Buying advice for F80 M3 Competition

[m3age]

Hi guys

I'm looking to purchase my dream car being an F80 M3 Competition LCI-2.

I am wondering if there are any known or obvious things I should be looking out for since I will be buying a used example.

Is there anything mechanically or cosmetically (exterior or interior) I need to double check?

It will of course go through a pre-purchase vehicle inspection for peace of mind.

Things like the car having a previous tune or mods is always hard to tell, but perhaps a specialist BMW workshop can help out with this.

Ideally a 2018 model with low kms and the LCI updates (mainly the ikon LED headlights) are the specs I'm after.

I'm located in Sydney but more than happy to travel interstate for the right one.

Would love to hear your feedback and any recommendations you may have as part of the buying process.

Thanks

[Red Three]

Nice choice

I bought mine about two years ago with around 25k on the clock and I’m fast approaching 50k.

The only issue I’ve had was replacing the front left wheel hub.
Full disclosure, I track the car 5+ times a year on semi-slicks and with after market brake lines/pads. Whether the issue was due to track use or not is hard to say, although the left side would obviously take the most punishment on track.

According to the service team, tracking it shouldn’t be a problem, but they couldn’t rule it out as a cause either (clever). Apparently sometimes ‘these things just happen’. To their credit, they reported it to BMW as a fault and I got the hub half price.

I suppose my point is to ask your vehicle inspector to have a good look at the condition of the wheel hubs. Being a fairly heavy car, and in my case, with loads of front grip, perhaps the front hubs are a weak spot for aggressive driving.

Apart from that, the car is faultless. It gets pushed pretty hard at the track (all aids off), and it feels bulletproof.
Quite an incredible car out of the box.

Any Q’s, let me know.

[m3age]

Thanks so much for your detailed reply Red Three

Am I right in saying the main LCI-2 upgrades
- Ikon headlights
- Leather extended dash trim
- Apple CarPlay
- Touch screen head unit display

Also, were there different options available for the 666M wheels? I've noticed some cars have black/shadow chrome style colour inner barrel.

[RogueAI]

Originally Posted by m3age

Thanks so much for your detailed reply Red Three

Am I right in saying the main LCI-2 upgrades
- Ikon headlights
- Leather extended dash trim
- Apple CarPlay
- Touch screen head unit display

Also, were there different options available for the 666M wheels? I've noticed some cars have black/shadow chrome style colour inner barrel.

You are correct on all of those points. Mine is a July 2017 build which I think is when they started the LCI-2 and it has all of those things. Another thing to note is that I believe it was only a few months later they changed again and removed the CF driveshaft, reverting to a standard steel one. Pretty sure all 2018 builds onwards have the steel driveshaft.

The 666M wheels came in standard polished metal and a black style which has gloss black inner and a tinted metal face. Just be aware, if you get one with the black style 666M wheels and they have any damage, they are a pain to repair. I've been told by a couple of shops that you are best to have all 4 redone, even if only one is damaged, because getting the tinted face to match is difficult. These were professional wheel restorers/repairers. Your more basic wheel repair places didn't even want to try it.

Good luck with the hunt.

[m3age]

Originally Posted by RogueAI

Another thing to note is that I believe it was only a few months later they changed again and removed the CF driveshaft, reverting to a standard steel one. Pretty sure all 2018 builds onwards have the steel driveshaft.

Thanks for the additional info RogueAI

I'd imagine there are pros and cons to having the CF driveshaft in comparison to the steel version. Wondering why BMW made the move to change it for the 2018 and onwards builds?

Also with the DCT gearbox, is there a preferred frequency on when the oil should be changed?