How the scores work

Listing scores rate one car for sale

Each example listing, and any car you check with Score a listing, gets its own listing score: how good that particular car is as a spec and as an example. It is a separate number from the Guide Score, which rates the generation, and it uses six weighted factors (weight set v1-expert):

What we leave out

Asking price. What a car costs to buy never raises or lowers a score. How well it keeps its value is part of market demand, because that is the market’s verdict on the car, not its price tag.

Prestige for its own sake. Standing counts what owners, reviewers and the enthusiast community say about a car, with sources; nothing is added for a badge.

Precision we do not have. Engine character and chassis feel are scored, because leaving them out made the old score blind to why people buy these cars. They are the most editorial numbers here, and they are labeled that way.

Scores never change silently. Any change to the method, a rating or an input ships with a dated note here saying what moved and why. Every release since September 25, 2026, including the ones that move no score, is listed in the patch notes.

1. Guide Scores moved

   2026-10-28, a new Guide Score

   The Guide Score is rebuilt. Every generation, and every other US body of a generation, now gets a score from 1 to 100 made of seven parts, Heritage (15), Engine (15), Drive feel (20), Analog connection (10), Weight (10), Long-term value (10) and Ownership (20), and its acclaim, which counts at Heritage’s weight. Each part is scored on a fixed outside scale from published facts we are allowed to use, and every figure has a source.

   Acclaim comes from published all-time expert lists, launch reviews and awards. The more acclaimed a car, the less its ownership cost counts in this all-time score, down from 20 to as little as 6. A car no expert list ranked is never read as ranked low: it borrows its own line’s standing, or that of the car with the same engine and years, at half weight.

   Ownership is in dollars. Each car is judged as a used buy at five years old, or its own age if older, kept for five years: the expected cost a year, the chance of a repair bill over $10,000, and the three bills that decide it. A score is never shown without its cost to own. Each car page also says which model year to buy and which to think twice about, from a log of the changes between model years, each with its source.

   Long-term value is shown, not scored: 43 of the 69 generations have at least three prices from sources that allow this use, and their car pages show them. The part starts to count once three in four of the 69 have them.

   Scores run across the scale: the E30 M3 leads at 97, the E46 M3 reads 96, and the scale never rises faster than 2 points for each point of evidence, so close cars read close. Each place comes with the range it could truly hold; where most of a car’s evidence is borrowed from a related car, it shows that range and “provisional” instead of one place. There are lists by purpose too: driver’s car, daily driver, family, track, tuning, first M and more.

   How we tested it: we left each of ten published expert outlets out of the build in turn. The score put 190 of their 304 pairs of cars in the same order they did, 62.5%, where a typical outlet agrees with the others 59% of the time. Until specialists in person have tested it, this is an editorial score, built only from sourced data we are allowed to use.

   What moved: the classic M cars rise (the E30 M3 from 79 to 97, the E46 M3 from 80 to 96, the E28 M5 from 74 to 93), and some current cars fall back (the M2 G87 from 97 to 88). The two scores are built differently, so a car’s old and new numbers are not points gained or lost on one ruler; the order is what to compare.

2. No score moved

   2026-10-28, a blank spec field is not scored

   No Guide Score or listing score moves. The car report's spec score, which places one car's options, colors, gearbox and drive against other examples of its generation, now treats a field you leave blank the same way on every car: it is left out and said so, "not given, not scored", and never counted as 0. Before, a blank interior beside a given paint counted as the worst interior, a blank options list held the whole score back, and an option you did not tick counted as missing.

   The score is now the share of the best the generation offers over the fields you gave, so with every field given it is the same figure as before. An option counts as missing only where you say so: "None of these", "That is every option it has", or a pasted window sticker, which lists every factory option. Ticking every option the guide weighs for the car also makes the list whole: the E46 M3 weighs one, the Competition Package. Under the score, the report says how much of what it weighs was given and what was not. A figure is said only when at least half of what the score weighs was given; under that the score reads not scored, with the parts given still said, so a figure never rests on less than half of the car. A gearbox and drive the car came only one way with still count toward the figure, but never toward that half: they are a fact of the generation, not something you gave, so a VIN alone cannot clear it.

   What moves: a 2005 E46 M3 Competition in Interlagos Blue with the Competition Package ticked and the interior left blank goes from 91 to 99. A 2022 G80 M3 Competition, automatic with xDrive, with no other option ticked and the colors blank, stays not scored: what was given is 44% of what the score weighs, under the half a figure needs, and the report says so. A report with nothing to weigh is still not scored.

3. No score moved

   2026-10-28, records that take a fixed fault out of the budget

   No Guide Score or listing score moves. When you type a car's facts, the car report now asks about the work its records show, one question for each fault the two-year budget counts for that car where the guide's own check for the fault is the work itself: rod bearings replaced, the rear subframe reinforced, the timing chain guides or the VANOS done. The questions come from the guide's list of known faults for the car's year, gearbox and drive. A yes takes that fault's repair out of both ends of the budget and out of the costliest-fault line, and the budget says so: "Without the rod bearing work (done at 60,000 miles), per the records", with the figure it had before beside it. A mileage above the car's own leaves the fault in. The fault stays on the inspection list, with a line to ask for the receipt.

   It also asks "Original or modified?". The answer changes the report's words and the order of its checks, never a score: for a tuned car the tune's question and the faults the guide ties to tuning come first; for an original car the tune line is left out and the report asks what shows it is original.

   What moves: a 2005 E46 M3 at 72,000 miles with its rod bearings done at 60,000, its subframe reinforced and its VANOS done goes from $8,500 to $14,000 over two years to $4,000 to $6,000. A 2003 E39 M5 at 62,000 miles with its chain guides done at 55,000 and its VANOS done goes from $10,500 to $18,500 to $4,500 to $12,500.

4. No score moved

   2026-10-28, a reason beside each year group's ownership risk

   No score and no reading moves. Where a car's ownership risk is given by model year, gearbox or drive, each group now says why it reads the way it does, in the words of the car's sourced list of known faults: the faults that decide it, each with the guide's repair figure where it has one, and, where one group has a fault the others do not, that it is what sets those cars apart. For the 2020 and 2021 M340i with xDrive: because of the oil pump failure, about $2,600 to fix, and the oil filter housing and valve cover gasket leaks, about $1,500 to fix; the oil pump is what sets those years apart. Where nothing the list calls common decides a group, it says so and names the faults the reading rests on. The lists and budget pages give the same reason in a few words beside each group.

5. No score moved

   2026-10-14, a two-year budget on every car

   No score moves. Each car in the rankings, the budget lists and the best-of list, and each car page, now leads its ownership risk with a two-year budget: what a typical example of that model year is likely to need over two years, such as "Budget about $4,000 to $8,500 over two years". Many cars share the same risk word; the figure lets you compare them.

   It is the car report's own "likely costs", run for a standard car: that model year, driven our estimate of normal miles a year for its kind (6,000 for an M coupe, sedan or convertible, 8,000 for an M Performance car, 9,000 or 10,000 for an SUV or electric car, 4,000 for a roadster or a generation that ended 15 or more years ago), nothing done yet and not Certified. The low end adds a set of tires, a brake job, two years of routine service and the faults the car's sourced list of known faults calls common; the high end adds the ones it calls possible. Every figure is the guide's own repair estimate at independent-shop and retail prices, rounded to the nearest $500, as the report rounds it. Run the report for a car with those facts and it gives the same range.

   Where a generation's gearboxes or drives give different budgets, the figure is for the one most sold where our research says which (the E46 M3's manual, the E60 M5's and E63 M6's SMG), and for the higher figure where it does not (the E92 M3's dual-clutch, the 2020 and 2021 M340i's xDrive). The row says which, and the car page gives the other's range.

   Under the figure, one line names the fault to watch: of the faults the budget counts, the one with the highest repair figure, with how often its sourced list says it happens. Where the source gives one figure, the line gives it; where it gives a wide range, it says "up to" the top of it, if the part fails. Where the budget counts no priced fault, the line names the biggest fault the list does describe. It is not a prediction for any one car: a real car's miles, history and receipts change it, which is what the report is for.

6. No score moved

   2026-10-08, an ownership risk in words beside the Guide Score

   The Guide Score is unchanged. Beside it, every car page now gives an ownership risk in words: what is known to go wrong on the car, how bad it is and what it costs. It is a record of known faults, not a measured reliability rate, and it is not part of the Guide Score.

   There are seven words: trouble-free, very sound, sound if looked after, needs a budget, costly, high risk and ruinous. Two are easy to mix up. "Costly" is big bills you can plan for: a severe fault that preventive work keeps in check, or several four-figure faults at once. "High risk" is a severe, common fault with no dependable preventive fix, or many costly faults at once.

   The word is read from a sourced record of each car's known faults by three AI graders from one company, against a written rubric, and every car is read three times over. Two words, as in "costly to high risk", mean the readings of the car, or of cars with the same engine and the same serious faults, landed on both sides of the line between them; the page says how many of the readings fell on each side, and where a word comes from cars with the same engine and faults, it names them. Where the readings could reach further, the page gives the range, as in "could be needs a budget to costly".

   Beside each reading, the page names the faults that decide it, two at most, and only faults the record calls common. Where none is, it says so and names the counted faults the reading rests on, with the record's word for how often each happens ("possible" means sources describe the fault but none gives a rate; "rare", sources say it is uncommon; "unknown", it is named for this hardware but nothing says how often), and any severe fault whose effect on the car is not known either way. Notes say where the record is unsettled, where the model is new with few years of owner records, and, on cars 15 or more years old, that age-related wear of cooling parts, rubber, seals, bushings and rust is common. Where the record shows a change by model year, engine, gearbox or drive, the page gives the risk for each instead of one reading for the whole car. A newer engine with a short record is read no better than the engine it replaced, and the page says so, naming that engine.

   The Guide Score's own reliability part is worked out separately and is unchanged, so the two can differ. Its reliability part is built from a judged rating of the engine (worth up to 62 of its 100 points), the guide's listed issues (up to 18), how easy the engine is to service (up to 10) and age (up to 10); the ownership risk weighs the whole sourced fault record and what each fault costs. Where they point different ways, the car page says so.

   Every car page also lists BMW's free fixes for that car: the safety recalls and service campaigns whose NHTSA filing or BMW document names the M or M Performance car. A BMW dealer can check each one by VIN, so ask them to confirm it was done. The rankings show each car's ownership risk beside its scores; the order is still by Guide Score. The downloadable scores file gains two columns, ownership_risk and could_be. The listing score, which rates a single car for sale, is unchanged.

7. Guide Scores moved

   2026-09-25, tuning headroom joins the driving score, and the M240i's demand follows resale

   Many owners of these cars have them tuned, and how much a tune gives, and how hard it is to have one done, differs a great deal from one engine to the next. The Enthusiast pillar now counts it, from published sources, on a 10-point scale. Up to 6 points are for how much a first-stage tune on standard parts and pump fuel adds, as a share of the car's factory rating, taking the middle of the figures the tuning companies and the enthusiast press publish. Up to 2 are for whether the engine computer can be reprogrammed as delivered or first has to come out of the car for a one-time service, which cost $250 to $500 a car in the US in 2026. Up to 2 are for how many established tuners support the car. The other four parts of the pillar shrink by a tenth to make room, so it still tops out at 100.

   The score counts what a car could do, not advice to do it. A tune without emissions certification is not legal on public roads, California's smog check fails cars with changed engine software, and BMW dealers' diagnostic system flags suspected tuning, after which a warranty repair to the engine or drivetrain needs BMW's approval first. When two model years of a car tie, the tie is still settled on how the car drives as sold, so tuning never picks a car's best year on its own.

   Separately, the market demand of the M240i coupe (2022 on) and the M240i convertible (2017 to 2021) now follows resale, as the M440i's did on 2026-09-23. The 2 Series coupe line loses about 14% of its value in three years, about what the M2 and M4 lose, so the coupe moves from 65 to 76 on our 50 to 82 demand scale; the convertible moves from 58 to 62. The M340i stays at 78: more people search for it than for any car we measured, but the 3 Series keeps its value only about as well as the average luxury compact.

   Most turbocharged cars gain a point; the naturally aspirated M cars, which gain little from new software, and the electric cars, which cannot be tuned, lose one or two. The 2017 to 2021 M240i's best year becomes 2020, the last year whose engine computer can be reprogrammed as delivered. No ranking rule changes. Headline scores that move (every model year is in the published score list):

   • M240i (2017 to 2021)80 to 81
   • M240i convertible69 to 71
   • M240i (2022 on)66 to 68
   • M340i70 to 71
   • M340i facelift68 to 69
   • M440i coupe63 to 64
   • M235i73 to 74
   • X4 M40i (2018)53 to 55
   • M4 G8296 to 95
   • M3 G8092 to 91
   • M2 F8792 to 91
   • E30 M381 to 79
   • E46 M381 to 80
   • E92 M384 to 83
   • i5 M6054 to 52
   • M235 Gran Coupe (2025 on)55 to 53

8. Guide Scores moved

   2026-09-25, the fuel tank fault on the M2 and M235i

   BMW's bulletin on the leaking fuel tank (SI B01 03 22), added to the F80 M3 and F82 and F83 M4 earlier today, covers three more cars in the guide. The 2016 M2 and every M235i now list it as a medium issue, priced at RepairPal's estimate for each car (about $2,000 for the M2, $1,750 for the M235i). BMW covers these cars for 15 years or 150,000 miles, as it does the early M3 and M4, and the score counts the bill a buyer faces once that cover ends. The bulletin does not name later M2s, so they are unchanged. It also names M240i coupes built in the first two weeks of production; for them the check joins the M240i's buyer checklist, with no score change.

   Scores that move: the 2016 M2 89 (was 91) and the 2014 M235i 72 (was 73). The M2 (92) and the M235i (73) keep their Guide Scores, and no ranking changes.

9. Guide Scores moved

   2026-09-25, owner complaints to NHTSA checked against the guides

   We read the owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the US safety regulator, for every car in the guide, and checked each gap they showed against BMW's own bulletins and recall filings. Four problems the guides missed are added. The F80 M3 and the F82 and F83 M4 can leak fuel from a welded plate on top of the tank; BMW covers cars built through April 2016 for 15 years or 150,000 miles, and later cars pay about $2,000. The E60 M5's passenger seat sensor mat can fail and switch off the passenger air bag; BMW recalled this kind of mat on the regular 5 Series but left the M5 out, and owners report dealer quotes of about $2,000. The 2018 M550i has a similar fault, which BMW now covers for 10 years or 120,000 miles. The E92 M3's 2019 battery cable recall joins its checklist.

   Three issues were rated too high or too low. The leaking coolant tank on the S63 V8 was low on the F90 M5 and high on the M8, the same fault on the same engine; it is medium on both, since a BMW recall and a 15-year injector program pay for most repairs. The i4 M50 and iX M60 drive unit bearing drops from high to medium: the defect was limited to cars built in five weeks of 2022, and BMW replaces the unit free. The X3 M40i's rear differential bolt drops to low: it is the X3 M's weak spot, and none of the 107 complaints about the M40i mentions it.

   Scores that move: the F80 M3 84 to 83, the F82 M4 85 to 84 and the E60 M5 64 to 63 (its 2007 to 2009 model years fall two points). The F83 M4 convertible keeps 72, though its 2015 to 2017 model years lose a point, and the 2018 M550i and the X3 M40i keep their Guide Scores. The coolant tank and drive unit changes move no score, because the engine ratings already price those faults, and recalls are never charged.

10. Guide Scores moved

    2026-09-24, each fault is charged once, and unpriced repairs no longer count as free

    Three changes to how reliability counts known issues, published together.

    Each fault is charged once. Most of our engine ratings are argued from the engine's known faults: the S54 is rated 70 because of its rod bearings and VANOS, the S85 55 because of its rod bearings, throttle actuators and VANOS pumps. Until now the same faults were charged a second time through each car's list of known issues, so a car with a famous engine fault paid for it twice.

    Now a fault the engine's rating names is charged there only. It stays on the car's checklist and inspection sheet. Everything else on the list is charged as before: gearbox, drivetrain, chassis, body and electrical faults, and engine faults the rating does not name. The B58, B48 and S68 ratings were never argued from their faults (the B58's and B48's faults were always charged per car, and the S68 has no record yet), so nothing changes for those cars. Where a generation changed engine, as the F87 M2 did, a fault is priced by the rating only in the years with that engine.

    A repair with no reliable price is charged a typical bill. Some issues have no reliable repair price yet, often because the fix is recent or dealer-only. They used to count as $0 in the repair-bill part of the score, which let a serious unpriced fault look cheap. They are now charged the typical bill for their severity: $1,500 for a medium issue and $4,000 for a high one, the middle of every priced issue in the guide (180 medium, 32 high). A real price replaces it as soon as we find one.

    Issues naming two model years count for both. An issue titled like "(2023 and 2024 cars)" was counted only against the later year; it now counts against both, as "2020 to 2021 cars" always did. The two faults written this way are priced by their engine's rating under the first change, so this moves no score by itself. Recalls named this way now also show on the earlier year's pages.

    Together they raise 181 of the 325 model-year scores and lower none, and no car's best year changes. Headline scores that move:

    • X6 M E7136 to 48
    • X5 M E7036 to 47
    • 1 Series M77 to 83
    • E39 M574 to 80
    • E60 M559 to 64
    • E63 M656 to 61
    • E46 M378 to 81
    • Z4 M74 to 77
    • F80 M381 to 84
    • M760i53 to 56
    • M550i53 to 56
    • M550i facelift55 to 58
    • M850i coupe53 to 56
    • M850i coupe facelift54 to 56
    • M850i convertible49 to 52
    • M850i convertible facelift51 to 53
    • E92 M382 to 84
    • F82 M483 to 85
    • F83 M4 convertible70 to 72
    • F87 M290 to 92
    • F10 M566 to 68
    • F90 M572 to 74
    • M868 to 70

    And by one point: the E34 M5, E36 M3, Z3 M Roadster and M Coupe, F13 M6, M235i, X4 M40i (F26), X5 M and X6 M (F85 and F86), i4 M50 and G80 M3. Cars whose faults were always charged once, like the M240i and M340i, keep their scores and can lose a place or three to cars that rose.

11. Listing scores moved

    2026-09-23, options corrected on example listings

    The fact-checks of the M2, M3, M4, M5, M550i, M850i, M240i, M340i and M440i guides also found example listings carrying options the cars were not sold with, or that every US car had as standard:

    • Harman Kardon sound on the M2, M3 and M4;
    • the Competition and M xDrive on the G83 M4 convertible, which every US car has;
    • Adaptive M suspension on the F87 M2, which came only on the CS;
    • carbon ceramic brakes and an Executive Package on the G87 M2;
    • soft-close doors on the F10 M5, where they came in the Executive Package, and on the M850i, where they were standard;
    • the facelifted M850i's illuminated grille, also standard;
    • a carbon trim option on the F90 M5 that BMW's US ordering guides do not list;
    • carbon ceramics as an extra on the M5 CS, which had them as standard;
    • Adaptive M suspension on the M240i and the M Sport differential on the M340i and M440i, both standard;
    • a Technology Package BMW dropped before the M240i arrived;
    • a factory limited-slip differential on the first M240i, which BMW offered only as a dealer accessory;
    • and an M Carbon Exterior Package BMW USA did not list for the 2021 to 2024 M440i.

    Two manual listings carried the Competition, which the US got only with the automatic, a 2018 M550i carried a Premium Package first offered for 2019, an M850i convertible in a no-charge paint was listed with Individual paint, a 2020 M340i carried a paint and a package that arrived for 2021, and one M440i convertible was a 2021 xDrive, which the US first got for 2022.

    With these corrected, listing scores move:

    • the G80 M3's three examples from 79, 71 and 56 to 75, 71 and 59;
    • the G82 M4's from 75, 68 and 55 to 73, 68 and 57;
    • the F87 M2's from 79, 74 and 58 to 82, 76 and 55;
    • the G87 M2's from 77, 70 and 56 to 73, 68 and 54;
    • the G83 M4 convertible's from 76, 69 and 52 to 71, 61 and 50;
    • the F10 M5's from 80, 67 and 56 to 81, 68 and 58;
    • the F90 M5's from 75, 70 and 59 to 74, 71 and 60;
    • the F22 M240i's from 82, 73 and 56 to 70, 66 and 60;
    • the F23 M240i convertible's from 78, 69 and 55 to 64, 63 and 57;
    • the M550i and M850i examples by up to seven points;
    • and the G42 M240i, M340i and M440i examples by up to six.

    Guide Scores do not move.

12. No score moved

    2026-09-23, the electric M Performance cars join the guide

    Full guides now cover the i4 M50 and M60, the iX M60 and M70, the i5 M60 and the i7 M70. Their powertrain gets a rating of its own: BMW's fifth-generation eDrive at 70, provisional and level with the S54. It has no pattern of battery capacity failures, but a busy record for a young system: two software recalls for a sudden loss of drive power, and BMW bulletins on drive-unit bearings, rear drive units and charging units.

    Its character score, 13, rewards instant response and marks down synthetic sound and the lack of a rev range. Where no reliable out-of-warranty price exists for a drive unit or charging unit, the guides say so instead of guessing, and the issue still counts through its severity. The i4 scores 55, the i5 and i7 54, and the iX 51. No live score moves.

13. No score moved

    2026-09-23, the Z3 M, Z4 M and the later M6s join the guide

    Full guides now cover the Z3-based M Roadster and M Coupe, the Z4 M roadster and coupe, the V10 E63 M6 and the twin-turbo F13 M6 (with its convertible and Gran Coupe). Their engines already had ratings, so none is new.

    The Z3 M changed engine for 2001, from the S52 to the S54, so its years are scored on the engine each had: the S52 cars score 80 and the rarer S54 cars 74, charged for the S54's rod bearing risk. The Z4 M scores 74, the F13 M6 67 and the E63 M6 56, the V10's costs weighing on it as they do on the E60 M5. Both M6 manuals count as rare, as on the M5s: about 700 E63s, North America only, and few F13s. No live score moves.

14. No score moved

    2026-09-23, the classic M cars join the guide

    Full guides now cover the four M cars BMW sold new here in the 1980s and early 1990s: the E30 M3, the E28 and E34 M5, and the E24 M6, by model year the first M car sold in the US. Two engine ratings are new, both at 72, level with the S62: the E30 M3's S14 four and the S38 six in the other three. Neither has a documented bottom-end pattern failure; both need regular valve adjustments, a watch on the timing chain tensioner and cooling care, with expensive parts.

    The E30 M3 scores 81, the E28 M5 75, the E24 M6 71 and the E34 M5 69. Rust counts against each through its severity, but without a single repair figure, since it runs from a patch to structural work. The E24 M6 guide and our lineup end at 1988: the only 1989 M6s were two Canadian cars, according to the BMW M Registry. No live score moves.

15. Guide Scores moved

    2026-09-23, fact-check corrections to the M240i, M340i and M440i guides

    An independent fact-check of the nine M240i, M340i and M440i guides found nothing invented, but it found errors. The shared list of B58 problems understated the plastic oil filter housing, which can leak coolant as well as oil and is the subject of a proposed 2026 class action; it is now a medium item with repairs from about $1,500. The first M240i's crankcase valve carries a 15-year BMW warranty the guide did not mention, and the 2025 and later M340i and M440i and the 2027 M240i have port injection, so carbon buildup no longer counts against them.

    The guides missed the 2025 update's 386 hp M340i, gave the facelifted M440i the 430i's grille, called the M440i the first M-branded 4 Series and gave most of these cars the wrong standard tires. Six example prices came down by $3,000 to $5,000. Standard equipment such as the M Sport differential was listed as an option on example listings; those corrections wait with the other listing corrections.

    The G20 M340i falls from 71 to 70, the G42 M240i's best year becomes 2027 at an unchanged 66, and three other single model years lose a point; the other headline scores hold.

16. Guide Scores moved

    2026-09-23, fact-check corrections to the M5, M550i and M850i guides

    An independent fact-check of the eight M5, M550i and M850i guides found nothing invented, but it found errors. The F10 M5 blamed throttle actuators, a problem of the E60's V10, and missed the warranty extensions BMW gave its engine's fuel injectors and fuel pumps; the F90 M5 missed BMW's campaign for a leaking coolant tank and its 15-year cover for injectors the coolant damaged, cover the 2020 and 2021 M550i and the 2019 to 2021 M850i share.

    The history dated the M5 CS to 2021 (it was a 2022 model) and still gave the facelifted M550i a mild hybrid. One paint was never offered on the M550i, the M850i's options included an Executive Package BMW never sold here, and most example prices sat thousands above recent sales. Service rows now give BMW's own intervals: oil yearly or every 10,000 miles, and new spark plugs about every 30,000 miles on M cars and 60,000 on the others, from BMW USA's maintenance booklets.

    The F10 M5 rises from 65 to 66 and the F90 M5 falls from 73 to 72; the six others keep their headline scores, though four single model years of the M550i and M850i lose a point.

17. No score moved

    2026-09-23, the M235i and the four-cylinder M35i cars join the guide

    Full guides now cover the M235i, BMW's first M Performance model sold in the US; both M235 Gran Coupes; both generations of the X2 M35i; and the X1 M35i. One engine rating is new: BMW's B48 four-cylinder at 84, a notch below the B58. It has the same kinds of faults as BMW's other modular engines (coolant and oil leaks, and carbon on the intake valves of the direct-injection versions), with a shorter record in its high-output form.

    The M235i scores 72, the X1 M35i 56, the M235 Gran Coupe and the second X2 M35i 55, and the first M235i Gran Coupe and first X2 M35i 53. The first X2 M35i's guide runs to 2022: the EPA lists a 2023 car, but Edmunds and KBB report it was not sold here, and our lineup is corrected to match. No live score moves; cars ranked below them move down.

18. Guide Scores moved

    2026-09-23, fact-check corrections to the M2, M3 and M4 guides

    An independent fact-check of the eight M2, M3 and M4 guides found nothing invented, but it found errors a knowledgeable reader would catch. The F80 M3 and F82 M4 blamed a driveline clunk on a driveshaft center bearing their one-piece carbon shaft does not have; BMW's own bulletin blames the rear differential mount, a cheaper repair. The G80 M3 and G82 M4 blamed iDrive 8 on 2021 cars, which have iDrive 7, and the G83 M4 convertible told buyers to check a 2021 recall that never covered it.

    Tire sizes, BMW Individual paint labels, the M2's CS and Competition option names and eleven example prices are corrected, and the F83 M4 convertible now lists BMW's bulletin on water leaking into the cabin. Where no failure pattern is documented, the issue is now marked low: S55 rod bearings and S58 carbon buildup.

    Scores move by one point: the F80 M3 from 80 to 81, the F82 M4 from 82 to 83, the F87 M2 from 89 to 90, the G82 M4 from 95 to 96 and the G87 M2 from 96 to 97, while the F83 M4 convertible falls from 71 to 70 with the added water-leak issue.

19. No score moved

    2026-09-23, the M8, G90 M5, XM and M760i join the guide

    Full guides now cover the M8 in all three bodies, the plug-in hybrid G90 M5 and M5 Touring, the XM and the V12 M760i. One engine rating is new: the M760i's N74 V12 at 60, provisional, on the earlier N74's record of turbo wastegate and fuel pump work and the cost of twelve-cylinder parts, since the M760i's own record is thin.

    The M8 and the G90 M5 count as rear drive for their driving score, like the F90 M5, because M xDrive can switch to rear drive only. The G90 M5 scores 71, the M8 68, the XM 56 and the M760i 53. The F90 M5 guide's pointer to its successor is corrected: the new M5 is the G90, sold here from the 2025 model year. No live score moves; cars ranked below them move down.

20. No score moved

    2026-09-23, corrections to the M340i and M550i guides

    Checking the V8 SUVs against BMW's records turned up an error in three live guides about BMW's 48-volt mild hybrid. The M340i got it for the 2021 model year, not at the 2023 facelift, and the facelifted M550i never had it: BMW USA gave it to the six-cylinder 540i only, and the EPA's records agree. The M340i and M550i guides are corrected. No score changes.

21. No score moved

    2026-09-23, the X5, X6 and X7 M50i and M60i join the guide

    Full guides now cover the V8 versions of the X5 (G05), X6 (G06) and X7 (G07): the M50i with the N63 V8, then the M60i with the S68, from 2023 on the X7 and 2024 on the other two. The M60i's S68 makes 523 hp, the same as the N63 it replaced, so its driving score uses an engine character of 18, the N63's, instead of the 24 set for the 617 hp X5 M and X6 M Competition tune.

    The costliest known fault on all three is the front differential, which owners report failing at around 45,000 to 65,000 miles. The X5 scores 50 for its 2026 cars and the X6 and X7 49, and all three 44 to 46 for the N63 years. We also corrected the S68's published description, which said the engine has electric VANOS; BMW's own release does not say so. No live score moves; cars ranked below them move down.

22. No score moved

    2026-09-23, the X3 M40i, X3 M50, X4 M40i and Z4 M40i join the guide

    Full guides now cover the X3 M40i (G01) and the X3 M50 that replaced it (G45), both X4 M40i generations (F26 and G02) and the Z4 M40i (G29). Their engines, the B58 and the N55, already have published ratings.

    A manual gearbox that arrived partway through a run now counts only from the model year it was sold, as rear drive already did: the Z4 M40i's manual came for 2025, and the E60 M5's North American manual for 2007. So the Z4 M40i scores 78 for 2025 and 2026, the years it was offered with the manual, and 72 to 73 for the automatic-only years before them. The X3 M40i, X3 M50 and second X4 M40i score 62 each, and the first X4 M40i 52. No live score moves; cars ranked below them move down.

23. No score moved

    2026-09-23, eight M SUVs join the guide

    Full guides now cover the X3 M and X4 M (F97 and F98), the current X5 M and X6 M (F95 and F96) and the two generations before them (F85 and F86, and the first, E70 and E71). Two engine ratings are new. The S68 V8, which replaced the S63 in the X5 M and X6 M for 2024, is rated 66, just under the S63's 68, until it has a record of its own. The first version of the S63, in the 2010 to 2014 X5 M and X6 M, is rated 50: BMW issued repair bulletins and service actions for its valve stem seals, injectors and crankcase vent line, and extended the injector warranty.

    The X3 M scores 67, the X4 M 65, the current X6 M 60 and X5 M 59, the F85 X5 M and F86 X6 M 53 each, and the E70 X5 M and E71 X6 M 36 each, the lowest in the guide. Weight, automatic-only gearboxes and all-wheel drive hold back their driving scores, and the V8 models' repair bills hold back their reliability. No existing score moves; cars ranked below them move down.

24. No score moved

    2026-09-23, the E92 M3, E36 M3, 1 Series M and E60 M5 join the guide

    Four more older M cars now have full guides. Their engines get published reliability ratings, listed with the others under the three pillars: the E36 M3's US-only S50 and S52 at 80, the E92 M3's S65 V8 at 78, the 1 Series M's N54 at 62 and the E60 M5's S85 V10 at 55.

    The E92 M3 scores 82, the E36 M3 79, the 1 Series M 77 and the E60 M5 59; the V10 costs the most to keep of any engine here, and most E60s have the SMG gearbox rather than the rare manual. No existing score moves; cars ranked below them move down a place or more.

25. Guide Scores moved

    2026-09-23, Standing replaces icon status

    One part of desirability used to be our judgment of a car's icon status. It is now Standing: how owners, experts and enthusiasts actually rate the car, scored from evidence on a published rubric. That means Car and Driver 10Best wins, comparison tests and awards; owner ratings with at least 10 reviews; the consensus of reviewers and the enthusiast community; and the car's place in M history.

    Scores move by three points at most. The G87 M2, the most-awarded current M car, now leads the guide at 96, and the G82 M4 falls from 97 to 95. The F80 M3 falls from 83 to 80 and the F82 M4 from 84 to 82: neither won a 10Best, and reviewers mark down their synthetic engine sound. The F10 M5 falls from 67 to 65. The F90 M5 rises from 72 to 73 on its World Performance Car award, and the M340i from 69 to 71: owners rate it 4.8 of 5, the highest of any M Performance car with enough reviews to count, though reviewers rate it as a superb daily car rather than a driver's car.

    Down one point: the G80 M3 (92 to 91), the F87 M2 (90 to 89), the 2017 to 2021 M240i (81 to 80), the E46 M3 (79 to 78) and the F83 M4 convertible (72 to 71). Up one: the 2025 and later M440i coupe and Gran Coupe (63 to 64), and the pre-facelift M850i and M550i (52 to 53 each). No other headline score moves.

26. Guide Scores moved

    2026-09-23, model year 2027 and the M2 CS

    BMW already sells 2027 models of the M3, M4, M4 convertible, M2, M240i and M440i, so those guides now run to 2027. A 2027 car scores the same as a 2026 one and costs more, so it never becomes the year a guide leads with. The G87 M2 gained two versions it lacked here: the one-year 2026 M2 CS at 523 hp, now its best version, and an M xDrive model for 2027. Its best-version and scarcity inputs rise to match the F87 M2 CS's, and its score moves from 94 to 96.

27. No score moved

    2026-09-23, corrections to the E46 M3 and E39 M5 guides

    An independent fact-check of our older M guides found errors in two that were live. On the E46 M3, a VANOS rebuild costs about $2,000 at a specialist, not $1,200; Interlagos Blue came only with the Competition Package; and 19-inch wheels were also a standalone option. On the E39 M5, the leather names were backwards (the desirable interior is Heritage full leather), and the engine has one throttle actuator, not several, which costs over $2,000 new. Both are corrected. Neither car's score changes.

28. Guide Scores moved

    2026-09-23, a rating review: two corrections and three rule changes

    We checked every score against outside evidence: resale figures, federal complaint and recall records, expert reviews and the EPA's model listings. Most scores held up. What changed:

    • The G42 M240i was listed as xDrive only, but a rear-drive version has been sold here since the 2023 model year. It now counts, and the car rises from 63 to 66.
    • 2020 and 2021 M340i cars now carry a known oil pump failure: 36 of the 53 federal complaints filed for 2020 cars mention it. Those years fall from 69 to 68; 2022 stays at 69 and remains the year to buy. A known issue can now name the model years it affects, so it is charged only to them.
    • Where a manual was a rare, US-only option, as on the F10 M5 (577 built of about 19,500), the gearbox is scored on the automatic most cars have, plus 4 points for the manual being there to find. The F10 M5 falls from 69 to 67.
    • When two model years tie on the Guide Score, the headline now goes to the year with the stronger driving score, the car buyers chase. The F87 M2's headline moves from the 2018 car to the 2021 Competition, still at 90.
    • Resale figures show the 4 Series coupe keeping more of its value over five years than the 3 Series (59.8% against 53.2%), so the M440i's demand input rises to 70 for the coupe and Gran Coupe and 62 for the convertible. Its scores rise by one to three points.

    No other score moves.

29. No score moved

    2026-09-23, the E46 M3 and E39 M5 join the guide

    The first two older M cars now have full guides: every model year scored, known issues with repair estimates, running costs and prices. Their engines get published reliability ratings, the S54 at 70 and the S62 at 72, listed with the others under the three pillars. The E46 M3 scores 79 and the E39 M5 74. Both lead on driving and trail on reliability, which is where a twenty-year-old M car costs money. No existing score moves; cars ranked below them move down a place or two.

30. Guide Scores moved

    2026-09-23, repair estimates added

    Ten known issues had no repair estimate, so reliability treated them as free. They now carry independent-shop estimates: S58 cooling on the M2, M3 and M4 at $1,200, N63 oil consumption on the M550i and M850i at $1,500, and two minor electronics items at $250. The M2 G87’s reliability moves from 87 to 86 and its Guide Score from 95 to 94. No other score moves.

31. Guide Scores moved

    2026-09-22, the Guide Score is rebuilt

    The Guide Score was a blend of two numbers: the best listing’s desirability (60%) and the engine’s reliability rating (40%), version overall-v1. Every car landed between 71 and 86, a full M car could trail an M Performance car on reliability alone, and driving counted for nothing.

    It is now three published scores, desirability, enthusiast and reliability, blended 40 / 35 / 25 with the credit and deduction above, and every model year is scored on its own. Every car’s score moved, so all of them are listed. Listing scores are unchanged.

    Car	Before	Now	Best year
    M2 G87	78	97	2026
    M4 G82	78	95	2026
    M2 F87	79	91	2021
    M3 G80	79	91	2026
    M4 F82	77	84	2020
    M3 E92	83	83	2013
    1 Series M E82	81	83	2011
    M3 F80	79	83	2018
    M240i F22	79	81	2020
    M3 E46	83	80	2006
    M Roadster and M Coupe E36/7	76	80	2000
    M3 E36	81	79	1999
    M3 E30	78	79	1991
    M5 E39	68	79	2003
    Z4 M40i G29	85	78	2026
    Z4 M E85	75	76	2008
    M5 E28	84	74	1988
    M235i F22	80	74	2016
    M4 G83	77	74	2026
    M5 F90	72	73	2023
    M4 F83	77	72	2020
    M340i G20	84	71	2022
    M240i F23	75	71	2021
    M5 G90 / G99	71	71	2026
    M6 E24	83	70	1988
    M8 F92 / F91 / F93	73	70	2025
    M340i G20 facelift	84	69	2026
    M5 E34	83	69	1993
    M240i G42	82	68	2027
    X3 M F97	81	68	2024
    M5 F10	76	68	2016
    M6 F13	72	68	2019
    X4 M F98	81	66	2025
    M440i G22 / G26 facelift	82	64	2026
    M440i G22 / G26	82	64	2024
    X4 M40i G02	82	63	2025
    X3 M50 G45	82	63	2026
    X3 M40i G01	81	63	2024
    M440i G23 facelift	81	62	2026
    M440i G23	81	62	2024
    M5 E60	69	62	2010
    X6 M F96	69	60	2026
    M6 E63	68	60	2010
    M550i G30 facelift	73	59	2023
    X5 M F95	72	59	2026
    M550i G30	74	57	2020
    M850i G15	72	57	2022
    M850i G15 facelift	70	57	2026
    XM G09	70	57	2026
    X1 M35i U11	76	56	2026
    M760i G12	68	56	2022
    X5 M F85	76	55	2018
    X6 M F86	76	55	2019
    X2 M35i U10	76	55	2026
    X4 M40i F26	75	55	2018
    i4 M50 G26	72	55	2026
    X2 M35i F39	76	54	2022
    M235i Gran Coupe F44	76	54	2024
    M850i G14 facelift	72	54	2026
    M235 Gran Coupe F74	74	53	2026
    i7 M70 G70	71	53	2026
    M850i G14	70	53	2022
    i5 M60 G60	71	52	2026
    X5 M50i and M60i G05	70	51	2026
    iX M60 I20	73	50	2026
    X7 M50i and M60i G07	69	50	2026
    X6 M50i and M60i G06	69	50	2026
    X6 M E71	73	49	2014
    X5 M E70	73	47	2013

32. Guide Scores moved

    2026-09-22, engine correction

    Both M240i generations were published with the engine code “N55, then B58 from 2017”. Every US M240i used the B58; the N55 belonged to the M235i it replaced. The engine, the guide text and the issue lists were corrected. Under the previous method this moved the F22 from 83 to 86 and the F23 from 80 to 84.

33. Listing scores moved

    2026-09-22, listing years

    Seven example listings carried a model year that generation never sold in the US. Each moved to the first year that did exist. Five listing scores moved by a point.

34. No score moved

    2026-09-22, accuracy pass

    Twenty specification and wording corrections, including the S55 water pump being mechanical, the M2 CS at 444 hp, the M4 CSL at 543 hp, the G83 M4 at 503 hp, and the M5 CS as a 2022 car. Display only.

35. No score moved

    2026-07-20, naming

    The site took its current name, M Buyers Guide, and the headline score became the Guide Score. Branding only.