S54 M Roadster Yearly Costs

[Announce]

Hello everyone,

Long-time lurker, first time poster. I am looking at purchasing a 2002 BMW M Roadster and am curious what the yearly maintenance typically is? I had heard about $800, and that seemed a bit high to me. The car would only be a summer car for me if it makes a difference.

Regardless of my needs, i looked through the FAQ and did not see anything on this. So what are your yearly maintenance costs on your M Coupe/Roadster?

[jajou318]

I'd imagine if it's only summer you would just be putting gas in it. But there are maintenance costs that roadsters, in general, have. Leaking top/ seatbelt guides and I'm sure other extra

[the alpinweiss]

Depends on many, many things....

1) how many miles are on it?
2) how many miles are you going to drive it every year?
3) where do you live?
4) do you have service records to prove the car was properly maintained?
5) rod bearings
6) valve adjustments been done?

S54s (with the exception of rod bearings and valve adjustments) are no different than other naturally aspirated 6 cylinder cars. Do your own work, find your own independent shop and save loads over taking it to the dealer.

I owned an S54 roadster for nearly 2 years and besides the money I spent on upgrades (coilovers, hardtop etc) I think I spent $300 MAYBE on maintenance.. Bought it with 42,000, sold it with 56,000. When I sold it, it was due for a valve adjustment and inspection 2. Buyer didn't mind (I also basically gave the car away, which I kick myself for whenever I think about it).

Put $6-800 in an account yearly and you will never need to worry about big ticket items...

When I bought my new coupe (S52), I ponied up and hit the 'reset button' on maintenance, changed every single fluid on the car which cost me $340 if I recall correctly, did all the work with another local coupe dork over 4 hours. Never a bad idea to reset the clock on an unknown car..

[Announce]

Thanks for the input so far. There are a few cars i'm looking at but most have 80,000 + miles. Yet I would put less then 5000 a year probably. I also know winterizing the car will cost me close to $50 every year. Are there a lot of unexpected yearly costs? the rod bearings and valves on one car im looking at were recently dealer inspected. What is the typical cost on repairing the seat belt guides?

[fmcfad01]

Depends on many, many things....

1) how many miles are on it?
2) how many miles are you going to drive it every year?
3) where do you live?
4) do you have service records to prove the car was properly maintained?
5) rod bearings
6) valve adjustments been done?

S54s (with the exception of rod bearings and valve adjustments) are no different than other naturally aspirated 6 cylinder cars. Do your own work, find your own independent shop and save loads over taking it to the dealer.

I owned an S54 roadster for nearly 2 years and besides the money I spent on upgrades (coilovers, hardtop etc) I think I spent $300 MAYBE on maintenance.. Bought it with 42,000, sold it with 56,000. When I sold it, it was due for a valve adjustment and inspection 2. Buyer didn't mind (I also basically gave the car away, which I kick myself for whenever I think about it).

Put $6-800 in an account yearly and you will never need to worry about big ticket items...

When I bought my new coupe (S52), I ponied up and hit the 'reset button' on maintenance, changed every single fluid on the car which cost me $340 if I recall correctly, did all the work with another local coupe dork over 4 hours. Never a bad idea to reset the clock on an unknown car..

I agree with this, but want to say the valve adjustment is not a big deal if it's a second car. It will cost you the price of a new valve cover gasket and each individual shim is only a dollar or two (at least they were when I checked last). If you can measure, figure out how many and what size shim you need on weekend one, you can let the car sit across the week, order your parts monday, get them in by friday, and install the shims the following weekend. You don't have to pay the price of the shim kit by any means.

I have not had to do much maintenance at all on my S54 Coupe. All my money has been on mods and tinkering.
The rod bearing job can be a hit to the wallet. Randy can probably chime in better than anyone, but I've somewhat adopted the theory, right or wrong, that if it hasn't blown up yet, it won't. That's not to say it's not smart to do...randy finds spun bearings all the time.

Thanks for the input so far. There are a few cars i'm looking at but most have 80,000 + miles. Yet I would put less then 5000 a year probably. I also know winterizing the car will cost me close to $50 every year. Are there a lot of unexpected yearly costs? the rod bearings and valves on one car im looking at were recently dealer inspected. What is the typical cost on repairing the seat belt guides?

At 80k miles, i'd start to be a little concerned. You'll probably want to flush your fluids, replace belts and tensioners, if the shocks are original, they'll probably die soon, and any and all bushings or ball joints are probably worn out.

Another thing that's important and a costly job if you have someone else do it are the rear sub frame bushings. Again, this is a DIY if you are mechanically inclined and then it only costs you the cost of the bushings.

Last, as you know, just make sure your subframe is in good shape. This is not an S54 specific thing, but something that is costly to address if needed.

[mpire]

You know, MY S54s have been much less maintenance than MY S52/M52/M52TUs in my experience. The water pump and radiator are beefed up and don't require the regular changing, and while the valves do require shimming and adjustment, its really not all that hard to do and you rarely need more than a couple shims. Plus the valve cover gaskets don't seem to last forever on ANY BMWs so its a good excuse to throw a new one in there while you are at it.

That being said, the I always go over everything with a fine tooth comb whenever I change the fluids. I do oil once a year and the other fluids every other year. It doesn't take all that much extra time to flush 3 radiators at the same time as compared to doing one.

If I were you, I would budget in $1000 for the initial inspection and replace any worn bushings, belts, hoses, all fluids, etc that may need attention. Previous owners are rarely very truthful in maintenance histories. Then I would say all you need is fluids and they don't really cost all that much more than the S52 cars. Granted the oil is highway robbery, but it is what it is.

[hexagone]

You know, MY S54s have been much less maintenance than MY S52/M52/M52TUs in my experience.

Same here.

13k on my S54 since April and I only changed the rod bearings upon purchase and have done two oil changes. That was around $1500 total there. By the time I had put 13k on my S52 around the same mileage (100k)- I happened to need a water pump, belts, hoses, radiator and a head gasket done. Not saying this is usual, but that was my experience.

I should also note:

If you're looking to buy an S54 roadster and $200 or even $500 in yearly costs will make or break buying the car, I don't know if the car is for you. If you really love the car, you'll overlook little things that these cars need occasionally. Even the lowest-mileage car will have most of the same nags as one with 75k miles. Buy it to drive it and enjoy it, not as a sensible financial decision like getting a Toyota Camry.

[f50nut]

Anyone buying one of these cars should be prepared for the very rare but expensive repair bill. Last time I priced out a set of OEM headers + cats...well these things add up.

Being a member of this website has cost me more in mods than any maintenance or repairs I've had to do. $800 a year is high, but you'll most likely spend that if you're diligent about fluid changes and replacing all of the little bits of plastic that break from time to time. I am a stickler for replacing broken plastic.

[BimmerBreaker]

If $800 yearly maintenace is expensive for you then I am not sure these are the right cars for you. Not that they cant be maintained for that, but its very easy for a couple things to go wrong and really add up...

[lokijibber]

My required maintenance is $60/ year. That's the oil change. Factor in brakes, tries etc over a 5 year period and it might make 800/year.

The S54 I drive hasn't required anything more than another Z besides the valve adjustment. That cost me an additional $60.

Lurking here will cost you far more than any maintenance. I'm over $10k in this year alone, but having the time of my life.

[A W]

I just drove my S54 for only the 2nd time this summer but the last two years have been costly in terms of maintenance. When I used to drive it 10K miles a year, I never did much more than the required fluid changes. Past two years, new brake rotors and pads but they were due. Front tie rod, alignments. Now I need to fix a leaking shock. i guess this is what happens to an aging car when you don't use it regularly... I still love this car so bilstein and H&R are going in when I have time.

[fmcfad01]

Would highly recommend Konis, bilsteins with h&r springs is incredibly harsh, even compared to something like tc kline coilovers.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4

[A W]

Would highly recommend Konis, bilsteins with h&r springs is incredibly harsh, even compared to something like tc kline coilovers.

Not a daily driver but I have always liked the firmness of the bilstein/H&R combo on prior cars if I didn't go with full coilovers.

they have already been purchased and the front springs have been installed on the struts. Just need to find time to swap onto car. I am dreading the rear as I need to remove the entire rear interior.

[fmcfad01]

Not a daily driver but I have always liked the firmness of the bilstein/H&R combo on prior cars if I didn't go with full coilovers.

they have already been purchased and the front springs have been installed on the struts. Just need to find time to swap onto car. I am dreading the rear as I need to remove the entire rear interior.

There is a good wrote up on how to do that the easiest way possible. Search for rsm.doc or rsm.html

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4

[A W]

There is a good wrote up on how to do that the easiest way possible. Search for rsm.doc or rsm.html

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4

Thanks for the tip, I have already purchased the rogue mounts but will need to remove all the panels to replace, wish I had done this years ago.

[Announce]

Thanks for all the input. And thanks BimmerBreaker, thats my big debate at the moment, im in love with the car - but am not sure if its wise to spend so much on a "summer" car. I can afford to, but whether I want to afford to is another question we all face right haha. Thanks again

[Randy Forbes]

I spend way more on my S-52 than on the S-54. The S-54 I just drive, and I'm fine with that, the S-52 I do things too. Maybe sub conscientiously, I'm trying to make the S-52 more S-54-like...?

[Z3speed4me]

Agree with all, if even having a yearly cost of 500-600 even 800 dollars, for something you are purposely naming a "summer" car, you should probably rethink things. So obviously it's just a weekend toy and not a necessity for you....find me a car that will be considered the fun leisure vehicle and tell me it won't have yearly or unexpected maintenance and I will buy one.

If you can't afford to pony up potential costs every year for a true collector car currently in the making; some things should be rethought...

After my initial "refresh" of my s54 which is adding up fast, going forward I don't anticipate spending any less than 500 a year on it doing things necessary to keep her top notch and in the condition want to, and I am fine with that as I have already told myself it's going to happen, like it or not.

Look at it this way, change some letters around from S54 to C4S and the 500 becomes a trivial amount...