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A buncha questions regarding the M5...

2K views 20 replies 9 participants last post by  Gustav 
#1 ·
i'm going to put a deposite on an M5 in a few months, and have a couple of questions regarding my purchase...

1. Since the M5 has the first V10 engine and it's in it's first year production, should i worry about any faults or bugs in the car? for example the E46 M3 had engines that blew up in 2001 build, is there anything with the M5? what are the major complaints?(if any). should i buy now, or wait?

2. The M5 is going to be my daily driver as well as a family car, is it a comfortable ride? i currently drive an E46 M3 and i like how the ride feels, i ask cuz the M5 will be a family car too.

3. Besides the boost in power when you hit the "M" button, does it also stiffen the suspension? is the regular mode softer?

4. Does the car come with an auxilary in socket? i would like to hook up my iPod to it, if not i would have to settle for a tape deck that way i can use the tape adapter, but i would much rather use AUX since it has better sound quality.

5. Is bluetooth optional or standard on the M5?

6. when is the 5 series due for a facelift?

7. Does the SMG have an automatic mode like in the M3? if yes, how does it feel? are the gear changes smooth or jerky?

8. My dealer tells me if i wanted air cooled seats i cannot have that option on the bergandy leather(forgot the name), is this true?

that's all i can think now, but i guess i pretty much summed up all the questions i wanted to ask,

thanks,

Marwan :M5launch:
 
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#3 ·
1. Since the M5 has the first V10 engine and it's in it's first year production, should i worry about any faults or bugs in the car? for example the E46 M3 had engines that blew up in 2001 build, is there anything with the M5? what are the major complaints?(if any). should i buy now, or wait?

Anything is possible. The E60 M5s have already been issued revised oil pumps. I'm sure BMW is doing everything possible to avoid a problem like on the early M3s. But even if it does happen, I'm sure BMW will stand behind its flagship product.


2. The M5 is going to be my daily driver as well as a family car, is it a comfortable ride? i currently drive an E46 M3 and i like how the ride feels, i ask cuz the M5 will be a family car too.

The M5 will ride better than the M3, when the suspension is set to confort.

3. Besides the boost in power when you hit the "M" button, does it also stiffen the suspension? is the regular mode softer?

Yes the car has adjustable suspension. You need to set up your M button preferences, including suspension.

4. Does the car come with an auxilary in socket? i would like to hook up my iPod to it, if not i would have to settle for a tape deck that way i can use the tape adapter, but i would much rather use AUX since it has better sound quality.

???

5. Is bluetooth optional or standard on the M5?

Standard in the US

6. when is the 5 series due for a facelift?

2008

7. Does the SMG have an automatic mode like in the M3? if yes, how does it feel? are the gear changes smooth or jerky?

Yes it does... no comment on how it feels.

8. My dealer tells me if i wanted air cooled seats i cannot have that option on the bergandy leather(forgot the name), is this true?

Ventilated seats require full leather... but as far as colors I dont' know.

FZ
 
#4 ·
marwan said:
i'm going to put a deposite on an M5 in a few months, and have a couple of questions regarding my purchase...

1. Since the M5 has the first V10 engine and it's in it's first year production, should i worry about any faults or bugs in the car? for example the E46 M3 had engines that blew up in 2001 build, is there anything with the M5? what are the major complaints?(if any). should i buy now, or wait?

2. The M5 is going to be my daily driver as well as a family car, is it a comfortable ride? i currently drive an E46 M3 and i like how the ride feels, i ask cuz the M5 will be a family car too.

3. Besides the boost in power when you hit the "M" button, does it also stiffen the suspension? is the regular mode softer?

4. Does the car come with an auxilary in socket? i would like to hook up my iPod to it, if not i would have to settle for a tape deck that way i can use the tape adapter, but i would much rather use AUX since it has better sound quality.

5. Is bluetooth optional or standard on the M5?

6. when is the 5 series due for a facelift?

7. Does the SMG have an automatic mode like in the M3? if yes, how does it feel? are the gear changes smooth or jerky?

8. My dealer tells me if i wanted air cooled seats i cannot have that option on the bergandy leather(forgot the name), is this true?

that's all i can think now, but i guess i pretty much summed up all the questions i wanted to ask,

thanks,

Marwan :M5launch:
ok ok, im gonna take the first shot at this... :flag:

1. the V10 is now in its second year of production, and from the all of the owners that some have put upwards of 20000 miles on it, no reported major problems yet. Plus, the engine has one engine of the year award...

2. If you currently drive an E46 M3, then I can only speculate that the M5 would be more comfortable, and you get all the extra space. The suspension has 3 different settings as well... comfort, normal, and sport.

3. It is user-programable, suspensions, DSC, power, SMG shift speed, active seats, etc...

4. There is an AUX adapter you can have fitted from the dealer. As far as I know there is no tape-deck option anyway, in any market.

5. As far as I know, bluetooth is standard, But it also depends on your market.

6. 2008ish... it will 'probably' be minor changes, much like the E39 did in 2001... just lights and trim changes.

7. Yes it does have an auto mode. Its supposed to be smoother than SMGII.

8. Most people seem to be having the same problem. Perforated seats is only available in 3 or 4 colors???...

hope this helps....
:M5thumbs:
 
#7 ·
1. So far, no bugs and faults with the V10 engine. No complaints yet...

2. It is comfortable. after long driving(6hrs in the car), I don't feel anything other than relaxed. It isn't as comfortable as a Merc, but it is as comfortable as it gets for a beast.

3. It does stiffen the suspension. So much that U can "almost read an article on a newspaper when u drive over it" hiha I read it in some magazing and it's true. U can soften it even on the M button setting on the Idrive, U can change ANYTHING from one button(u can even make it have no effect at all! Useful for valets. Do it on one key setting and ur key will have ur setting :thumbsup: )

4. Unfortunately NO :crying2: . I WANT AN IPOD ON MY CAR!!!! but there's something u can use. The front CD accepts MP3. So on each CD u can save up to 300 songs. I did so far 1 CD for R&B, 1 for ROCK, etc... and the Idrive organises it in an easy way(u see the Artist, album, and song name).

5. Optional. Or u can get a built in phone. Bluetooth RECOMMENDED.

6. Not known yet. U really think it's that ugly? if they did a facelift, what would u think will happen to it's looks?

7. Yes it does. never use D1 mode, more than D1 is necessary, d2 and on. It's in every way better than he M3's, but not close to the pure auto(I prefer Manual mode and use the paddles)

8. U can have 3 color options w/perforated seats for cooling(Black, Silver, and ummm I forgot the third) but that'll cost you 7500 euros for full leather perforated option, and the cooling seats I forgot the price.

My advice, if u are a person who still feels young on the inside and want pure fun, the M5 is quite the master of it. If not, then the B5 is for u...
 
#8 ·
Wolverine said:
1. If you order one now, you'll probably wait at least a year. At that time, the engine will have over 2 years production behind it.
actually my dealer has a couple of M5 waiting to be bought, unfortunately none of them are the combonation i want. I wanted silver grey with indianpolis red interior with aluminum trim....the dealer told me the wait is 4 months only.

and to everyone else thank for answering my questions, the M5 is even more tempting now :)

what was the first year M5 production? was it 2005 model? the current year model is 2006 right?
 
#9 ·
Jad said:
1. So far, no bugs and faults with the V10 engine. No complaints yet...

4. Unfortunately NO :crying2: . I WANT AN IPOD ON MY CAR!!!! but there's something u can use. The front CD accepts MP3. So on each CD u can save up to 300 songs. I did so far 1 CD for R&B, 1 for ROCK, etc... and the Idrive organises it in an easy way(u see the Artist, album, and song name).

5. Optional. Or u can get a built in phone. Bluetooth RECOMMENDED.

6. Not known yet. U really think it's that ugly? if they did a facelift, what would u think will happen to it's looks?

7. Yes it does. never use D1 mode, more than D1 is necessary, d2 and on. It's in every way better than he M3's, but not close to the pure auto(I prefer Manual mode and use the paddles)

8. U can have 3 color options w/perforated seats for cooling(Black, Silver, and ummm I forgot the third) but that'll cost you 7500 euros for full leather perforated option, and the cooling seats I forgot the price.

My advice, if u are a person who still feels young on the inside and want pure fun, the M5 is quite the master of it. If not, then the B5 is for u...
4. but if it has auxilary, then no need for a tape deck. you can also use the ipod FW tuner, which is pretty good. i'm glad the CD player reads MP3, but then again i have 2600 tracks on my iPod and seperating those on CD wold be a nightmare. btw, does the CD player read CD-RW? also i wish the M5 had SD memory card slots like the new Audi.

5. when i got my M3 they gave me a crappy motorola cellphone. I mainly use Nokia, sometimes sony ericsson.....i also change phones almost every 2-3 months :)

6. no i i dont think it's ugly, it's just that i dont want my M5 t feel out dated a year after i buy it. I hope that i can replace the headlights and the rear lights if thats what will change in the facelifted ones.

7. whats D1? is that the auto? i will be using paddle shift most of the time, but when out with the family i'll be using auto with "M" mode off.

8. in that case i dont care for perforated seats since i'm getting indy red, eventhough it's extremely hot here in the UAE during summer time.

B5? is that the Alpina?

M > Alpina

kinggf
 
#10 · (Edited)
4. I'm gonna try the CD-RW with Mp3 and normal tracks on the car, in front CD and cd box, because I'd like the CD-rw to work with the car.

5. Me too. then the Bluetooth preparation option is the perfect thing for u. Note that not all phones will have their contacts in the car. All my Imates and Sony Eric. P910 dont import contacts on the Idrive. But Motorolla RAZR V3, Sony eric. K750, k700, most of Nokia phones do work(I havent tried the communicators, but I don't use them bec. i dont like them). If u wanna ask how many phones i currently have, well, about 10 phones and tryin to sell them(all from me and my bros who never use them anymore)

6. Ya, ur right. but they haven't yet made a newer discovery than the Bi-Xenon or the LED backlights. Other cars like S-class did it for the new tech. The 7 series did it because it's butt ugly, now it looks way better.

7. yes, D1 is auto 1 mode. It's good to hear ull use the paddles.


8. I wanted cool seating because my back sweats like iv just been taken a shower on my back only. But it was too costy. But the SilverstoneII leather extended seats are really good because they don't absorb heat as much. Now I get less sweat than my beige Interior SL500 with cool seating off
.

yes it is the ALPINA B5. V8 500hp supercharged auto gearbox.
 
#12 ·
Deride Alpina if you wish, but they can get the same BMW factory to build you a car with perforated leather, using only the extended leather package. The whole perforated is only available with full leather thing is just an inexcusable rip-off. They can perfectly well do it on extended and if you beat them up enough (especially if it's an Individual-trimmed car) they can supply - there's even a price for it, since they're building one for me in the next couple of weeks.

I heard from my dealer (Sytner) that they have had some issues with the optional AUX socket - on some cars, it has messed up the iDrive software, so they really don't recommend it. The only problem with using MP3 discs in the front cd slot is that it makes it impossible to use the SatNav, though I hear the 6-disc changer is becoming MP3 compliant on cars built from sometime later this year.

There is no tape deck on the E60, anyway.
 
#15 ·
chris.bailey said:
I use D3 a lot more than I thought I would. It really is very usable and if you want to say overtake, you just pull the downshift paddle. The D modes on the M5 are way way better than the D modes on an M3. Only jerks now and again as it changes down to second.
sounds sweet. can you use D3 with "M" mode activated? or is "M" mode SMG-paddle shift only?
 
#16 ·
#18 ·
Jad said:
like i said, u can put any setting on the m button. make it d1-5 or s1-6, dsc off,on, or M dynamic mode, etc....
But can you set it also to turn off the A/C, for those true MAXIMUM ATTACK moments?
 
#19 ·
hythe said:
But can you set it also to turn off the A/C, for those true MAXIMUM ATTACK moments?
Im afraid not
. but it doesn't make a huge difference whether AC is on or off, i'll turn it off only if im racing with some FAST car, it's just a button about 20cm away from u, but with other cars they struggle to come in front of me and im in P400 w/AC :hihi: and that's in street racing.
 
#20 ·
Here's a hint - if you see a BMW behind you with the letters A-L-P-I-N-A written across the front airdam, hit the M button real fast...
 
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