Highest Mileage Cars?

[zzyzx85]

There is no correlation between being gentle on it and intact tabs. Purely lottery based.

Interesting. Guess this engine has been lucky then.

[maupineda]

Interesting. Guess this engine had been lucky then.

there will always be a correlation between durability and use, I am an OEM employee working in Product Development, and this is always the case, all testing has a very specific use case definitions, etc.

[tnord]

correlation != causation.

manufactures would love to convince us that failures are caused by abuse wouldn't they?

[maupineda]

correlation != causation.

manufactures would love to convince us that failures are caused by abuse wouldn't they?

think what you want, perhaps all experts here could deliver a bullet proof vehicle and do much better than any OE

[tnord]

I'm not sure anybody said that? I just don't trust the manufacturer to ever willingly take responsibility for any of their mistakes, and will always try to pin it on the owner.

[yhp2009]

If I can find a car that's been through the rebuild process, had the sleeves replaced, etc, and pay an extra $5-$10k for that particular car, I can get behind that.

Ive thought about this as well. I think one thing to also consider is how well its been rebuilt. I mean we give these indy rebuilders too much credit if we automatically assume that their rebuilds are somehow more reliable... or even competently rebuilt error free.
Also, a higher mileage engine thats not been thru any major issues/rebuilds actually might point to a well built motor from the factory. A keeper

[zzyzx85]

Also, a higher mileage engine thats not been thru any major issues/rebuilds actually might point to a well built motor from the factory. A keeper

This is why the 4 BMWs we've had in the family were all 150k+ mile cars. 🤣

[Redline]

no, of course not all engines have issues. I think the IMS, if left unaddressed affects something like 6%-10% of cars, as admitted by Porsche in the class action suit, and it's the most common issue. From what I've been able to discern, is that somewhat standard practices of what is generally viewed as caring for the car, like letting it idle for a while to warm up, is actually harming the car. Same thing with OCI, even if you follow the factory recommendation of 15k miles, that's increasing your odds of having a problem. And on and on.

bore scoring, cracked heads, D-chunk, etc individually are probably like a 1-3% occurrence. Which, if I was looking at a $10k repair.....that's one thing....but it's really a $20k rebuild, doubling your investment in the car. I haven't quite mentally got past that yet.

If I can find a car that's been through the rebuild process, had the sleeves replaced, etc, and pay an extra $5-$10k for that particular car, I can get behind that. However, it's not too much more of a jump to get the 997.2 with the 9A motor that doesn't have those issues in the first place.

Or just buy a 996/7mk1 TT and call it a day and not worry about these issues.

[tnord]

except I don't want a turbo. and a GT3 is double the cost.

Ive thought about this as well. I think one thing to also consider is how well its been rebuilt. I mean we give these indy rebuilders too much credit if we automatically assume that their rebuilds are somehow more reliable... or even competently rebuilt error free.
Also, a higher mileage engine thats not been thru any major issues/rebuilds actually might point to a well built motor from the factory. A keeper

if it's not built by F6I, then you've got to do some vetting for sure to make sure the right processes and parts were used. I agree that if I go looking for one seriously that hasn't been rebuilt, it will be for something around 75k miles.

[mike_s]

224k for me. Rod bearings were done under recall before I bought it with 27k. Suspension is all aftermarket but powertrain is all original. Things break, I fix. Nothing major though except water pump at 77k and a couple starters (OE died and reman one lasted just a year, but fine since that was replaced).

[newton22]

200,000+ on the M3 wagon, 195,000 on the M5, 160,000 on the M3 (... though 20,000+ of those are on track).

All of them drive better than when new. All of them have original engine internals (other than rod bearings, on the S54s), transmissions, differentials, etc. None of them have original cooling systems or bushings (as I replace those items at 100,000 mile intervals).

Not worried about timing chain guides or rod bearings on the S62?

[Obioban]

Not worried about timing chain guides or rod bearings on the S62?

I did the chain guides at 100,000 miles, but it was a huge waste-- they still looked like brand new. So long as you replace the tensioner every 100,000 miles, you can leave the guides alone on the S62. The M62 runs considerably hotter than the S62 (by design, for efficiency), which makes the guides brittle, causing them to fail. The S62 doesn't suffer the heat. So, as long as you don't let the tensioner get weak, allowing it to flap about, the guides should be fine pretty indefinitely.

I do oil analysis on the M5 (and all the cars) with every oil change, but so far the lead has not elevated. The M3s have had rod bearings done with the metals elevate, in a similar fashion, when they have called for it. IMO the S62 doesn't really need rod bearings unless you rev it to the redline... but, unlike the S54, there's not a ton of incentive to bang it off the limiter-- peak power is 500rpm before redline. Without daily repeated redline hits (like my S54s), the original bearings seem to be holding up fine at ~200,000 miles on the M5.

I actually think the e39 M5 is the most reliable "real" (pre turbo) M car. No significant engine issues, no significant trans issues, no significant diff issues, no signifiant chassis issues, no significant electronic issues, way longer than typical BMW cooling system life.

... though undoubtedly part of that is that it has the least "real" M engine of all the pre turbo cars other than the S52 and could only be had with a traditional manual. :P

[repoman89]

I need to replace that tensioner on my S62. Only 65k miles but at 20 years old might as well replace preventively. Plus there are occasional reports of that part not making it 100k.

[S3diment]

Someone on FB posted that there a number of E46 M3’s with 300k+. Would love to see what that cluster looks like.

[kaiv]

Not worried about timing chain guides or rod bearings on the S62?

I did the chain guides at 100,000 miles, but it was a huge waste-- they still looked like brand new. So long as you replace the tensioner every 100,000 miles, you can leave the guides alone on the S62. The M62 runs considerably hotter than the S62 (by design, for efficiency), which makes the guides brittle, causing them to fail. The S62 doesn't suffer the heat. So, as long as you don't let the tensioner get weak, allowing it to flap about, the guides should be fine pretty indefinitely.

Same experience doing the guides on a documented 175k S62. Was not needed.