After owning my M5 for a year and a half, I don't think I can say I regret spending the money on some maintenance items that my car needed. I've also spent some money on a used transmission without the second gear synchro issue that the original had. The money that I've spent certainly pales in comparison to what has been spent by other board members on engine rebuilds and new BMW rebuilt engines. I think for some owners money is a non-issue and they will spend whatever it takes to keep the car in top shape. I'm sure that the owner wanting to keep the car another ten years find it easier to spend money than those that want to sell the car in the next one or two years.
What is your limit for maintenance/repairs before you throw in the white towel and say this is just not worth it anymore?
Good question. I don't have a BMW yet but I guess it applies to every car... to me, it depends a lot on what the car is worth. If the repair costs more than the car could be sold for, I would not spend the money to repair. If the car is worth $10-15k and the repair is $2k, I'd do it but be very weary about upcoming repairs. I can't afford to spend such amounts routinely so knock on wood, those things wouldn't happen very often. Right now, my 2000 LHS needs a $700 A/C repair job and I won't do it since the car is worth like $3k and I'm going to get rid of the car next year but the same repair on my other car or the M5 I'm getting would be done right away, most likely.
When I bought my Touring I knew the only way i'd be able to sell it would be to ship it back to Faz ( U.K. ) to prep for resale. This, obviously isn't an option so I knew from day 1 that it was till ***** do us part !
Being the only M5 Touring in Africa most people ( 90% ) don't know what the car is all about....so when they see it what they see is a very neat 525i
Based on this I'm prepared to spend whatever it takes to keep her in top nick since its a long term relationship.
I'm currently in the process of setting up a business which has severely impacted on my cash flow.....as such my car is currently in semi-hibernation until things begin to pick up.
When I bought the car she was in almost perfect shape and Faz and I spent about 2000pounds getting her ready for her new home.....till date total spent on the car must be in excess of 10,000 pounds....and she still requires more.. ......but as i stated she'll get it when its available because :
I don't believe there is any car like the E34 M5....all the new cars just don't do it for me.....consequently it's my intention to always have one at hand......as a matter of fact, once funds permit, i'll start to search for a late model 6 speed !
The fulminant decision is to : Should I invest to maintain relationship with my present M5 ; or should I invest to acquire the new M5 or alternative comparible ?
Now substitute Friend /Wife /Partner for "M5" & then re-consider your Question !
The Doobie Brothers once advised : " If you can`t be with the one you love . Then love the one you are with !"
no further comment from me ! (oh , I must stop drinking this red wine )
The late Jim Morrison once said "break on through to the other side"... I think this also applies to the E34 M5. Although resale values in no way warrant the repair and maintenance costs, the historical significance, driving experience, and sheer cool factor certainly do. In this case, I've let the cost of repair "break on through to the other side" of resale value...and would have no problem doing it again. That said, I no longer drive the beast daily as I did while getting it back up to snuff, so the repair costs shouldn't mount up as quickly. It's also worth noting that I am in no way one of those previously mentioned chaps for whom money is no object. I think I'll go for a drive
The question is do you want to run one of the finest sports saloons ever built which in its dayt cost in excess of $60,000 or do you want a mass produced car outside your house which gets you from A-B but will never raise the pilse or make you want to drive the extra 100 miles to wherever you want to go!
Yes there is a finite line between a reasonable amount and just wasting money. If you are going to eep the car for a good few years then a few thousand each year is not stupid, but if you are just looking to enjoy the car for 12-20 months then spending much beyond a service / tyres etc is not a wise investment.
Most of us on here are passionate about our cars and many make sacrifices to keep them alive. It is not about how much you can afford, it is more about how much do you need to spend to enjoy a wonderful mechanical object!
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"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn-out,shouting, 'Holy sh*t! What a ride!'"
I'm always having to resist spending more on the car, but, I'm only 10 months into ownership :lol: and broke into the other side very quickly, but, also got a low low price (height of the financial crisis weeks), so still happy with my spend to date, and no rush to sell.
When my engine blew I had to ask myself some serious questions. The cost of a rebuild was of £5k and that was to do the bare minimum to get the car back on the road. With values of 3.6's being around the £3-4k it seemed to be madness to repair the car.
BUT.. I had already spent £20k on my car and all the running gear and paint had been overhauled it made no sense to me to walk away from what I had started and do it all over again.
Yes the new engine was very expensive and yes now I'm totally broke but I have one of the all time great super saloon cars and it looks and feels like new. There is nothing I would replace it with.
My car will get what it needs, If I don't have the money I'll have to find it and the car will sit in the garage until I do.
I am a long long way from being a rich man. I work in an NHS hospital and I'm paid around the same amount as a specialist nurse. Money is very definitely an object to me. I make sacrifices to run my car - no holidays for 3 years as one example.
When I first bought the car I said to myself 'if it starts to cost me loads of money I'm going to get rid of it' but these wonderful machines get under your skin and I'm going to keep mine forever, whatever it costs.
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'90 E34 M5 3.6 Sterling Silver
'03 E39 540i Sport Touring Mora Mettalic
'95 E34 525i Petrol Mica SOLD
'05 KTM 990 superduke
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Dan Kelly For This Useful Post:
1day (27th October 2009), dscam (27th October 2009), Josco010 (29th October 2009)
I think honestly I went in blind with this relationship with my car. It was one of those, I want that car so I got it. Then afterwards found out about. Never test any nor really read up about them! But I have not looked back in anger from my nearly 5 year relationship. There have been lows, had the car forsale twice but lucky for me she has never sold and after seeing alot of these cars she is in very good shape compared to others. She has always had dealer parts, I have a very good relationship with my dealer and have passed this on to others, I have met great people through this board and others. If your lucky to have a good car to start with then it's abit easier to maintain.
I suppose i am the other side now and know what's been done or what needs doing which is a better place to be rather than just throwing money at the car. But i still think if something major went I won't end the relationship as she has brought alot to my life, friends, smiles and good memories!
Thanks
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Remember you can't race your house, you can sleep in your car!
I can only echo Burton's thoughts. I wanted one for many years. I looked at lots of M5's in adverts, but only viewed two of them before buying mine.
I think it's a case of heart before head lol... and it's difficult to be restrained after driving one..
Due to early accident damage (poorly repaired) Faz had to straighten my front crossmember to get the geometry correct after replacing all my suspension, but I now KNOW it's all bang on correct, and it handles superbly, and it's all new, so I can virtually forget about it now.
If I'd known what I know now, I'd would have saved up a bit more cash and bought an LE 3.8 with no accidents, but that would have cost twice as much as my 3.6 and I'd probably still have to spend lots of cash on it.
I'm just praying my engine doesn't go bang. I've had it Faz'd so it should hold out for a lot longer though
......but as i stated she'll get it when its available because :
but these wonderful machines get under your skin and I'm going to keep mine forever, whatever it costs.
SOLD 
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