After owning '02 M3 for 2 month....

[Kolyan2k]

Unit that controls p. windows, p. locks, etc.....GONE
Water pump.....GONE
Strut brace.......cracked.....GONE

car has 30k miles

[LMC]

:(

I would be unhappy with whoever did the pre-purchase inspection... :tsk:

[AJAX]

:(

I would be unhappy with whoever did the pre-purchase inspection... :tsk:Assuming there was one.

[angelsegovia]

Sorry to hear that.

My 02 M3Cp.Man. has 30K miles as well, never had a problem***8230; even pushing it on weekends though the few turns we have in FL. Weather, and driving habits from the previous owner***8230;

If you have any warranty on the purchase, it is a good time to exercise it, if not, better start saving for the repair.

[Kolyan2k]

i have 100k warranty and i have been to dealer 3 times already.

Today i notice another problem:

some sort of smoke comming from the engine and i see oil leaks all over the upper seal. i assume the smoke is from the hot oil leaking.

tommorow the car is going to the dealer AGAIN !

oh and i have vibration at speeds above 75-80. wheels are balanced with Road Force

[chuck92103]

Sound slike you got a bad one. Hopefully the recall on the rod bearings was done. I think you year was included. :eeps:

M3 are very reliable cars (without the SMG) .

[Kolyan2k]

Sound slike you got a bad one. Hopefully the recall on the rod bearings was done. I think you year was included. :eeps:

M3 are very reliable cars (without the SMG) .

ok. today its at the dealer. THANK GOD i know sales manager and i don't need to make appointments, i don't have to pay or wait for anything.

So my friend called the best machanic at the dealer and told him to fix everything that he can find wrong. the first thing he asked was if the ROD BEARINGS were done. (which i don't know) and if vaules were adjusted at Inspection I (probably not). he will also replace side markers due to water inside, and will balance (or replace the wheels/tires) the wheels due to vibration.

it is still sad.......my engine is covered with oil and engine bay with antifreeze

[xiliy]

electrical problems with you power windows and door locks is not a big deal and i am sure once its fixed it want happen again any time soon. bimmers go through the stages when all of the sudden you have a number of little things going bad. once tires and bearings are changed i am sure that the vibration will be gone as well. dont stresss out just take care of it

BTW: did you check to see if your car has been in accident before you got it? Sometimes low miles means that the car was not drivable for a long time due to a major accident and was sitting in a shop or a garage

[Kolyan2k]

electrical problems with you power windows and door locks is not a big deal and i am sure once its fixed it want happen again any time soon. bimmers go through the stages when all of the sudden you have a number of little things going bad. once tires and bearings are changed i am sure that the vibration will be gone as well. dont stresss out just take care of it

BTW: did you check to see if your car has been in accident before you got it? Sometimes low miles means that the car was not drivable for a long time due to a major accident and was sitting in a shop or a garage

the car was in the accident, but i don't think it's a major accident because its not in carfax.

ps. tommorow morning machanic will do high speed drive on the highway and see if vibration is still there. if not, i am getting the car tomorrow morning.

[Kolyan2k]

......mechanic said the problem with leaking oil was overtightened valve cover that cracked the seal

[TrackMastaFlex]

Electrical Problems are normal for M3's. Also, oil leaking from the engine might be still covered under warrenty. You said you're model was an '02. BMW extended the warrenty on the engines on '02 models for 100K miles, due to up to 10% of engine failure that model year.

If you're a decently handy mechanic, you can probably take care of the water pump and strut bar yourself and save some money. Once a you own an M3 for a while, you start getting good at fixing minor problems on the M3 and doing routine maintenance.

[rb26hpower]

yeah i kinda had the same thing about 4 months ago.

[Pinecone]

Just because it isn't in CarFax doesn't mean it wasn't a major accident. CarFax misses a LOT of stuff.

[ase2dais]

Unit that controls p. windows, p. locks, etc.....GONE
Water pump.....GONE
Strut brace.......cracked.....GONE

car has 30k miles
wow! sorry to hear bout all your troubles!

got mine 02 M/cab w/ 21k 4 mos and 2k mile ago
... and I havent got a single fuzz about it and its off warranty, aside from the powertrain 100k(rod-bearing recall) :thumbup:

[ase2dais]

Just because it isn't in CarFax doesn't mean it wasn't a major accident. CarFax misses a LOT of stuff.

+1

carfax only shows whats been reported
.. but its a good start to get a good history about a car :angel: but not conclusive

experience tells me to avoid cars thats been in dealers hands for a long time
...especially if transfer out of states.. I ask why?

I like long history of individual ownership

.. and question if ever why someone wants to sell a car within mos.

Auction cars although not in general, I mostly frown upon.

Salvage I never will consider.. to hard to sell and tell exactly what history it had.
... for insurance purposes kinda PIA