Total BMW Magazine need YOUR help!

[Gustav]

Got a mail:

Hi
>
> I'm compiling a buyer's guide to the E39 M5 for the next issue of Total
> BMW magazine here in the UK. I'm interested in hearing owners'
> experiences with the cars and I would be grateful for any information
> you could provide. We will of course add a plug for the bmwm5.com site!
>
> I'm particularly keen to know what to look for on a used M5 but my
> research so far suggests they're pretty bulletproof cars – certainly
> more robust than the current M3...
>
> It would also be useful to know what people consider to be the best
> options and what the running costs are like.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Regards

So we need:

1. Owners experience

2. Estimated running costs

Of course we will be credited in the magazine

Here is the magazine:

http://www.totalbmwmag.com/

[Adam]

Cool free publicity,

I think generally the M5, has few mechanical problems..

But it is expensive to regularly service by a BM dealer...

[hornsch]

Had M5 for about a week and noticed one thing is for sure, it loves drinking the gas!

[Adam]

Humm I have been thinking about how to describe the experience..

2 years old this April and to be honest it has done everything, motorway rocket, back road blaster, and a pretty good track day car for novices such as ourselves..

To put it another way it is the PERFECT car imho...and ill be very sad to see it go

all the best
adam

[Colossus]

I have had my 2001 Beast for about 7 months, having upgraded from an E36 M3 Evo and am constantly amazed at how such a large car can defy the laws of physics for so long! As for things to look out for, I think the mechanicals are probably as bullet proof as they get for a car of this type, but I have had a number of electrical problems, my climate control used to every 10-15 minutes go to full fan with all the vents flapping and then stop again. I have also had the central locking fail on me, which I have a feeling might be about to happen again (one of the locks is closing noticeable later than the rest). The seat memory and key recognition have also played up, but for now appear to be working properly again. My advice it therefore to check all of the electrical systems carefully to ensure that they work as intended, they will be expensive to fix if there is no warranty.

As for options, in my view the Comms Pack is essential for re-sale and is useful to have in any event, the individual audio is for the money it cost new simply not worth the expense and takes up a significant amount of boot space, the full rear blinds pack is quite rare but definately worth looking out for (very neat and so much better than the semi drug baron look of the sun protection glass) and the glass sun roof makes the interior lighter.

As for running costs, of course they are high if you use a BMW dealer (which you need to do if you want to keep the warranty valid) but they are cheaper than running a Porsche!!

Hope this helps and good luck with the article, I will be sure to look it out.

[Adam]

Great write up colossus!

all the best
adam

[Gustav]

Important

[JJJ]

I don't think the M5 should be treated any differently when shopping to buy. The usual check list I follow is;

Full Dealer Service History
Maximum of One Previous Owner
If older than 3yrs check service history for excessive mileage in short periods
Check current condition really carefully, every blemish inside & out tells you how the car has been treated
Try out every electrical switch and function.

Things wrong with the car are not really problems if you you can have them addressed within your deal.

One thing I was intrested in was what warranty claims had been raised with the car ( if you're lucky you can get this out of the dealer if the car was serviced with them ).

Would also be nice to know if the clutch had been replaced on higher mileage cars!

Look forward to the Magazine's issue....

At the end of the day, get and renew the BM Used Car Warranty.

[PhilSeastrand]

I have two comments:

1) I have a very critical friend who has owned many cars in his life. He has stated before that the M5 is the closest car to perfection that he has ever seen. I, of course, agree with him.

2) The M5 is the kind of car that you can drive years after you've bought it and still not be bored.

[MattOz]

Gustav,

I've had my M5 for nealry 5 months now, and have covered about 5k miles in it. It has done most things, from popping to the shops to teh occasional high speed blast on the motorway. It never fails to impress. The finish is better than on my previous BMW (and E46 330d) and I've not smiled so much for a long time when driving!

I see JJJ's point about the number of owners, but to be honest, a car is only as good as it's condition, service record etc. I'd rather have a car with a number of former keepers that was in mint condition, than a one owner car that was a bit tired. One owner a year is not a problem IMHO.

Running costs are OK. I'm getting 23 mpg as an average, but then much of my time is spent on motorways, so I guess this helps. It did drop to 4mpg at Donington, but we'll not talk about that! Servicing will not be too bad. I'll provide my own Castrol, as BMW dealers charge extortionate proces for oil. The other parts will be provided and fitted at the dealer to keep FSH.

Overall, my dealer has been great. I've had the VANOS unit u[dated as it was noisy at startup, and the warranty extended until April 2004. I think that this is probably the most important thing, as a new engine and gearbox can cost as much as a MINI Cooper S. Better safe than sorry.

Downsides to ownership are the constant niggle that if I leave it anywhere it might not be there when I get back, hence the tracker. Insurance is just over £1200 with protected NCD and my girlfriend on the policy.

The brakes are the worst feature of the car. How BMW think that they can put a single piston sliding caliper arrangement on what is effectively a supercar strikes me as daft. Still, a nice AP 6-pot kit will soon see to what I believe to be the only real failing.

God I love this car!

Matt

[totalbmw]

Thanks for all the info people.

Glad to see the cars are so well regarded. The M5 has to be my favourite BMW of all time and I've never been so reluctant to hand a press loan car back as the one I've just had.

So the general opinion is that nothing really goes wrong with them then? Good news for someone buying one at the bottom end of the price scale but bad news for a journalist trying to write a buying guide!


Paul Wager

Editor, Total BMW magazine

[Suretyagent]

Dear Paul:

If you do a little reading on the messageboard you'll find that there are a number of things that go wrong with M5's. Take a minute to read my recent posting, "Check Engine Soon" or do a search on VANOS Problems/Replacement or Oil Consumption.

Since you're now on-line I want to get this off to you but I'll give you a complete write-up from an owners point of view if you wish. Please let me know, I'd be happy to give you a few hundred words on the ownership experience.

Sincerely,

Derek Sadowski

[DavidS]

About MPG:

This tuesday was in a hurry to get myself and the car from Lund, Sweden to Hannover, Germany, but had worked a little bit to much, and slept a bit to little, to be really fit to drive myself.

I usually average 12.5 l/100km, but the ex-taxi driver guy who drove (with me sleeping) averaged 10.7 l/100km. So obviously the driving style is very important.

There are a number of things to be aware of when buying an M5. For starters M5s are much more comfortable than M3s, so M3 don´t tend to be driven so far per year as do some M5s. And as the value of the car depends heavily on its mileage, and as interior wear doesn´t show easily, the risk