3.0si to M

[Status]

I agree with that,it’s done about 4000 miles on the oil that’s in it but the oil is just over a year old,I always change oil regularly and at least once a year irispective if mileage,I use millers in my 260z as the tolerances call for it as it’s a 3.1 stroker under the bonnet

[Simon 3.2M]

I think the crux of this matter is how the car has been driven beforehand, which none of us will truest know. Let's face it, is the buyer going to say "yeah mate I cane it everywhere I go" I doubt it. I think the condition / SH is more of an indication of how the car has been driven. Mine was a car that was used as a mode of transport to get from A to B and serviced on time regardless of the cost.

My car has 100k and the previous owner owned the car from 12k. He serviced it on time, insp 2 at 52k and insp 1 at 81k. O rang the Indy who serviced it at 90k and asked about the oil - boom 10w60 before I'd finished my sentence. I asked about valve clearances, he said he'd never done a set as they don't need it. I've heard this from several indy's and from several sources on the flip side I've heard the exact opposite from other indy's. My local Indy has suggested race shells, they race M3 so you'd think they should know? I agree with Tom in that OEM shells should suffice, especially as my car is a toy and will rarely go above 6k rpm - it will on the odd occasion of course.

[tomscott]

All you have to do is look around at other machines of similar calibre and the s54 is a mighty fine reliable engine that if treated to the manufactures specification will run well over 150k with a little extra care and attention.

Testiment to BMW and the fact we see so very few cases is case and point for me. With E46 M3s you tend to see more abuse and more failures because they made a lot more and people ran them like normal cars on the cheap, plus in 2006 you could pick a sub 40k car for 15-18k, 60ks for less... they were great value during the recession. Put it in the relms of a lot of people that could afford them but maybe not to service properly.

The Z4M is arguably more specialist as there are so few and many owners are enthusiasts as the car draws a certain type of owner. The main issue when looking for these cars is that they are mainly weekenders so finding cars that have been serviced on time and also that inspections were carried out as inspections rather than just ticked but standard oil services carried out.

Getting one with lots of paper work and proof of what’s been done gives a great idea to the health of the car. Obviously the worst can happen but it’s rare.

Although having the clearances done is important many don’t fall out of spec easily with moderate use so if they haven’t been done... have a full inspection and a health check. It’s not ideal but unfortunately it’s becoming the norm now with the age and obviously it not being worth sending it to bmw for service.

All you can do is try and remedy best you can and how you see fit. Everyone will have a different opinion.

Common sense is the best bet. Wild worry of impending doom is not good for anyone and means that you probably won’t get the best out of the ownership.

I enjoyed mine very much I looked after it and spent a lot of time detailing it but I didn’t pootle around and it never gave me any issues. It’s easy to read comments online and start to panic but like I said 3 cars in memory in 7 years and forums are usualy places people come to with problems....

Fills me with confidence that your unlikely to have this issue.