[MABM5]

Hello all,

I am newer here and recently purchased a 2002 M5 with 90K on the clock. It was a 2 owner car from the south and has never seen snow so I'm very pleased with the body, etc.

While I love the M5 and have had one years ago, I know very little about wrenching on one other than minor MAF cleaning, brakes, etc.

I have a series of upgrades planned including headers, possible ESS SC, etc.

I would like to get a full workup done first before spending the money on these items. Without having proper service records from the party I purchased from I'd love to go over the car with a fine tooth comb and fix anything needing done well in advance, and ensure it has the proper structure to support making major upgrades.

If it turned out to not be the case I'd prefer selling to someone who isn't looking for those upgrades and buying a lower mileage car to start with.

I live 30mi north of Cinci so anything in the Dayton/Cincinnati area is neutral distance for me.

The clutch seems to be slipping when shifting into 4-5th under heavy acceleration, and the rear makes noise every time I hit a significant bump. I can't personally feel any other problems, but that means very little!

TIA

 

[MABM5]

Wow, overwhelming response so far.

Posted an ad on CL looking for a certified BMW mechanic to come to my office and take care of everything. Had two replies. One didn't even claim to be certified, the other said he was a level 2 certified mechanic at a BMW dealer which I verified. $35/hr, I can live with that!

After driving him around for 2 minutes and showing him where the clutch begins slipping he asked "is this a 2005?".

Great to see so many skilled folks that know how to work on these cars.

 

[EAG]

Enthusiast Auto Group

MABM5 - come down and see us anytime. I don't know of any shops around that have more M5 experience than us. We have bought/sold about 70 2002-2003 M5's this year alone and serviced several dozen other local M5's. Currently, we have five guys full time wrenching and 8 bays to accommodate our service customers.

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www.EAGBMW.com

We'll be happy to take care of any and all your M-Car service needs.
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[Hdhntr23]

You will be very happy with Eric and Evan's work @ EAG. You may also want to check out Elsen's AutoHaus in Loveland.

I've ended up doing most of my work myself with a TON of help from another board member Timmay77. I would trust EAG with my car Ive just been lucky enough to be able to do it on my own.

Welcome to the board! I live in Maineville and there are several other E39 M5 owners in the area.

Good luck!

 

[jlusby]

+1 on EAG and also +1 for Elsen's Autohaus. I only dealt with EAG when I sold my M3 and they did the inspection for the new buyer, but they certainly seem to know their stuff.

I have used Elsen's for about 6 years and John does very good work. He did all of the work on my M3 and now anything that I don't do on my M5, I take to him. He will be very honest about the fact that there are some things he simply can't do for the M5 because he doesn't have all of the diagnostic equipment but is able to do most everything. John's prices are also very reasonable. I believe he spent many years at one of the local BMW dealers in Cincy. BMWs are the only cars that he works on. I drive past his shop several times a week and he always has a bunch of cars waiting for service. I always look to see if there are any M5s there

 

[MABM5]

Thanks very much guys for the recommendations. So far, sounds like being buddies with Timmay77 is the best option! :tonquesmilie:

I will be leaving for the holidays tonight but when I get back I'll contact both shops and go from there.

I did go ahead and let the BMW tech look the car over today since it was a $35 inspection only and I let him come up with a full workup of what it needs.

I will take it to one of the two recommended shops to compare his list to what the shop finds and begin making plans for repairs.

Other than the clutch the car runs excellent so 90% of what I'm doing is preventative only. I'm looking at doing the clutch, sensors, sway bar brackets, two struts, and possibly even rod bearings with 90K on the ODO.

Again, thanks for the welcome all the replies and I hope you have a great holiday weekend!