[VETTEPRO]

I came across a good deal on a loaded 2018 M5C and am wondering if there is anything I'm not getting by going that old.
This one has the Carbon brake package, Parking assistance plus, Driving Assistant Plus, carbon fiber mirrors and spoiler, night vision, Bowers and Wilkins, etc.
I definitely want a 2020 or older so I can tune it. I just don't see a lot of info specific to the 2018 model.
Are the Carbon Ceramic brakes noisy? I have read that they can be. I had them on one of my Z06s and they were dead quiet.
Thanks

[LouK]

The competition didn't come out until the 2019MY. Someone might have up-badged it. Other than the chrome strip on the door handles I didn't come across much difference between 2018 and 2019.

[n33d4speed]

I got a great deal on a 2018 w/ 17K miles through a BMW dealer. Had full records, maint history etc. Saved a ton of money that I have been putting back into it to make it exactly how I want it. And, as said above, comp did not come out until 2019.

[windtendo]

I believe the Competition model didn't begin until 2019. The first year 2018s were only First Edition and Base M5. The iDrive tech has changes thru the years, and the suspension has been revised for the LCI refresh. Carbon ceramic brakes are hands down the way to go. If the extensive forum posts are any indication, the steel brakes are the ones that squeal like hell.

[Greer]

Yeah, as others have said no Competitions for 2018, does the car have a Competition badge on it? If it does that would be a warning sign and I would have a thorough pre-purchase inspection completed before I moved on the car.

[VETTEPRO]

Well, that settles that. I wasn't really even looking but came across this one. I thought it would be something fun to build. I can't see myself getting anything but the Comp, though. Fake badges aren't going to cut it.
Thanks for setting me straight.

[DryBark]

Originally Posted by VETTEPRO

Well, that settles that. I wasn't really even looking but came across this one. I thought it would be something fun to build. I can't see myself getting anything but the Comp, though. Fake badges aren't going to cut it.
Thanks for setting me straight.

What color is it? There really isn't much difference between comp and base engines other than 17hp, and if you're going to swap suspension, add CF trim, etc you won't notice much diff in the end. But yeah, if you must have comp you need to start with 2019.

[pbonsalb]

2018 can be a good value. All years are great cars. Comp suspension is stiffer, enough that some who live in areas with bad roads complain. In 21, the Comp struts were revalved and are more comfortable. These are complex cars and will be expensive to maintain and repair out of warranty and 2018s are out — even CPO will be out in months. Aftermarket warranties can cost $5-10k.

I have an 18 CPO but have not needed the warranty and am a DIYer. I have installed H&R springs, Comp motor mounts, Dinan monoballs, light 20x10 and 11 wheels, an engine ECU tune, transmission ECU tune, water/meth injection, downpipes, charcoal delete and high flow air filters, and have the Dinan turbo inlets and rear toe kit on order. That is probably all I will do for mods.

[Maverik259]

Suspension. Age. Chrome door handles. Coolant tank failure. Squeaky/dust brakes. Other than that bullet proof.

[M5KEITH]

2018 no comp but 2018 I believe are slightly faster than new models. When they advertised the new F90 for 2018 0-60 times were 2.8 seconds. While if you look now they advertise 3.2 seconds. That is a big difference maybe rollout vs non but not .4 seconds.

I am not sure what is true or faster just stating what I have seen.

[RichF90M5C]

Originally Posted by M5KEITH

2018 no comp but 2018 I believe are slightly faster than new models. When they advertised the new F90 for 2018 0-60 times were 2.8 seconds. While if you look now they advertise 3.2 seconds. That is a big difference maybe rollout vs non but not .4 seconds.

I am not sure what is true or faster just stating what I have seen.

What they advertise and what they do are completely different. There’s plenty of videos on YouTube of LCI’s running 2.8 or less.

[VETTEPRO]

I rented 2022 for a couple of days this past weekend. It is a wonderful car but the digital dash was very confusing.
On my F85, I can change the suspension settings, throttle settings, or steering settings independently with the touch of a button. I never figured out how to do this on the LCI. It seemed like you had to go through multiple menus to do this.
Even when I hit the red M buttons, the dash did not indicate whether I was in M1 or M2 mode.
When I made any adjustments to the seat, the display changed to a screen asking me if I wanted to save this position. It interrupted navigation, or media, or whatever was being used at the time.
The head-up display would constantly change from what would be "M Mode" in my X5M to the standard display that only showed the speed and gear. It was just weird. I had to keep hitting the M Mode button on the console to get it back where it was.
All in all, I'm glad I've settled on a 2019 or 2020. (besides the tuning aspect)
Maybe this car was just Fd up. It had a crapload of codes in it. I scanned it with Bimmecode and cleared out a bunch. It had an "emergency calling" message that kept dinging and interrupting everything. I couldn't clear that and it was pissing me off.

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

"On my F85, I can change the suspension settings, throttle settings, or steering settings independently with the touch of a button."

This used to be the case in the pre-LCI F90 as well. Unfortunately those three buttons have been replaced by a single "setup" button now to toggle those modes. I also preferred the previous setup. Pressing the setup button will show what settings you're in on the digital dash, and allow you to adjust them from there on the LCI.


"Even when I hit the red M buttons, the dash did not indicate whether I was in M1 or M2 mode."

It's possible that information displayed on the bottom row where the M1 and M2 indicators were set to display something else (i.e., battery related indications). You can toggle the bottom portion of the display on both pre-LCI and LCI.


"When I made any adjustments to the seat, the display changed to a screen asking me if I wanted to save this position. It interrupted navigation, or media, or whatever was being used at the time."

This screen will interrupt what you're doing on both pre-LCI and LCI. It's marketed as a feature to help you know what button you're touching (i.e. headrest up and down) before you actually move something with the button since it has a capacitive sensor. I'm not 100% sure on this but I believe that you can adjust the setting to not have the seat adjustment screen pop up.

EDIT — Upon further inspection, you can in fact disable the pop up on the LCI at least.

"The head-up display would constantly change from what would be "M Mode" in my X5M to the standard display that only showed the speed and gear."

There were likely different display views assigned to each of the M1 and M2 buttons. You can configure your own for each one. Since you could not see the M1 and M2 status indicator, you probably did not realize that that was what was changing the view.


I'm telling you all these things because it seems like you got a "bad" car to show you what the F90 is really about. If it's possible, I'd inquire about an extended test drive with a dealership car so you can get a true feel for the car. I wouldn't let your less than optimal experience draw you away from the platform completely.

[vanos84]

Only thing I would consider an actual weakness is the coolant surge tank failure. BMW needs to address this issue pronto or it's going to snowball. The tanks they are replacing with look identical so this could end up being a constant ordeal for owners. There's a huge thread on this topic at the top of this forum.