had one up until recently...they are very very good cars, end of! much nicer to live with than a cossie.

Vanos issues are basically a mechanical rumbling/grinding type noise from the vanos units (there on the front of the engine) ....when you rev the car above 2k and let it settle you'll hear a nasty noise if it's fucked.

check it when hot and cold too.

you can check with BMW if it's had them replaced at any point, but tbh they can go at any time, whether it's a new unit or not....defo change the vanos filter every few thousand miles though, there only a couple of quid and take seconds to change.As for price, i guess about £1500 to replace..it's quite an obvious noise though.

As for acceleration, no they don't feel that much different to an M3, but once over about 5k they really pull strong....it's very linear and easily gets you to 130mph+....but still feels extremely smooth and sturdy.

i really really regret selling mine!