Hey all,
Figured I'd finally make an introduction... Last Saturday, I picked up a 141,000 mile damn-near-pristine 2001 M5 in Carbon Black Metallic from a fellow board member in Austin, TX. I wasn't too keen on the fact that it's really more blue than black, but now that I've seen it in a wide variety of lighting conditions, I couldn't be happier with it.
First picture after getting it home is attached (of course, it rained like hell when I went to pick it up).
I haven't taken many photos yet, but I promise, there are more to come.
Mercifully, the car has a remarkably small set of issues:
That being said... I've already ordered my first $700 in parts (with more to come):
Figured I'd finally make an introduction... Last Saturday, I picked up a 141,000 mile damn-near-pristine 2001 M5 in Carbon Black Metallic from a fellow board member in Austin, TX. I wasn't too keen on the fact that it's really more blue than black, but now that I've seen it in a wide variety of lighting conditions, I couldn't be happier with it.
First picture after getting it home is attached (of course, it rained like hell when I went to pick it up).
I haven't taken many photos yet, but I promise, there are more to come.
Mercifully, the car has a remarkably small set of issues:
- A few small scratches, 4 tiny dents that would be perfect candidates for PDR (a friend owns a shop nearby which makes it easier), and a ~1" diameter spot on the center of the roof, just in front of the sunroof, where the clear coat has worn through (honestly looks like it's the result of a factory paint defect, or an over-ambitious polishing/buffing some years ago). I still can't get over how clean the body and paint are.
- The plastic cowl cover at the base of the windshield has seen better days. Amazingly, this is only $60 through ECS for an OEM replacement. Same with the windshield and rear window rubber seals/gaskets, which are also cheaper than I expected (but they're still in better shape than any other E39 of this mileage I've ever seen).
- Shortly before I picked it up, the VANOS oil line on the front of the engine ruptured and sprayed oil all over the driver side front corner of the engine bay. Unfortunately, as a result of this, the hood insulator/liner started to rapidly decompose (apparently the foam is petroleum-based). Last night I removed the liner and tossed it, and tested some cleaners to get rid of the rest of the residual oil on plastics and whatnot (and of course, Dawn wins).
- Between 3,000 and 4,500 RPM, there's a less-than-pleasant vibration that resonates through the entire body (both under throttle and deceleration, regardless of gear). Further inspection revealed weeping motor mounts, but good-condition aftermarket transmission mounts (rubber tops with machined metal bases - haven't been able to identify the manufacturer as of yet). The driveshaft Giubo also has visible cracks (but no severance), but I haven't dropped the exhaust and heat shield to inspect the support bearing yet. Differential bushings appear healthy, the housing is dry, and the rear CV isn't slinging any grease. Win.
- There *might* be a slight exhaust leak somewhere near the passenger-side exhaust manifold. Did a thorough inspection last night and didn't find anything apparent, but the vehicle was off. Will revisit this next time I get it on a lift. Could also be my imagination since I just got the thing.
- Driver door lock actuator acts a little funky about 15% of the time. Just lock and unlock again to get in. I'll deal with that later if it becomes more problematic.
- A small amount of condensation appeared in one of the headlamp housings upon pick-up due to the rain and high humidity. Apparently the 2001 headlamps can be re-sealed somewhat easily, but I need to inspect the vent lines first before running down that path.
- A previous owner replaced every effing lamp on this thing with LEDs, which were *FAR* too bright for my taste, and period-incorrect (I fell in love with this car for what it was, when it was). I've replaced all the upper interior lighting with the correct halogen bulbs, but still have a few more to do overall. Incredibly, the local dealership sold me the license plate lamps for ~$14/each (need to figure out who that guy was, because I was originally quoted around $40/each).
- Needs an alignment (only slightly off, though). The previous owner recently replaced the front control arms and push struts, and may not have had it aligned afterwards.
- I've heard a faint clunk/clack from the rear end when listening to someone else back it out of my driveway. Can't hear or feel it when driving, so I may have to slap the magnetic GoPro under there and go for a ride.
- The AC Schnitzer replica 19s are starting to grow on me, but I still want a set of Type 65s for it. Apparently, it has "Ironman iMove" rear tires, which leave a lot to be desired in the wet (I learned *VERY* quickly to leave DSC on in the wet with these).
- The previous owner removed aftermarket tint from the windows (thank god), but missed a bit of residue where the glass meets the track on the front passenger door leading to a horrible squealing when rolling it up and down. Need to finish cleaning that up.
- The car has unknown aftermarket catalytic converters and resonator. Definitely throatier, but this may be reverted to OEM at some point in the future (glad the PO reinstalled OEM mufflers at least, and gave me the resonator he cut them off of).
That being said... I've already ordered my first $700 in parts (with more to come):
- Full OEM set of engine and transmission mounts.
- New OEM Giubo (oh, how I wish it was spelled "Guibo").
- New OEM center support bearing.
- New OEM underhood insulator/liner.
- New front map light bulbs (managed to get some 64111s to kinda fit... better than the end-lit LEDs that were in there and did *nothing* of use).