Poll: In general Does the M3 require alot of maintenance?

[TooManySilverBMWS!]

Thinking of buying one, but all i want to do is drive and not worry about things needing to be adjusted and fixed alot. Stuff like oil changes and usual check ups not included?


(don't flame me because It's my first M car )

[Lemans_Blue_M]

Originally Posted by TooManySilverBMWS!

Thinking of buying one, but all i want to do is drive and not worry about things needing to be adjusted and fixed alot. Stuff like oil changes and usual check ups not included?


(don't flame me because It's my first M car )

Then you are buying the wrong car!

Go buy yourself a Toyota or a Honda if that's what you're looking for...

[Nawaaz]

A true performance car will always require consistent maintainence, especially if you drive it very hard all the time. That's just a given from my experience. It can be stressful at times, but also very well worth it when you've taken care of your baby.

[SoreHead]

Originally Posted by TooManySilverBMWS!

Thinking of buying one, but all i want to do is drive and not worry about things needing to be adjusted and fixed alot. Stuff like oil changes and usual check ups not included?


(don't flame me because It's my first M car )

It's my first BMW never mind M car and it's been absolutely 100% so far. Having said that it's only 5 months old with 7000km so I wouldn't expect anything else.

Take the plunge. You won't regret it.

[TooManySilverBMWS!]

Originally Posted by Lemans_Blue_M

Then you are buying the wrong car!

Go buy yourself a Toyota or a Honda if that's what you're looking for...

Eww God no.

I said what i meant wrong sorry. I was talking about stuff like replacing spare parts of stuff that usually isn't suppose to break. For example.. how long can somebody who takes good care of his M3 expect to keep his car trouble free in years?

In my first post i meant stuff that needs a trained mechanic to take the car for a few days and work on it.

Sorry for not explaining.

[TooManySilverBMWS!]

Originally Posted by Nawaaz

A true performance car will always require consistent maintainence, especially if you drive it very hard all the time. That's just a given from my experience. It can be stressful at times, but also very well worth it when you've taken care of your baby.

Thats the confusing part, what do you mean by maintainence? Like quality time at the autorepair shop or something else?

[Finnegan]

Since the car has a 50K 4 year warranty and all regular maintenance is covered (oil, filter, brakes, etc.) it seems you're really asking if the car is "reliable"....If you're wondering what's covered it's a simple matter of reading what's on the BMWNA site....

In my experience so far the answer is yes the car is reliable.

But if you're asking if there is "upkeep" there is. Gas--mileage isn't great (but what do you expect)? Tires--run it hard and you'll be looking at those pretty quick. None of these are issues in my mind and come with owning a high-performance car.

As far as trouble free for years, how the heck can we know that? Not enough time/data to answer that my friend. If you want to speculate research similar BMW vehicles (current or past model years, the M3's V8 is based on the M5/M6 V10 for example).

[TooManySilverBMWS!]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Since the car has a 50K 4 year warranty and all regular maintenance is covered (oil, filter, brakes, etc.) it seems you're really asking if the car is "reliable"....If you're wondering what's covered it's a simple matter of reading what's on the BMWNA site....

In my experience so far the answer is yes the car is reliable.

But if you're asking if there is "upkeep" there is. Gas--mileage isn't great (but what do you expect)? Tires--run it hard and you'll be looking at those pretty quick. None of these are issues in my mind and come with owning a high-performance car.

As far as trouble free for years, how the heck can we know that? This model has only been out a couple of years. Not enough time/data to answer that my friend. If you want to speculate research similar BMW vehicles (current or past model years).

I was just wondering if i was going to become broke for buying this car.

I mean 65k isn't pocket change and the gas milage really sucks, i didn't want to spend the rest of the money i have leftover all on keeping the thing going... you know what i mean? Still won't stop me from buying one!

[Dascamel]

Originally Posted by TooManySilverBMWS!

I was just wondering if i was going to become broke for buying this car.

I mean 65k isn't pocket change and the gas milage really sucks, i didn't want to spend the rest of the money i have leftover all on keeping the thing going... you know what i mean? Still won't stop me from buying one!

If you have to think about it that hard, get another car.

[Nawaaz]

Originally Posted by TooManySilverBMWS!

Thats the confusing part, what do you mean by maintainence? Like quality time at the autorepair shop or something else?

If you want me to be honest with you, then here you go. I've had my M3 for about 2 weeks now and the problems I've had so far are:

1.) Front 2 doors are consistently sqeaking (coming fron the plastic material on the side view mirrors rubbing against the door I believe). The dealership may order new side view mirrors to perhaps solve the problem since they've tried to fix it 3 separate times.

2.) Rattling noise is coming from the bottom/front of the car. Seems like something is loose maybe. My M3 is currently at the dealership because of this an it'll be there for the next few days perhaps.

3.) The front passengers side carpet on the side is coming off or unstitching itself.

All this will be covered under the warranty, but it's still very heart-breaking for all this to be happening with me. My M3 is giving me these problems, but I'm hoping they will not continue in the future. I had an Evo IX MR before my M3, and honestly........I feel it had better overall reliability.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to knock on my M3 just for the heck of it. It's just that these unexpected problems are getting in the way.....And it's truly frustrating. All I can do is hope it will all get corrected and not happen in the future.

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by Nawaaz

If you want me to be honest with you, then here you go. I've had my M3 for about 2 weeks now and the problems I've had so far are:

1.) Front 2 doors are consistently sqeaking (coming fron the plastic material on the side view mirrors rubbing against the door I believe). The dealership may order new side view mirrors to perhaps solve the problem since they've tried to fix it 3 separate times.

2.) Rattling noise is coming from the bottom/front of the car. Seems like something is loose maybe. My M3 is currently at the dealership because of this an it'll be there for the next few days perhaps.

3.) The front passengers side carpet on the side is coming off or unstitching itself.

Wow, that really sucks Nawaaz.

After so much time and suspense waiting on this car to have problems right off the bat. Damn. Sorry to hear about this. I hope they things get sorted out quickly.

[Hyperspaced]

It really does. How many have this experience or Nawaaz just really lucky? Not what I want to hear. And I really am sorry that you have to endure this and that it just cuts into what should be unmitigated FUN.

[FStop7]

I hate to jinx myself but my M3 has no lasting problems other than the clicking noise when making hard right turns, which seems to be a very common thing.

I have had a couple of strange things happen here and there, but nothing consistent:

One time the fan didn't shut off after the car was turned off, it kept running for 10 minutes or more. I had to 'reset it' by starting the car back up and shutting it off again.

One time the my Power button was lit up and wouldn't change no matter how many times I pressed it. Turning the car off fixed it.

One time the EDC went into sport mode and wouldn't change out no matter how many times I pressed the button. Turning the car off fixed it.

Seeing a theme here? A few incidents of odd behavior that were cleared up by a restart. Nothing mechanical.

[zenderm3]

Originally Posted by Nawaaz

If you want me to be honest with you, then here you go. I've had my M3 for about 2 weeks now and the problems I've had so far are:

1.) Front 2 doors are consistently sqeaking (coming fron the plastic material on the side view mirrors rubbing against the door I believe). The dealership may order new side view mirrors to perhaps solve the problem since they've tried to fix it 3 separate times.

2.) Rattling noise is coming from the bottom/front of the car. Seems like something is loose maybe. My M3 is currently at the dealership because of this an it'll be there for the next few days perhaps.

3.) The front passengers side carpet on the side is coming off or unstitching itself.

All this will be covered under the warranty, but it's still very heart-breaking for all this to be happening with me. My M3 is giving me these problems, but I'm hoping they will not continue in the future. I had an Evo IX MR before my M3, and honestly........I feel it had better overall reliability.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to knock on my M3 just for the heck of it. It's just that these unexpected problems are getting in the way.....And it's truly frustrating. All I can do is hope it will all get corrected and not happen in the future.

Mate that totally sucks! I'm sure the dealership will get these sorted ASAP!

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by FStop7

I hate to jinx myself but my M3 has no lasting problems other than the clicking noise when making hard right turns, which seems to be a very common thing.

I have had a couple of strange things happen here and there, but nothing consistent:

One time the fan didn't shut off after the car was turned off, it kept running for 10 minutes or more. I had to 'reset it' by starting the car back up and shutting it off again.

One time the my Power button was lit up and wouldn't change no matter how many times I pressed it. Turning the car off fixed it.

One time the EDC went into sport mode and wouldn't change out no matter how many times I pressed the button. Turning the car off fixed it.

Seeing a theme here? A few incidents of odd behavior that were cleared up by a restart. Nothing mechanical.

Same things here more or less. One weird audio incident with an annoying hum that took two restart/power down cycles to reset.

I didn't want to post "no real issues" either as I was sure I'd go out and try and start it and get the "reduced power" message.

Well, we'll see!

[Nawaaz]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Wow, that really sucks Nawaaz.

After so much time and suspense waiting on this car to have problems right off the bat. Damn. Sorry to hear about this. I hope they things get sorted out quickly.

Originally Posted by Hyperspaced

It really does. How many have this experience or Nawaaz just really lucky? Not what I want to hear. And I really am sorry that you have to endure this and that it just cuts into what should be unmitigated FUN.

Originally Posted by zenderm3

Mate that totally sucks! I'm sure the dealership will get these sorted ASAP!

My local dealer is actually doing a pretty good job in trying to solve the problems asap. My service adviser is a good guy also. I just got a call earlier from him, and he said that they have already ordered new side view mirror fixtures from Germany.

On the rattling, they're gonna compare it to a another m3 that doesn't have the problem/noise, and then try to figure out where it's coming from.

They have already fixed the unstitching of the carpet.

So far, so good.....But my main concern is that rattling.......I really hope they solve that........

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by Nawaaz

[T]have already ordered new side view mirror fixtures from Germany.

So far, so good.....But my main concern is that rattling.......I really hope they solve that........

See this post (and overall thread). Felt is the answer--new mirrors apparently do not correct the issue.

[Nawaaz]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

See this post (and overall thread). Felt is the answer--new mirrors apparently do not correct the issue.

Thanks Finnegan. I'll let my service advisor know of this first thing tomorrow when he gets in. Thanks again.