2003 BMW M3 oil change advice

Minus any other good information, I had to go to the local BMW dealership and buy the recommended Castrol 10w60 synthetic at $9.50/ qt.. I checked every parts store around and couldn't find it; one place online wanted $11.00/qt.. Fortunately, living in Indianapolis and having a brother on the race circuit, he's going to speak with the MobilOne engineering rep via Penske Racing this May and get the straight scoop on an alternative MobilOne product that will (hopefully) be available. When I find out, I'll post the low-down.

yebbut we've already told you that Mobil1 doesn't meet the BMW spec and given you info on some that do. BTW, in the UK the BMW oil is over $20 a quart.

My M3 is different to say my 325 but then on the other hand it's also pretty much the same. The sump is in the same place, the oil filter is in the same place. The only difference is the oil filler is on the opposite end of the cam cover.

If you use google you'll pretty much find all the information you need. You might want to go over to m3forum.net where the poster there are, um, different to those here.

If it's the same as the ordinary long life, 12.50 gbp a litre at mine - plus VAT. So say $35 a quart. ;-(

Good move. That at the moment is the only oil that meets the BMW specifications for this engine. The M3 engine had some early teething problems with bearings and the oil pump, and the TWS (Ten-W-Sixty) was spec'd for it due to that. On the early cars - '01-03 - there is a 6 year 100k warranty on the internally lubed parts of the engine - valid IF you use the correct oil.

Join the BMW-CCA - most dealers give from 10-20% off on parts for CCA members. A few oil changes pay for the membership.

No, it's the special M oil FFS! ;-)

Well, you said the spec had changed and I wondered if BMW had standardised on it across the range - that's all.

If you live in Indianapolis and have a BMWCCA membership, the dealer (Dreyer and Reinbold) has the cheapest price on the regular oil: $4.80 a quart! I don't know how much discount they give on the 10W60 oil, but it would certainly be worth asking.