Work and M5 - Page 2

boarder1995 · 22nd February 2007, 16:30

Yep, the M5 won't be as much of a "cruiser" in my opinion, but you'll be more likely to take backroads with the M. It'll take more fuel, have higher maintenance, etc. as others have said.

Since you're in Houston, try and make it out to a meet and then you can have a sit in a vehicle and possibly a ride. My wife and I did that exact thing and ended up purchasing an M5 shortly thereafter. It'll give you an idea of the 2 different seats available in the M.

Barry Lausch · 22nd February 2007, 16:39

M5 is not the car for 100K a year, tires and gas alone would be huge expense.

At 12.4 miles per gallon 100K mi equals 8,065. gallons @ avg. $2.60 a gallon(very conservative est.) is $20,967 just for gas. Tires............forgetaboutit.

Stick to the 7.

M-bitious · 22nd February 2007, 16:52

Cost is a decision in itself. We can't judge how much he is willing to spend. I would think there is a lot of cruising long distances with 100,000 miles per year. I think you need comfortable seats, a quiet cabin and torque rather than horse power. If I were you, I would take the 760 if you want to stick with BMW.

Frank.

Sebring NL · 22nd February 2007, 18:03

I had the luck of driving a 760Li for a while two weeks ago, and I regularly drive an E60 M5 aswell.

The 760 amazed me in both performance and sound, and things like active cruisecontrol make it one of the best travel-cars I ever drove.

If you are often chauffeured, I think the 760 will do better no doubt.... The M5 just is a little less comfortable even in the softests EDC setting, and obviously has the wheelbase disadvantage over the E66.

Don't forget that BMW aimed at two different customers with these cars, and it shows.

I love the E60 M5, but if you only use it for travelling and never use the cornering ability + feel that you and your customers can do better without the racy feeling, don't get the M5.

Next thing is also..Reliability. The N73 is an engine that was tested and developed a lot longer than the S85, and is physically and thermally a lot less stressed. Lets not add in the SMG problems etc experienced on this board, just assume that you won't have them, still leaving you with an engine that is made for peak performance. Its not like BMW expects it to run 200k miles without serious trouble.

All is warranted obviously, but still the agrivation is huge for an intensive traveller.

Too bad you guys in US don't get the M67n ... For sure a car that can run with the V12 but obviously saves a lot of fuel, and the engine is a true work of art. It sounds a lot less nice than the N73, but it has 100Nm more torque! Downside = no E66 version, SWB only.

I would gladly drive an M5 E60 for 100k per year, but I can imagine some people getting tired of its character..Like Frank says, a little low-down torque is better for relaxed driving than a race-inspired high rev V10.

Wout

Barry Lausch · 22nd February 2007, 18:22

Depending upon your type of business the M5 could send the wrong "message" to your customers.

LI-M5 · 22nd February 2007, 19:56

100,000 miles p/year divided by 365 days =274 miles p/day !! whoa..

that would require the driver to hit up the gas station at least 2x's a day !! he may be able to afford the gas, but what can he afford the time ??

M-bitious · 22nd February 2007, 20:49

I doubt he works 7 days per week, so it's even more than that.

unfoundhorsepower · 22nd February 2007, 21:14

Joe, it's back and forth "on yur anise"..........

Daven, If I had to decide between one or the other I would go with the 760....doing 100k/year is fine for the M5 but not for you,,.....the 760 would be much easier to drive and much more "Care-free".....

trol · 22nd February 2007, 22:13

For those you commenting on 760 as if its another 7, please consider that 760il is almost twice the cost of 750i and almost 20-30K more expensive than M5. Its a different class yet manages to pull in 0-60 in 5.4 seconds, not bad for a monster of its size.

daven4 · 22nd February 2007, 23:18

Thanks for everyones input. I'm really having a difficult time with this decision.

Quote:

Since you're in Houston, try and make it out to a meet and then you can have a sit in a vehicle and possibly a ride. My wife and I did that exact thing and ended up purchasing an M5 shortly thereafter. It'll give you an idea of the 2 different seats available in the M.

That would be a good deal. It seems pretty hard to catch them at the dealers. I'm guessing there is a thread with the information? I just can't seem to find it.

Quote:

Depending upon your type of business the M5 could send the wrong "message" to your customers.

I work for murphy oil, so most of it is just back and forth travel. All my co workers seem to be commenting on my "old bastard" car. Can't have that.

Quote:

I had the luck of driving a 760Li for a while two weeks ago, and I regularly drive an E60 M5 aswell.

The 760 amazed me in both performance and sound, and things like active cruisecontrol make it one of the best travel-cars I ever drove.

If you are often chauffeured, I think the 760 will do better no doubt.... The M5 just is a little less comfortable even in the softests EDC setting, and obviously has the wheelbase disadvantage over the E66.

Don't forget that BMW aimed at two different customers with these cars, and it shows.

I love the E60 M5, but if you only use it for travelling and never use the cornering ability + feel that you and your customers can do better without the racy feeling, don't get the M5.

Next thing is also..Reliability. The N73 is an engine that was tested and developed a lot longer than the S85, and is physically and thermally a lot less stressed. Lets not add in the SMG problems etc experienced on this board, just assume that you won't have them, still leaving you with an engine that is made for peak performance. Its not like BMW expects it to run 200k miles without serious trouble.

All is warranted obviously, but still the agrivation is huge for an intensive traveller.

Too bad you guys in US don't get the M67n ... For sure a car that can run with the V12 but obviously saves a lot of fuel, and the engine is a true work of art. It sounds a lot less nice than the N73, but it has 100Nm more torque! Downside = no E66 version, SWB only.

I would gladly drive an M5 E60 for 100k per year, but I can imagine some people getting tired of its character..Like Frank says, a little low-down torque is better for relaxed driving than a race-inspired high rev V10.

Wout

Great information, thanks!

I agree that the M67n is an amazing vehicle. It seems the US misses out on some of the best stuff. I grew up in london, and had a cosworth escort that was amazing fun. None of that here.

(well, for a sane price.)

Don't get me wrong, I think the 760 is an outstanding car. Amazingly smooth and quiet. If I'm being driven, I can just work in the back and it seems like an office. (My boss has a maybach, and it's decently comparable to that. Well... almost. But my funds aren't exactly on par with his.

) But those strong points take a very different meaning when I'm driving. I miss the responsiveness and driving experience I had in my other cars. It's definitely quick, but it's also a boat and really isn't all that fun to drive.

I just don't want to be stranded one day when I have a meeting that I need to attend. Thats the issue that I'm really looking at. Most people on this board are performance enthusiasts, and they may drive their cars a little diffrently from me though. Of course I'm going to be pretty hard on it from time to time, hence the whole reason to buy it, but most of the miles will be pretty smooth and consistent. Do you still think it will be an issue?

Quote:

At 12.4 miles per gallon

Really??? Wow, I didn't know it was that bad. Is that the usual highway average? I have a great traveling budget, but I may have to sweet talk someone to make that slide.

But if I'm only keeping it for about a year It probably woudn't be too much of an issue.