Running costs for a used M5. - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Micsor/DK · 23rd December 2001, 22:11

Hello all of you...

I have been looking at a used M5 here in Denmark. My local BMW dealer says that the M5 is a very expensive car to maintene, is that right??

The M5 I have been looking at is a 1998 with 50.000 km. I don´t know the history of the car, concerning the break-in period, and is therefore a little bit worried about the engine.

Is it that much harder to keep then my E39 535i??

Best regards,

Mike-S

MWM · 26th December 2001, 23:52

Mine hasn't been expensive to own for the past year and a half. But many folks have had to replace one or both banks of the variable valve timing (VANOS) units. As you already know, you're taking a bit of a risk (I would guess the car is out of warranty). In the US, it's pretty easy to get an extended warranty for almost any car; if this is an option, buy the car and consider the extra warranty part of the cost.

The VANOS bit is the one thing that will scare me when my warranty is up. The rest of the car seems pretty standard BMW stuff; if past models are any indication, a car with only 50,000km on the clock is a "young" car and has many years of service ahead of it.

Other than that, try to get a handle on whether the clutch is solid (it will slip in 6th gear under max. acceleration if it's weak).

Micsor/DK · 27th December 2001, 12:23

Hi MWM

Thanks for the reply.

Thats nice to hear that the M5 is´nt that expensive to maintain. As you also point out, the problem with the VANOS, on the earlier models, may be a problem. I was only concearned about the age of the car and not knowing how the first owner had drivin it in the break in period (that could be a problem, with the engine, when the KM started to rise).

I drive around 30.000 km a year (summer and winter), could that be a problem, looking at it from a maintaining perspective?

I´m taking it for a test drive in a few weeks (the dealer is about 500 km from where I live), and i´ll keep my attention on the clutch.

Again, thanks for the reply...