M2 F87 Buying/Owning Advice

[Nealxs]

I am heavily considering purchasing a F87 as a daily, and just wanted some advice for those who have owned one please? Likely to be a standard F87 rather than the competition version.

- running costs: are there any significant expenditures to factor in to living with, or checking when buying?
- has anyone fitted an Android auto unit? If so how easy/costly was it? Is it effective?
- what buying advice do you have? Things to look for or be aware of? Certain year to aim for (e.g post '18)?
- MPG: what are the honest local and motorway figures?
- Modifications: should you stay away from modified versions (suspension, remap etc) or is it par for the course?

It is likely I will go for a manual, as it seems the right thing to do, despite loving the ease of a auto.

Thank you in advance for your help.

[Megaflow]

Nealxs said:

I am heavily considering purchasing a F87 as a daily, and just wanted some advice for those who have owned one please? Likely to be a standard F87 rather than the competition version.

- running costs: are there any significant expenditures to factor in to living with, or checking when buying?
- has anyone fitted an Android auto unit? If so how easy/costly was it? Is it effective?
- what buying advice do you have? Things to look for or be aware of? Certain year to aim for (e.g post '18)?
- MPG: what are the honest local and motorway figures?
- Modifications: should you stay away from modified versions (suspension, remap etc) or is it par for the course?

It is likely I will go for a manual, as it seems the right thing to do, despite loving the ease of a auto.

Thank you in advance for your help.

I've got an OG F87 I sort of use as a daily.

Running costs - Servicing is pretty normal, £298 for a minor service & diff oil I paid last time. Major next time will be ~£500 with a plug change I expect. Tyres are damn expensive though, I am currently pricing a set up and I am looking at £750-£1000 for a set depending on make and whether I stick to standard sizes or M4 sizes.
Android - Can't help, mine has got CarPlay.
Advice - Can't really help here, I have not heard of major issues on the OG apart from water can get to the amplifier in the boot, there is a cover designed to stop it, the comp can suffer with a crank pulley issue when modified I believe.
MPG - I get 27 mpg out of it on average, it has been as low as 22 and the max has been 31.
Modifications - Normally I'd steer well clear of modified cars, however, my biggest gripe with it is the damping, there is nothing like enough rebound in the standard dampers and it struggles to keep its rear wheels on the floor, so if you find one with a set of quality aftermarket dampers, Nitron's or Bilstein's, I'd consider that a plus.

You didn't ask, but in terms of reliability, I have had mine coming up to 3 years and done 22k in it and literally the only problem I have had with it was I didn't keep the amp for the cover being added and water found the amp before I did...

[sharifr1]

To get Android Auto you will need to buy an MMI box. Most of these are similar units which are rebranded. I got mine off Ali Express for roughly £140 and it works perfectly. Installed myself and took me circa 4 hours, it would have been shorter but a cable came loose and I had to strip the dash again to resolve.

The diff input seal and output shaft seals are prone to leaking. If you are replacing these, I'd also recommend changing the diff bushes at the same time. I fitted the Powerflex diff bracket whilst the diff seals were being replaced and changed all diff bushes to Powerflex bushes. One of the subframe bolts snapped and I replaced all of them. The old BMW bolts had a design flaw which allowed water to collect and corrode. The bolts were redesigned to prevent this happening again.

The rear springs are prone to snapping. I've recently bought MSS HAS lowering springs for my M2 which I've read reviews on and the consensus are these offer an improved ride than the stock suspension.

Tyres and brakes can be expensive but you can get some good deals on BlackCircles for tyres on occasion. I run Continental Sport Contact 7's and I'm very happy with them.

The OEM brake pads are actually Textar Pads and can be sourced cheaper than going to BMW. Pretty sure I paid £50 for front Textar pads.

I haven't really had anything go wrong in my ownership aside from the diff seals leaking, original battery failing and then general servicing.

They are fantastic cars and great value for money at the minute. I'd recommend joining the M2 Owners UK Facebook page and the UK for sale page as there is a lot of good advice and good cars for sale.

Good luck with your search.

Edited by sharifr1 on Monday 17th February 20:38