Buying an MCoupe (and the Vanos)

[alexpalix]

Hi I'm thinking of buying an MCoupe and was all set when I came across the Vanos issue, then I thought once replaced this was no longer a problem. But a BMW mechanic has suggested this is not the case. What is the scoop?

Further, and I dont really want to spend the additional cash, does the S54 have the same issue? I mean for the extra money you are almost in 911 territory, or is that heresy?

Also there is a 93k MCoupe with new Vanos, steering rack, clutch, gearbox and tie rods (?) for £14k

Clicky (http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/cars_search.asp?modelexact=1&lid=search_used_cars_full&make=BMW&model=M+COUPE&min_pr=75&max_pr=&mileage=&agerange=&postcode=so171ew&miles=1500&max_records=50&source=0&photo=1&sort=3&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH)

I could spend a bit more or is that a good deal? Is that a normal amount of replacement at c.100k?

Lots of questions, any help gratefully received.

[Broccers]

Can anyone direct me to some definitive answers on the VANOS issue? I am really interested in getting an M Coupe but £3k seems a big risk and I dont know how to quantify the likelihood of it happening. Did you guys just take the plunge? Sorry to change the subject. I have put the question a different way on the thread 'Buying an MCoupe (and the VANOS)' if you want to answer there.

Is the VANOS more reliable on the S54 than the S50?

VANOS is only a problem with the S50.

[MrMicko]

S50 Vanos issue is blown out of portion. It is expensive fix, but in real world it needs to be fixed very very rarely. Mainly people fix it because of noise from worn vanos gears, not because it is failing.

It depends on your money what you should choose, S54's are newer and more expensive, they have DSC and newer engine(that tended to blow up before BMW fixed them on M3's, but not in M Coupes where rev limiter is lower and that should limit the number of engine failures in M Coupes).

I wrote this in hurry, so sorry about language :)

[jamesk]

'Further, and I dont really want to spend the additional cash, does the S54 have the same issue? I mean for the extra money you are almost in 911 territory, or is that heresy? '

I looked at the 911 but if you do a search for 14-25k on the trader you won't get nothing decent. The M coupe seems a steal for the money.