Anyone have a really high mileage e9x M3?

[geoffreyaugusto]

My E92 M3 is about to turn over 148,000 miles. I've replaced the rotors, both throttle actuators, (both are VDO with zero issues since), the alternator, transmission fluid case (DCT), Seals all around. Regular oil and filter changes and that's it. I also daily drive this car including in the New England winters.

[Audioslave686]

Originally Posted by loveskiing

2) DCT are engineered to blow up at exactly 100k, that's why true m3 drivers get MT or nothing at all...

what?
how did you end up with that conclusion?
as far as I know, DCT is pretty bulletproof

[kyrix1st]

Originally Posted by loveskiing

1) No doubt about it, get the 135
2) DCT are engineered to blow up at exactly 100k, that's why true m3 drivers get MT or nothing at all...

I must be the truest M3 driver because I own both.

[LakeSurfer]

I always tell people that every BMW has 2 or 3 relatively big problems but when you sort them out you should have a decent car. Reliability seems to be a sensitive subject for "BMW guys". Over engineered systems create more problems and since everything has some sort of sensor or computer, they seem to fail at random. Now throw all that into a high performance sports car and reliability is a gamble. Just my opinion.

I don't like American cars specifically muscle cars so I landed on my M3. I have 50,000 miles on it and in the last year I'm probably down about $6,000 in Maintenance. Rod bearings, throttle actuators, a handful of sensors and the usual tires and brakes. Before this car I've owned rather pedestrian Japanese cars and a couple American brands and I don't think I've put that much into all of them combined. My Nissan Frontier let me get away with 8,000 mile interval oil changes and I sold it to a friend when it had 125,000 miles on it. Never flushed a single fluid and changed the plugs once at 60k It's now close to 175,000 miles. I never worried about it. The m3 I worry if I go 1 mile over 5,000 for an oil change. Way to many horror stories with this car. I love it though and have zero plans to get rid of it. But if I were looking for a "reliable" fun car like this, I don't think it would make the cut.

[Sandye90m3]

In my ownership of 11 years and 237k kms I've done the following:
1.$3700CAD - Rod Bearing @ 160k kms (100k miles) as a birthday to the car lol.... They came out looking pristine btw, and I never needed to change it...

2. $1600CAD - Power Steering Pump @ 236k kms....I was drifting the shit out of my M3 for a good 1.5 hours in the snow. Extremely aggressive and obviously the power steering was getting old and grenaded itself

3.$1000CAD - Thermostat became sticky @236k kms.. This was happening for a while, but decided to get it fixed


The car never left me straded with the above issues, it just had to get fixed at some point. So after all, this has been an absolute pleasure of a car and very reliable car.

[JPSurratt2005]

Originally Posted by Sandye90m3

3.$1000CAD - Thermostat became sticky @236k kms.. This was happening for a while, but decided to get it fixed

How did that cost you $1000CAD?

[Sandye90m3]

Originally Posted by JPSurratt2005

How did that cost you $1000CAD?

I don't even know, I just paid the guy lol!

[Eja144]

My 6MT E90 is about to crack 75k miles, so not exactly the anecdote you're looking for, but I would say reliability has been good by BMW standards, just OK by Japanese standards. Largest expense by a mile has been the rod bearings/motor mounts/aluminum under tray that I did all in one shot at 60k. Since then the car has been mostly reliable. I dealt with an annoying but harmless exhaust gasket issue around 65k and more recently had the valve cover and oil filter housing gaskets replaced along with fixing a bad bank-2 oxygen sensor.

I'd say if you have the time, skills and resources to DIY the majority of the work, it's a pretty reasonable car to own cost wise. I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but don't really have the space and time to do the work, so it's burned a bit of a hole in my wallet. Still zero regrets. The joy this car brings outweighs the cost of ownership.

[m3peat]

My ‘09 has 140k miles. I’ve had it since 94k with the only “repairs” being the alternator, thermostat and fixing a few leaks (one oil and two coolant). The rest of the expenses have been maintenance (both normal and preventative).
Previous owner had a few things like thermostat, window regulators but nothing else notable.

After being on this forum, owning two E9x M3’s and having a couple friends own them, I can say it seems hit or miss with reliability. The general theme to me is those who drive theirs and properly warm up and maintain them, have better reliability. Those with short trips and not driving very often seem to have more problems.

If I were buying another I would search for a 75k+ mile car with all records that show it wasnt a problem car.

[DrFerry]

264,000 miles

Built to last https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1184983

[geoffreyaugusto]

Originally Posted by geoffreyaugusto

My E92 M3 is about to turn over 148,000 miles. I've replaced the rotors, both throttle actuators, (both are VDO with zero issues since), the alternator, transmission fluid case (DCT), Seals all around. Regular oil and filter changes and that's it. I also daily drive this car including in the New England winters.

I just hit 153,000 miles and still going strong. Original rod bearings (Blackstone analysis came back fine). I think it's time to do the engine and trans mounts next as there's quite a lot of hard vibration at idle (not rough idling, just vibration) and while accelerating at certain RPMs in lower gears, especially in the 2500-3500 range. Hoping it's not something more serious. I love this car.