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Introduction: 2001 M5 // Stratus Grey

14K views 57 replies 36 participants last post by  tomloans 
#1 ·
This post serves as an introduction to my car, a 2001 M5 that I actually found on this board. I'd been thinking about an E39 M5 for a couple of months when I stumbled this car. Originally I was going for LSB, but the unique color and the options swayed me to Stratus. I made the deal while on a business trip and arranged a time to fly to Irvine to pick it up. That was back in August. I've intended to start a thread since, but work and family have absorbed all of my time, as they often do.

The first few posts cover the initial week or two of ownership, during which most of the changes were made. I'll leave out the boring stuff like oil and fluid changes that everybody does when they buy a new car and try to stick to the fun stuff. As you'll see, this was a great car in good shape that just needed a few small things to be a great daily driver.

One of the few pictures I have of the day I picked it up. The PPI indicated that it needed new tires and an alignment, so I had tires shipped to a shop in Irvine. Picked the car up, paid and drove it straight to the shop. Along the way I stopped at Irvine BMW for a ZHP shift knob and a new set of floormats. Little things that make an old car new again.


From there, I grabbed dinner and hit the road back to Sacramento. I've driven the I-5 route plenty of times, and this was by far the most comfortable car I've ever taken on that trip. The tires and alignment fixed an odd shimmy at freeway speeds, and the suspension felt good overall. This picture is taken as the car arrived at about 10 p.m. I was so happy with the car I couldn't sleep and ended up going back out at 12 a.m. for another drive.


The first order of business was a quick interior and exterior cleaning followed by installing a few goodies. Every car I buy gets a new shift knob and floor mats. I also added an alcantara steering wheel from Coby Wheel. Great product and a very fair price compared to the factory ZHP wheel.


Comparison of the ZHP to the factory shift knob:


The car had a number of small issues, all fixed for less than $100 each. The next on the list was a re-filled rearview mirror. If your car has the bubble, do this now! It's rare on these cars that $100 spent can make such a big difference.

Old:


A week later:
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Next item on the agenda, after a few days of driving and enjoying my new toy, was a thorough cleaning of the interior. I knew there was a lot of leather in these things, but holy crap did it take awhile! Leatherique on just about every non-shiny surface.

Driver's bolster before. Dry, tough and cracking:


Driver's bolster after:


Passenger seat after:


Dash after:


Interior's done for now:


Final inspection and testing every single button and switch in the car (they all work!)
 
#3 · (Edited)
Cleaned, claybared and polished the exterior. The paint, like the interior, is in great shape overall. The front bumper has a crack that will need to be addressed, but otherwise it's in great shape.


Side view. Really falling in love with this color, especially in direct sunlight.


The business end with the unacceptably quiet exhaust:


Exhaust issue addressed:


And finally, at home:



Next on the list:
Finding a vendor to completely refinish the wheels.
Fix the front bumper.
Drive the hell out of it.
 
#4 ·
Nicely done! Congrats on the car! That is a really nice color and love the interior too.

So where did you have the mirror fixed? Now that I have a good alternate daily driver, this would be a good time to get that done on mine.
Got the bubble. Hasn't gotten any worse for 6 months at least.
 
#14 ·
I went through radar-mirror.com, as recommended on the board. Service was excellent, and the turnaround was 24 hours. The longest wait of the entire transaction was shipping. If you use USPS Priority, it's 2 days there and 2 days back, so you could have it finished in a week. I didn't have any issue driving around without a rearview mirror for a week.


Nice find. Makes me wish I'd kept my 1997 M3 to park my M5 next to, but alas I didn't have the space and funds for both...
That's the exact year of my E36. Great car that I've been through front to back. I don't think I'll ever sell it. My issue currently is space, which I'm working on a solution for. The only other car I'd like to have is an E46 M3. Something about the early/mid-2000s BMWs that they just got right. 3, 5 and 7 Series from that era are all excellent.

Thanks everybody else for the kind words. I'll update this thread when something changes.
 
#9 ·
Congrats on the purchase. Glad to hear you are enjoying the car and getting all the issues addressed, no matter how minor.

I always liked that color.

Good luck!
 
#13 ·
Sterling's one of the best!
Congrats on the car - beautiful :)
 
#18 ·
#23 · (Edited)
Welcome, and sounds like great work so far. Stratus?

For years I had E39 M5 E36 M3, great combo. Recently picked up E46 M3.

Want to do a steering wheel upgrade since car is ZCP. Let's talk about the lower piece of black plastic on your former steering wheel. (Never mind, looks like you're using it)
 
#24 ·
Yep, Stratus. It was an Individual color for the E39, then became a standard color on later models. It's a brownish/goldish version of grey compared to the others.

As for the lower part of my steering wheel, it has a few chips in it. I'm going to replace it with a new part, so if you want the old one, it's yours.
 
#26 ·
I'm going to replace it with a new part, so if you want the old one, it's yours.
Thanks! If I still need it I'll reach out when I do the steering wheel project next year. Brand new upper multifunction portion and other pieces came with the E46 sale.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Quick update with a small, inexpensive modification that will people here will either love or completely hate.

In the love corner:
  • It's cheap
  • It instantly makes the massive trunk more user-friendly
  • It allows you to safely transport beer in your M5

In the hate corner:
  • It requires drilling into virginal M5 sheetmetal
  • I'm installing an Audi part into a BMW (OMG!)

So, on with it:
I've owned many BMWs and a handful of VW/Audi products. Every VW/Audi non-hatch I've owned (or rented) has these little grocery hooks that are a triumph of engineering and design. They fold away when not in use and they're perfect for holding shopping bags in place during spirited driving. Most cars come with 1, but a second is easily added. I add them to every car that has a trunk that I buy.

Here's what you get - a hook and some hardware that you will throw away.


Installed. I nudged them right up against the subs and installed with two self-tapping sheetmetal screws. Any relatively flat surface will do. The farther back you put them, the less noticeable they will be.

In use. Plastic bags don't hang from them - they're still sitting on the floor. So, there isn't much strain on the hooks themselves. The hooks just keep the bags in place and prevent the contents from spilling out into the trunk.:


Not in use - putting them further back makes them pretty much invisible. They have little cloth loops that you can leave dangling, but I generally tuck them into the hook. The hooks are spring loaded, so they retract to horizontal when you aren't using them.
 
#37 ·
Thanks! I like the color too - very unique.

Congrats on the car and welcome.

E39s never came in LSB. Never heard of this color before, either. Even on the newer models. Looks like Sterling. Does the car have BMW Individual written next to the paint code name and sticker under the hood? Someone correct me if I am wrong, but don't Individual cars have the door sills that say BMW Individual instead of the standard ///M panels?
LSB is a typo on my part - meant Le Mans Blue.

The car is an Individual in Stratus Grey. There were two of them produced, if you believe this data:
Production numbers: North American-spec M5

Funny enough there were more Dakar Yellow M5s built. I want to meet the people that wanted an M5 and had to have it in bright yellow. hmmm

Here's the sticker on the strut tower. Oddly, the door jambs have the regular M5 trim.



Congrats on the car! Silver looks very nice I'll have to make a trip up to Sacramento and see it next to my carbon black m5
Come on up!

beautiful car! I really want to wrap my steering wheel. Other than adding the suede can they make it meatier?
I'm sure they can - it's a small operation and they seem pretty open to requests.
 
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