What to look for when buying used e90 M3

luis · 02-12-2013, 06:02 PM

I am looking for a e90 M3 between 45000 to 60000 miles. What do I look for? Signs of wear, etc.. Any help would be appreciated.

MKE_M3 · 02-12-2013, 06:04 PM

Obviously check tires, brakes too if it's no under free maintenance or will run out soon. Service records are a definite, as well. Otherwise, there's not too many regular problems that I am aware of.

Mr. ///M3 RD · 02-12-2013, 06:10 PM

My very first e46 M3 was a 2002, purchased from a BMW dealer with appeox 25,000 KM. I made sure to find out the history and made sure it was certified by BMW. Also, reviewed all the inspection service reports.

The car run well for me ... 2004 to 2010 when I sold her in all that time all I did was normal maintenance, new set of tires, one brake job and replaced one spring.

The new owner (I am in touch with him) replaced the other rear spring and the car now is approaching 100,000 KM.

Botom line do your research ... here and also use Google ... if it is a private sale have the car inspected at BMW they will furnish you with a report that will aid you in final selling price negotiations.

Good Luck!

luis · 02-12-2013, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MKE_M3

Obviously check tires, brakes too if it's no under free maintenance or will run out soon. Service records are a definite, as well. Otherwise, there's not too many regular problems that I am aware of.

Thanks, saw one forsale with 08 e90 with 57000 miles. Test drove and the shifter was a little notchy. Is that normal. I am coming from a 06 VW gti and my VW shifter is a lot smoother.

Superfly_M3 · 02-12-2013, 06:14 PM

Shifter feel is not the best in the M3. I modded the sifter with a lighted (you can do without lights if you want) ZCP shifter from the E46 M3 and it improved significantly. There are also SS kits for our cars. The mod costed me $100 + my time. Do a search and you'll find a bunch of DIY. GL

Slowracer · 02-12-2013, 06:16 PM

Past history is the key to getting an idea of the condition of the internals. Get the VIN of the car you are interested in and call your dealer to get the warranty service and maintenance history. I usually call a friend in the parts dept. to run the checks, or sometimes a service scheduler can help out. Maintenance aside, I would be most interested in the number of unscheduled trips to the dealer.

Good luck!

Richbot · 02-12-2013, 06:22 PM

- Shifter is not the most smooth thing in the world even when new, so don't let that scare you, in normal driving it feels a little stiff, in spirited driving it just works

- Whether or not the driver's side seat bolsters are worn out might tell you a thing or two about how well the owner cared for the car, on top of just noting what kind of shape the leather is in

- Ask about oil consumption

- Ask about warranty repairs and check engine lights recently, there are some things that will come and go until they turn into expensive problems. If you have a scan tool, scan the car and see if there are codes scored

AshyLarryMP · 02-12-2013, 06:25 PM

Check under the front bumper for damage and paint scratches. This is more of a problem for the zcp since it's lower. The drivers side seat belt extender arm commonly wears out too and drops the seat belt before it extends all the way. Window linings can go bad and cause air to leak in at freeway speeds, especially in cold air. If they haven't upgraded the software to 2011, you might be able to talk down the price down a little. Plus if you ask them what version the software is, it makes you seem more knowledgeable. They might not be able to answer the question right away. Rear differential clutches binding, causing a rubbing sound at low speed turns.

Check the service records. You can see every time the car has been serviced, such as oil changes. I believe under warranty you can get the oil changed every year or every 15k miles.

bimdo · 02-12-2013, 08:31 PM

i would look for oil changes at least every 7500 miles.the factory interval is around 15000 miles,which is way too long in my opinion, and that of a lot of bmw techs.

AshyLarryMP · 02-12-2013, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robbiedawg

i would look for oil changes at least every 7500 miles.the factory interval is around 15000 miles,which is way too long in my opinion, and that of a lot of bmw techs.

I'm guessing a lot of leased cars don't get changed at the proper interval. I bought a leased car that had 14.5k miles and one oil change. I had the car for 6 months and 5000 miles and BMW San Diego changed my oil twice. Once for the mileage and once for the yearly. I've heard of a lot of bad BMW service centers, I heard BMW SD was bad, but I've had a great experience there.

m3an · 02-12-2013, 10:28 PM

any car you buy you can call a BMW dealer and give them the vin and they will tell you if the car has a good "factory" maintenance history.

FYI my old jet black 2008 e90 m3 is for sale at a used car lot for 35k. Car has 47k miles. Really good deal IMO. And the car is very well maintained. (this is in Florida)

02-12-2013, 06:02 PM	#1
luis Enlisted Member 4 Rep 31 Posts Drives: BMW M5 F90 and JEEP TRACKHAWK Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: NJ - New Jersey iTrader: (0)	What to look for when buying used e90 M3 I am looking for a e90 M3 between 45000 to 60000 miles. What do I look for? Signs of wear, etc.. Any help would be appreciated.
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02-12-2013, 06:04 PM	#2
MKE_M3 Lieutenant Colonel 65 Rep 1,705 Posts Drives: 2011 e90 M3 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Milwaukee, WI iTrader: (0)	Obviously check tires, brakes too if it's no under free maintenance or will run out soon. Service records are a definite, as well. Otherwise, there's not too many regular problems that I am aware of. __________________
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02-12-2013, 06:10 PM	#3
Mr. ///M3 RD Happy Camper 612 Rep 7,869 Posts Drives: C63 AMG & 280 SL on Weekends : Join Date: May 2010 Location: GTA, Ontario - Canada iTrader: (0) Garage List 1969 Restored Merce ... [7.50] 2011 M3 Coupe TRADED [7.34] 1987 BMW 535is [1.00] Cars from the Past [6.50] The ///M3 Engine S65 [9.59]	My very first e46 M3 was a 2002, purchased from a BMW dealer with appeox 25,000 KM. I made sure to find out the history and made sure it was certified by BMW. Also, reviewed all the inspection service reports. The car run well for me ... 2004 to 2010 when I sold her in all that time all I did was normal maintenance, new set of tires, one brake job and replaced one spring. The new owner (I am in touch with him) replaced the other rear spring and the car now is approaching 100,000 KM. Botom line do your research ... here and also use Google ... if it is a private sale have the car inspected at BMW they will furnish you with a report that will aid you in final selling price negotiations. Good Luck! __________________ Cheers, Rolf-Dieter Life will take us to some interesting places, fortunately The ///M3 will too with a many of us know this very well, now my C6.3 AMG with 487 HP does it too ---> Click here for some good stuff I found
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02-12-2013, 06:14 PM	#5
Superfly_M3 Captain 72 Rep 959 Posts Drives: 2011 M3 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Toronto iTrader: (0)	Shifter feel is not the best in the M3. I modded the sifter with a lighted (you can do without lights if you want) ZCP shifter from the E46 M3 and it improved significantly. There are also SS kits for our cars. The mod costed me $100 + my time. Do a search and you'll find a bunch of DIY. GL
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02-12-2013, 06:16 PM	#6
Slowracer New Member 0 Rep 17 Posts Drives: 2009 Silverstone E90 M3 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: United States iTrader: (0)	Past history is the key to getting an idea of the condition of the internals. Get the VIN of the car you are interested in and call your dealer to get the warranty service and maintenance history. I usually call a friend in the parts dept. to run the checks, or sometimes a service scheduler can help out. Maintenance aside, I would be most interested in the number of unscheduled trips to the dealer. Good luck!
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02-12-2013, 06:22 PM	#7
Richbot Major General 2759 Rep 5,484 Posts Drives: Jerez Black E90 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: STL iTrader: (5)	- Shifter is not the most smooth thing in the world even when new, so don't let that scare you, in normal driving it feels a little stiff, in spirited driving it just works - Whether or not the driver's side seat bolsters are worn out might tell you a thing or two about how well the owner cared for the car, on top of just noting what kind of shape the leather is in - Ask about oil consumption - Ask about warranty repairs and check engine lights recently, there are some things that will come and go until they turn into expensive problems. If you have a scan tool, scan the car and see if there are codes scored __________________
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02-12-2013, 06:25 PM	#8
AshyLarryMP Lieutenant 22 Rep 422 Posts Drives: 2011 MW E92 ZCP DCT Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: San Diego iTrader: (0)	Check under the front bumper for damage and paint scratches. This is more of a problem for the zcp since it's lower. The drivers side seat belt extender arm commonly wears out too and drops the seat belt before it extends all the way. Window linings can go bad and cause air to leak in at freeway speeds, especially in cold air. If they haven't upgraded the software to 2011, you might be able to talk down the price down a little. Plus if you ask them what version the software is, it makes you seem more knowledgeable. They might not be able to answer the question right away. Rear differential clutches binding, causing a rubbing sound at low speed turns. Check the service records. You can see every time the car has been serviced, such as oil changes. I believe under warranty you can get the oil changed every year or every 15k miles. Last edited by AshyLarryMP; 02-12-2013 at 07:50 PM..
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02-12-2013, 08:31 PM	#9
bimdo Lieutenant 42 Rep 486 Posts Drives: 2008 e90 m3 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: usa iTrader: (0)	i would look for oil changes at least every 7500 miles.the factory interval is around 15000 miles,which is way too long in my opinion, and that of a lot of bmw techs.
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02-12-2013, 10:28 PM	#11
m3an Banned 39 Rep 1,590 Posts Drives: M3 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: South Florida iTrader: (2)	any car you buy you can call a BMW dealer and give them the vin and they will tell you if the car has a good "factory" maintenance history. FYI my old jet black 2008 e90 m3 is for sale at a used car lot for 35k. Car has 47k miles. Really good deal IMO. And the car is very well maintained. (this is in Florida)
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