Purchasing an M vehicle with that kind of mileage to me is like playing with fire... you are probably going to get burned and pretty much anyone who replies will probably say save the extra $10K for a lower mileage car.

On the bright side, that has to be the cleanest and best visually maintained high mileage M5 I have ever seen PERIOD. First thing would be to get the service history for the vehicle and run through the code list to see what has been done to the car... i.e. proper maint. intervals, break-in oil change/inspection, Service I, II, III and of course oil changes. Find out how many owners etc. (Carfax wouldn't be a bad idea). Get a feel for the owner through conversation and make a determination of how he treated the car on the road. Get references from the guy about maint. history (where it was performed) as well as see if he will agree to take it to a BMW dealer of YOUR choice (loca to the car of course) for an inspection by an M cert tech. Make sure you talk to the person that did the inspection of the car. More than likely a member of this board would volunteer to check the car out for you if you are not in the Milwaukee WI area.

This should get the replys started a bit... Personally, I won't buy a car unless I can inspect it in person and drive it for myself but I know what to look for.

 

Thats all good info, kinda verified what I was thinking, thanks.

I'm local to the guy, but don't want to mess around with him until I can more solidly say I'll buy it, I really don't want to string someone along for a month.

The cleanliness of the car is something that really caught my eye though, it's one of those things where 'if he keeps it that clean then...'

Anyone ever seen a Black M5 with the red seats? I'd prefer Grey but it does look kinda neat.

Bob

 

Red inserts

Anyone ever seen a Black M5 with the red seats? I'd prefer Grey but it does look kinda neat.

I have an '03 CB with the black/red seats ... it wasn't my first choice (wanted solid black), but the red grew on me. I've gotten many compliments from folks who see it for the first time ....

Good luck!

 

I've seen the red inserts before. I think they are nice but I like the contrast. There are blue inserts as well. If you end up with an M5 with the red or blue inserts I'd be up for trading interior I would like to have either. I have all black right now.

 

I've seen the red inserts before. I think they are nice but I like the contrast. There are blue inserts as well. If you end up with an M5 with the red or blue inserts I'd be up for trading interior I would like to have either. I have all black right now.

I'll keep that in mind, you're actually remotely close.

Bob

 

I'd take a lower miles one. That $10k you might save can get soaked up really fast with an E39, and I would hate to have that happen to me.

:cheers:

 

I bought my 2001 M5 with 104k and the maintenace history on it was incredible... new tranny, new diff, the 10k carbon build up rebuild, new clutch recently, etc, etc etc... and so far, other then a broken sway bar link from doing donuts and a blown fuel pump relay, no issues yet...

I'd spend less time looking for one with good miles and find one with good history...

 

if it has good history, and you otherwise like it i'd get a compression and leakdown test. The ony real catostrophic thing that could happen could be rod bearings, we've seen a few failed bearings here, but actually only one with over 100k on the clock, others were cars with altered rev limits and usually failed at much lower milage. For the 10k you save, you could prophylactically thro a set of rod bearings on the car, or at least inspect them, and potentially be fine. There is at least one board member with 200k on his car, and several in the low to mid 100's.

 

i bought mine with 107k miles and the history was good. Just ask to see what has been done to the car. The clutch replacement would be good cause that is like $3000, Mafs ? Alternator ? O2 sensor ? Tune up ? Differential service ?

 

That's a LOT of miles

We all have our opinions around here, but 100k miles on a car is a lot.
Certainly not worth saving 10 grand on IMHO. These cars are fun and a joy to drive, but they are also high performance machines that can chew through 10000 bucks in maintenance pretty easily over a relatively short period of time. If I were back in the market for an E39 M5, I would definitely look for a later model '02-'03 at this point.

My .02. Good luck in your search.


Brian

 

It really depends on what you will do with the M5. If you only put limited miles on it yourself and if you intend to keep it for a long time/forever, a high mileage M5 makes sense to me. If not, the market for an M5, which when you are done with it, with very high miles will be very limited. The particular car you are looking at, look (from the pictures) extremely clean, and IMO definitely worth a punt.

I still prefer 1 owner cars with high mileage and full service history, to cars with limited mileage that has gone through (too) many owners: High way miles are a lot easier than city miles or traffic light jockeys.

 

I've got the same colour scheme (red inserts).
I nearly didn't view my car because the red looked SO bright in the ad. photos
In the flesh, they're quite a "warm" red and not as loud as the ad photos suggest - I like them more than the blandness of black / grey interiors.

From my buying experience, I recommend you do contact the owner and go and see the car. Be honest on your situ. over the phone. Get the owner to take you for a drive in it. Spend an hour or so in the car going thru a checklist to see what's working / what's not.

From this you'll have met the owner and checked over the car, building up your experience of M5's. If in a months time the car hasn't sold and you're still interested in this car, you and the owner both know who's balls are in who's hands when it comes to negotiating the price. :blink:

Good luck

 

In January I paid $23.3K for an 85kmile one owner blk/caramel that'd had 3-5 kmile oil changes (consumption ~ 1qt/3000mi). I did this after talking with the owner, seeing service records and the results of the local dealer's PPI, and test driving it 500 miles. Still, to take care of small issues and simply make it better - improved brake feel, new front suspension rubber, etc, etc, I've put well north of $5K into it. No regrets since it's been a good learning experience. No matter how well your candidate's been maintained, it's probably conservative to figure on a few thousand bucks odds and ends in the first year. $24K asking looks quite reasonable as a baseline. Carfax and ownership history are essential.

 

In January I paid $23.3K for an 85kmile one owner blk/caramel that'd had 3-5 kmile oil changes (consumption ~ 1qt/3000mi). I did this after talking with the owner, seeing service records and the results of the local dealer's PPI, and test driving it 500 miles. Still, to take care of small issues and simply make it better - improved brake feel, new front suspension rubber, etc, etc, I've put well north of $5K into it. No regrets since it's been a good learning experience. No matter how well your candidate's been maintained, it's probably conservative to figure on a few thousand bucks odds and ends in the first year. $24K asking looks quite reasonable as a baseline. Carfax and ownership history are essential.

+1

and there are no guarantees of failsafe motoring with low mileage examples either.

Have a look at http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=102638

:wroom:

Sorry Mike, you mentioned this already

 

TOO MANY MILES. DONT BUY.

 

100,000 miles is not necessarily a problem. My car currently has 120,000 on it and hasn't gone wrong at all; I have literally never had a problem of any significance. It may well develop a problem sometime - cars do - but it has provided completely faultless service so far.

The problem here is that the car has done 100,000 miles of driving that you know nothing about. If the car has been treated with respect by someone who knows how to drive, maintained regardless of cost and generally cherished it could be a wonderful buy. If it has had 100,000 miles of abuse it will probably be knackered.

I have become a bit desensitised to milege because of the amount of driving I do and I've had very few problems with cars that have had high mileage. Buying a car with high miles represents more of a risk because you don't really know how it has been treated unless you know the owner. Also the cost of parts and labour for the M5 means that if it is a dog, it will cost a fortune to put right.

Good luck with your decision.

 

I second whoever suggested going to look at and drive it; with the autotrader description, really seems worth a visit. I pay attention to the engine bay's cleanliness and look underneath all four sides at the undercarriage. If the owner's had it for some time, he should have service records that match his attention to cosmetics. He should give you a straight answer about oil consumption and why he's selling it. Local dealer here charges $200-300 for an extremely thorough PPI, which should include all BMW dealership service records; best money you'll spend. Does the car have quality tires? Personally, I'd rather see clapped Michelins than new cheapies.

 

Don't be fooled by "This car is really clean, therefore the owner kept it that way through it's whole life." While that might be true, the owner might have just thrown $300 at a detail shop last week and had a "Really Clean" car a few hours later.

That being said, I agree with all the other posts: "Get the vehicle history, do a leakdown test, and arrange to have a mechanic you trust go over the car with a fine tooth comb."

I've put over 100k miles on my M5 and it is never clean. But it still runs strong, and constantly amazes me. Stuff breaks. Entropy rules the universe. Deal with it. Just go get as much info about the car's history as you can. Being informed is never a bad thing.

And regardless of the mileage (10k or 100k) the car might have problems next week. This ain't a Toyota. Put aside a couple thousand for periodic repairs. Don't assume that if you get a clean, problem free car that it is going to be that way forever. Maybe it will. Maybe not. Either way, you'll be driving an M5.

Have fun, and drive safely. (fast and smooth; but safe)

 

i am not arguing that this car is not in good condition at 100,000 miles. but you must think logically about it. do you think you will ever be able to put another 100k on? 50k on?

Think of investment, buying a car at 100,000 miles, M5 or not, is just not wise IMHO.

 

Think of investment, buying a car at 100,000 miles, M5 or not, is just not wise IMHO.

My first car was a 3 year old Toyota Camry with 99K miles on the dial. It was not even close to an M5, but I drove that V6 engine hard and meticulously maintained it. When I sold it 7 years later, it had 250K miles and was still going strong! It was probably because of the Tornado fuel saver that I installed! :haha:

 

as we talk about high milage cars, there is a guy who bought a low milage garage queen that needs a new vanos at 19k miles.... Things can happen at any time.

 

One point of reference on engine life in BMWs (I know it is NOT an M5, but it is a BMW, just the same).

My 1980 (much older car and should have less life than the newer, more advanced BMWs) 320i had 320,000 miles on it ... when I got rid of it. The engine, transmission and differential had never been apart. The fuel injection pump had to be cleaned (rust from the gas tank), but that was it ... replaced a few minor parts (two clutches) over the years, but it always started immediately and ran perfectly. Very little oil usage as well.

Most, but certainly not all, BMWs have long engine lives if treated properly ...

 

Wow, these posts have been a great help. A local M5 owner even emailed me about his M5 he is thinking of selling, I'm going to look at it.

As far as mileage goes, I think this sumarizes what I've learned here:

High miles (85K+) - Car has been driven, so if major problems, do to poor tolerances or material defect, were there, they should have shown their heads by now. That being said, there could be more problems right around the corner, you are chancing it. Plus there is so much driving history that you have no way of knowing.

Mid High Miles (60K-85K) - Car could have issues, but like above they may or may not be there, Car has been driven a fair amount so potential problems should be out there. Expensive 60K service should be done.

Mid Miles (40K-60K) - Average for this type of car (low by any other car standard) if driven as a performance car, engine should be clean and broken in properly.

Low Miles (under 40K) - lots of life yet, but lots of potential problems with little to no warranty (due to age). There are a lot of history knowns on this mileage, but only because of lack of history from lack of driving, their may be even more future unknowns though.

Now I hope none of those catagories sound dumb, sometimes it's hard to summarize something like this and each car will have 1 or more exceptions. And in the end whichever way you go, there is still an M5 sitting in the driveway.

Please correct anything I may have mistated or misunderstood. I'll probably go look at the one in the link too, just to see an example of a 100K M5. I will also say that if I'm in a position where I buy a $24K unit only because thats what I can afford, then I wont do it, as these cars can potentially be too expensive to get myself in a position like that.

Thanks again. And keep the responces comming.

Bob

 

I think the bottom line is dont worry about miles so much. Worry about the car 's history and get the feel for the owner.

 

EXACTLY ... That feel for the owner (no, not that kind of feel) is maybe the most important thing to consider. A**hol* owners can ruin a car in 10,000 miles.

 

I bought mine with 92k on it several months ago. It was a one owner, had all records, European delivery. What sold me on it was that it looked brand new. The guy was single...back seat and passenger rarely used. He just had a lot of service done, MAFs, brakes, new clutch, cam sensors, new tires and BBS wheels. He lived a ways out of town, so I knew a lot of miles were highway. Also because the original clutch lasted him 90k miles!!! That was the real sale for me.

Also, I am good with a wrench, so I don't worry about labor costs...and parts can be found. No one would ever know that my car had that many miles on it. It also came with a bunch of extra stuff, floor mats, bra, Peake reader, etc.

 

I bought mine last august with 76k... I now have 103K no major problems... it's all about maintenance

 

I think another good bet is to start test driving other examples in the area and take note of jiggles, wiggles, squeeks etc etc. Seat time helps you know what is "normal" and what is not. If you can't find two or more examples, make friends with other board members who can go with or check out the rides as well. You can gauge tranny, clutch feel, and question why does it feel like this, or that- blah blah blah.... too many things to notice if you could have something besides words, to compare/contrast. Isn't this why people go on dates before "committing?"

In all seriousness, this is of course on top of everything else you need to do in terms of due diligence such as mentioned above..

Good luck, and don't rush...

 

+1 totally agree. I drove 2 pieces of junk M5's before I got mine. I felt out the owner pretty good and actually never drove the car before I bought it. When I first got in my M5 to drive it home on prayer, everything was butter. 2000+ miles and no issues. It really depends on the previous owner(s). I got extremely lucky for the price I paid for my car, I was expecting much less. lets see how the next year pans out!

don't get me wrong either, going by what the owner says may be setting you up for trouble. play around with the owner, see if they get nervous or uptight when you ask them off the wall questions. anyone can tell you anything, most people don't have good poker faces. you will tell when they are slipping and then you walk. paper history is great also. get to be friends with your service writer at BMW and pull up records. you know.

and have fun. don't get stressed. the market is picking up on these and the prices are dropping, before you know it all 9,992 or less will be in happy hands. lol

 

its fairly priced. ifyou add your 10k lets ay 34k is what your going to blow off for a car.. generally speaking you still wont be far into the LOW MILAGE section. 60-70k miles compared to soemting 90-100k miles isnt much of a difference especially the 39 m5. ive seen cars go well over 130k and still ticking strong. and ive seen cars at 40k miles just fall to peices.

best idea is to get the car inspected by a cirtified bmw shop.. leaky seals, worn bushings, oil covered undercarage etc etc...


the guy that said "TOO MANY MILES.... DONT BUY IT.." is a completely ignorant.