Like so many people and threads before me, I too am looking to purchase an M5, but from reading about all the maintenance, it's kind of scary. I know that you guys advise to purchase a car with lower mileage even though it will cost more initially, rather than worry about more warranty/maintenance down the road. But my question is, what year is your car, and what is your monthly/yearly maintenance cost for it? What is the biggest job you had to do on the car? From what I've read, it seems like 2000's and even some 2001's are cars that one would want to stay away from. I need the car to be reliable and it will most likely be daily driven depending costs, if not daily, at least 3 days a week then. Thanks in advance guys!
Forgot to ask, what matters more, Year or Mileage? And which year had the most engine/VANOS problems? I know about the usual maintenance such as brakes, rotors, seals, gaskets and suspension bushings, thats understandable and it comes with mileage. But I would much rather have a car that has no engine problems with the carbon build up and the other very very costly items like the vanos and whatnot.
Last edited by myztikal47; 16th January 2008 at 06:36.
The cost is about 3-4X greater when someone else does it.
There is no preferable year when it comes to failures or maintenance- The issues that affect 2001s will just affect 2003s, as a class, two years later.
Also, you need to be clear on what is scaring you- 'maintenance; or 'repairs'. Maintenance is pretty easy...
Here are the top of my had intervals:
Brakes 30-40k
Suspension 50k (Bushings, etc)
Engine 50k (Plugs, MAFs, O2s, CPS)
Oil 5k
Filters 10k
Fluids 50k (Diff & Tranny)
Clutch ?
There is NO way to budget and plan for failures...
my 00 has been out of warranty for a couple of years, no major repairs over that time. Oil and filters, a pair of tires, some brake pads.
Recently needed a thermostat, had the dealer do it for about $600, could have probably done it myself, didn't want to, didn't have the time, didn't want the hassle.
Now it's at my independent shop, went in for a tech inspection for a track weekend, and brake fluid flush (again, yeah, could have done it myself, but makes more sense for me to let them do it). Needs rear diff mounts (ah, yeah, i do have a clunking noise from the rear), and i added to the list some other "oh, while you're at it, could you...." to the tune of $2k +/- a couple hundred.
Funny, i did actually ask the dealer to look at the suspension regarding the clunking, they could not duplicate it, and the suspension looked fine, other than aftermarket parts.
I haven't spent much on it for a long time, so it's reasonable.
__________________
Mike
91 M5 Alpine White II, Silver Gray 3/90 production
17x8/17x9 M system with PS2, 20mm touring roll bar; Ground Control Coilovers; EAT Chip, CD43; bmw/nardi blackline steering wheel, 3.8 Cam Gears
08 535i / 6 speed
Space Gray; Gray; Sport/Premium/Nav
00 M5 Ti Silver; Imola/black sportiv --Sold
Engine:
Supersprint Headers, Dinan CAI kit and MAFS, Throttle Bodies, Cams, Ported heads, Exhaust, Custom dinan software, Evosport Pullies, Dinan clutch and lightened flywheel; Ignition solutions plasma coils
Suspension:
Dinan Stage 3 with front and rear Strut Tower Braces, Beastpower Sway bar brackets, Dinan Wheels with 275/285 PilotSport, X5 Thrust arm bushings, Stoptech 355mm 4 piston front, 355mm 2 piston rear brake kit, Dinan 3.45 diff
Interior/Misc:
Eurodash, updated steering wheel, Bluetooth retrofit, Sirius Retrofit, hardwired V1, Widescreen Mk4 nav, M audio retrofit, Ice Link, BSW Stage 1 speaker upgrade, bmw towbar
Last edited by mottati; 16th January 2008 at 08:45.
Don't own an M5, but an '03 540i Sport/M-Teck.....
My Indy's opinion is to get a well maintained car.
BMW's get a bad wrap, cause they're high strung cars that are driven harder on average.
Therefor if not well maintained, they brake down.
Basically.....you pay...to play.
Not denying that E39's have their few quirks (cooling, suspension & electronics), but many of the problems you read about on the boards are a result of lead footed driving or a poor maintenance record (mostly by previous owner).
My '03 (w/ 24K on the odometer) is still on original warranty for another month, but for next year I'm budgeting about $1500/yr for maintenance and repairs (not incl. tires).
That number will probably go up to $2500/yr once the car is 8-10 years old and might be slightly higher on M5's.
Personally, I won't touch a car without a detailed maintenance history.
Last edited by INDIVIDUAL 5er; 16th January 2008 at 21:27.
All BMWs have full maintenance coverage for the first 4 years or 50,000 miles. Since I am the original owner I have the extended coverage, as well.
Mine has been exemplary ... but, out of warranty can be another issue, and you never know. You have to due a thorough check, including the kind of driver the car had, if at all possible.
__________________
"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge."
So would it be just as safe as to buy a low mileage 00 compared to a low mileage 01 or 02?
well, there were some 'updates' done over the years, so many 00's have had work done under warranty, if the car was used enough. Theoretically, you could get an 00 that had so few miles, little 'wore out' or was done to it under warranty. Things like vanos accumulators, etc. I've heard there were a couple of vanos updates thru the years. my car has one original vanos, and one that was replaced in 03 under warranty.
Would depend on the particular car and it's service history. When i was under warranty, i complained about everything, and have a thick service file to show for it. Someone who was not as particular could have lived with some issues that would have otherwise been covered.
__________________
Mike
91 M5 Alpine White II, Silver Gray 3/90 production
17x8/17x9 M system with PS2, 20mm touring roll bar; Ground Control Coilovers; EAT Chip, CD43; bmw/nardi blackline steering wheel, 3.8 Cam Gears
08 535i / 6 speed
Space Gray; Gray; Sport/Premium/Nav
00 M5 Ti Silver; Imola/black sportiv --Sold
Engine:
Supersprint Headers, Dinan CAI kit and MAFS, Throttle Bodies, Cams, Ported heads, Exhaust, Custom dinan software, Evosport Pullies, Dinan clutch and lightened flywheel; Ignition solutions plasma coils
Suspension:
Dinan Stage 3 with front and rear Strut Tower Braces, Beastpower Sway bar brackets, Dinan Wheels with 275/285 PilotSport, X5 Thrust arm bushings, Stoptech 355mm 4 piston front, 355mm 2 piston rear brake kit, Dinan 3.45 diff
Interior/Misc:
Eurodash, updated steering wheel, Bluetooth retrofit, Sirius Retrofit, hardwired V1, Widescreen Mk4 nav, M audio retrofit, Ice Link, BSW Stage 1 speaker upgrade, bmw towbar
In my case, it is not the repairs that cost me a lot of money, it is the mods and upgrades. It never ends!
If you have great self control over spending money on upgrades or prefers to keep your beast stock, and you know how to do minor repairs yourself, then you should be fine.
+1 to what Ard listed.
Things on my 2001 that failed that had to be replaced which is common to most cars with 70,000 miles which I regard as normal wear and tear.
Cam Position Sensor replacement.
Thermostat Replacement.
Battery
Tires every 2 years (drive it like you stole it)
Vanos position control solenoid.
Instrument cluster replacement (free from BMW : )
__________________
Dan
Supersprint Headers, Tubi Rumore Plus exhaust, Dinan CAI, Defi Heads Up Display, Strong Strut front anti-sway bar, Powerchip 93 S/W, Euro Arm rest, Fikse Profil 5S Rims; Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3, Polk Audio Tweeters, Boston Acoustic Speakers, Integrated 60gig Video Ipod, HiDef DICE Radio iPod interface, Icelink, Rouge Engineering Short shifter, StopTech Big Brake Kit, TC Design rear sway bar brackets, HID 8000k fog lamps, 8000K low beams, Euro clear corner HID headlamps, Mark IV Nav, Lamin X films, Predator ICE LED AE, Valentine 1, M20 Blinder Anti Laser, TEC cup holder, All LED interior lights, LED footwell lights, LED trunk lights, Ultimate Cup Holders, Hella TC-400 Tire Pressure Monitor System, etc.
Miles are just a number. I guarantee you there are M5's with say 8000 miles that have more issues than a 50,000k mile m5 and vice versa. Its more important to find out the history- and if it was taken care of more so than finding the lowest miles. Low miles does not guarantee defect free. Issues can happen with low to no use, just as issues happen with high use.
Don't own an M5, but an '03 540i Sport/M-Teck.....
Linear Mode
