Do I Have a Bad M3 or Am I Just Unlucky?

[RosieTheRedM3]

Hey everyone,
So I've had my E92 for only 2 and a half months and I've had some serious issues already. I've had to replace both the throttle actuators, the thermostat, the alternator, an O2 sensor, and now my drivetrain. Thankfully my warranty is covering everything but if I skipped out on that, I'd be down a little over $7k. Is my car just a poor functioning M3 or am I just getting unlucky? Is this what life with an E9X M3 is like?

[ONEOF40 FS M3]

Hard to tell because like any car it depends on its history, maintenance, etc...

My e92 is over six years old 29k, bought it new. Zero issues of any kind.

[so0fresh]

on the bright side with all those items taken care of you should be problem free.

[BOOF-M3]

41k miles in two years on two M3's and have only had one repair, a breather valve. Its luck of the draw. Lucky you have a warranty for sure. It would have been wasted on me.

[jd501]

Originally Posted by RosieTheRedM3

Hey everyone,
So I've had my E92 for only 2 and a half months and I've had some serious issues already. I've had to replace both the throttle actuators, the thermostat, the alternator, an O2 sensor, and now my drivetrain. Thankfully my warranty is covering everything but if I skipped out on that, I'd be down a little over $7k. Is my car just a poor functioning M3 or am I just getting unlucky? Is this what life with an E9X M3 is like?

Had my 08 for about three years and it's at 100k; I've done both TAs (twice, as the initial gear rebuild didn't work and ended up with new ones), and thermostat.

I think the TAs, thermostat, and alternator are going to be considered normal maintenance items (debatable in general on the TAs, but unfortunately on this car it's a given they'll go at some point). O2 and drivetrain not so much.

As others have pointed out, there's really not much else major that could go wrong at this point except *cough* rodbearings *cough*.

Probably have to do sparks / coils at some point also, but also maintanance items.

[Redd]

If it's any consolation, I went thru the same experience 2 years ago. Got my M3 used at 5 yrs old and 70k kms. With BMWs, you gotta expect things to start breaking at 5 yrs.

I spent the first year and half dumping money into the car. Alternator left me stranded with a dead batt. Brake vacuum sensor put me into limp mode. Swapped out nearly the entire braking system over the course of 2 years to diagnose a spongy brake pedal issue that turned out to be a leaking ABS pump. The first year of ownership I literally considered burning the car, I hated it that much. To me, it was one of the most unreliable cars I had ever owned, and I've mainly driven Italian and French marques. And the dreaded M Tax didn't help.

Once I got over the initial period of parts replacements, it began to stabilize. Car has been rock solid for the last 18 months. I have done some items preemptively, such as TA, and cooling system components just cos the car was getting up there in mileage.

So hang in there. It will stabilize. Just don't expect to drive an M like a normal car. It will require preemptive maintenance of wear and tear parts. Using a part til failure may cause even more headaches down the line.

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by ONEOF40 FS M3

Hard to tell because like any car it depends on its history, maintenance, etc...

My e92 is over six years old 29k, bought it new. Zero issues of any kind.

It's a 2008 and I got with with 63k miles and it's now at 68k

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by so0fresh

on the bright side with all those items taken care of you should be problem free.

Fingers crossed

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by Redd

If it's any consolation, I went thru the same experience 2 years ago. Got my M3 used at 5 yrs old and 70k kms. With BMWs, you gotta expect things to start breaking at 5 yrs.

I spent the first year and half dumping money into the car. Alternator left me stranded with a dead batt. Brake vacuum sensor put me into limp mode. Swapped out nearly the entire braking system over the course of 2 years to diagnose a spongy brake pedal issue that turned out to be a leaking ABS pump. The first year of ownership I literally considered burning the car, I hated it that much. To me, it was one of the most unreliable cars I had ever owned, and I've mainly driven Italian and French marques. And the dreaded M Tax didn't help.

Once I got over the initial period of parts replacements, it began to stabilize. Car has been rock solid for the last 18 months. I have done some items preemptively, such as TA, and cooling system components just cos the car was getting up there in mileage.

So hang in there. It will stabilize. Just don't expect to drive an M like a normal car. It will require preemptive maintenance of wear and tear parts. Using a part til failure may cause even more headaches down the line.

My mechanic said that my valve covers are starting to seep oil and I have a leaky transmission pan that will need to be replaced in the next 7-10k miles. It's just tough not being able to a month without thousands of dollars needing to be spent. I've also had to replace the battery ($240+$80 registration fee), new right parking/daytime running angel eye lights ($100), a new fuel door actuator ($15), and my rear sunshade and seatbelt extenders aren't functional. It's a lot of maintenance costs so far as I'm gonna have to get new tires in the next couple of months because I got a nail stuck in my rear right tire and had to get it patched. But I guess it's all worth it because it's an incredible performance and luxury car

[monterey]

08 with 100k. Only replaced idler pulley and tstat .

[javarithms]

Originally Posted by RosieTheRedM3

My mechanic said that my valve covers are starting to seep oil and I have a leaky transmission pan that will need to be replaced in the next 7-10k miles. It's just tough not being able to a month without thousands of dollars needing to be spent. I've also had to replace the battery ($240+$80 registration fee), new right parking/daytime running angel eye lights ($100), a new fuel door actuator ($15), and my rear sunshade and seatbelt extenders aren't functional. It's a lot of maintenance costs so far as I'm gonna have to get new tires in the next couple of months because I got a nail stuck in my rear right tire and had to get it patched. But I guess it's all worth it because it's an incredible performance and luxury car

Yeah, sounds like you bought a car that requires maintenance. I made sure mine had the self-healing option when I bought it.

But seriously, your car is a decade old and parts will break and will need to be replaced. I just spent a month doing a complete suspension refresh on my 2003 E39 (all original parts). The car drives like new again.

[PKL]

Not only is the car ten years old but it was the first of it's generation. Yeah I'm one of those people who would never ever buy the first year of a new model.

Also you should get your Rod Bearings replaced ASAP, you have the bad bad ones

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by monterey

08 with 100k. Only replaced idler pulley and tstat .

I feel unlucky as hell

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by javarithms

Yeah, sounds like you bought a car that requires maintenance. I made sure mine had the self-healing option when I bought it.

But seriously, your car is a decade old and parts will break and will need to be replaced. I just spent a month doing a complete suspension refresh on my 2003 E39 (all original parts). The car drives like new again.

I also have a ton of mods so I'm sure that doesn't help either

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by PKL

Not only is the car ten years old but it was the first of it's generation. Yeah I'm one of those people who would never ever buy the first year of a new model.

Also you should get your Rod Bearings replaced ASAP, you have the bad bad ones

Yeah you're right I should

[m3jala]

My recommendation learn to do the basics if you haven't already then get someone that knows these cars to do the real work. I have had dealers leave things untightened, indie shop overfill oil and say "oops sorry".

I'd also build a maintenance schedule of your own and just get into practice of doing things preemptively. For example spark plugs you can do quite easily.

As for your actual questions seems you have some bad luck but as long as there isn't anything fundamentally wrong with the car, my call is that getting through the list will get you into a good status and a vehicle that rewards you with the experience. I love this car every time I step into it.

Stuff like this is why I am for the warranties. Sort of sucks to pay the cost of rod bearings and not use it but so far all cars I have owned the warranty has proven to pay back its worth.

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by m3jala

My recommendation learn to do the basics if you haven't already then get someone that knows these cars to do the real work. I have had dealers leave things untightened, indie shop overfill oil and say "oops sorry".

I'd also build a maintenance schedule of your own and just get into practice of doing things preemptively. For example spark plugs you can do quite easily.

As for your actual questions seems you have some bad luck but as long as there isn't anything fundamentally wrong with the car, my call is that getting through the list will get you into a good status and a vehicle that rewards you with the experience. I love this car every time I step into it.

Stuff like this is why I am for the warranties. Sort of sucks to pay the cost of rod bearings and not use it but so far all cars I have owned the warranty has proven to pay back its worth.

Definitely, the warranty was $2800 for 2 yr/24k miles and it's covered over $7000 worth of work in the past two and a half months haha I got one hell of a deal

[hungryhippo]

I would say you are lucky all this stuff is going out while you're under warranty. Hopefully when it's out, nothing else will break for a while.

[M3_92101]

Originally Posted by RosieTheRedM3

Hey everyone,
I've had to replace both the throttle actuators, the thermostat, the alternator, an O2 sensor, and now my drivetrain.

Glad you have a warranty! What's the issue with your drivetrain?

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by M3_92101

Glad you have a warranty! What's the issue with your drivetrain?

It was bent or cracking or something. Not entirely sure but it made a clunking sound everytime I put it in gear

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by hungryhippo

I would say you are lucky all this stuff is going out while you're under warranty. Hopefully when it's out, nothing else will break for a while.

Agreed

[cvstar9M3]

how many miles is your car? that's a lot of work needed in such a short time. Did you do ppi on the car?