With its high-revving naturally aspirated V8 engine, the E92 M3 remains one of BMW‘s hottest cars ever.
It’s easy to drive on a daily basis, it’s quick, reasonably loud and sufficiently practical, both as a Coupe and a Cabriolet. Meanwhile, its V8 produces 420 PS (414 HP) at a whopping 8,300 rpm and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque.
This being an M3, it surely must cost an arm and a leg to maintain. However, on this episode of Road and Race, we get to hear what one E92 M3 owner had to go through one year of ownership, and we must admit, we’re pretty impressed with how low maintenance costs were.
The British owner ended up spending £34 on coolant, £120 on the oil and oil filter, a further £26 on power steering fluid and £10 on a set of leaf grilles. While he did spend way more on brake components, those don’t actually count as maintenance costs. Besides, if you don’t track the car, you’ll save a lot of money on brake and tire wear.
In total, maintenance and repairs over a year came in at just £180 ($254). Not bad at all for an 11-year old 420 PS V8-powered BMW.
So, as long as you find one in good condition and at a reasonable price, you should be good to go, provided that you can also keep up with the fuel and insurance costs, of course. In the States, on Autotrader, it’s not uncommon to find E92 M3’s with under 100,000 miles (160,000 km) on the clock for around $25,000.