2020 to 2024SUVM car
Photo: HJUdall, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The F97 is the first X3 M, and it and the X4 M were the first cars with the S58, the twin-turbo 3.0-liter six later used in the M3 and M4.
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.
5 prices from sources that allow this use (classiccars.com, driveway.com), read October 27, 2026: the middle one is $48,498, about 69% of the price new (54% 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 $3,289 a year to own ($1,925 to $5,049), about $14,966 over five years, bought at five years old or its own age if older, kept five years.
Expect about $1,900 to $5,000 a year; the bill that decides it is rear differential mounting bolt. 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.
2021The best year to buy, reading 66 of 100, about $3,288 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 2021, 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 2020 to 2024 with 473 hp, or 503 hp as the Competition; the 2022 update brought new lights and bumpers and more torque, 457 lb-ft (479 lb-ft for the Competition) instead of 442.
Every one has an eight-speed automatic and rear-biased all-wheel drive, and the ride is firm, most of all on the Competition's 21-inch wheels. The engine has a good record so far.
The weak spot owners report is the bolt that holds the rear differential, which can bend or break after a clunk from the rear, even on stock cars (no recall or BMW bulletin covers it); the costliest fault to budget for is transfer case shudder, which BMW's bulletin SIB 27 02 20 lists for the X3 M and treats first with an oil change, while replacing the case runs $7,000 to $13,000 on BMW's other xDrive models in a class action that leaves the M cars out.
Values roughly halve in five years (52% by iSeeCars' 2025 figures), and BMW is reported to have dropped plans for a gasoline successor.
What goes wrong on this generation, roughly what a fix costs at an independent shop, and how to spot it before you buy.
Listen for a clunk from the rear when shifting into drive or reverse and when going on and off the throttle at low speed, and ask whether the bolt has been replaced or upgraded.
NHTSA files some of this car’s recalls and owner complaints under the X3, so they are missing here. Check recalls by VIN, and read complaints by year, make and model, at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
2020 X3 M and X4 M models were recalled (NHTSA 20V355000) because a steering tie rod can be damaged in heat and on rough roads, and could fracture. Dealers replace the tie rods free of charge.
On a 2020 car, run the VIN through NHTSA or a BMW dealer and ask for proof the tie rods were replaced.
The large bolt through the rear differential's rubber mount can bend, which owners report on stock cars as well as tuned ones. It starts as a clunk and can end with a broken bolt and a damaged differential, a repair one owner put at nearly $5,000.
Listen for a clunk from the rear when shifting into drive or reverse and when going on and off the throttle at low speed, and ask whether the bolt has been replaced or upgraded.
Like any direct-injection engine, the S58 can build carbon on the intake valves at high mileage; no pattern has been reported on this model yet. Walnut blasting cleans it off.
Listen for a rough idle and scan for misfire codes, and ask whether the valves have been cleaned on higher-mileage cars.
A 4,600 lb SUV with this much power goes through its staggered tires and big M Compound brakes quickly, especially on the Competition's 21-inch wheels. A tire set costs about $1,600 to $2,300 and a full brake job $1,800 to $3,000.
Check tread depth and the tire date codes, look for a worn lip on the rotors and vibration under braking, and ask when pads and rotors were last replaced.
Reported S58 coolant leaks, mostly on the M3 and M4, come from the expansion tank seams and from the water-cooled charge-air cooler built into the intake manifold; an internal cooler leak shows as white exhaust smoke and falling coolant. The X3 M uses its own tank. BMW's bulletin SIB 17 01 22 covers a false "Top up coolant" warning on cars built to August 2022, caused by corroded contacts on the tank's level sensor and fixed with a new tank; we found no recall or public bulletin for a leaking tank or charge-air cooler, and how often leaks happen here is not known.
Ask about low-coolant warnings and top-ups, look for dried coolant around the tank and the top of the engine, and watch the exhaust for white smoke after a cold start.
None returned by NHTSA under this car’s own name for the 2020 to 2024 model years.
NHTSA files some of this car’s recalls under the X3, so they are missing here. Check yours by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Live from NHTSA, across the 2020 to 2024 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 X3 M F97 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 first X3 M: the S58 twin-turbo six at 473 hp, or 503 as the Competition, with an eight-speed automatic and M xDrive. The 2022 update raised torque on both versions and brought new lights and bumpers.
The next X3's top model here is an M Performance car, the X3 M50, with a mild-hybrid six at 393 hp.
Head to head: X3 M40i vs X3 M, X3 M vs X4 M, X3 M vs X5 M.
The M Index, once a month: any change to the X3 M's guide or score, with the reason, new recalls on M cars, and one thing to check before you buy.