2000 M Roadster Q's

[Razerx]

Hello everyone - I new to BMW's and am very exited to be looking at a 2000 M Roadster. The car is from Florida and has 110K miles, but looks very clean. What areas of the car should I be paying particular attention to when I look at it? I've heard about water pump issues at 60K miles. Are there any other engine/transmission concerns I need to be aware of with 110K miles on the clock?

[MarcoZandrini]

Does the car have maintenance records? If not, run away from the car. Any BMW with the letter “M” in the model number requires a higher level of maintenance than non-M cars.

[White94RX]

This is where a pre-purchase inspection at a reputable BMW shop or dealer is well worth the time and money.

[BimmerBreaker]

Does the car have maintenance records? If not, run away from the car. Any BMW with the letter “M” in the model number requires a higher level of maintenance than non-M cars.

Ridiculous and almost categorically false, especially for a 2000 M Roadster with the S52 which is just a cammed and stroked M52...


OP the Z3 section of this forum has lots of helpful info: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?137-Z3-(E36-7-E36-8)

Not a lot to go wrong on those, check the rrat trunkfloor and diff mount and cooling system and suspension will likely need some work at that mileage. But none of that is expensive

[Razerx]

OK, so I bought the car. I did take it into a BMW service center to have it checked out before I bought the car. The engine and transmission feel real good. The car pulls with good power through the entire 5-speed. This is my first BMW (Yea!) so I'm sure I'll be on the forum with lots of questions and looking for advice. I've already put 900 miles on the car and need to put a little TLC into it. The battery went down to 11 volts so I put a new AGM battery into it just so I could start fresh with the car and I think a new alternator will soon follow.

My first question is relating to the positive battery cable. There is a 1/4 x 1" yellow box next to the cable clamp with a wire coming out of it that was cut off. I found the remains of a (brown?) cut wire on the passenger side in the trunk as well. Is this the wire that went to the yellow box next to the battery clamp? What is the purpose of the yellow box and wire? Thanks.

[MarcoZandrini]

That box is likely the BST which disrupts power from the battery when the car is in an accident. This prevent the fuel pump from running.