2008 to 2013CoupeM car
Photo: ilikewaffles11, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The E92 is the fourth M3 and the only one with a V8: the 414 hp S65, a 4.0-liter that revs to 8,400 rpm.
Each part is scored from 0 to 100 on a fixed outside scale. Acclaim comes from published expert lists, launch reviews and awards; the more acclaimed a car, the less its ownership cost counts in this all-time score (its dollars below are unchanged). A part marked not measured carries no weight for this car, and the others share its weight.
37 prices from sources that allow this use (classiccars.com, driveway.com, enthusiastauto.com), read October 27, 2026: the middle one is $74,990, about 122% of the price new (80% once the price new is put in today's dollars). Asking prices sit above what cars sell for.
Long-term value starts to count in the score once 75% of the 69 generations have permitted prices. Today 43 do.
About $3,493 a year to own ($2,444 to $4,994), about $17,464 over five years, bought at five years old or its own age if older, kept five years.
Expect about $2,400 to $5,000 a year; the bills that decide it are rod bearing wear, throttle actuator failure and M DCT mechatronic unit. Bought without receipts, about a 2 in 20 chance of more than $10,000 in repairs in five years. Ownership risk: moderate.
Guide Score method v5-final.14, an editorial score built only from permitted, sourced data. How it works.
Colors it came in, most wanted first. Pick one to see the page in it.
2013The best year to buy, reading 84 of 100, about $3,493 a year to own.
No logged change between model years sets it apart; every year reads within 2 points of it, so buy on condition and records.
No year to think twice about: none reads 3 or more points below the 2013, and no logged fault separates them.
From our log of the changes between model years, each with its source. Only changes the score reads count as reasons; recalls BMW fixes for free, options and tuning notes do not. The cost a year is for a car bought at five years old, or its own age if older, kept five years. How the score works.
It was sold here from 2008 to 2013 as a coupe, a sedan through 2011 and a folding-hardtop convertible, with a six-speed manual or the seven-speed M DCT dual-clutch.
Apart from its rod bearings, which many owners replace before they fail, and throttle actuators that commonly need replacing, the S65 has a good record.
What goes wrong on this generation, roughly what a fix costs at an independent shop, and how to spot it before you buy. Every M3 generation compared.
Ask for receipts showing when the bearings were replaced and at what mileage. Without them, budget for the job, and listen for a tick or knock at idle.
Check for an engine warning light and a smooth throttle all the way to the redline, and look for actuator work in the records.
NHTSA files some owner complaints about this car under the 3 Series, so they are missing here. Read them by year, make and model at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
The S65 has two throttle actuators, one per bank. Either can fail and put the car in limp mode.
Check for an engine warning light and a smooth throttle all the way to the redline, and look for actuator work in the records.
The radiator, expansion tank and hoses age out, and a failure can overheat the engine.
Look for a cooling system refresh in the records, and check for coolant smell or dried residue around the hoses and tank.
The seven-speed M DCT is generally sound and its fluid service costs a few hundred dollars, but if its mechatronic control unit fails, replacement runs about $4,000 to $6,000, and parts are getting harder to find. Early cars had software trouble too: a 2008 recall (08V-595) reprogrammed about 2,500 DCT cars built through September 10, 2008 that could stall after hard braking at low speed, and in 2009 and 2010 owners of 2008 and 2009 cars filed more than 40 NHTSA complaints about a pause of up to two or three seconds before the car pulled away from a rolling stop, several saying it began after that update. BMW told several of them it was normal; few such complaints have been filed since 2010.
On DCT cars, check smooth pull-aways and quick, clean shifts, and look for fluid service in the records. On a 2008 or 2009 car, also slow to walking pace as if for a turn, then accelerate: the car should pull away without a pause.
BMW recalled about 14,500 M3s from the 2008 to 2012 model years in 2019 (NHTSA 19V-472) because the positive battery cable's connection at the fuse box behind the glove box can wear. That can make the gauges flicker, shut the engine off for a moment or, at worst, cut all electrical power while driving. Dealers fit a silver-coated connector and secure it, free. Several owners have told NHTSA of engines cutting out while driving, most on 2011 cars; the causes they give vary, but in 2017 a 2009 owner revived a car whose electrics had died by reseating this cable, two years before the recall reached the M3.
Run the VIN through NHTSA's recall lookup or a BMW dealer and ask for proof the connector was replaced, and ask whether the car has ever cut out, flickered its gauges or refused to start.
S65 rod bearings wear, and a spun bearing costs an engine. BMWBlog calls the factory bearings a well-known weak point and advises replacing them at about 60,000 to 80,000 miles, and a parts seller puts typical failures between 50,000 and 100,000 miles. About 35 of the roughly 200 owner complaints to NHTSA about these cars describe a bearing failure or diagnosis, most ending in a new engine; that is a share of complaints, not of cars. Many owners replace the bearings as a precaution.
If a bearing spins: about $10k to $20k through an independent shop, by one writer's estimate; a BMW dealer quoted $41,018 to fit a new engine to one car. Source: The Autopian, October 15, 2026 (a 2011 M3; the cause was not confirmed as a bearing).
Ask for receipts showing when the bearings were replaced and at what mileage. Without them, budget for the job, and listen for a tick or knock at idle.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2008-2013 128i and 135i Convertibles, 128i, 135i, and M Coupes, 2007-2010 X3 30si and X3 xDrive30i, 2013-2015 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i and X1 xDrive35i, 2007-2013 328i, 328i xDrive, 335i, 335is, 335i xDrive and M3 Coupes, 2006-2011 328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive, 325i, 325xi, 330i, 330xi, 335i, 335xi, 335i xDrive and M3, 2009-2011 335D, 2006-2012 325xi, 328i, 328xi and 328i xDrive, 2010-2011 X6 ActiveHybrid, 2007-2013 328i, 335i, 335is, M3 Coupes, X5 30si, X5 xDrive30i, X5 xDrive35i, X5 48i, X5 xDrive48i, X5 xDrive50i and X5 M, 2009-2013 X5 xDrive35d and 2008-2014 X6 xDrive35i, X6 xDrive50i and X6M vehicles equipped with non-desiccated driver frontal air bag inflators containing phase stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) that were used as interim remedy parts for previous Takata recalls. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2009 328i and 328xi, 2009-2011 335d, 2008-2012 M3 Coupe and M3 Convertible, and 2008-2011 M3 Sedan vehicles. The connection of the positive battery cable at the fuse box terminal may degrade, resulting in an intermittent loss of electrical power.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2006-2011 323i, 325i, 325xi, 328i, 328xi, 330i, 330xi, 335i, 335xi and M3, 2007-2011 328i xDrive, 335i xDrive and 335is and 2009-2011 335d vehicles. The wiring and electrical connectors for the system that controls air flow for the heating and air conditioning system may overheat.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 128i and 135i coupes and convertibles and 1 Series M coupes, 2006-2011 325i, 325xi, 328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive, 330i, 330xi, 335i, 335xi, 335i xDrive Sedans, 2009-2011 335d sedans, 2006-2012 325xiT, 328i and 328xi sports wagons, 2007-2013 328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive, 335i, 335xi, 335i xDrive, 335is and M3 Coupes and Convertibles, 2013-2015 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i and X1 xDrive35i SAVs, 2007-2010 X3 xDrive30i SAVs, 2007-2013 X5 xDrive30i, X5 xDrive35i, X5 xDrive48i, X5 xDrive50i and X5 M SAVs, 2009-2013 BMW X5 xDrive35d SAVs, 2008-2014 X6 xDrive35i, X6 xDrive50i, and X6 M SACs, 2010-2011 BMW X6 xDrive50i SACs and 2008-2011 M3 Sedan vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
BMW IS RECALLING 2,500 MY 2008-2009 M3 PASSENGER VEHICLES WITH AN OPTIONAL DOUBLE CLUTCH TRANSMISSION. THE PROBLEM INVOLVES THE DOUBLE CLUTCH GEARBOX. IN A SITUATION OF RAPID VEHICLE DECELERATION, THE TRANSMISSION SOFTWARE MAY PERFORM A MULTISTAGE DOWNSHIFT.
Live from NHTSA, across the 2008 to 2013 model years.
Our estimates at an independent shop, parts and labor; fuel from the EPA.
Pricing tires for this car? Compare the factory sizes at Discount Tire, and ask a local shop to match it.
Fuel from EPA fueleconomy.gov: its yearly cost is for 15,000 miles with 55% city driving, moved here to the miles a year the two-year budget uses. The rest are our estimates at independent-shop and retail prices from September 2026. Service is a year of routine maintenance at 10,000 miles: one or two oil changes, brake fluid, filters, and spark plugs spread over their interval. Repairs are separate. Tires are a mounted set of summer tires; brakes are pads and rotors on both axles. Prices vary by region and shop.
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Set your ZIP and this page shows the asking prices of M3 E92 cars listed for sale within 100 miles of you today, with the cars themselves.
Representative listings, last reviewed September 2026. Examples chosen by us, not a live feed.
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The cars this one gets weighed against, by lineage and by price.
The S54 3.2 six at 333 hp with an 8,000 rpm redline, a six-speed manual or SMG.
Fourth M3 and the only one with a V8, the S65 4.0 at 414 hp with an 8,400 rpm redline. Coupe, sedan through 2011 and convertible in the US, with a six-speed manual or the seven-speed M DCT.
The S55 twin-turbo six, the first turbo M3. The sedan kept the M3 name and the coupe became the M4.
The M4 coupe is the continuation of the M3 coupe line. BMW renamed the coupe to M4 with the F82 in 2014 when the M3 became sedan only.
Head to head: E46 M3 vs E92 M3.
The M Index, once a month: any change to the M3's guide or score, with the reason, new recalls on M cars, and one thing to check before you buy.