Higher mileage E90, buy, walk, or run?

[Niart906]

So I'm considering selling my E46 M3 in favor of an E90 M3 sedan. My E46 has a little over 200k miles on it, as did my last E46 so I'm very familiar with BMWs that have high mileage but I've never dealt with the E90's before.

I'm looking to test drive one near me that has just under 113,000 miles on it. The car is a one owner, non-smoker, no accident car. But I'm concerned that this mileage may be a bit of a gamble reliability wise. Would this kind of mileage be enough to scare you off?

The car looks to be in great shape, better than some younger M3's with less mileage. But I wont know for sure until I test drive it and take it into the dealer for a PPI. My main concern at that mileage is the rod bearings. I did mine on my E46 at 180k miles, and they were pretty shot. If anything it seems that the S65 chews through them even faster. Is it safe to say I should be planning on replacing the rod bearings ASAP? I DIY'd them on my E46 so I'd be willing to do them on the S65 too.

Price is right, especially if the dealer is willing to deal. Which seems likely considering it's been listed for a few months now.

Thoughts?

[Candide13]

Originally Posted by Niart906

So I'm considering selling my E46 M3 in favor of an E90 M3 sedan. My E46 has a little over 200k miles on it, as did my last E46 so I'm very familiar with BMWs that have high mileage but I've never dealt with the E90's before.

I'm looking to test drive one near me that has just under 113,000 miles on it. The car is a one owner, non-smoker, no accident car. But I'm concerned that this mileage may be a bit of a gamble reliability wise. Would this kind of mileage be enough to scare you off?

The car looks to be in great shape, better than some younger M3's with less mileage. But I wont know for sure until I test drive it and take it into the dealer for a PPI. My main concern at that mileage is the rod bearings. I did mine on my E46 at 180k miles, and they were pretty shot. If anything it seems that the S65 chews through them even faster. Is it safe to say I should be planning on replacing the rod bearings ASAP? I DIY'd them on my E46 so I'd be willing to do them on the S65 too.

Price is right, especially if the dealer is willing to deal. Which seems likely considering it's been listed for a few months now.

Thoughts?

I doubt you'll get very much useful response from here, as most folks around here simply don't have much experience with high-mileage vehicles. But you seem to me to have the essential ingredients to make it work: enthusiasm for the make, experience with high mileage BMWs, and the capacity to work on the car yourself! Frankly, if you can do the rod bearings yourself then I would not worry about anything and get the E90!

[Craigy]

Personally I wouldn't buy any car with that many miles, but there are several guys on here with more miles than that.

If you don't mind the additional wear, rattles, squeaks, possibility of repair, just make sure the discount is substantial.

Rod bearings still only affect a small percentage of cars... although it's not a bad idea to replace them, it's not a certainty that you'll need to replace them at any specific mileage. Given that this car has made it so far without issues, it's likely you're good to go.

[sello]

Buy it and drive it like u stole it

[vegaseric]

I'd consider it... especially for the price! (I saw the car you're looking at) If you decide to get the car, I would get an oil analysis done ASAP. That should tell you whether or not you should be planning a rod bearing replacement. The fact that you DIY'd your rod bearings before makes this car a good purchase for you as opposed to someone who would be paying for the potential work. Make sure the AC is working good as well... an AC evaporator replacement can be costly.

[s85e90]

Originally Posted by Niart906

So I'm considering selling my E46 M3 in favor of an E90 M3 sedan. My E46 has a little over 200k miles on it, as did my last E46 so I'm very familiar with BMWs that have high mileage but I've never dealt with the E90's before.

I'm looking to test drive one near me that has just under 113,000 miles on it. The car is a one owner, non-smoker, no accident car. But I'm concerned that this mileage may be a bit of a gamble reliability wise. Would this kind of mileage be enough to scare you off?

The car looks to be in great shape, better than some younger M3's with less mileage. But I wont know for sure until I test drive it and take it into the dealer for a PPI. My main concern at that mileage is the rod bearings. I did mine on my E46 at 180k miles, and they were pretty shot. If anything it seems that the S65 chews through them even faster. Is it safe to say I should be planning on replacing the rod bearings ASAP? I DIY'd them on my E46 so I'd be willing to do them on the S65 too.

Price is right, especially if the dealer is willing to deal. Which seems likely considering it's been listed for a few months now.

Thoughts?

Why not for a few $$$ more buy my car w/ 64k and just got a checkup @ bmw this weekend (CPO). Sedan, black/black 6 speed.

[Niart906]

Originally Posted by Craigy

Personally I wouldn't buy any car with that many miles, but there are several guys on here with more miles than that.

If you don't mind the additional wear, rattles, squeaks, possibility of repair, just make sure the discount is substantial.

Rod bearings still only affect a small percentage of cars... although it's not a bad idea to replace them, it's not a certainty that you'll need to replace them at any specific mileage. Given that this car has made it so far without issues, it's likely you're good to go.

Well here is the dilemma, depending on how willing the dealer is to negotiate, I may even be able to just buy the E90 outright without selling the E46. That to me would be worth the higher mileage. I'm still not 100% sure I want to part with my E46 M3.

Originally Posted by sello

Buy it and drive it like u stole it

Hahah, that's been the plan with all of my BMWs. They haven't let me down yet.

[Niart906]

Originally Posted by vegaseric

I'd consider it... especially for the price! (I saw the car you're looking at) If you decide to get the car, I would get an oil analysis done ASAP. That should tell you whether or not you should be planning a rod bearing replacement. The fact that you DIY'd your rod bearings before makes this car a good purchase for you as opposed to someone who would be paying for the potential work. Make sure the AC is working good as well... an AC evaporator replacement can be costly.

Have you seen it in person? It's actually a 2hr drive from me so I haven't been able to see it yet.

And an oil analysis would be done immediately, I still have an empty bottle from blackstone leftover from when I did my S54's rod bearings. Also, I dont trust that the dealer changed the oil with the appropriate TWS 10w-60. So I'd probably do an oil change preventatively.

[V8FunNaturally]

I would say given it's a one owner - very important in my eyes - and no accident and that you seem to be well familiarized with bmw's, i think it would be a very sweet ride for you.
Maybe, change the bearings $1900 quoted in europe probably less in usa and you'll be very happy.

[Amirsm3]

I would jump on it if I had your mechanical prowess. Rod bearings just sounds like a weekend or two of downtime. Small investment compared to the asserted savings.

[vegaseric]

Originally Posted by Niart906

Have you seen it in person? It's actually a 2hr drive from me so I haven't been able to see it yet.

And an oil analysis would be done immediately, I still have an empty bottle from blackstone leftover from when I did my S54's rod bearings. Also, I dont trust that the dealer changed the oil with the appropriate TWS 10w-60. So I'd probably do an oil change preventatively.

No... not in person. I just did a quick search of 2008-11 M3s for sale around Scranton and it popped up. If they're negotiating with that price, you're good.

[phrozen06]

Originally Posted by Niart906

So I'm considering selling my E46 M3 in favor of an E90 M3 sedan. My E46 has a little over 200k miles on it, as did my last E46 so I'm very familiar with BMWs that have high mileage but I've never dealt with the E90's before.

I'm looking to test drive one near me that has just under 113,000 miles on it. The car is a one owner, non-smoker, no accident car. But I'm concerned that this mileage may be a bit of a gamble reliability wise. Would this kind of mileage be enough to scare you off?

The car looks to be in great shape, better than some younger M3's with less mileage. But I wont know for sure until I test drive it and take it into the dealer for a PPI. My main concern at that mileage is the rod bearings. I did mine on my E46 at 180k miles, and they were pretty shot. If anything it seems that the S65 chews through them even faster. Is it safe to say I should be planning on replacing the rod bearings ASAP? I DIY'd them on my E46 so I'd be willing to do them on the S65 too.

Price is right, especially if the dealer is willing to deal. Which seems likely considering it's been listed for a few months now.

Thoughts?

I'm at 172k with my original rod bearings.

[Niart906]

Originally Posted by V8FunNaturally

I would say given it's a one owner - very important in my eyes - and no accident and that you seem to be well familiarized with bmw's, i think it would be a very sweet ride for you.
Maybe, change the bearings $1900 quoted in europe probably less in usa and you'll be very happy.

Originally Posted by Amirsm3

I would jump on it if I had your mechanical prowess. Rod bearings just sounds like a weekend or two of downtime. Small investment compared to the asserted savings.

Agreed on both accounts. Looks to be only about $800 in parts all in. I managed to do the bearings on my S54 in one 14hr day. Hopefully the S65 is just as easy.

Originally Posted by vegaseric

No... not in person. I just did a quick search of 2008-11 M3s for sale around Scranton and it popped up. If they're negotiating with that price, you're good.

Aha, good thinking. I was actually purposly not posting a link so no one else jumps on it before I can.

The KBB value on this car is only about $400 less than it's listed for, so I'll probably use that to start negotiating. Along with anything a PPI might pick up. How is KBB at determining the value of these cars? For the E46 at least, the KBB values seem to undervalue most cars. Especially when you consider what they regularly sell for.

[Niart906]

Originally Posted by phrozen06

I'm at 172k with my original rod bearings.

Thank you for chiming in, that makes me feel a lot better about the higher mileage.

[vegaseric]

Originally Posted by Niart906

...Aha, good thinking. I was actually purposly not posting a link so no one else jumps on it before I can. ...

I figured that much... that's why I didn't link it. Jump on it... I got my E90 M3 6MT w/79K on it about a year ago. Now with 87K, I couldn't be happier. It got a clean Blackstone report at 84K.

[dreamspeed]

I wouldn't be so quick to change the rod bearings on the car. If it's made it past 100k miles on the original bearings it's more than likely the rod bearings are ok

[SeanE92]

Originally Posted by Niart906

So I'm considering selling my E46 M3 in favor of an E90 M3 sedan. My E46 has a little over 200k miles on it, as did my last E46 so I'm very familiar with BMWs that have high mileage but I've never dealt with the E90's before.

I'm looking to test drive one near me that has just under 113,000 miles on it. The car is a one owner, non-smoker, no accident car. But I'm concerned that this mileage may be a bit of a gamble reliability wise. Would this kind of mileage be enough to scare you off?

The car looks to be in great shape, better than some younger M3's with less mileage. But I wont know for sure until I test drive it and take it into the dealer for a PPI. My main concern at that mileage is the rod bearings. I did mine on my E46 at 180k miles, and they were pretty shot. If anything it seems that the S65 chews through them even faster. Is it safe to say I should be planning on replacing the rod bearings ASAP? I DIY'd them on my E46 so I'd be willing to do them on the S65 too.

Price is right, especially if the dealer is willing to deal. Which seems likely considering it's been listed for a few months now.

Thoughts?

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=111586378868&alt=web

Check this one out, no reserve. Ends in an hour

[apollo322]

I think its a great idea if the price is right and youre changing the bearings yourself. Single owner cars with no accidents are the crown jewels of high mileage cars.

[Honda]

Originally Posted by SeanE92

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=111586378868&alt=web

Check this one out, no reserve. Ends in an hour

It has minor accident reported.

[Niart906]

Originally Posted by SeanE92

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=111586378868&alt=web

Check this one out, no reserve. Ends in an hour

Not bad, but I'm not interested in a DCT car. Also I don't really care for the silver/grey leather. Even when it's two tone.

[SeanE92]

Originally Posted by Niart906

Not bad, but I'm not interested in a DCT car. Also I don't really care for the silver/grey leather. Even when it's two tone.

I dont like the options either. however when I first saw it, it was at $18k no reserve and at that price I would at least consider it. It would make a great stripped out, stroker motor, caged and one bucket seat car . Now if I only had $40k to throw away.

[spiderspider]

purty sweet deal imo

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/4874909967.html