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

[Thik]

I've been lucky. 2010 E92 M3 with Jan 2010 in-service date, driven every winter in Canada...tracked occasionally. Just hit 160,000km (100,000 miles), only had to replace the throttle actuators and battery outside of warranty. Nothing else. Original clutch going strong...no slip at all...only replaced front rotors and pads last month after I warped it on a track day when it started raining. Still on original rear brakes.

[tooloud10]

Originally Posted by M3_92101

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

I can't believe this thread made it to 19 posts before anyone asked for clarification on needing to replace the drivetrain. That's what I want to know more about.

[E90M3velocity]

Originally Posted by RosieTheRedM3

I feel unlucky as hell

I went through the same beginning of a M3 ownership and I traded my very first fun car for it so I had buyers remorse and felt stuck with it AND I passed on the warranty. Gone through the common pieces to change and had around 15k miles of fun since first taking ownership... went into limp mode recently and currently trying to go through a bunch of error codes to find a fix before I need to smog it hahahaha. In a way, I rather have the computer to be overly protective because these engines are not exactly cheap to replace.

[EnVe46]

I've had my car 15 months and probably have put 12k into it they my Warranty. It's important that a shop will find work that needs to be done, especially if you have a warranty. A lot of that I'd probably do my self but I also got the common things pop up. Dct pan twice now, valve covers, evaporator, power steering pump, thrust arms, radiator leaking etc. It's also important to know how it was driven and maintained before you got it. Original owner of my car tracked it at the Nurburgring before it was imported to the states, and often, so naturally some things will wear down differently. I enjoy this process of bringing a car back to life, especially with a warranty hahaha

Don't sweat it man, just remember you have a well sorted car after doing everything and that goes a long way if you ever come to sell it

[94jedi]

Luck of the draw, honestly. Of course, if you do a PPI, collect maintenance records, etc. you can help skew the odds in your favor.

Knock on wood - I've not really had any issues w/ my M3 in almost 1 year of ownership. Granted, it's not my daily but I do drive it quite a bit. I'm about to do the RB's preemptively and replace some suspension components but aside from that, really nothing too bad (did pay for the pinion re-grease TSB).

To the OP - what warranty do you have? I've been considering a warranty on my car, especially as I close in on 80k miles (75k at the moment).

[Transfer]

Originally Posted by tooloud10

I can't believe this thread made it to 19 posts before anyone asked for clarification on needing to replace the drivetrain. That's what I want to know more about.

Yeah lol car makes clunking noise when putting it into gear (potentially normal) so "drivetrain" replaced. That's a whole hell of a lot more than $7k! Which parts? Engine, transmission, driveshaft, axles, diff...? Confused.

[NoHedge]

Originally Posted by Transfer

Yeah lol car makes clunking noise when putting it into gear (potentially normal) so "drivetrain" replaced. That's a whole hell of a lot more than $7k! Which parts? Engine, transmission, driveshaft, axles, diff...? Confused.

Curious as well

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by 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?

My car was at 63,000 when it need both TAs and thermostat replaced. About 66,000 when it need the alternator and o2 sensor replaced. And just under 69,000 for the drivetrain. It's my daily which is why it's been a lot of miles in such a short amount of time

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by Transfer

Yeah lol car makes clunking noise when putting it into gear (potentially normal) so "drivetrain" replaced. That's a whole hell of a lot more than $7k! Which parts? Engine, transmission, driveshaft, axles, diff...? Confused.

I didn't think anything of it at first put it became more frequent (everytime the car went into any gear, even neutral)

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by E90M3velocity

I went through the same beginning of a M3 ownership and I traded my very first fun car for it so I had buyers remorse and felt stuck with it AND I passed on the warranty. Gone through the common pieces to change and had around 15k miles of fun since first taking ownership... went into limp mode recently and currently trying to go through a bunch of error codes to find a fix before I need to smog it hahahaha. In a way, I rather have the computer to be overly protective because these engines are not exactly cheap to replace.

No they are not haha

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by RosieTheRedM3

I didn't think anything of it at first put it became more frequent (everytime the car went into any gear, even neutral)

My mechanic told me that the car has actually been driven pretty hard, completely against what the previous owner told me, and the driveshaft being considered a wear item, the warranty actually shouldn't have covered it. He also recommended we get some rubber piece(s) replaced somewhere around the driveshaft because they are wearing too but I can't remember the name, just that they are around $250

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by EnVe46

I've had my car 15 months and probably have put 12k into it they my Warranty. It's important that a shop will find work that needs to be done, especially if you have a warranty. A lot of that I'd probably do my self but I also got the common things pop up. Dct pan twice now, valve covers, evaporator, power steering pump, thrust arms, radiator leaking etc. It's also important to know how it was driven and maintained before you got it. Original owner of my car tracked it at the Nurburgring before it was imported to the states, and often, so naturally some things will wear down differently. I enjoy this process of bringing a car back to life, especially with a warranty hahaha

Don't sweat it man, just remember you have a well sorted car after doing everything and that goes a long way if you ever come to sell it

I also will have to get the valve covers done because the mechanic said they were seeping oil the first time I brought it to him which was the less than a week after we bought the car. The first time it went into limp mode was less than 24 hours after getting the car but it went away for about three-four days without going back into limp mode and then after getting gas. I turned on the car and it instantly went back into limp mode

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by 94jedi

Luck of the draw, honestly. Of course, if you do a PPI, collect maintenance records, etc. you can help skew the odds in your favor.

Knock on wood - I've not really had any issues w/ my M3 in almost 1 year of ownership. Granted, it's not my daily but I do drive it quite a bit. I'm about to do the RB's preemptively and replace some suspension components but aside from that, really nothing too bad (did pay for the pinion re-grease TSB).

To the OP - what warranty do you have? I've been considering a warranty on my car, especially as I close in on 80k miles (75k at the moment).

I got it through USAA, my insurance company. It was $2,800 for a 2 year/24k mile warranty

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by RosieTheRedM3

I got it through USAA, my insurance company. It was $2,800 for a 2 year/24k mile warranty

The company itself that covers the warranty is called Assurant I believe

[shimmy23]

Originally Posted by 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?

He stated 68k

OP, that's a lot to go wrong in the few miles that you've owned her. How did you find the car? Did you have previous records?

[Scrippy]

164,000 and nothing has failed. I have cracked an oil pan and two transmission pans from hitting road debris but nothing has failed. My belts just started making a little noise. Gonna do both belts, all pulleys and idler arms. Car has been good to me so far.

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by Scrippy

164,000 and nothing has failed. I have cracked an oil pan and two transmission pans from hitting road debris but nothing has failed. My belts just started making a little noise. Gonna do both belts, all pulleys and idler arms. Car has been good to me so far.

Damn, never had any actuators replaced?

[Scrippy]

Originally Posted by RosieTheRedM3

Damn, never had any actuators replaced?

Nothing. I do my own oil&filter every 5,000 and it's my daily driver. Other than shitty roads getting me the car has been good to me. I think once you get over all the bullshit the prior owner handed you, you will have a gem that makes you happy.

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by Scrippy

Nothing. I do my own oil&filter every 5,000 and it's my daily driver. Other than shitty roads getting me the car has been good to me. I think once you get over all the bullshit the prior owner handed you, you will have a gem that makes you happy.

I sure hope so. Had an oil change down about 1k miles ago and already down have my engine oil which I guess isn't that surprising

[E90M3velocity]

Originally Posted by RosieTheRedM3

My mechanic told me that the car has actually been driven pretty hard, completely against what the previous owner told me, and the driveshaft being considered a wear item, the warranty actually shouldn't have covered it. He also recommended we get some rubber piece(s) replaced somewhere around the driveshaft because they are wearing too but I can't remember the name, just that they are around $250

Might as well upgrade the diff bushings to a poly bushing as the OEM diff bushings are weak enough to break the bolts and if you want, the rear subframe bushing for added performance.

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by E90M3velocity

Might as well upgrade the diff bushings to a poly bushing as the OEM diff bushings are weak enough to break the bolts and if you want, the rear subframe bushing for added performance.

I think that's what else is getting replaced. The diff bearings

[EnVe46]

Originally Posted by RosieTheRedM3

I also will have to get the valve covers done because the mechanic said they were seeping oil the first time I brought it to him which was the less than a week after we bought the car. The first time it went into limp mode was less than 24 hours after getting the car but it went away for about three-four days without going back into limp mode and then after getting gas. I turned on the car and it instantly went back into limp mode

Yea I can imagine you're frustrated, did you get a PPI done before the purchase? Valve covers leak on nearly every Bmw I've ever had and is a fairly easy job but it's just one more thing in your book. Some things a PPI can not find or predict. Did you buy it at a decent price at least?