[dohmer]

Hey all,

I will hopefully be making my way down to a dealer today to sign up for an M5 I've had my eyes on for a while..
I was planning on purchasing the vehicle subject to a mechanical inspection and taking to a local BMW expert I've dealt with before.
Just wondering if anyone can give me some ideas on things I should probably look for or be aware of?
I know the M5 isn't exactly unreliable but there have been issues mentioned before and they don't seem cheap to fix.
I understand these amazing cars do come at a price and you need to be prepared to spend some money from time to time. I just don't want to be hit with a big bill on something that may seem obvious to others just by looking or checking a few things.
To give you an idea, the M5 is a 2007 model with 112,xxxkms.
I also feel as though I couldn't trust this dealer as far as I could throw them!

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Would also love to hear from any M5 owners here in Perth!

Thanks for your help,
Luke.

 

[StigR]

Hi there

If it doesn't have a service history don't buy it. If it does have a service history then take the liberty of calling the workshop and investigating the history. If you suspect the history is from someone affiliated with the dealer, or not a specialist mechanic, don't buy it.

Check EVERYTHING works as it should (it's an indication of owner care that anything fault be fixed). Check for even tyrewear, hard braking performance (no pull).

Check dash for any alerts at start up.

Don't let dealer 'warm it up' before you get there to view it. E60 M5's sound pretty awful cold and at tick over but if the dealer does that he might be trying to hide a rattle.

But above all else get a trusted, independent, specialist mechanic to spend enough time with the car, and with professional diagnostic tools. It'll cost you a could of hundred bucks but could save you thousands.

And is the dealer isn't comfortable with that scenario, don't buy it.

I'm no expert (at all) but a happy owner who bought the right car by getting an expert to confirm my purchase was sound (and identifying where I should spend a small amount of money after purchase - brake pads, oil level sensor, control arm bushes).

Regards

Stig

 

[dohmer]

Hey Stig,

Thanks for all your useful tips!

Turns out the dealer sold the one I was interested in.. Which is weird considering they couldn't move it for 6 months and then the day I'm ready to buy another guy comes along with the cash haha!

Anyway, I'm happy to wait for the right one.

Really appreciate your help!

Do you mind me asking for what year your M5 is and how many kms it's done now?

Regards,
Luke.

 

[StigR]

Hi Luke

Mine is an '05 that just clicked over to 70,000km.

When I was in the market to buy I built a simple spreadsheet/graph plotting price on one axis and KM on the other access. That told me the potential best value cars (without knowing history or condition yet). From that I made a shortlist and checked more detail on them.

Bear in mind there is virtually no spec changes from '05-'08 (again, I'm no expert so search forum for exact but I think it's just headrests, navigation going from DVD to HDD, screen format, start button). Meaning year is less important than KM though rubber and plastic can age without use if car lived outside or near a beach. Actually on that topic, I NEVER buy a car from anywhere near the ocean.

I'm actually considering a 1 Series M at the moment (quite fancy the idea of a clutch pedal for a while). If you weren't 4000km away I'd offer you a chance to check out mine but I think that big dessert between us might be a hindrance to having a quick look .

Stig

 

[Marth06]

Hi I'm in Perth and I'll be looking to sell my 08 M5 in about a month when my lease is up. I've had it for two years.
Silver grey metallic 95,000km.
Has CIC fitted, F10 20" inch rims, super sprint axle back exhaust, H&R springs and other minor changes. Eg change globes to LED
Options - comfort access, soft close doors.
I'm second owner. First owner was a doctor (in his 50's) in SA, he traded it for a new F10. I bought it off the original selling dealer.
If your interested PM me

 

[Marth06]

Hi Luke

Mine is an '05 that just clicked over to 70,000km.

When I was in the market to buy I built a simple spreadsheet/graph plotting price on one axis and KM on the other access. That told me the potential best value cars (without knowing history or condition yet). From that I made a shortlist and checked more detail on them.

Bear in mind there is virtually no spec changes from '05-'08 (again, I'm no expert so search forum for exact but I think it's just headrests, navigation going from DVD to HDD, screen format, start button). Meaning year is less important than KM though rubber and plastic can age without use if car lived outside or near a beach. Actually on that topic, I NEVER buy a car from anywhere near the ocean.

I'm actually considering a 1 Series M at the moment (quite fancy the idea of a clutch pedal for a while). If you weren't 4000km away I'd offer you a chance to check out mine but I think that big dessert between us might be a hindrance to having a quick look .

Stig

I think you'll find that the 08 LCI models, there is a bit of difference from the 05-07 models. Also navigation was still disc, headrests didn't change, start button is in all. Depends on options too.
Big diff is the gearbox oil pump was sorted (or something like that) some interior changes eg door handles, front and rear lights and some other minor cosmetic changes.
Search on here and it will tell all
I researched on here mainly and few other forums, and came up with, if you could afford it, go with the LCI model. I agree, lower km's the better too but I would sacrifice some km's for an LCI model.

 

[ITALIAN_GUY]

How much?

Title says it all.

I too am interested in a/your BMW M5 E60.

If OP doesn't/isn't interested, I am.

Regards,

Luca.

 

[StigR]

Hi Luca

I'd be looking at $65k firm.

However on Carsales there's one at $69,500 with only 29,000km which if checks out sounds like a good deal. And a couple with similar KM's to mine (70k) for high $50k bracket which might be good buys too.

None is SA that I can see but a couple in Vic or a long trip across the Nullabor to buy off guys that did OK out of the mining boom are possibilities.

As you can tell I'm not really angling for a sale though the I've a bit of an itch for 911's or a 1M to fill the garage if you're genuinely interested.

Cheers

Stig