Buying a BMW M car on a budget can be a bit of a dice roll. The upside, you’re getting a pretty special car with exceptional performance for sometimes pennies on the dollar. But you might have to make concessions when it comes to things like color, features, or, perhaps most commonly, mileage. Buying a used M car with high mileage is admittedly risky, but there are lots of things you can do to minimize risk and ensure you get a car that drives — and performs — how you expect.
Check the Car Out
Before you do anything, it’s worth checking the car out in person or having someone do it on your behalf if you aren’t physically near the car or aren’t sure what to look for. Mileage impacts cars differently depending on the climate and road conditions. You might be working minor rock chips on the front end and mirrors, serious suspension issues, or anything in between. Getting underside pictures from the seller or having a shop local to the seller conduct a pre-purchase inspection is integral to getting a high-mileage M car that isn’t run into the ground. There’s another important facet to seeing the car in person: the test drive. Driving the car might reveal things (or noises) that otherwise may have been missed.
Do Your Research
Whether you’ve been looking for a specific M car with higher miles or are just trying to get into the most M you can afford, you have a wealth of information at your disposal even before you check out the vehicle in person. Using enthusiast forums and other sources, you can find out what common failure points plague the high-mileage M model you’re looking at. Whether it’s rod bearings and subframes on the E46 M3, throttle actuators on the E92 M3, or peeling headliners and flimsy door cards on E36 models, almost every M car has one (or several) recurring issues. Depending on the model, those might be ticking time bombs or minor inconveniences.
After you’ve researched the model, you should also do your best to check the car’s VIN out online. It’s far from a guarantee, but you might be surprised at what you find with a little bit of digging and dot-connecting. For example: a high-mileage M car came up for sale near me. I searched the VIN and nothing came up. However, I was able to trace the seller’s identity back via usernames and found them on another site discussing a failure point that wasn’t disclosed in the listing — or when I had met them in person. Due diligence matters!
Know The History
Once you know the pain points, it’s easy to check maintenance records to see what might need attention. Ideally, these come straight from the seller. Services like Carfax are also useful, but remember that they’re not infallible. For example: a 150,000-mile E90 M3 with throttle actuators and rod bearings taken care of in the last 10,000 miles is probably a safe bet. It tells you that the person was knowledgeable enough about the car to get failure points taken care of preemptively. By contrast, a similar-mile E90 M3 with a bunch of random services listed (“braking system checked,” “electrical system checked,” etc.) probably isn’t as much of a sure thing. All maintenance records are useful, but make sure you know what you’re looking for to get the most out of them.
As an aside, maintenance records are also a good “tiebreaker” when comparing a lower-mile example and a higher mile one. If you’re looking at high-mileage cars, you’re probably looking for a driver-quality car; something that doesn’t tie up a lot of its value in the numbers displayed in its odometer. When deciding between a 60,000-mile and 100,000-mile example, personally, I’ll always pick the one that has the best history — regardless of miles. Finally, a quick note on damage and accident history. Your risk tolerance will dictate whether or not an accident is a dealbreaker. Personally, I’m fine with damage as long as there are before and after pictures. Receipts go a long way, too. But I’d pass on a salvage title car.
Shop Around — Or Wait
Finding the right high-mileage M car — a good driver and not just a money pit — also comes down to the willingness to wait. You can get into a decent F80 M3 or F82 M4 for not a lot more than $30,000 today. But the quality of the car varies wildly from example to example. Make sure you check everywhere you can for the cleanest/best example; comparisons to recent sales on auction sites are also a great way to make sure you don’t overpay. Patience could save you — literally — tens of thousands of dollars versus buying the wrong car. Or, perhaps better phrased, a project car you weren’t prepared to tackle.
So, Should You Buy a High Mileage M Car?
Buying an M car with higher miles isn’t in itself a bad idea. Really, the process isn’t all that different from buying any other vehicle. Diligence and attention to detail will take you far. Mileage truly is only a number — what matters a lot more is how the car got there. So absolutely, go buy that 135,000-mile X5 M — just do your research first.
