BMW M3 (F80) buying guide

The base car makes 425 hp and 406 lb-ft. 0-60 mph takes 4.1 seconds with the manual and 3.9 with the DCT. CarScout notes that only 15% of production was manual, and calls the manual both the reliability pick and the rarity pick.

LED taillights arrived on 2016 models with the summer 2015 update. The Competition Package also dates from 2016 and brings 444 hp, revised suspension, adaptive suspension, differential and stability control tuning, and new front seats. The March 2017 update gave 2018 cars restyled LED headlights, and final-year cars added an 8.8-inch iDrive 6 touchscreen and a click-into-place indicator stalk.

The M3 CS arrived for 2018 with 453 hp and 443 lb-ft. It is DCT only, and about 1,200 were built worldwide. Its carbon parts don't save weight, though: BMW told Car and Driver the CS weighs the same as a regular M3 with the DCT, so buy it for the power and rarity. Our used M3 CS listings show what is out there.

Every 2018 car and every CS has the revised crank hub from the factory. CarScout rates the 2018 as the best of the run, citing that hub, the LED headlights, no recalls on the 2018 record and the CS on offer, and it also favors a late-build 2017 Competition for the same hub and the 444 hp chassis. CarBuzz notes that a glass moonroof was a no-cost option that deleted the carbon-fiber roof, so check which roof a car has. Carbon ceramic brakes are costly to service and overkill on the street, according to CarScout and Squeezed. The F80 M3 Sedan market page breaks the sedans down by model year.

PistonHeads reports the S55 as reliable apart from one weakness, so that is where the list starts.

Crank hub slip

The S55 crank hub is held by a bolt and a friction taper fit, with no keyway or pin. It can slip, upsetting timing and possibly causing piston-to-valve contact. Warning signs are a check engine light, limp mode and a rough idle, and a slip logs crank-to-cam correlation faults.

Failure rate estimates

Published figures for crank hub failure vary a lot. Pages put it below 0.5% of owners or below 10% of S55 engines, while Squeezed estimates 5-10% on stock cars and 20-30% or more on tuned ones. Earlier cars carry more risk because the revision came in March 2017.

Charge pipe cracks

The plastic charge pipes fitted at the factory crack, which lets boost escape and sends the car into limp mode. BimmerBench is among the sources that flag them.

Charge air cooler leaks

A crack inside the charge air cooler can let coolant into the intake, which risks hydrolock. CarChecker lists coolant loss, white smoke and misfires as the signs.

Oil seepage

Gaskets on the oil filter housing, valve cover and oil pan leak on higher-mileage cars.

Intake carbon buildup

Direct injection leaves carbon on the intake valves, and the result is rough running and misfire codes.

DCT mechatronic unit

The dual-clutch's mechatronic unit can fail, and clunky cold shifts are a common owner report. A 2016 service bulletin also extended the warranty on the S55 leak diagnosis module to 10 years or 120,000 miles.

Crank hub work is the bill to know. CarScout puts a preventive capture plate at $800 to $1,500 installed and a fix after a slip at $1,800 to $3,600. BimmerBench says owners paid $2,250 to $3,900 at independent shops for the upgrade.

Squeezed prices a charge air cooler replacement at $2,000 to $3,500. On the DCT side, CarScout lists mechatronic repair at $2,000 to $4,000 and a full rebuild at $3,500 to $7,000, with fluid changes every 30,000 miles or two years. It also says a manual's clutch and dual-mass flywheel typically cost $1,500 to $2,500 somewhere past 60,000 miles.

Squeezed puts carbon ceramic rotors at roughly $8,000 to $10,000 for a set of four. Our M3 price guide shows what the cars themselves cost.

Buy a 2018 or a late-build 2017 Competition. A manual is the rarer choice, and the CS suits you if you want the extra power and exclusivity. A 2015 or 2016 sedan can still make sense, but only with the hub work documented.

Skip anything tuned or tracked unless the paperwork is complete. Insist on a clean scan with no correlation faults, intact charge pipes and confirmation that the driveshaft recall work was done.