[g82sf]

I am looking at purchasing a single owner, no accident, used M3, for $50,000 or less. Any recommendations on which year models to AVOID or which year models to AIM for in terms of reliability and low chance of problems?

I searched on CarFax and I see 2017, 2018 models with around 50,000 miles for around $50,000. I am not sure if that is good value. Single owner, no accident.

[BlkGS]

Avoid any M3 if you're worried about reliability and low chance of problems. Buy a Camaro SS.

I wouldn't buy an M3 with 50k miles on it for anywhere near that.

[virtualbong]

Hop on the M3/M4 forums. You will get a wide range of input from an X5 forum.

[Chihuahua]

F80 M3s are still 50K? wowee.

[IDBGOD]

F80 is your platform. 2017 to 2018’s should be going around $50k for the nicer ones (single owner competition cars, lower miles). Higher mileage ones will be less.

You could step back another generation and go for an e90 M3. However, very likely to have higher mileage and more owners/issues as it’s an older car. The nice ones will also fetch a premium. You would be stepping way down in tech but the V8 in that car is amazing.

Would not be so much concerned about the mileage as I would overall condition of the car and service history. Make sure the proper break in service was done, regular maintenance, everything checks out on the carfax, etc.

F80 platform was overall very solid and reliable (I had two of them). Wouldn’t have any issue buying one that has proper service history and checks out a nice car. 50k miles are pretty normal for a 7-8 year old car at this point.

Stay away from modded ones if possible if you are concerned about potential reliability issues.

[NSXR]

This type of car is inherently driven hard, so my advice to you is to buy the NICEST car you can find, as in how it was treated, serviced, non-tracked, etc.

You're going to find a wide range of values because of the sheer number of options that were available on the car.

My suggestion is that you find a super nice car, then worry about the price later.

The F80 isn't an unreliable vehicle, but it does require maintenance, and a somewhat thoughtful approach.

[X5MnM3comp]

$50k for a budget is a decent amount of money, but for a used M car with more than 30k miles on the clock is quite risky in my opinion. My logic for the no more than 30k miles rule when it comes to buying used is that , the factory warranty is still intact even if it’s no cpo by dealer. That tells me bmw got me covered for a period of time that I start owning the car. A lot of times people discover issues within a year of ownership of a used vehicle. I always buy extended warranty, but dealerships usually only offer 3rd party warranty. If I was in your position, I’d try to find a newer m2 or m350 (not sure the exact model number, there are too many now) that are similar power level as the M if that’s the main reason to get M. I can always ecu flash it or install a piggyback tune on it.

Just my thoughts, maybe I’m just conservative or not expert in mechanical area enough. So take it as grain of salt. Good luck