Advice on buying 120k mile M3

[K-Dawg]

The rod bearing repair wasn't a recall, it was a service action.

OP, if you're patient, I'd think you could find a car that hasn't been winter driven for the same money as that car. 🤷

[lemoose]

I'm not sure I follow here. It doesn't appear to have any open recalls at the moment. Airbag recall was done 5/11/2021 and TIS isn't saying there's any active recalls.

I meant "service action" (relating to the rod bearings)

[Akershawm3]

Yeah thanks everyone, will be passing on this car. Rod bearings scare me in these cars.

[Tbonem3]

It shouldn't. They go around 150k which is fantastic for such an engine. There are way more s54s with 200-300k on original bearings than the horror stories of sub 100k letting go.

[maw1124]

Yeah thanks everyone, will be passing on this car. Rod bearings scare me in these cars.

The $25k should scare you more than the rod bearings. Spend a little money on a PPI to get a sense of the way the car was driven and maintained, and then negotiate accordingly. It's not like they're rolling off the line anymore. If you want to do the bearings, go for it. The best thing about these cars is from here out they're worth whatever you put into them. It's not like you're going to look up and find yourself underwater on the car (economically or emotionally).

My $.02

maw

[Nate047]

If I could do it over again I would get a LCI car with good paint and not even worry about regular maintenance or the big 3, let alone pay extra for a car that has them done. Gotta do that stuff yourself (or have these done by a shop you trust) to know it was done right. I had a PPI done on my car and bought it long distance, was a reputable shop on the east coast, lots of good reviews, etc…. When the car showed up I saw right away that it was a huge pile of shit, and the “inspection” was a total joke performed by morons. I’ve subsequently spent a small fortune turning the car into a medium pile of shit when I should have just bought a cleaner one to start with.

[dukeofchen]

If I could do it over again I would get a LCI car with good paint and not even worry about regular maintenance or the big 3, let alone pay extra for a car that has them done. Gotta do that stuff yourself (or have these done by a shop you trust) to know it was done right. I had a PPI done on my car and bought it long distance, was a reputable shop on the east coast, lots of good reviews, etc…. When the car showed up I saw right away that it was a huge pile of shit, and the “inspection” was a total joke performed by morons. I’ve subsequently spent a small fortune turning the car into a medium pile of shit when I should have just bought a cleaner one to start with.

Word, also had an absolute joke of a PPI done on my car. I was blind after searching so long for an LSB / black LCI, but it's been a great learning experience fixing everything since.

[sapote]

Word, also had an absolute joke of a PPI done on my car. I was blind after searching so long for an LSB / black LCI, but it's been a great learning experience fixing everything since.

Sorry to hear this, but I only trust myself to do the inspection when spending this kind of money.
I agree that I would look for a car with nice paint and body no crack on rear floor, interior. Power train stuff is easy to fix or replace.

[Z3 Coupe]

If I could do it over again I would get a LCI car with good paint and not even worry about regular maintenance or the big 3, let alone pay extra for a car that has them done. Gotta do that stuff yourself (or have these done by a shop you trust) to know it was done right. I had a PPI done on my car and bought it long distance, was a reputable shop on the east coast, lots of good reviews, etc…. When the car showed up I saw right away that it was a huge pile of shit, and the “inspection” was a total joke performed by morons. I’ve subsequently spent a small fortune turning the car into a medium pile of shit when I should have just bought a cleaner one to start with.

What type of issues did it have? When I bought mine I had a PPI done but I still flew out to make the purchase in person. Spending that kind of money with seeing it myself scares me. Pictures hide a lot.


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[simonnim]

25k? Goodness. It's not even that great of a car. But makes a great track toy. I got mines for under 10k last year with 160k miles on the odo. Did bearings and maintenance myself.

Wouldn't pay that much for this car. I'd get an s2k.

[dukeofchen]

To be more specific, if I were to get a remote PPI again I would find a reputable shop through a community recommendation here, and specifically request them to:

• Check status of subframe and provide relevant pictures, run VANOS tests and provide results
• Run a compression / leakdown test
• Pull and send me a readout of all code history including those stored but erased
• Put it on a lift and poke around the suspension, differential, driveline to evaluate condition of bushings, ball joints, struts, etc., and provide me a list of their evaluations
• Make note of any indications of sloppy work and document any fluid leaks no matter how small
• Document any whine from the driveline, irregular engine noises, etc.

That would be on top of wanting a history of recent oil tests from the owner, but rod bearings I would probably get done regardless as the first big item post-purchase.

Might be extra work for the shop doing the PPI but I would happily pay extra for the piece of mind. I suppose if it were a good deal and the intent of the car would be to tear it apart / refresh it anyways then those would factor into my buying decision in terms of what I'm willing to overlook.

[Nate047]

What type of issues did it have? When I bought mine I had a PPI done but I still flew out to make the purchase in person. Spending that kind of money with seeing it myself scares me. Pictures hide a lot.


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Long story short, it had paint and interior finish problems, plus the suspension was all significantly worn, tires were from 2012, had a junkyard alternator, had body rust, underside corrosion, basically it was a mess.

[spearmin]

I would strongly advise against moving forward with this one without a PPI by a mechanic experienced in this era of BMWs. If the previous owners couldn't be bothered to get a critical no-cost recall done to the car, who knows what else they've neglected...

As long as its reflected in the price, I would move forward. If the price is 20k or up walk away, but If you can get it for 8 to 12k you may want to stick with it. It can also be a good thing that the car as neglected. This often means that the car wasn't ragged on and taken to the limits often. I'd rather buy moderately a neglected car, than one that has a bunch of silly adolescent mods. That's usually an indication that the person spent his Saturday nights doing doughnuts in the Walmart parking lot to impress his friends.

[Kdubski]

Just buy it at a good price and address those issues yourself. Chances are it'll need other things at 120k. It's literally the best decision you could ever make.