Paste the listing. Know what you’re getting into.

Any used BMW M or M Performance car: its known faults, what they cost and what to check, all sourced.

Free, no sign-up, email optional, nothing tied to you.

M Performance: the M340i, M240i, X3 M40i and their kind, the step below a full M car.

Photo: steve lyon from los angeles, ca, usa, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

M Performance: the M340i, M240i, X3 M40i and their kind, the step below a full M car.

M Buyers Guide tells you what one specific used performance car will cost to own, what to check, and whether it is the right one, with every number sourced, before any money moves.

Why it exists: Make buying a used performance car as informed as selling one.
The promise: Every number has a source, or it says it is our judgment. Nothing is paid for placement. Ever.

Who runs it, and on what terms

Who it is for

Four kinds of buyer. Pick yours for the cars that fit and what each one costs to keep.

The first-timerYour first M. Know what it will really cost.M2 F87, M3 E92, M240i F22 The upgraderPaste the listing. Know what you're getting into.M3 G80, M3 F80, M4 F82 The dream-spec hunterThe right one, in the right spec, with its record.M3 E46, M5 E39, M3 E30 The family buyerFast, with room for the family: what it costs to keep.X3 M F97, X5 M F95, M340i G20

69cars scoredSee them ranked

361known issues, and how to check eachCheck a car

325model years, each scoredThe whole lineup

207example asking pricesThe value map

The top ten by Guide Score

Each at its best model year, with its cost to own a year. Places close together are not reliably different.

All 69 ranked

1BMW E30 M3Best year 1988 · 1st of 69
97Guide ScoreExceptionalabout $2,903 a year to own
2BMW E46 M3Best year 2006 · 2nd of 69
96Guide ScoreExceptionalabout $2,715 a year to own
3BMW E28 M5Best year 1988 · About 3rd of 69, likely 2nd to 13th
93Guide ScoreExceptionalabout $3,332 a year to own
4tiedBMW E24 M6Best year 1988 · Provisional: places 2 to 14 of 69
92Guide ScoreExceptionalabout $4,205 a year to own
4tiedBMW F87 M2Best year 2021 · About 4th of 69, likely 2nd to 13th
92Guide ScoreExceptionalabout $2,326 a year to own
6BMW G82 M4Best year 2021 · About 6th of 69, likely 3rd to 16th
92Guide ScoreExceptionalabout $2,780 a year to own
7tiedBMW E36 M3Best year 1999 · Provisional: places 3 to 18 of 69
92Guide ScoreExceptionalabout $1,822 a year to own
7tiedBMW Z3 M Roadster and M CoupeBest year 2000 · Provisional: places 3 to 18 of 69
91Guide ScoreExceptionalabout $2,321 a year to own
9BMW E82 1 Series MBest year 2011 · About 9th of 69, likely 3rd to 21st
91Guide ScoreExceptionalabout $2,924 a year to own
10tiedBMW F82 M4Best year 2016 · Provisional: places 4 to 24 of 69
88Guide ScoreExcellentabout $2,481 a year to own