Which M should I buy?

Pick what the car is for, your budget and how much repair risk you can live with. You get the three cars that fit best on that list, each with its cost to own a year and its chance of a big bill.

Your shortlist: tuning, under $50,000, any risk risk

  1. BMW M440i G23 Convertible pre-LCI

    16th of 69 on the tuning list, likely 14th to 19th

    67Guide Score for 2022Goodabout $2,055 a year to own
    Why it fits
    It scores 78 for this purpose, 16th of 69; its strongest parts are drive feel (69) and ownership (66). Best year to buy: 2022.
    Cost to own
    About $2,055 a year ($1,409 to $3,240)
    Chance of a bill over $10,000 in five years
    under 0.1%
    Typical price
    About $48,491, the middle of 5 permitted prices ($41,987 to $57,000)
  2. BMW M440i G22 / G26 pre-LCI

    17th of 69 on the tuning list, likely 15th to 20th

    68Guide Score for 2022Goodabout $2,055 a year to own
    Why it fits
    It scores 78 for this purpose, 17th of 69; its strongest parts are drive feel (69) and weight (67). Best year to buy: 2022.
    Cost to own
    About $2,055 a year ($1,409 to $3,240)
    Chance of a bill over $10,000 in five years
    under 0.1%
    Typical price
    About $42,107, the middle of 4 permitted prices ($34,016 to $50,498)
  3. BMW M850i G15 / G16 pre-LCI

    20th of 69 on the tuning list, likely 20th to 48th

    66Guide Score for 2019Goodabout $3,031 a year to own
    Why it fits
    It scores 77 for this purpose, 20th of 69; its strongest parts are drive feel (70) and ownership (68). Best year to buy: 2019.
    Cost to own
    About $3,031 a year ($2,033 to $4,565)
    Chance of a bill over $10,000 in five years
    under 0.1%
    Typical price
    About $44,153, the middle of 3 permitted prices ($43,000 to $56,500)

Of the 69 cars on this list, left out: 26 with no permitted price yet, 29 whose typical price is over $50,000.

See the whole tuning list

Where the prices come from

The typical price is the middle of the asking and sold prices we recorded from sources whose terms allow this use (bonhams.com, classiccars.com, driveway.com, enthusiastauto.com), read October 27, 2026 to October 28, 2026, with 11 auction results sold between 2015 and 2023. A car fits a budget when its typical price is at or under it. 43 of the 69 generations have 3 or more such prices; a car with fewer shows “no permitted price yet” and is left out once you set a budget. Asking prices sit above what cars sell for, so treat a car near your line as a stretch.

Each list is ordered by the Guide Score’s parts weighted for that purpose (method v5-final.14), so a car can lead a list with a lower overall Guide Score; the score shown beside each car is its overall one. It is an editorial score, built only from permitted, sourced data. The cost to own is for a car bought at five years old, or its own age if older, kept five years. How it works.