Buying Used - Any Major Known Issues?

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by EALm4

The F8x is notorious for having a shit AC system especially when set on "auto" or whatever. On the recirculating button select "M" instead of A and you'll be alright.

Achilles Heel of our platform is the crank hub. It happens in a very low 0.5% of cars but is pretty much rated as a catastrophic failure. This has happened in instances from racing, daily driving to just out of no where. TBH, I wouldn't worry about it all, especially if you dont plan on modding or pushing her hard. Some people also feel that the oil cooler is in a poor location leaving it exposed to large road debris.

It's a pretty solid car and you should buy with confidence as long as you know that it wasnt previously beat on.

Is the crank hub issue specific to a year or VIN range?

[Gibson6594]

When the top threads in the forum are about color pronunciation and individual as a business practice, that's an indicator of the lack of problems with these cars.

[NickyC]

I've driven nothing but BMWs for nearly 20 years now. All have been ///M cars except for a 135i thrown in the mix, and the M4 I have now just *feels* much better. I cannot really describe it, but it's the first BMW I've owned where I don't worry about it. It just feels like an absolute tank.

Except for the oil cooler issue, which appears to be caused by running over road debris, I don't think there's a single known thing to worry about.

[Super Spartan]

Originally Posted by NickyC

I've driven nothing but BMWs for nearly 20 years now. All have been ///M cars except for a 135i thrown in the mix, and the M4 I have now just *feels* much better. I cannot really describe it, but it's the first BMW I've owned where I don't worry about it. It just feels like an absolute tank.

Except for the oil cooler issue, which appears to be caused by running over road debris, I don't think there's a single known thing to worry about.

What about the fact that it's Twin Turbo charged, do you think that would start causing issues in a few years as opposed to the NA engines?

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by Snappy Phoenix

What about the fact that it's Twin Turbo charged, do you think that would start causing issues in a few years as opposed to the NA engines?

I haven't heard/read anything that would lead me to believe this is the case. I think we would have heard about issues with the waste gates etc. which plagued the N54 by now. As well, this might be the first ///M car where I've never even heard rod bearings discussed!

For peace of mind, as long as your M3/M4 is still under warranty you can purchase an extended warranty from the dealer for up to three years I believe. I'm seriously considering doing this for my car, just buying the power train plan. Will I need the warranty? Most likely not, but seeing as I won't be spending a ton of money modding this car as I usually do with my vehicles (it's fast enough as it is), I might dump what would be modding money into a warranty. I won't be messing with a tune on this car.

[EALm4]

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

Is the crank hub issue specific to a year or VIN range?

It's something like pre Oct-December 2016 production are the ones reporting crank hub issues. Some were due to money shifting or kickdown. There are even a very rare few allegedly that just spun for no reason/daily driving. Cant remember off the top of my head but I'm sure there are others outside the range that have also been effected. Dont sweat it though and buy a F8x with confidence. This is much less of a problem than the E9x rod bearing issues.

[325iExecutive]

I have had my 2017 MY for a year and no issues. It was a Jan 2017 production which I bought brand new from the dealership.

I went with the 2017 because I figured any teething issues would have been worked out by then. With my earlier BMW 2005 (325i) the only major issue was the air conditioning which was a whopping 3000 to repair because it had developed a leak. I eventually sold it.

[nicknaz]

biggest issue is going to be how previous owner treated the car (e.g. was it modded, did owner mechanical overrev, etc)

[EALm4]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

biggest issue is going to be how previous owner treated the car (e.g. was it modded, did owner mechanical overrev, etc)

I 100000% agree. With these performance cars there isnt any telling how crazy the previous owner treated the car once it's been stripped of all the mods. If I were in the market for one of these used, I'd for sure buy some extended warranty on it, look for CPO or buy from someone older that's never driven in the rain.

[3liter1]

I was considering a CPO M3 and ended up leasing a new one. You can get a base one with a selling price in the mid 60's and leasing deals are actually pretty good now. When you consider repair probability and reduction of BMW CPO to 5 years after inservice date it seems like a no brainer.

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

biggest issue is going to be how previous owner treated the car (e.g. was it modded, did owner mechanical overrev, etc)

Overrev is always a concern when I buy an MT car. Part of the reason I can't make up my mind, MT vs DCT...maybe I just wait for the "right" car regardless of trans, especially since I do love rowing my own gears...

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by 3liter1

I was considering a CPO M3 and ended up leasing a new one. You can get a base one with a selling price in the mid 60's and leasing deals are actually pretty good now. When you consider repair probability and reduction of BMW CPO to 5 years after inservice date it seems like a no brainer.

I would consider a lease but haven't found a deal worth it around here. Last one I looked at I got them to go from 890/mo to 790/mo with only 2000(ish) due at signing. Wasn't a good enough deal, not even close...I can own a CPO for 5 years and lose an avg of about 480/mo in depreciation.

[dkhm3]

Originally Posted by DanIAM3

I have a friend who is a SA for BMW and from what he told me, the F8x M3/M4's have been VERY reliable, probably the most reliable M3 generation so far.

Love it or hate it but I think BMW is taking a page from Lexus, instead of pushing the boundaries with exotic engineering like 8K+ redlines, ITBs, trying to squeeze an NA motor to its limits, they are instead improving upon and perfecting what they are experts in. They have a bunch of straight 6 turbos/twin turbos N54/N55s powering lots of their cars dating back a decade so they have a lot of data to see where the weak links are and what to reinforce and improve. The S55 is their paragon inline 6 turbo and the culmination of all their many years of R&D, they pretty much have perfected it. (still needs to work on the way it sounds)

Same with the DCT, all the way back to the SMG's in the E46 to the 1st gen DCT in the E9x now to the latest and greatest in the F8x. They didn't try to reinvent the wheel, they just took what they know and improved upon it. A lot like what Toyota and Lexus tend to do, it works really well to make a reliable and bulletproof product.

I disagree. I got the car the first year it came out in 2014. I don't know of many FI inline 6 engines at the time going to 7.6k redline.

I also don't know of many cars at the time having a carbon fiber driveshaft.

Both of these features are high reliability risk to me.

Wasn't the v8 in the e92 similar to the v10 in the m5 at the time? I thought I read that somewhere that the engines were similar minus 2 cylinders.

[Zero_Cool]

Originally Posted by Gibson6594

When the top threads in the forum are about color pronunciation and individual as a business practice, that's an indicator of the lack of problems with these cars.

Next will be starting threads about where all the water from Bmw dealers goes (Think of the Mayor of Quahog Family Epsiode). Since having the option to paint your car any color is a “scam”.

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by dkhm3

I disagree. I got the car the first year it came out in 2014. I don't know of many FI inline 6 engines at the time going to 7.6k redline.

I also don't know of many cars at the time having a carbon fiber driveshaft.

Both of these features are high reliability risk to me.

Wasn't the v8 in the e92 similar to the v10 in the m5 at the time? I thought I read that somewhere that the engines were similar minus 2 cylinders.

The V8 was similar in architecture to the V10, they even both had rod bearing issues.

Why would the carbon driveshaft be a reliability issue? Should be better than steel should it not?

[dkhm3]

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

The V8 was similar in architecture to the V10, they even both had rod bearing issues.

Why would the carbon driveshaft be a reliability issue? Should be better than steel should it not?

It is overlayed by a woven fabric, spinning at ridiculous speeds and handling tremendous torque and cannot be stored upright, due to the high sensitivity to "impacts."

Does that sound more reliable than steel?

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by dkhm3

It is overlayed by a woven fabric, spinning at ridiculous speeds and handling tremendous torque and cannot be stored upright, due to the high sensitivity to "impacts."

Does that sound stronger than steel?

Attachment 1771537

Depends on how you stress it. That's the point of CF. It's very light, has a higher strength then steel but only for its intended purpose. If you kick a rock up into the driveshaft that might be a big problem? But would seem that they've thought about this to some degree? (I could be wrong on that.)

I can tell you my carbon fiber bikes are much stronger than steel but if you hit the tubes at the wrong angle they do break...but for its intended purpose it's fantastic.

[Deteria]

CF drive shaft vs Steel

[3liter1]

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

I would consider a lease but haven't found a deal worth it around here. Last one I looked at I got them to go from 890/mo to 790/mo with only 2000(ish) due at signing. Wasn't a good enough deal, not even close...I can own a CPO for 5 years and lose an avg of about 480/mo in depreciation.

I got: dealer discount 3k off MSRP, 3,000 lease incentive, 750 loyalty credit. So selling price was below invoice. But only because of the lease deal. Money factor .00152 and 58 % residual on 15kmiles/ year. (Residual and miles per year have huge impact.) So, Your payment vs due at signing then becomes a matter of preference.
Risk aversion did play into my lease decision.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by OUGrad05

I would consider a lease but haven't found a deal worth it around here. Last one I looked at I got them to go from 890/mo to 790/mo with only 2000(ish) due at signing. Wasn't a good enough deal, not even close...I can own a CPO for 5 years and lose an avg of about 480/mo in depreciation.

Depreciation will always be higher on new. Repairs and maintenance will always be higher on used, with new under warranty and covered by prepaid maintenance during the entire lease term. Unless you buy a used car with problems, used should be less expensive, net so the question is whether the net difference is worth it to go new (newer + exactly what you want) vs. used. But depreciation is only part of the equation.

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Depreciation will always be higher on new. Repairs and maintenance will always be higher on used, with new under warranty and covered by prepaid maintenance during the entire lease term. Unless you buy a used car with problems, used should be less expensive, net so the question is whether the net difference is worth it to go new (newer + exactly what you want) vs. used. But depreciation is only part of the equation.

Definitely agree with that. I've had a great experience with my CPO BMW. Not opposed to leasing but with 0 down, which is the only way I'd lease, the payments just haven't been attractive for me.

[jninja]

Originally Posted by 3liter1

I was considering a CPO M3 and ended up leasing a new one. You can get a base one with a selling price in the mid 60's and leasing deals are actually pretty good now. When you consider repair probability and reduction of BMW CPO to 5 years after inservice date it seems like a no brainer.

I also just lease a 2018 M3 (in production currently) with $74k tag for $2k down $789/mo... however many dealers wanted for the same build $3k-$5k down any $850-$1k per month...I'd say I got a good deal. They are out there if you try hard enough