end?

porsches last forever dude
well......I donno about the CGT
but the 911's do
my dad had a 1991 porsche C4
never touched anything, nothing ever broke, nothing replaced
the car was sold with 60k miles on it
as for the m3
I'm sure it's pretty much the same story
some dude had 80k miles on a supercharged e46 m3
another dude on autotrader had a 01' m3 for sale with 400k miles

is that a poem?

Originally Posted by coaster

If M3s last that long (10 years) then why doesn't BMW offer the 100,000 mile, 6 year warranty it does on the non-M cars?

I was talking to a friend yesterday who also picked up a left-over 08 recently and he said keeping the M3 beyond the 4-year factory warranty is "financial suiside" and that's why BMW doesn't offer the certified-pre-owned program on M3s.

In short these cars are not meant to last long because the expectation is that they will be driven hard (very very hard) during their 4-year lifespans.

As a new owner, I am actually kind of pissed by the fact that BMW bails out on M's after the first 4 years. They obviously have not shown much confidence in their product for the "long term". Of course if you buy it and drive it like a granny it will last many many years but who is going to do that?

i don't know what you mean by very very hard, but i think that most M3 owners are not going to be doing that at all. granted, many on this forum will probably give the car some tough workouts on the track and throughout their daily routine, but enthusiasts usually aren't very representative the overall M3population. just because BMW does not offer a standard 6 year 100,000 mile warranty does not mean that the car is going to die in 4 years, that is absurd logic. it just might not be economically prudent for BMW to have a longer warranty on a car that has expensive services and expensive components.

[McLuVan]

Originally Posted by stickypaws

fwiw, I have a 993 that is the most reliable car I've owned. Parts and service are somewhat expensive, but it's been flawless. Part of the trick, as we all know, is preventive maintenance and finding a mechanic who respects you and your car. (I always give a year end $$ gift to my mechanic )

yeaup yeaup

[McLuVan]

Originally Posted by Big Windy

is that a poem?



i don't know what you mean by very very hard, but i think that most M3 owners are not going to be doing that at all. granted, many on this forum will probably give the car some tough workouts on the track and throughout their daily routine, but enthusiasts usually aren't very representative the overall M3population. just because BMW does not offer a standard 6 year 100,000 mile warranty does not mean that the car is going to die in 4 years, that is absurd logic. it just might not be economically prudent for BMW to have a longer warranty on a car that has expensive services and expensive components.

more or less of a rap

[sayemthree]

I had my 2001 e46 M3 for 7 years. very little went wrong. most of it under the factory warranty. sold at 50k miles. i guess as good or better than most thre series

[PoorMan]

Originally Posted by Big Windy

i don't know what you mean by very very hard, but i think that most M3 owners are not going to be doing that at all. granted, many on this forum will probably give the car some tough workouts on the track and throughout their daily routine, but enthusiasts usually aren't very representative the overall M3population. just because BMW does not offer a standard 6 year 100,000 mile warranty does not mean that the car is going to die in 4 years, that is absurd logic. it just might not be economically prudent for BMW to have a longer warranty on a car that has expensive services and expensive components.

+1

Where do these people come from mars? Either these are kids or someone who hasn't bought a lot of cars... IDK.. But most cars dont even have the warranty that bmw has either in length nor price.. ie free for 4 years. Typical car noobs... Warranty's gone. And their clueless as what to do instead. There is life outside of dealers...

LOL Warranty equals car life? No warranty for an M3 is financial suicide? Geez its an M3 not a Enzo...Dont buy anycar if you dont have any money to fix it.