The M5 repair log - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

RsBimmer · 31st May 2002, 06:17

Hi folks,

I'm planning on getting an M5 and have spent quite a bit of time reading what your experience with the car has been. Your enthusiasm and love for this Beast is amazing and has only made me even more eager to take the plunge.

BUT, I'm very concerned regarding the maintenance as several members have posted their horrors stories regarding the car. Maybe it's the like "the squeaky wheel gets the grease"--those posts got my attention.

I've tried looking for hard numbers regarding the M5's "shop time" and haven't been able to come up with anything.

So, here's a poll. The numbers refer to the total number of days your car spent in the shop during the first year of ownership or within the first 12,000 miles (whichever came first). Any defect/problem qualifies except for paint scratches or accident related repairs. Even "the CD player skipping", "lights flashing" or "computer glitch" counts.

I know, I know. This isn't anywhere near a scientific poll. Maybe I just need to see that the majority of you are glitch free and cruising gleefully in the Beast...

atomic80 · 31st May 2002, 07:55

I voted on this before I realized that you wanted us to vote on the times spent in the shop for repairs! I was thinking of the TOTAL time spent in the shop which in addition to the times spent repairing minor issues, I also had parts installed (Dinan parts, shortshifter, etc).

blue max · 31st May 2002, 12:53

Trust me, the results will be very predictable and boring. The M5 has been very reliable during my first 12 months of ownership.

If you were asking about the M3, I would be real nervous about buying the '01 models with self-destructing engines.

My apologies to the owners having trouble with theirs.

Johnny D · 31st May 2002, 18:08

1/2 day for the 1,200 service. Nothing has gone wrong. nearly 4,000 miles.

I think you will tend to hear from the folks that have had trouble. I bet there's a ton of people that had no significant problems. Just a guess.

MTHUZST · 31st May 2002, 18:33

Zero days in the shop with 2,000 miles. I know thats not a lot of miles, but I'm off to a good start. Take good care of your care and it'll take good care of you.

Good luck with your poll.

RAREM5 · 31st May 2002, 22:39

Are you talking about total time spent to fix something is broken or including time spent to get aftermarket mods done?

RsBimmer · 31st May 2002, 22:52

Hi,

Just to clarify. Time in shop for OEM issues only.

So that would not include aftermarket modifications or the time it took to get the mods.

Thanks, so far, for the response guys...keep'em coming.

JFB · 31st May 2002, 23:23

I voted 6-10 days, and I've owned the car 9 months.

The poll won't tell you much about reliability. 10 shop days over 3 years is a very different experience than 10 shop days in the first 3 months.

IMHO, the important questions are:

How long have you owned the car? 9 months
How many major issues (affecting drivability) have you experienced? zero
How many minor issues -- excluding routine service -- have you experienced? <10
Were all of the repairs made to your satisfaction? No.
Were all of the repairs covered by the warranty? Yes.
Were you satisfied with how you were treated by the dealership? Yes.
Were you satisfied with how you were treated by BMWNA? Yes.

In two cases with my car, it was in the shop for relatively minor warranty work, but the dealership had to order the correct part and have it shipped. That required keeping the car for 2 days in each case. The dealer provided me with a BMW loaner, so it was tolerable -- but it seems that they could get parts sooner than 48 hours.

There are still several annoying minor problems that the dealership claims it "cannot duplicate." For example, once in a while, all but one of the M Audio speakers stops working. I also hear a whining noise from the power steering. The Nav software is also buggy.

steve adams · 1st June 2002, 00:21

just buy one dude .. you'll love it ;-)

Jessem · 1st June 2002, 05:07

Just voted zero days. Owned the car 13 months. 2 scheduled services, no problems reported. Had a new set of tires installed on rear while I waited at the local certified tire rack shop. No days IN the shop and over 24K miles on the clock.

MarkM5Lauderdale · 1st June 2002, 06:04

I voted 11-20 days over the course of 2 1/2 years. 90% of that time however is for excess service or upgrades I have had performed.

atomic80 · 1st June 2002, 07:50

Now I wonder who had to leave his/her M5 for more than 30 days!