First of all, let me say I'm very happy to be here. This is my first posting as an M5 owner.
I thought I'd introduce myself by giving you a quick account of my purchase (my story, if you will), and a few reasons why (if you own an e39 M5) I think you should be a very very proud owner.
I've spent over 6 months intellectualising over what 'the perfect car' is, I had a £50 000GBP budget (which goes quite far, even in the UK)...Now here's the funny bit (maybe I'm a little OCD): I tested a staggering 26 makes and models...
..I won't talk about everything I tested, but my shortlist was as follows:
Porsche 996 C4S
Audi RS4 (new)
E60 M5 (that's got your attention)
Audi RS6
Maserati Gransport 4200gt
E46 M3 cab
355 GTS
E55 AMG
This purchase was as much about finding out who I am as it was buying a new car, so without further ado, I crossed off the 355, the m3 and the porsche, siting the following reasons:
The 355 is far too fragile and I wanted a daily driver (in all honesty it had a bit too much 'look at me dad' factor about it too).
The M3 felt a bit 'boyish'...It was also quite 'squeaky', in the way that you don't want a £28 000 to be.
The Porsche was an excellent car, but IMO, it's a 'sensible' choice, that lacks a bit of imagination, there's a bit too much badge going on and they are owned by a lot of affluent people who really don't know much about cars...Just my opinion, not meant as a generic statement
So it was starting to look like I wanted something 'grown up'.
The problem with the E55 was 'it was trying to do everything for me'...Driving itself and not letting me have any fun...It had also been styled for a middle aged, pipe smoking financier yuch!...Didn't like it at all...Very quick in 2nd/3rd gear though...The RS6 was just sterile. I can't explain why I didn't like it, I guess it felt more like a modified car and not a car that was designed to fit any other purpose than to provide good 'on paper' performance figures: "An A6 with turbos, springs and 19's"...That's it...It didn't give me the confidence to drive it fast.
Strangely the Maserati ticked a lot of the proverbial 'boxes' for me, it was stylish without being outlandish, it was refined, spacious, mature, quick and a lovely place to be...It suffers from a terrible identity crisis though. I think the designers at Bertone (until now ie: the new Gran Tourismo) have always buckled to Masearti and played a bit safe...The end result was always a car that could be jap, american, english etc. So, they have always felt the need to have MASERATI adorn the back of their vehicles in the largest font size available in their letraset catalogue, just so people know that it's special...Doesn't shout confidence does it?...A car that want's to be taken as seriously as a Ferrari, but is trying to please far too many people.
I actually visited my local BMW garage (Woods of Bournemouth) as an act of desperation. I've had 3 beemers to date and enjoyed them. I had an e30 M3, a Hartge H28 5 series and an e30 Motorsport cab..all fun, but all old and all suffering head gasket issues.
I made the fatal mistake of telling the rep my budget. he tried to suss me out and walked me straight to a 630 coupe...How wrong could he be?
After a quick briefing it wasn't long before I was behind the wheel of the E60 (1 year old)...Wow!!! Quick is not the word - the gear changes are brutal (I guess a lot of you already know that). Here's the thing: I've always been a huge fan of the M5, I remember seeing David Gilmour's (Pink Floyd Guitarist - One of my all time heroes) e34 on ebay a couple of years ago, for the auction to end a week before i could afford it (gutted)...I knew then that I had developed an irrational love for a car I had no experience of (If it's good enough for 'Dave', it's good enough for me LOL). The thing that attracted me to the M5 was it's pure discretion...Not built for the 'viewing public' or the 'new money brigade', but for the driver who was considerate enough to offer comfort to his passengers as well as address his own dirty agenda
..Now I know the E60 has a massive following on here, so I'm stepping carefully. It's an awesome tool there's no denying it, but it just seemed to go against the ethos that I'd come to respect the marque for. It has immense road presence, in other words you can't miss it...It seems to want to share itself with everybody, whereas in the past, it was a secret between man (driver) and machine. Even the dashboard points down the middle of the car now. In previous models it favoured the driver ever so slightly giving that 'cockpit' feel I'm sure all of you are crazy about...It was too radical for me, but then again I've never really been in the zeitgeist.
So, ergonomically it wasn't quite what I was looking for. I also felt that iDRIVE was going to be a problem. I like to drive my cars, not program them. Sorry guys but IMO this car was built to be discussed in the golf club car park. An M5 that makes a social statement? Not for me I'm afraid.
James (the BMW rep), who was now trying harder than ever to be my friend, was tiring of me for the same reasons my missus was three weeks ago, when she threatened to walk out!
We walked past a BMW approved (Carbon Black) 2003 M5 on the way back into the showroom. I nearly missed it initially, and that's exactly what made it such an attractive proposition.
I got behind the wheel immediately. What made this rare was the fact that it had an upgraded exhaust, a remap and a re-profiled VANOS, giving an extra 30 (ish) BHP, but was still covered by an extended warranty, albeit 'black horse' NOT BMW..Althouh, in all fairness I did get a 6 month 'parts and labour' in the end, for taking the screen price.
You all know how great these cars are, so I won't tell you how it 'won me over', but I will leave you with a couple of thoughts as to the reason (IMO) why the e39 M5 is the best car ever made.
If the owners of every car I tested (above) were in a line, and you had to choose one to go out for a beer with...I'd pick the guy who spent twenty six thousand pounds on all of that anonymity.
The E39 M5, the car that says everything about you, by saying nothing, definitely for the fortunate few, who are genuinely comfortable in their own skin...I'm humbled and grateful to be one of them.
Looking forward to getting to know you all in the next couple of years
Mark
)
Titanium silver
) two, carbon black -a wonderful color for this car, three -he made the best choice by far. 
