What makes a later model-year M3 more desirable?

[scubastove]

I went from a 2004 M3 to a 2002 recently. They roughly had the same mileage, but the 02 was in much nicer shape and was a single-owner car. I bought/sold the '04 for the same price as the '02.
As a precautionary measure, I just got the rod bearings taken care of again (originally done under recall but now at 120k, figured it was time again).

In my experience, the '02 I purchased is much nicer than the '04 I had. This car has 120k miles on it but it looks and feels like a 20k mile car (it spent its life in California).

As an aside, in my opinion I got the 2002 M3 for a steal because it's in much nicer shape than the purchase price would have you think.

Other than the original recall for connecting rod bearings for early-MY cars, what makes an '04 more desirable than an '02?

[heinzboehmer]

MK60, dash that can be coded for oil level, later model LCM, MSS54HP, competition pack (if applicable), and a few aesthetic things like the trunk handle and LED tails. Most of these things can be easily retrofitted (MK60 being the most notable exception).

I also own an 02 and it just wasn't worth the price difference between the car I bought and the facelift models I was looking at. Plus, we don't get that terrible eyesore on top of the engine and have reusable rod bolts with a much simpler torquing sequence!

[ATB88]

The MK60 DSC/ABS unit. It's less intrusive when on and can be re-programmed to work with quicker ratio steering racks. I *think* any MK60 can be programmed to have M-Track mode, too? The MK20 DSC that came on < 09/2002 cars is just strictly worse and really limits your ability to do a steering rack swap.

[zzyzx85]

The differences aren't huge but it might be important for some people.

ABS module: MK20 was upgraded to MK60
exterior: different trunk handle (2002 has "narrow", 2004 has "wide"); LED tail lights
interior: HVAC control panel is different in newer ones
engine: crankcase vent hose is different/more complicated in later cars; MSS54HP DME in later cars

that's all I can think off right now. I'm sure others will chime in.

[SteelGreyM]

MK60 wasn’t an LCI exclusive. My Jan 03 build has mk60

[scubastove]

MK60, dash that can be coded for oil level, later model LCM, MSS54HP, competition pack (if applicable), and a few aesthetic things like the trunk handle and LED tails. Most of these things can be easily retrofitted (MK60 being the most notable exception).

I also own an 02 and it just wasn't worth the price difference between the car I bought and the facelift models I was looking at. Plus, we don't get that terrible eyesore on top of the engine and have reusable rod bolts with a much simpler torquing sequence!

It sounds like for the Average Joe, any M3 is a good choice (6spd coupe of course!).

[Ruley]

They also came with front strut bar too I believe.

[Obioban]

It's really the cumulation of hundreds of tiny things. If you look at any part on realoem, you'll most likely see it went through multiple revisions/improvements by the end of production. Big, hugely impactful changes exist (like MK60 DSC, which I would consider a baseline requirement for any car I bought), but also small things like the improved mesh screen on the oil pump pickup tube... or oil return line going from rubber to metal... or bi xenons vs single xenons... or clusters that can display M track mode vs those that can't... or LCMs that can have ripple blink turn signals vs those than can't... or coming with a strut tower brace vs not. Etc. Almost every aspect of the car was improved over the production run, some things significantly.

For me, the inflection point of "want to own" vs "wait" would be the MK60. But, all else equal, the later the car was made, the better.

[heinzboehmer]

It sounds like for the Average Joe, any M3 is a good choice (6spd coupe of course!).

Agreed. And besides that, I've actually enjoyed retrofitting everything. The one thing I am not looking forward to (and probably won't do because of the hassle) is the MK60 swap.

[BMWahba]

My 03 prefacelift is perfectly good compared to my old 06. And it was half the price.

[Arith2]

If you want have all the fancy stuff the post facelift M3s have, it's going to cost a few thousand and take many many hours. Also rubber doesn't need miles to crap out. The older it is, the sooner it's going to die. Cosmetics are usually in worst condition in older M3s. In your case, cosmetics are good. LEDs are a must in my opinion. Parts are revised due to failures or lack of efficiency. The rule of thumb on any car is late model cars of any generation have the kinks worked out much more. Subframe wasn't mentioned but the rear subframe is even updated. If we compare an 02 to an 04, I doubt regular owners change oil based on time. The 02 had oil potentially sitting in there months longer than it should have.

[Obioban]

The MK20 cars are actually dangerous, on track, once you get fast because of ice mode.

[heinzboehmer]

The MK20 cars are actually dangerous, on track, once you get fast because of ice mode.

Interestingly enough, I never had ice mode kick in during the two Colorado winters in which I used the M3 as a daily driver. Seems a bit short sighted of Bosch to include such a "feature" that only seems to activate in situations where it is actually dangerous, i.e. on track. Is an MK60 the only way to fix this while retaining ABS (even though those still do have an --admittedly harder to falsely trigger-- ice mode)?

[Nate047]

The MK20 cars are actually dangerous, on track, once you get fast because of ice mode.

Okay, but I hear about people with all sorts of other cars experiencing "ice mode" on track, including some with 4 channel ABS. It sounds like this is highly situational, but what's the work around for early cars with MK20? Can you retrofit MK60? I have an early 01 for example.

[btran86]

The MK60 DSC/ABS unit. It's less intrusive when on and can be re-programmed to work with quicker ratio steering racks. I *think* any MK60 can be programmed to have M-Track mode, too? The MK20 DSC that came on < 09/2002 cars is just strictly worse and really limits your ability to do a steering rack swap.

Damn, so a 712 yellow tag steering rack won’t work on <09/2002 m3’s??