Selling my Porsche for this E92 BMW M3
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TechTranscript
00:00This is a BMW E92 M3, and in this video I'm going to tell you everything you need to know about this car.
00:06Also, I'm going to point out some of the things you need to look out for if you're thinking about buying one,
00:10including one particular thing that if it goes wrong, it's going to cost you a lot of money.
00:14I'm also going to tell you about simple upgrades you can make to make it peak M3 without altering the character too much.
00:22Now, I'm actually thinking about selling my Porsche 911 996 and getting one of these instead,
00:27and we'll find out if I'm actually going to do that at the end of the video.
00:35Let's start this video with a quick history lesson.
00:37So the first M3 was the E30. That had a four-cylinder engine.
00:41Then there was the E36, which had a six-cylinder engine.
00:45Then the E46 also had a six-cylinder engine.
00:47However, in 2007, BMW launched this, the E92, which had an eight-cylinder engine.
00:55Now, it stayed in production until 2013.
00:58As for the pricing, it started from around £50,000, though you can pick one up now from £12,000.
01:04That'll get you a bit of a tatty one. If you want a good one, you're looking around £20,000.
01:08And if you are thinking about buying one of these cars, you need to get its history checked.
01:12You don't want to be buying a car which has outstanding finance or was written off or has got various problems.
01:18And you can check the history of a car using CarVertical.
01:22So all you have to do is just input the details of the car to get the report back.
01:25And I've done it for this particular car. And the good news is, it's all clean.
01:30That's not the case with all cars.
01:32Check out this 4 Series. There's some pictures of it here. It looks really nice.
01:37However, one of the great things about CarVertical is that you can get pictures of if there's been damage to the car.
01:42So if you go back in time with this 4 Series, you can see that actually, look, it was involved in an accident.
01:48And here's pictures of what was done to it.
01:50See, the airbags have gone off. It's damaged on the outside, a bit of a mess on the inside.
01:54Would you want to buy this car if you knew that it once looked like that?
01:58I mean, you'd never know looking at the current photos of it, but that's all a bit scary.
02:03So if you want to check out a car's history, then simply follow the link in the description or my pinned comment to CarVertical.
02:10And if you use my discount code, then you can save some money on a report.
02:15Definitely go check it out.
02:16The heart of the E92 M3 is, of course, its S65 4-litre naturally aspirated V8 engine.
02:24It's basically the same engine as in the E60 M5, only with two less cylinders.
02:31That means it has the same problems as that engine, and more on that later.
02:34As standard, this car has 420 horsepower and 400 newton metres of torque.
02:40Obviously, this one isn't quite standard.
02:42You've probably noticed this rather beautiful carbon fibre intake system from Eventuri.
02:47You see, this car's been lent to me by Imran from Evolve Automotive.
02:51And for more information on Evolve Automotive, I'll put a link to their channel in the description.
02:56If you're thinking about getting your M3 upgraded, you want to check out Evolve.
03:00This has got this intake system plus a remapped ECU and a full exhaust system, and the result is more power.
03:06460 horsepower, to be precise.
03:09So the 0-60 time on this car should be quicker than the standard car's claimed 4.8 seconds.
03:15It should also sound better as well, shouldn't it?
03:17Now let's talk about the design of the car.
03:18Really, the upgrades are the standard 3 Series coupe.
03:21It's just M3 badging and a sportier rear bumper with this cut-out section here.
03:26And, of course, those quad tailpipes.
03:29Here at the side, you get some sporty side skirts, M-specific door mirrors,
03:33which aren't quite as fistable as the very latest M3s.
03:37There's some fake vents here.
03:39Is this where it all started?
03:41Anyway, you get a carbon fibre roof as standard.
03:45Really nice, that.
03:46And 18-inch alloy wheels, though these are the upgraded 19s.
03:49Now, as well as this coupe version of this generation of M3, you could also get a saloon and a convertible.
03:55Here at the front, you've got a more aggressive front bumper.
03:58And this one is fitted with some aftermarket carbon fibre additions,
04:02which actually look really nice.
04:04Another feature of the M3 is the big bulging bonnet,
04:07which goes with the wider wheel arches at the front and back,
04:10and some vents in the bonnet as well.
04:12It is a mean-looking car.
04:13Now, it was facelifted in 2010, but really the facelift was very minor.
04:17However, towards the end of the car's life, you get some special editions like this one here.
04:22So it's a limited edition model.
04:23I think there's only like about 50 sold in the UK.
04:26It's a very, very rare car.
04:28Though it's not quite as desirable as the GTS,
04:32which is pretty much a racing car for the road version of this generation of M3,
04:36with a roll cage, a massive wing, and an uprated engine.
04:40You can get this car with either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic,
04:44which is what this car has.
04:45And if you have this auto, you can change the ferocity of the shifts.
04:49Obviously, this is connected to the rear wheels.
04:51This generation of BMW M3 was rear-wheel drive only.
04:54And it did have a limited-slip differential, which was variable.
04:58The car just took care of that.
04:59But it does make this car easy to slide.
05:03The M3 has uprated brakes over the standard 3 Series.
05:06So you've got larger ventilated discs at the front and the rear and beefier calipers,
05:10though they are only single-piston calipers.
05:13The M3 also gets uprated suspension, so stiffer springs, revised dampers, beefier anti-roll bars.
05:19Though in 2010, a competition version was offered,
05:22which had lowered suspension by 10mm over the standard M3,
05:26and also different settings for the springs and the dampers.
05:29That improved the handling quite a bit.
05:31Also, it came as standard with the otherwise optional adaptive dampers.
05:35This particular car has actually been uprated by Volvo Automotive
05:38with Bilstein adaptive coilovers.
05:41And so it's going to be interesting to see how this feels out on the road.
05:44Here on the inside, I don't think this cabin feels too dated,
05:47considering it's over 10 years old.
05:49The quality is generally pretty nice.
05:51It's got a good sporty feel to it. The layout is clear.
05:54You do have an old iDrive system, which you can control only through a swivel wheel,
06:00but that feels really nice and expensive, actually.
06:02As for the M3 itself, it gets upgraded dash trim, so this carbon fibre effect here.
06:08You also have an M Sport steering wheel, which is quite chunky, but not overly so.
06:12Not like the very latest M cars.
06:14You've got some M badging on it there.
06:16You've got the blue and red stitching as well.
06:19These aren't the original paddles.
06:21The original paddles weren't as nice as these ones. These are really lovely.
06:24You've got an M gear selector down here.
06:27You've got some red stitching on the manual handbrake.
06:31And some more red stitching here and here.
06:33Got some body-hugging electric M Sport seats and some M Sport dials.
06:38And then on the sills, you've got some M badging.
06:41It's nice. It's familiar.
06:43I remember reviewing this car back in the day.
06:45Now, if you're thinking about buying one of these cars, there's a few things to watch out for.
06:49The first is the fact that rear brake calipers can seize, so check for that.
06:53Also, have a look at the tyre wear.
06:55Make sure that it's not uneven, because it could show that the geometry's out.
06:57Or worse still, the car's been crashed.
07:00Though it should be picked up, hopefully, if you do that history check from Car Vertical.
07:05Another thing that you want to think about with this car is the suspension.
07:08After time, it's going to start wearing out, and you're probably going to need to replace the bushings.
07:12When you go for a test drive, just listen out for any knocks, bangs or squeaks when you go over bumps.
07:17If you're buying the manual version of this car, obviously you want to check out the condition of the clutch.
07:21If you're getting the automatic, it's generally pretty tough.
07:23However, if the car's done over 60,000 miles, it's probably worth having a transmission oil change.
07:29While you're having that done, you may as well have the plastic sump replaced as well,
07:33because it can get a little bit brittle over time and start to leak.
07:37The big thing to watch out for, though, on this generation of M3 is rod bearing failure.
07:42And if it happens to your car, it's very, very expensive, because it writes off the car's crankshaft.
07:48You see, the bearings which connect the connecting rods from the pistons to the crankshaft can wear,
07:54and then they seize onto the crankshaft and write it off.
07:57Brilliant.
07:58Now, these rod bearings were from a 62,000-mile car.
08:02Look, worn out.
08:04So the thing to do is, if you're buying one of these things,
08:07is to have the rod bearings replaced just as a preventative measure,
08:12as it could save you a lot of money in the long run.
08:14And if you want to get that done to your car,
08:16you should just contact Evolve, and they'll do the job for you.
08:18I'll put a link in the description.
08:20Okay, let's see what this M3 is like to drive.
08:23So I'm going to press the power button, because we want all the power.
08:27And I'm leaving the dampers in the softest setting, because this road is a bit bumpy.
08:32Oh!
08:34Oh, my God!
08:37What a noise.
08:38That carbon-fibre air intake.
08:43Oh!
08:45That sounds epic.
08:47Not going to lie, that sounds better than my Porsche 911.
08:51It doesn't produce peak torque until around 3,900 rpm,
08:55so low down, you wouldn't know how fast it is, but it builds, it builds, it builds,
09:00and it revs to 8,000.
09:02It's just nuts.
09:03I've only played with half the revs.
09:05Oh, what an engine.
09:08Gear shift is really, really quick.
09:10There's a bit of a delay in the response in terms of changing down a gear,
09:13but once it's changing, it's a quick change.
09:15There we go, listen to that.
09:17Oh!
09:19Oh!
09:21Oh!
09:22Whoa, that's so nice.
09:24Right, straight bit of road.
09:26Let's not launch it as such, but just do a quick pull away.
09:31Struggling for traction.
09:34All the revs, all the...
09:36Whoa!
09:37Whoa!
09:39All I've done so far is talk about the engine, haven't I?
09:42There's more to this car than the engine.
09:44The chassis is pretty lovely as well.
09:46I like the steering.
09:47Hydraulic, not electric, like the latest M3,
09:51so the feel is pretty decent,
09:53and I quite like the actual steering rate.
09:56It just feels a perfect balance.
09:57Maybe this was the time when they really had the balance
10:00between responsiveness of steering and the feel just about right.
10:05It's quite interesting comparing this to the M3 that I daily.
10:10It feels like a smaller car.
10:12It's not actually that much lighter,
10:15but it's just a little bit more agile.
10:17However, it doesn't feel quite as planted.
10:20Maybe that's because it's not quite so wide.
10:22The suspension as well.
10:24I'm picking up bits in the road, the bits of imperfections,
10:26but it's not bad.
10:27The ride's actually fairly decent,
10:29but then it has been fully overhauled, the suspension.
10:31Do you know what?
10:32I'm going to try it in sports mode.
10:34Well, bloomin' heck!
10:36Sometimes with sports modes on suspension,
10:38you don't notice a difference.
10:39With this, you absolutely 100% do dial that back to comfort mode
10:44because that was just a little bit too bumpy.
10:47Great for the track because it keeps the body completely flat.
10:50Though, to be fair, even in comfort setting,
10:52there's hardly any lean,
10:54which means you can just trust the car going through the corners,
10:57and it just feels nice and stable.
11:00The brakes are fine.
11:01They're not really standout.
11:03They're fairly consistent.
11:04They're not grabby.
11:05You don't have to really dive into them to get them to stop.
11:08Plenty of performance for the road, at least.
11:11I hear that on the track, they do start to fade after a while.
11:14If you get one of these cars, definitely upgrade the brakes,
11:16especially if you're taking it on track.
11:18Regardless of whether you're going to track this car,
11:20get this air intake because the noise.
11:25It's so good.
11:36I love it.
11:37I love the throttle response as well.
11:40Naturally aspirated for the win, I'm telling you.
11:42It doesn't have the slug of torque of my turbocharged M3,
11:46but that throttle response and that noise
11:49and all those revs.
11:55You can't get bored of that.
11:57Wow.
12:01Then what do I think of the E92 M3?
12:04It's a lovely car.
12:05Fabulous engine.
12:07Handles really well, especially this car with all the upgrades.
12:10Would I swap my Porsche 911 996 for one, though?
12:14It's a tough one.
12:16This is quicker, a bit sharper,
12:18but overall, I still prefer my Porsche.
12:21I hope you enjoyed the video.
12:22If you did, give it a like.
12:23If you're thinking about buying a used car,
12:25make sure you check out its history with CarVertical.
12:28Link is in the description or in my pinned comment.
12:30And don't forget to use my discount code
12:32to save yourself some cash.