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

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by PKL

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

What are the "bad bad" ones?

[JDM_CL9]

*Unfortunately it sounds like you purchased a E9X M3 that required a lot of the "common" repair/maintenance items that CAN come up on this particular vehicle. The previous owner may have driven the vehicle hard but got rid of it before needing to perform all these service items on his/her dime.

Bright side is you would have taken care of most of the items now and you can drive relatively worry free for the next several thousand miles!

[Sandye90m3]

127k miles on mine and 8 track days, 0 issues.

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by EnVe46

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?

Yes I did get a PPI done and it said everything was great except for a leaky lower transmission pan. The mechanic was so impressed by the car that he wanted to buy it.

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by JDM_CL9

*Unfortunately it sounds like you purchased a E9X M3 that required a lot of the "common" repair/maintenance items that CAN come up on this particular vehicle. The previous owner may have driven the vehicle hard but got rid of it before needing to perform all these service items on his/her dime.

Bright side is you would have taken care of most of the items now and you can drive relatively worry free for the next several thousand miles!

Yes that's the dream! I got the car two days after going into the shop and it has been a dream. The difference is noticeable from the moment you take the car out of park

[M_Three]

I put 42,000 miles on my M3 this last year alone. NO ISSUES. It is my firm believe that many of the problems M3 owner have comes from the way they drive them.

For instance. If you sit there like a 20 year old flat reving your car over and over again... is it any wonder the plastic gears inside those throttle bodies give up the ghost?

Of course one could say those gears should been metal.. I agree.. but they aren't

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by M_Three

I put 42,000 miles on my M3 this last year alone. NO ISSUES. It is my firm believe that many of the problems M3 owner have comes from the way they drive them.

For instance. If you sit there like a 20 year old flat reving your car over and over again... is it any wonder the plastic gears inside those throttle bodies give up the ghost?

Of course one could say those gears should been metal.. I agree.. but they aren't

42k miles in a year is impressive.

Throttle actuators are a very common failure point on these cars and I doubt it has anything to do with 20 year olds flat revving their engines, lol. Even if that were common practice among a M3 owners, I don't see how that would have any effect on the throttle actuators specifically. They're simply designed poorly and are known to fail around 40-60k miles regardless of how the car is used.

We have plenty of examples of heavily tracked M3s that have no issues and lightly used highway cruisers with all sorts of quirks. While the way the car is driven certainly has an effect on wear items, there does not seem to be any correlation with driving habits and things like RBs and TAs. Your firm belief is unfounded based on the decade worth of anecdotal evidence we have here on this forum.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by M_Three

I put 42,000 miles on my M3 this last year alone. NO ISSUES. It is my firm believe that many of the problems M3 owner have comes from the way they drive them.

For instance. If you sit there like a 20 year old flat reving your car over and over again... is it any wonder the plastic gears inside those throttle bodies give up the ghost?

Of course one could say those gears should been metal.. I agree.. but they aren't

Wow, that’s like $5k In gas. Also, actuators we’re going long before 20yo children were driving these cars.

[MidnightM3]

Hard to tell if you're unlucky or lucky here. You just got all these parts and a new drivetrain replaced under warranty and she's basically new now.

Depending on driving history and maintenance prior to your ownership you're probably fine if you maintain it. Enjoy!

[E90M3velocity]

Originally Posted by RosieTheRedM3

Yes that's the dream! I got the car two days after going into the shop and it has been a dream. The difference is noticeable from the moment you take the car out of park

This is basically what happened to me and I still don't regret it. Taking it out after fixing my problem and doing some "stress tests" felt so damn good.

[neilmichael]

I think the previous owner didn't take good care of the car. Or worse, he understands that he was unlucky as hell; and then he decided to sell it off. It is a possibility, sometimes one car keeps costing the owner. Maybe you are unlucky after all.

[Fooksdaddy]

Originally Posted by RosieTheRedM3

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

Would you mind passing me your warranty company? I'm thinking of picking up a 2011 E90 M3 w/ 89k on the odometer.

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by MidnightM3

Hard to tell if you're unlucky or lucky here. You just got all these parts and a new drivetrain replaced under warranty and she's basically new now.

Depending on driving history and maintenance prior to your ownership you're probably fine if you maintain it. Enjoy!

That's exactly what I'm hoping for

[RosieTheRedM3]

Originally Posted by E90M3velocity

This is basically what happened to me and I still don't regret it. Taking it out after fixing my problem and doing some "stress tests" felt so damn good.

Haha "stress tests"