Reliability

[Amber23]

I have never owned a German car before, but I am seriously considering either an 1999 E36 M3 or a 2001 E46 M3. But I live in the Washington DC area (some roads are pretty bad), and I drive a lot for work, and for pleasure too (weekend getaways and such).

I have ownly owned Japanese cars (had a Twin Turbo Z) and now I have a Madza Millenia. Loved my Z, and I love my Mazda. Both well-built reliable cars. I could easily average 35- to 40,000 miles/year on a car, if not more. My Z held up fine, until about 250,000 miles. And my Mazda has 175,000 and is still cranking the miles out. I had a Lexus GS400 for a while too, which was a great car, but the exterior design's appeal faded for me.

So now I want a German car, mainly an M3 (or a 540i). I am leaning towards the M3 though because I can get more BMW for my money.

However, I have some concerns about the BMWs. I have heard some horror stories about their electrical systems, and trying to fix them. I typically will upgrade the stereo system with a sub and amp, and I'm trying to avoid any long term electrical system headaches.

And I understand the 2001's had some post-production engine problems. Can someone point me in the right direction for where I can get more information on this issue?

I am simply concerned about how well these cars will hold up over time. It seems that if you take care of them, they last pretty well. But it also seems like many people have a few problems with their cars (brand new ones, I might add) that need to be fixed when they first buy it, some having major mechanical issues (engines blowing up??? what's that?). Warranty is great, but BMW's is not that long. And I know fixing even MINOR problems on an M3 will cost a pretty penny for sure, if you have to pay out of your own pocket. I expect that finding a reliable, good BMW mechanic outside of a dealer is a must for longterm BMW owners.

I tend to baby my cars, as I tend to drive very smoothly with my heel-and-toeing and such. I am not hard on a car at all, except for the # of miles I expect it to output every year, and except for the traffic I may have to contend with from time to time (pretty bad here in DC area).

I really want an M3, but I really dont want to buy it if it's going to be a maintenance headache. It will really sour the experience for me, especially coming from my ultra-reliable Japanese cars.

Any feedback would be great.

Thanks.

This board is great, by the way, I have read some great info so far.

 

[MrElussive]

Hey, welcome to the forum.

I think an M3 is a fine car to invest in (whether it's a 1999 E36 or 2001 E46 model). The problem was only with a select number of 2001 M3's and it was because of the engine's high compression.
You should definitely be able to get many miles out of a BMW and although it is an amazing sports car, it can easily be used as a daily driver. You will have to becareful when it comes to potholes and stuff, but it's not as bad as people say it is. Just make sure to change the oil 5,000 - 7,500 miles and use STP Fuel Injector Cleaner every 3,000- 5,000 miles (Mercedes master mechanic told me this, said the stuff really does clean the injectors).
But you also need to keep in mind, that cars aren't built the way they're used to anymore. All manufacturers now WANT their cars to get weak after 100,00 miles or so, so that people have to buy new ones.

 

[6884ret]

I own a 2002 M3 which fell within the recall (if you want to call it that) category. The problem, as BMWNA explained in a letter, was "...contamination of the engine lubricating system during assembly in combination with unfavorable tolerances in the engine oil pump for the M3 coupe/convertible produced from October 2001 through February 2002. These cars require replacement of the engine oil pump and as a precautionary measure, replacement of the connecting rod bearings...".

I personally don't think that this replacement of the oil pump and rod bearings will have an impact on the longevity of the engine. In fact, BMW increased the warranty for the effected M3's to 6 years/100,000 miles. I think you should have confidence that an M3, properly maintained and operated in a reasonable manner, will last you a long time. Having stated that, Just keep in mind that the S54 engine is very finely tweaked and that the M3 is a true perfomance vehicle that appreciates an open road and higher RPM's.