M3 Shelf Life

[m3nt0s]

It's nice to hear that these cars can last a long time. My paint was pretty mint for a long time but I started using it as a winter car and it lead to rust issues. I also had a couple minor cosmetic accidents and the areas of respray lead to peeling -- so in the end, to make it look great again, the only option was to invest in repainting.

My M maintenance has been always costly -- I don't think it's outside the norm for an M from what I read on the forums; maybe, it's a bit exacerbated by being an 01 build.

Regarding winter use - the best mods for the M3 are garage, and a daily driver

I’m 99% certain my M3 saw a lot of snow before my ownership began 7 years ago, but I’m doing my best to keep it as clean as possible moving forward.

[ShiftLess]

Air cooled Porsches don't fair well in the northeast, actually nothing does since Saturn stopped making plastic body panels . My '02 M3 is pretty clean for a dedicated track car and is garaged so sees minimum inclement weather. The money I've spent on the M3 might have bought me something newer but then track insurance would be a lot more $$$.

[sev]

im going to ask this question a different way. how long will the car last if it's mostly sitting. I go anywhere from 3-6 months at a time before i start it and drive it and I have for years...

[jcreme]

How long can you realistically make your M3 last? I have a 2001 with 141k on the clock. In the past 3-4 years I have spent a small fortune on it's upkeep -- VANOS, subframe, brakes/tires, coilovers, a ton of underbody and some panel replacement parts due to rust, full repaint and a lot more stuff. Consequently, the car feels strong as ever and looks great and I am hoping it can last a lot longer. I have an attachment to my car as I've owned it for 18+ years but looking back at it, I could have easily gotten a newer one. Although I would want a replica (LSB/Black manual) and newer model year/low mileage and not sure how much that would cost or even if readily available?

I love the M3 but it is quite expensive to upkeep and a lot more costly than higher end cars that I have or owned in the past. Not sure if it's exacerbated by being the first build year. Obviously, much of the work was needed simply due to aging but it has always been a bit of a money pit.

I started tracking my car at 141k miles 10 years ago. LOL. 200k now. Don't sweat it. Rust and dried out rubber/plastic are your only unknowns; every other failure point is known and well-documented.

No matter how much *you* paid for it, it was BMWs most extreme machine at the time. It's always going to be expensive. Go to the dealer for a quote, then do it yourself. You'll feel a lot better 😉👍