Long-term Ownership Decision Time

[WAKman]

I've had my 2008 M3 DCT a bit over 2 years, and it has been my daily driver. Bought it for $25K with 77K and it now has 106K. I did some work (rod bearings, TBAs) initially, but since then it has been flawless, with oil changes every 5K miles. Car is stock.

I normally begin to tire of cars after about two years, and rarely keep one for more than three, but this car is different. It still makes me happy to drive it, and there is basically nothing out there like it with a normally aspirated high revving V8, except Mustangs and the like. The new turbo M3s and 4s are beautiful and fast, but I just can't love a turbo motor like I love the S65. And the steering in the E92 is way better than any electric rack I've driven in a newer car.

So--I'm going to keep it. Next question is what to do to it. It has nice paint--Interlagos Blue--but it has seen 106K miles worth of sandblasting and normal wear and tear. It also has a couple of dings and nicks here and there, as well as a large scratch on the rear bumper caused by a garage door incident that I have not yet repaired. Doing that right would require a rear bumper cover repaint, but I'm concerned about how well they can match IB. I'm fairly decent with paint, and might attempt to repair it myself, but have no illusions it look as good as a repaint.

I'm wondering what kind of paint correction/protection might be worth exploring, especially for the road rash up front. I spent many hours a couple years ago using Dr. Colorchip, but I'm wondering if there is a better way to fill those zillions of little holes.

The other problem is the driver's side left seat bolster. It's worn through. A new seat cover in silver novillo would be $700 plus installation. The rest of the interior is in great shape, and I don't like shabby seats, so I'll probably do it, unless someone has a better suggestion.

This is the kind of stuff I have to figure out if I'm going to keep the car, which looks likely.

[airheadpenguin]

Keep it if it makes you happy, the seat and bumper repaint are cheap compared to what you've already put into it.

If you're worried about the bumper coming out worse, or not matching pick up a used one and have that painted until it matches Most good body shops can do a reasonable job blending it.

I bought one from PA, and it has the usual hood dings which I was able to correct with Dr Colorchip ($75 bucks and some elbow grease) so that's an option for dings. I haven't gotten into the seats but I will have the left bolster problem. I was thinking of picking up a set of fox red seat back covers incase BMW stops making them, but decided that was a long shot since they get destroyed if the side airbag goes off so in all likelihood they'll be in production for a while.

[jaehshim]

I'm with you on keeping the car.
I actually tried to move on from this car quite a few times, drove other new models, and nothing gave me the chills I got from starting this engine when I first drove this car at a BMW dealer. Not a single car I looked back after parking in a public parking lot other than this E90. yea, maybe i'm getting old and am kinda indifferent about fake/fart exhaust, disconnected throttle feel at my foot in these turbocharged sport sedans/coupes and 30-min-lasting fancy gadgets and techs all over new interiors.

Anyways, I had the same misconception of paint matching issues before. I made a mistake of choosing "reasonably priced" shops, but the paint didn't last long. Ended up going to a quality shop i knew in NJ/NY area, these guys cost a bit but changed my perspective completely.
They kept the car over a week for just a front bumper repaint, they even sent me pictures of sanding my bumper to the base layer, showing how messed up the previous job at a different shop was. The paint came out perfect (my car is a 09 Jerez black), in/out of light, bumper looks 100% new/matching. My advice is spend some time researching a quality shop and you'll be fine.
As for the seats, I know in the worst case you can just replace it, but there's a good amount of shops that do re-condition/paint the worn leather. you might be skeptical, but after all all our leather seats are painted/color sprayed leather in the end. Again, a good quality shop will do this job for a lot less than the $$ of new seats/cover.

[GotV8?]

I’m going to keep mine as well, mine is a 12 ZCP getting close to 80k on mileage and on the fence if I want to do a SC to add a little spice. This S65 motor sounds so good!! At wide open throttle!! It may not be the fastest car but it can hold its own. Love the connection you get when you are driving through the twisties. It’s a keeper in my humble opinion.

[Mvy]

I have some bumper wear as well front and back and have been debating how much more cash I want to spend on an 08 m3. I decided for now just to leave it and enjoy the fact that its no longer a perfect exterior. I worry less about it now because when a car is new and perfect, I just get anxious for the first door ding or bumper scratch. Id say fix the interior and just wait for the bumpers to get beat up enough to start to impact the look of the car. When you get there, do both the front and back at the same time at a quality paint shop and call it a day.

[Drifter2090]

Definitely good choice on keeping the car, you've already done the preventative maintenance so the future should just be smaller issues. I'm at 96k now and still need to get the bearings done, the oil samples have been really good so far but I might still do them for peace of mind.

Maybe look at doing some mods as well, to keep it more interesting.

[R-35]

you could upgrade to m4 seats if you find a good deal from a partout car

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cBD_8qCuA4

[wyatth]

I would look at Dr. Colorchip + paint protection/ceramic pro. Cheaper, easier, and will make it look 100% better without the need or hassle/cost of a full respray. Also wont hurt resale.

[BayE30]

at 100k miles, your front end probably needs to be repainted. Those Dr.Colorchip solutions are OK, but if you are going to keep the car, its worth the money to repaint the hood/fenders/bumper. Any quality paint shop can match good enough that you shouldnt be able to tell it was painted.

[pbonsalb]

I have had mine for 8 of its 11 years. There are several cars for which I would be happy to give it up, but it’s paid for and is still a great car. The other used cars I like would cost 2 to 5 times what mine is worth.