Joined
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125 Posts
Hello all! I am a new (active) member on the M5 board. I've been lurking around on this site since it was www.bmwm5.com. I'm going to digress into a long drawn out story of how I found out about BMWs and the ///M division, so if you bore easily, skip to the picture...
It all started with the very first BMW ///M I saw. It was back in my early college years (mid 90's) when I saw an e36 M3 sitting around on campus. I remember liking BMWs styling (this is before I really got into cars), but I noticed that this car in particular had something special about it. I didn't recognize the model number either (I thought it might have something to do with the materials company 3M). At the time I didn't know what ///M was, but I thought the car just looked better than a regular 3 series, but I couldn't put my finger on why... That event planted the seed that would shape my future with BMWs. A few years later, a friend of mine picked up an e36 M3. Well, I remember the car and how awesome it looked and now I could find out what (if anything) was so special about it. Once my friend told me about the BMW Motorsport division and what it was all about, I was hooked. Sedan's that are also performance cars? Subtle looks, killer driving dynamics? Wolf in sheep's clothing? YES, YES, YES. I thought the M3 was the be all end all of sport sedans. Little did I know a car was about to be released that would change all that. Sometime around 1999-2000, when the e39 M5 came out (as I am sure you all know), one of my buddies pointed it out to me and mentioned how it was ridiculous that some soccer mom has such an awesome car. Awesome? How could a big four door sedan be more awesome than the hotness that was the M3? It has more doors, it can't possibly be as fast (I know it's not all about speed now, but this is still a bit before my car days)... "As fast as?", responded my friend. "Try faster than... hell, that thing will hang with Carreras and Vettes." OMGWTFBBQSANDWICH. How was this possible? It's like a wolf in sheep's clothing in cow's clothing. More stealth? YES. This must be researched... It was then I came upon the Top Gear video of Tiff driving around the e39 M5 around on an airfield. I remember thinking "How is it possible a four door sedan can hang with 911's and Vette's?" Well, I am not the driver Tiff is, but he definitely showed what the car was capable of. I was totally blown away... This car would become my new automotive goal. I knew it was so far out of reach, but I aspired to own one... Anyway, I eventually graduated college and got the opportunity to own my first BMW - a e36 ///M3. It was the first BMW motorsport car I had ever seen, and the first one I got lucky enough to own. Fantastic car. Eventually I saved up enough (and prices came down enough) for me to start looking for an e39 M5. Two years of semi-active and heavily active searching finally led to...
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Here's the stats:
2001 BMW M5 (Purchased in Aug. '07)
Carbon Black Exterior
Black Luxury Interior
Hardwired Valentine
B&B Exhaust
50K Miles
$32,000.00
It still has an aftermarket warranty on it for 100K miles or Oct. 2010. Not factory, but better than nothing (they've already paid out a claim). Took me awhile to get pictures due to the drought (and I was apprehensive about not being able to hand wash my own car). But I eventually took it to a hand wash shop and snapped some pics...
I'm sure all of you know how awesome the car is. I'm preaching to the choir here, but I must say it still makes me cry a little inside when I see it sitting in the garage. Haha, just starting to ramble now, so I'll end this now... I wanted to share my story with you all since I've been reading all your guys' stories since the beginning. I also wanted to let you all know how awesome you guys are at helping each other out. So much knowledge on here! Sometimes I think this board rivals BMWs knowledge of their own vehicles. Great site Gustav! Take care all and see you guys on the road!:M5launch:
It all started with the very first BMW ///M I saw. It was back in my early college years (mid 90's) when I saw an e36 M3 sitting around on campus. I remember liking BMWs styling (this is before I really got into cars), but I noticed that this car in particular had something special about it. I didn't recognize the model number either (I thought it might have something to do with the materials company 3M). At the time I didn't know what ///M was, but I thought the car just looked better than a regular 3 series, but I couldn't put my finger on why... That event planted the seed that would shape my future with BMWs. A few years later, a friend of mine picked up an e36 M3. Well, I remember the car and how awesome it looked and now I could find out what (if anything) was so special about it. Once my friend told me about the BMW Motorsport division and what it was all about, I was hooked. Sedan's that are also performance cars? Subtle looks, killer driving dynamics? Wolf in sheep's clothing? YES, YES, YES. I thought the M3 was the be all end all of sport sedans. Little did I know a car was about to be released that would change all that. Sometime around 1999-2000, when the e39 M5 came out (as I am sure you all know), one of my buddies pointed it out to me and mentioned how it was ridiculous that some soccer mom has such an awesome car. Awesome? How could a big four door sedan be more awesome than the hotness that was the M3? It has more doors, it can't possibly be as fast (I know it's not all about speed now, but this is still a bit before my car days)... "As fast as?", responded my friend. "Try faster than... hell, that thing will hang with Carreras and Vettes." OMGWTFBBQSANDWICH. How was this possible? It's like a wolf in sheep's clothing in cow's clothing. More stealth? YES. This must be researched... It was then I came upon the Top Gear video of Tiff driving around the e39 M5 around on an airfield. I remember thinking "How is it possible a four door sedan can hang with 911's and Vette's?" Well, I am not the driver Tiff is, but he definitely showed what the car was capable of. I was totally blown away... This car would become my new automotive goal. I knew it was so far out of reach, but I aspired to own one... Anyway, I eventually graduated college and got the opportunity to own my first BMW - a e36 ///M3. It was the first BMW motorsport car I had ever seen, and the first one I got lucky enough to own. Fantastic car. Eventually I saved up enough (and prices came down enough) for me to start looking for an e39 M5. Two years of semi-active and heavily active searching finally led to...
Here's the stats:
2001 BMW M5 (Purchased in Aug. '07)
Carbon Black Exterior
Black Luxury Interior
Hardwired Valentine
B&B Exhaust
50K Miles
$32,000.00
It still has an aftermarket warranty on it for 100K miles or Oct. 2010. Not factory, but better than nothing (they've already paid out a claim). Took me awhile to get pictures due to the drought (and I was apprehensive about not being able to hand wash my own car). But I eventually took it to a hand wash shop and snapped some pics...
I'm sure all of you know how awesome the car is. I'm preaching to the choir here, but I must say it still makes me cry a little inside when I see it sitting in the garage. Haha, just starting to ramble now, so I'll end this now... I wanted to share my story with you all since I've been reading all your guys' stories since the beginning. I also wanted to let you all know how awesome you guys are at helping each other out. So much knowledge on here! Sometimes I think this board rivals BMWs knowledge of their own vehicles. Great site Gustav! Take care all and see you guys on the road!:M5launch:
