First Production E92s????

[jabiyrmlia]

I'm skeptical of buying one of the first E92s due to possible kinks that may be worked out in the future. I wanted to ask if there were any issues with the first E46s, and if so, were they important enough to piss off those individuals who went out and bought them the first year they were available.

I just don't want to find myself getting an initial model, and then they make the '09s a lot better.

I appreciate your inputs.

[JEllis]

Not really. This question as been asked already about the E46 M.

Also, as far as other generations go. I can tell you for a fact that the 95 3.0L E36 M3 was the first model year and the one to own from a performance and modding standpoint.


Jason

[lucid]

Originally Posted by Newb

I'm skeptical of buying one of the first E92s due to possible kinks that may be worked out in the future. I wanted to ask if there were any issues with the first E46s, and if so, were they important enough to piss off those individuals who went out and bought them the first year they were available.

I just don't want to find myself getting an initial model, and then they make the '09s a lot better.

I appreciate your inputs.

If there are any major bugs that end up being fixed in the next model year, BMW would issue a recall for the earlier models and perform the same modifications. If there are any minor tweaks they end up doing to improve small issues, BMW would most likely offer the same tweaks to concerned owners of previous models for free. That said, I believe the E46 M3 didn't change much at all between model years--probably because of the relatively low production numbers--but E46 owners would be a better source for that kind of information.

[The CSL]

The E46 M3 did have a recall issue, IIRC, but then I'd rather be one of the first to own a car then wait a year and be one of thousands on the road.

[m_bazeepaymon]

All Recalls are covered by BMW thoug... for example 2003 M3's had some recall with the engine (maybe 03 and below) and we got engine warranty easily to 100 k miles...

But Every year or every 2 years M3's do get a lot better than the previous year due to some small kink they add on to the car...

Especially for the SMG Drivers... Every year that car was improved on its transmission, better software, etc.

2003 LED lights were installed for better cosmetics

2004 a better software was being used for SMG II

2005-2006 ZCP was born, it is like the ZHP of the 330i on the E46, it is a lot better then the normal E46 M3....

So no matter what, how much you wait there is something better coming around the corner on the M3. Even if you wanted to wait for the ZCP E46 M3, the E92 M3 was coming around the corner...

so do not only base your buying on better M3's... etc.in the future

[swamp2]

I am pretty sure the later model E46 M3s got some alternate suspension components as well to sort out a handling problem in the first year of the car. I am fairly sure member "enigma" posted on this topic. I also think that for those that asked the components were offered at no charge. Would be good to get this whole story from a E46 fanatic (didn't have mine all that long...).

[m_bazeepaymon]

Originally Posted by swamp2

I am pretty sure the later model E46 M3s got some alternate suspension components as well to sort out a handling problem in the first year of the car. I am fairly sure member "enigma" posted on this topic. I also think that for those that asked the components were offered at no charge. Would be good to get this whole story from a E46 fanatic (didn't have mine all that long...).

thank you for reminding me, yes there was a improvement in suspension in the E46 from the first years...

It depended if you qualified (1st owner 2nd owner garbage *atleast at Bob Smith BMW* they would take the suspension as a "recall" and they improve it...

It was not that big of a improvement so I did not think of it too much..

thans swamp

[thekewl1]

i thought the 01, 02 and some of the 03 e46 M's had a problem with the engine blowing up on the track..i vaguely remember reading about that somewhere, hence the extension of the engine warranty to 100k miles.

[jpm3]

yeah, they sent me a letter in regards to engine warrantied up to 100K miles.

Jason from bimmer.org maybe he's here too had a good report in regards to the matter: http://members.roadfly.org/jason/m3engines.htm

Good thing about the 1st prod is youll get a hand of the beast right away. Good thing about 2nd prod, could be less service bulletin(s) you will receive, the wait killed me and almost end up to RS4.

who cares, I love the car... it's under warranty... I'm happy

[jabiyrmlia]

Sweet. Thanks for all of your constructive inputs and not turning anything into a debate amongst anyone. You guys have definitely helped me put my mind at peace when it comes to buying a first production.

[m_bazeepaymon]

Originally Posted by thekewl1

i thought the 01, 02 and some of the 03 e46 M's had a problem with the engine blowing up on the track..i vaguely remember reading about that somewhere, hence the extension of the engine warranty to 100k miles.

your definitely right about that too

[m_bazeepaymon]

Originally Posted by Newb

Sweet. Thanks for all of your constructive inputs and not turning anything into a debate amongst anyone. You guys have definitely helped me put my mind at peace when it comes to buying a first production.

thats wat m3post is for

[jworms]

Originally Posted by JEllis

Not really. This question as been asked already about the E46 M.

Also, as far as other generations go. I can tell you for a fact that the 95 3.0L E36 M3 was the first model year and the one to own from a performance and modding standpoint.


Jason

not true for the e36 M3. the '95s had weak retainers and that whole story about how the '95s are 'better for modding' is just not true anymore. the early e46 M3s had issues too with oil pumps and connecting rod bearings...so much so that bmw issued a recall on it.

it's almost always a wise decision to let the first batch of a totally new model work its way through the inherent bugs and glitches it will, or will not, have. this isn't just for BMWs, but for all car manufacturers...hell, it's true of almost anything technology related: *cough* iphone.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by jworms

it's almost always a wise decision to let the first batch of a totally new model work its way through the inherent bugs and glitches it will, or will not, have. this isn't just for BMWs, but for all car manufacturers...hell, it's true of almost anything technology related: *cough* iphone.

Not really. You can't compare the service a company would be willing to offer on a $500 product with the service another company would be willing to offer on a $65000 product. It is clear from what people have posted so far that BMW takes care of significant bugs through recalls, and is even willing to go further by offerring the minor performance tweaks for free to concerned owners as well. So, what is the problem exactly? It is not as if they will decide to redesign the engine block 2 years into the product life cycle for a low production car. On the other hand, one might miss out on some minor fit and finish issues and cosmetic upgrades and so on, but is that really worth waiting for? The only headache might be DCT. But even then, if the earlier versions do have significant issues, I bet that if you press hard enough, you can get a new transmission out of BMW later.

[The CSL]

There's been problems with the iPhone?

That's one Apple product I really don't care for. It just seems so pointless as a phone and too costly as an iPod.

[jworms]

Originally Posted by lucid

Not really. You can't compare the service a company would be willing to offer on a $500 product with the service another company would be willing to offer on a $65000 product. It is clear from what people have posted so far that BMW takes care of significant bugs through recalls, and is even willing to go further by offerring the minor performance tweaks for free to concerned owners as well. So, what is the problem exactly? It is not as if they will decide to redesign the engine block 2 years into the product life cycle for a low production car. On the other hand, one might miss out on some minor fit and finish issues and cosmetic upgrades and so on, but is that really worth waiting for? The only headache might be DCT. But even then, if the earlier versions do have significant issues, I bet that if you press hard enough, you can get a new transmission out of BMW later.

sigh, the iphone example was not something to latch on to, the other bmw related examples were. bmw did ADMIT fault for early e46 M3s in regards to the blown engines stemming from the connecting rods/oil pump issues, but they sure as hell didn't with the '95 e36 M3s. i'm not necessarily saying that the new m3 will come out with a ton of bugs and bmw won't fix them, because it might be a flawless, reliable car that won't need any fixing. i'm just saying that with a completely redesigned model there are certain things that the factory can't really test and these things might show up after the public gets their hands on them.

personally i'm waiting on purchasing my e92 M3 to see what the real performance numbers are and to get a feel for what they are like in the hands of normal people...that and i just bought a condo and it will take me some time to gather the funds for it. like you said, if it's worth it to be one of the first people to have the M3 then by all means buy it. but for those of us who don't need to be the first on the block with one, it seems like a wise move to wait.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by jworms

sigh, the iphone example was not something to latch on to, the other bmw related examples were. bmw did ADMIT fault for early e46 M3s in regards to the blown engines stemming from the connecting rods/oil pump issues, but they sure as hell didn't with the '95 e36 M3s. i'm not necessarily saying that the new m3 will come out with a ton of bugs and bmw won't fix them, because it might be a flawless, reliable car that won't need any fixing. i'm just saying that with a completely redesigned model there are certain things that the factory can't really test and these things might show up after the public gets their hands on them.

personally i'm waiting on purchasing my e92 M3 to see what the real performance numbers are and to get a feel for what they are like in the hands of normal people...that and i just bought a condo and it will take me some time to gather the funds for it. like you said, if it's worth it to be one of the first people to have the M3 then by all means buy it. but for those of us who don't need to be the first on the block with one, it seems like a wise move to wait.

If you think iphone is not a relevant example, then what's the point of mentioning it...Yes, it is true that a new car design is more likely to have issues, but I'm saying that there is evidence BMW takes care of them, and in general, BMW has an excellent service record, so that's no reason to wait around if you are committed. However, if what you are saying is true, and if BMW has not always taken care of major bugs, then you have point, and I'd be concerned.