BMW M5 Forum and M6 Forums banner

Need A Crash-Course In What To Look For

3K views 22 replies 12 participants last post by  evan 535 
#1 ·
So, I've been looking at a particularly nice '08 with low miles and almost every option in a color combo I like, but I am slightly worried about all the potential failure points to watch out for.

I've been reading this forum for years, waiting for a chance to purchase one of these, but I still feel as if I don't quite have a good grasp on what to look for when buying one of these used.

I've driven it once, SMG and engine seem fine, although it was a very short drive due to horrible weather. All electronics, buttons, lights, etc seem to function exactly as new, interior is in excellent shape, so is the body and paint. It was involved in one minor accident years ago, I had no idea until I checked the Carfax, drives perfectly straight, bodywork is almost better than factory.

I have a feeling these cars are sort of hard to make predictions on - it may check out fine, and then a week later tragedy will strike. Maybe I've just become paranoid after reading this site constantly :3:

Anyway, what can I easily check out on this car during a normal test drive, and what are some things I can do to expose any potential common problems? I have a good feeling about this car, but I'd like to be sure.

Thanks in advance.
 
See less See more
#5 ·
My Approach Is:

Get a nice looking well maintained looking car. Shop around and compare.

Then after that, make sure your service budget is in check. Be able to stash a couple of thousand away for 'calamities'. Avoid the silly insurance path as this typically is expensive and they might give your coverage trouble, especially if the car has mods. It is very limiting in some cases. Lotsa treads on this subject.

Pull service records if you can; Have them put a code reader on it and make sure it is clear *after* a long test drive. Ideally: don't tell them upfront and watch the pull live to avoid them clearing it. When there are codes, report them here. Bring somebody knowledgeable on a test drive, ideally somebody who owned an M5 for a while. Let them drive it as well.

And make sure you plan on doing lots of preventative maintenance yourself in the first 2 years. Use your money for that and mod only after it is mint. Don't skimp on this as the car will reward you equally back with lots of aggravation.

When you negotiate for the price, be prepared to pay full sticker price (within reason, so educate yourself) and negotiate as many new service parts on the car as they are willing to stomach. You will be surprised how much they allow! Make a list after you drive the car (be prepared again). Examples: New brakes, tires, anything suspension that feels loose or creaks. You get the idea. This why I would get it at BMW and not at some other place as access to spare parts is a 'mere accounting issue' for BMW pre-owned.
 
#6 ·
Since you've got the Carfax, how does the previous owner history look? How many owners have had it, and for how long each? If there are several (more than 3?) and the later ones only had it a short time (less than 1 year), that might indicate they found issues and got rid of the car. Also, maybe they didn't want to pay for maintenance, and let things slip. As far as the test drive, I'd say to drive it leisurely (below 3000 rpm) until warmed up, look for leisurely, but smooth upshifts/downshifts. No clunks or bangs. I'd use D mode. With everything in "comfort" mode, car should be quiet and smooth. When you're coming to a stop in D mode, the tranny should downshift smoothly without bangs or clunks. The only gotcha is if you apply power when the tranny is in the middle of a downshift. Then you would likely get a shocking bang. Finally, after the car is warmed up, accel to highway speed, still in D mode, probably 7th gear, then when safe mash the throttle all the way to the floor and it should downshift 3 or 4 gears immediately and take off. If you have the space, it will rev up to redline and upshift, this time briskly, but without undo noise or clunk.
 
#8 ·
Appreciate the responses, truly. Most of you know far more about this car than I do, and have spent a combined hundreds of thousands of miles behind the wheel, I've spent a few. I suppose i have a pessimistic view of the reliability of these cars, which hasn't deterred me as I have a repair fund already set up. But I just want to make sure I won't have to worry about having the car up on a lift in my indy mechanic's garage for weeks out of the year due to some unforeseen issues.

It's more or less that I seem to discover a new thing to watch out for every time I spend some time reading this forum. I plan on having a PPI done, but just wanted to know if there were any specific symptoms of any serious problems I could catch on a routine test drive. I do plan on driving it again as soon as possible, as I agree 100% - rain makes it impossible to analyze the paint. Also need to be able to put my foot down for more than .75 seconds. I did some looking all the same, and looks very good to me. Certainly as good as any car that was more or less daily driven for the last 7-8 years for 50k+ miles can look.

Carfax has a specific note about the incident, apparently ran into someone from behind, no airbag deployment at all. There is an incident report available that I should take a look at, haven't had the time yet. I realize that you can get into some pretty nasty accidents and still avoid airbag deployment, but given how it drove and how it looks, I would have never known without reading about it, which is about as much as I could ask for short of a proper PPI inspection revealing anything major. I'm of the opinion that an accident in and of itself doesn't mean much if the car is mechanically sound. I'm not worried about resale value, I plan on keep this car for a while if I buy it.

Average mileage/year is around 7k, which I think is excellent. Was told it's up on maintenance, which means nothing. I don't trust a word I've ever been told by anyone selling anything ever. Given the condition it's in and how well it drove, I can only assume for now that this is mostly true. It needs wiper blades, so far that's about all I've found. Drove it in S1, seemed to be exactly what I expected. Downshifts were smooth, not super fast, but I wouldn't expect that in S1. Clutch takeup was excellent, no vibration, no hesitation, no roughness or chatter. Hit the M button for about one mile, engine definitely woke up about as much as I would expect. All other functions work fine. My biggest concern is having to replace throttle body hardware, rod bearings, or any of the major SMG components right away. Long term I expect to have to do all of that, but would be nice to get some miles on it before any of that happens.

On that note, anyone in the Chicago suburbs that would be recommend as a solid choice for a PPI if needed? I've built race cars, race engines, and spent lots of time around lots of cars...but this car seems to be require quite a bit of specialized knowledge that one only gets from spending much time around them. Any other car, I'd feel confident diagnosing myself. Not this one. I am particularly partial to this one, as there are very few LCI models for sale generally speaking, even fewer with low miles, and fewer still with full leather such as this one. To me, that's a must-have.

Thanks again for the advice, greatly appreciate it. This truly is one of the greatest resources I've seen on the web for any car ever. The amount of knowledge, information, and helpfulness available here is outstanding. Looking forward to joining the club.
 
#9 ·
I would get a few more miles behind the wheel, then drive a few others just to compare it too. You will need a full inspection of the car and as you seem a little concerned then maybe a warranty.


A carfax report does not tell you how the car was previously driven so you can only rely on the maintenance records to a certain point.
 
#12 ·
CARFAX cannot be trusted! There are a lot of loopholes around proper reporting. I know somebody who had his Cayenne damaged. He paid cash to a bodyshop, and a little extra "to keep it off the books", such that the resale value did not get affected. I even think that happened on my M5 as I highly suspect my right rear door was repainted but CARFAX report zilch.
 
#11 ·
I have bought nothing but used cars since 2010, five total including three M cars. I made sure to get a PPI on the e39 M5 and the SVT F-150 Lightning. I knew nothing about the M5 Board and little more about the e39 M5 then. The truck I at least had familiarity of forums and that truck had sat for a while. The e34 M5 was purchased from a board member that I knew prior to purchasing. I picked up an e36 M3 locally for almost nothing and an e36 325is for my son without a PPI.


What they all have in common is they all needed work to get them how I wanted them both mechanically as cosmetically. There is no foolproof way to keep something catastrophic from happening. They are used cars and minus a few rare cases have been abused or neglected in some manner. You (OP) are way ahead of the game and are here asking questions at least. These cars are expensive to maintain period! They are performance cars not a Honda Civic that you can pick up parts from at Wal-Mart on a regular basis. They will cost you money, even the well maintained ones.


My advice to you is to buy an M5 from a Board member that's been here a while. Not a guy that has 3 posts and is here to sell his car. These established guys know and love their cars even after they're sold. If you decide to buy a car elsewhere, especially an e39 or e60 M5 a PPI is a must. Either way this place will have the answers, probably multiple times in multiple threads.
 
#13 ·
So what are the specs on the car? mileage, previous owners, records, previous warranty work, details on the accident and who did the repair? These are all the basics. Provide these details and people can provide more specific advice for you.

Obviously do a PPI, use the boards to find a strong BMW indy or worse case take to a dealer.
 
#15 ·
Car is an '08, Silverstone over black, wood trim. Every option except for soft-close doors. Comfort seats. 58k miles. They're asking 27,9 for it.

Have found a great place to PPI it at a reasonable price, they build BMW race cars so I think I can trust them with this.

Where I am, there is not always a great selection. So I'm eager to get a hold of this one if it passes an inspection.
 
#17 ·
Going to try to have Zima Motorsports take care of it, have heard great things about them and they offered to do it for a great price. I'm not affiliated at all but they did build an E46 M3 owned by someone I know. Did a good job too.

Can definitely vouch for having seen things done to avoid CarFax reports. I know of a car that was totaled and then repaired completely, paid for in cash, no police report, no insurance, etc. So that car will always have a clean report. That's rare, I think, but definitely does happen.
 
#20 ·
This is a tough car to buy used period. Very easily abused, very easily neglected due to high maintenance costs. I paid a lot for a super low mileage (8k 06) owned by an older gentleman. These are harder and harder to find now. To me, the cars history would be key. If you can't verify that, meaning a private owner sale with extensive service history, I would stay away unless you are willing to put money into it.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
#21 ·
I always go in with the mind set that if something does not sit right then walk away from the deal. I have friends who once they walk into a showroom, they find it hard to not try and work out a deal and walk out with the car, even though deep down they know that it was not what they really had hoped for. I guess it's called caught up in the moment.
 
#22 ·
I always go in with the mind set that if something does not sit right then walk away from the deal. I have friends who once they walk into a showroom, they find it hard to not try and work out a deal and walk out with the car, even though deep down they know that it was not what they really had hoped for. I guess it's called caught up in the moment.


I agree. If something is really hanging you up, it's better to walk away. What happens is you really want the car so you try and justify in your mind what may be a big issue. You say, well it's a 'used' car so some repair/maintenance may be required. The problem with the M5 is that it can get stupid expensive real fast


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top