new member - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

theodoordegrote · 21st October 2009, 17:13

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I've been visiting this forum a lot since I bought my 1993 m5 touring last January but never posted. Reading the thread started by daytonaM5 about a dying forum, I figured I should pull my finger out and introduce myself and say hello.

I have been driving a 1993 325 touring before I bought this beautiful peace of engineering. I needed something bigger because I’ve become a dad in July last year. Loads of kids’ stuff need to be hauled around. As I love the e30 touring a logical step was a 5 series touring. The Dutch tax system has an interesting tax regime for 15 year cars or older so it had to be a e34. Originally I was looking for a 540 because it matches my driving style better (easy going and high speed on the freeway) and usually with a bigger options list too. I looked in ffice:smarttags" />Germany at first but I couldn’t really find a good example there at that time. Then I found two advertisements for M5t’s quite near to Amsterdam (pretty bizarre considering there were only 891 M5 tourings built). One of them had only 110k the other 240k. I checked them both out. I felt there was something strange with the one that only had 110 k because the seller said the car had never had a respray but there were some small shortcomings in the paint on more than one panel. These were tiny but I was sure an handbuilt M5 would never have left the factory with them. On top of that, the leather interior looked like it was restored and I felt that was pretty odd for a car that had only 110 k on it. So, along with some other things, I lost confidence in the seller although, apart from the interior, it seemed in very good shape. The other seller was clearly an enthusiast that loved the car. His car was completely in original state and the interior looked like it barely had 110k on it. It was clearly loved by all preceding owners. He told me immediately that the car was fully resprayed in the past (before he got it) and that the engine was completely overhauled at 200 k. It was fully BMW serviced up to 200k with the last stamp mentioning the overhaul. After he bought the car, the seller serviced the car himself of which he had many receipts. I had the car checked by the ANWB (Dutch AAA). They found the car had no (serious) damage history and was in very good shape but for two major problems: there was too much carbon monoxide in the exhaust and they thought that the differential had had its best time. It made a particular gnawing sound when cornering. I then went to the BMW specialist to whom I always bring my e30 for service. They didn’t make too much of the diff but were worried about the CO. They figured that as there where no obvious faults, the car might have had another chip installed etc and that it would therefore be impossible to get it all sorted out for a reasonable price (changing the chip to oem might cause serious problems if the other chip was part of other changes in the engine like cams etc.). The seller assured me however that everything was original and nothing had been tampered with. So I made the deal that if the he would sort out the CO problem and he would be able to explain the nature of the problem, we would buy the car even though I was still a bit worried about the diff. He brought to car to a BMW dealership specialized in M cars who found the problem: two faulty coil packs. In their search they made al necessary adjustments including the valves. The bill: € 1.200. When I picked up the car, the seller was almost in tears. I figured he was selling for financial reasons and felt sorry for him. It is not the kind of car you want to have when things go awry financially.

Since I bought the M5 I had it fully serviced and asked to have the differential oil changed (because of what I read on this great forum). This solved the gnawing sound of the diff. Probably the seller changed the oil and filled it up with oil lacking the necessary additives for the limited slip components. I have to mention that I was extremely happy that this problem was solved. There was another problem though: one of the front EDC shocks started to leak shortly after I bought the car. At first I wasn’t aware it had EDC because the car didn’t have the Nurenburgring option. An expensive lesson was learned that all 3.8 M5’s originally have the EDC system. This was also when I found out that the seller had not been entirely straight with me because the EDC computer module had been disconnected, probably because it had been giving fault codes. However, after the replacement of both front shocks and the computer was connected, the EDC system worked very nicely, making the car a lot more comfortable in town and on bad roads yet firm while driving at high speeds and when cornering strongly. Other things that were done are the rear subframe bushes, the top mounts of the rear shocks (it made a slight clunking sound in the back), part of the front suspension which the garage called “reaction arms” and a new set of ps2’s. Also some paintwork was done as there was a beginning of rust underneath the driver’s door. I had all the undersides of the other doors checked and where necessary, touched up.

I have a couple of remaining problems: the car vibrates when braking medium hard and also a bit at around 90 km/h. There used be a stronger vibration before at around 160km/h but the new tires and/or the new reaction arms solved that entirely. The second is that the throttle feels like an on/off switch at times while driving in town or in heavy traffic, making it hard to drive without using the clutch constantly. At times it is so bad that it can start bucking when clutch is not timely disengaged. I know I should take in account the sporty nature of the car but at other times it is suprisingly smooth. I also had the exact same problem with the M20 engine of the 325. I have never been able to solve it. Is there anything I can look for? The third is that I have the feeling that there is a bit of a lack in torque at rpm’s below 4.000. Above that it takes of very strongly. I read in this forum that this could be because of a faulty resonance flap so I will ask the garage to change all the related vacuum hoses next time it will go in for service. Am I right that the 3.8 does not do the resonance flap check after starting the engine? A fourth problem is the windshield wipers. These hit the driver's side A pillar when turned on their highest speed. I have understood that this is a common problem of the e34 and not an easy fix.

Besides these slight problems, the car is an absolute feast and in excellent mechanical condition. I love the incredible engineering, especially considering the fact that it was designed three decennia ago, along with the looks and build quality. I also love the fact that that it has so much potency without it showing on the outside (all badges have been removed, but still present). One interesting fact about this particular car is that it has a sonderlackierung: mauritius blue without the two tone color of the spoilers.

I hope that this is the kind of story that daytonaM5 wishes to read more often. I share the feeling that it is a lot nicer to read about mechanical problems and the way they are solved instead of sales advertisements.

I tried to attach a picture of the 325 together with the M5 but not sure if it worked.

Cheers,
Theodoor

P.s. If anyone is looking for a BMW specilialist in the Amsterdam area, I can highly recommend Beatrix BV in Badhoevendorp. They don't talk much but they have a great amount of knowledge and do excellent work on your car for a more than reasonable price.