[desmotesta]

Guys,

I am at a cross roads and frankly its getting down right annoying. Annoying enough that I am starting to question my decision to buy the M5 to begin with. I KNOW that I am over thinking the decision and I know that I need to snap out of it, but I cant.

Like most people I have a couple of favorite colors. Like most people, I woudl also like to get the best, most relaible and well taken care of car for the money. My problem is (and I am sure anyone who has bought the M5 in the last couple of years)that as soon as I find a car that is well taken care of with documented service history, its not in m y favorite color (interior or exterior). When by chance I do find my favorite color, the car doesn't seem like it was owned and maintained with the same passion as others. The back and forth is driving me and my wife absolutely crazy (well in her case, I am the one driving her crazy)

As impractical and absurd as it sounds (since you cant get in my brain to think like me or help me) I am asking you folks, which compromise is easier to live with. Compromising on the color combination or buy the right combo and then putting up with a not so perfect car (and paying more over time for extra repairs).
I have a local car, an absolute cherry, yet its in my 2nd lest favorite color and I am worried that I will regret now buying it.
On the other hand I have found a couple of cars 1000-1400 miles away, my fav color combo, but they are at best kept and maintained in an average manner.

What do you say?

 

[Fulltone74]

I bought a Silverstone car with Caramel interior...
Relatively rare color combination. It had very good, but not fully excellent paint condition.
The interior was passable, but not exactly great...

But the price was low and the mileage was relatively low, and i got a really good extended warranty with it.

The problem is; our cars don't command Barrett Jackson auto auction prices simply because they are in mint cherry condition.
A "cream puff" car cosmetically might get $5K more on the used market relative to a merely "good" condition car, but will certainly cost many times more than that to bring it to such condition.

Remember; most of the owners now are in their 30s or 40s -- a great many of them married, with kids, or a mortgage, etc...
The M5 is a great car, but also driven by people who have other pressing priorities in life as well...

if you enjoy the car for it's performance, you'll be much happier with it.
Constantly obsessing over the cosmetics of the car makes you appreciate the car much less, and the car then becomes a chore instead of something to be happy with.

Plus the M5 is inexpensive enough now that the younger people upgrading from their Honda Accord sedan into an M5 really aren't going to notice a stone chip here or a bit of leather wear there once they step on the throttle...



If I had to do it all again, I would get Alpine white over a black sport interior.
White masks stone chips and scratches the best.
Black interior seats don't really have noticeable color fading problems -- and resulting color matching problems for redye - like tan or caramel seats. The sport interior leather is more resilient than the Nappa luxury leather.

 

[victorm5]

If you have a certain colour set for your dream M5, my advice is not to settle with anything else or you will probably regret that you never get to have that car you always dream about.

I determined to get an Imola Red E39 M5 and I am really glad that I did...I realized my dream.

 

[pureretro]

Color and overall cosmetic condition were must haves for me. Low miles would be nice. I ended up with a high mileage example with no service records, but local chap who was clearly an enthusiast who did his own maintenence. It was some solace that he just purchased the car last year from a local BMW dealership though.

I was going to drive it daily, and have no problems taking stuff apart and am prepared for some downtime for longer mechanical jobs. So it was really down to cosmetics (no repaint, no worn leather, no dings) for me and the right color.

 

[Lancefitzgiben]

I picked a car that was close enough to pick up in a weekend (basically a one day drive away) and had a good clean service history, private (car enthusiast) seller. Color was not that important, white was the top of the list, didn't particularly want silver or black - ended up with silverstone and love it.

 

[M5erchant M5arine]

From reading your signature it looks like this is not your only vehicle. My M5 is my daily driver and my only car. For me it was most important to have a squared away example of the breed. I wanted Alpine White or LMB very badly, however I couldn't find a well cared for one when I was looking thus I let my head decide not my heart, which is why I drive a titanium silver one. It looks like you have a bit more flexibility in that regard. If I were in your shoes I'd go for the color you want.

- best of luck with your decision

 

[klunk]

i usually buy cars like this when they are 8-10 years old.

As such and due to their potential high cost to repair, i always go with condition, and history. ALWAYS.

I then think about miles, and only then colour combo, last for me is pre or post facelift, as i am buying the car for the engine, the handing and the comfort.

My car is silverstone with heritage leather and wood trim, not for everyone, but i love it.

To be honest i would have bought any colour combo apart from imola, had the condition been good enough

Although i have budgeted for and can afford the big jobs if they happen, i am hoping they won't and that money can go towards a C63 AMG in 5 years time as a compliment to the then classic E39 M5

Just my 2p

 

[desmotesta]

From reading your signature it looks like this is not your only vehicle. My M5 is my daily driver and my only car. For me it was most important to have a squared away example of the breed. I wanted Alpine White or LMB very badly, however I couldn't find a well cared for one when I was looking thus I let my head decide not my heart, which is why I drive a titanium silver one. It looks like you have a bit more flexibility in that regard. If I were in your shoes I'd go for the color you want.

- best of luck with your decision

Yes you are right, we have two other cars and a couple of motorcycles. The M5 would be only mine and would only be driven every now and then (after the forst three months of initial lust wears off a bit--then again who knows, may be not).
What I am trying to say is that I do have another way to get around if my Imola red (fav color) is under the weather.
.
Thank you all for your input, its all coming down to buying a Silver car with highish (80+K miles) vs a Red one with 60K miles- both same year, both require a significant road trip. Add to this a local Silver car with same miles and owned by an older gentleman and extremely well cared for (she has her own detached garage and everything). All three above cars are 2002.
You see why I am so confused.

 

[M5 London]

I had one buying criteria :

1) It simply needs to be the best 4 Door Saloon ever built.

Criteria accomplished !

 

[tranck]

Like others have stated - I think that if you settled on a color, you would regret it. Everytime you'd drive it or even look at it, you would try and rationalize your decision - always second guessing it - I'd keep waiting until the right one comes along.

There have been many instances where board members have said just that - waited and finally, they got their dream car.

 

[Mindcriminal]

I'm in the same exact boat. I was about to travel 1.5k miles to pick up a my00 royal red in amazing condition....but I couldn't imagine the damn thing in my driveway in that color. I will patiently await my LeMans M5 which I am still actively searching for. Don't settle for a color....

 

[CSBM5]

If you're not in a hurry to close a deal, then holding out for the car in your desired color in the condition you want might work over say the next 18 months. However, my thought on this is that the E39 is now entering a stage where truly cherry condition cars with low mileage are getting rare and harder to find. If you do choose that path, be ready. Be ready to close the deal with the seller when the time comes. You might end up paying $1-2k more for the car than you "would like", but if you get the car and condition you want, inspect it thoroughly, negotiate quickly, and close the deal.

In my case, I bought the M5 many years ago when it sort of fell into my lap. Like you, I wanted an Imola Red one. I found a new 2003 M5 at Flow Motors in Winston-Salem and worked a deal with them for $69k even. This was unheard of only a few months earlier...being able to buy a car off a dealer lot and pay less than MSRP (rare event for the E39 M5), but this was February 2004, and they had had that car in their showroom since the previous August, asking MSRP the whole time. I had purchased a new 2002 540i/6 a bit less than 2 years earlier and wanted to trade it in. The deal fell apart when we were way apart on the trade-in value (I later ended up selling the 540i with 16k miles for $43,000 whereas the best Flow would offer was $38k). If they had done $40k, I would have had an Imola 03 since then.

My 2nd choice color was LeMans Blue. I had ordered the 540i in Topaz Blue, and LMB was a deeper, richer color that I also loved. Well, during that negotiation with Flow, out popped this 12k miles, 2001 LMB M5 that in all respects looked brand new. Garaged since new, driven 12k miles in the 2.5 years the original owner had it, etc. The price was right at the time, $52k, which was a few grand under what dealers were asking for equivalent cars. Hence I hit the bid, flew out to Denver and had an awesome drive back to NC (in a very small but fun amount of time ).

In those days, low mileage, essentially new cars were everywhere. I could have waited for an Imola to appear. Guess what happened? Literally the week I got back from Denver, Madsen Motors in Cary had a 2001 Imola/Caramel on consignment in their showroom. I had just been at their place the prior week talking to them about an M5, talking about paint meter checking, etc. Unreal. My wife and I went to look at the car for fun, and it was also super nice with about 10k miles. Oh well... (I ended up buying an Imola E46 about a year later, still have it, and I still REALLY like that color).

So that's my story. I jumped, emotionally, to buy the M5 I have only to have the color I thought I wanted appear locally the week I came back with the LMB (after looking for 3 months). In retrospect, I'm really glad I got the car I have since I love the sport interior, and it is much longer wearing than the luxury interior leather (i.e. bolster in luxury interior cars, Caramel, etc, wear much quicker).

Where is all this blabber heading? I don't know. Seriously, at this point in the age of these cars, I would accept the advice above and choose condition first, color second. Make sure to outlaw ALL cars that have been driven on salty roads. Finding two identical mileage cars with adequate service history, but one car has been garaged night and day while the other left to the elements, the garaged 10 year old car would be substantially more to me. Many buyers wouldn't care, but I'd be there bidding above what they'd be willing to pay while being called an idiot.

Chuck

 

[JimBeemer]

I had one buying criteria :

1) It simply needs to be the best 4 Door Saloon ever built.

Criteria accomplished !

X2!
I was open to any color combination or year, as long as it had an outstanding maintenance history and came with a thick folder of receipts for service. I also tried to research previous ownership (was it raced?), to the extent I could. It's much easier to do on a one owner car and I was lucky to find a two owner car and was able to talk with the original owner before buying the car. I liked the fact it was owned by two people in their 50s with the finances to maintain it well. The original owner from Westchester, NY has called me twice this year to ask how things are going with the M5, emphasized changing the oil with TWS, and asked what I've done to it. He now owns a 2008 M5.

 

[rvt1000]

Yr, condition & mileage was #1 criteria. Color int/ext was secondary. Ended up Silverstone int & ext, great combo

 

[al-x]

Much like everyone else stated records are of great importance. Initially I was looking for a Alpine car but could not find one physically close enough to me or well cared for. I ended up with a silverstone car purely by chance, right color, good history, but wrong color. I know this may sound silly, but have you driven one yet? You will know which car is for you the instant you get behind the wheel......

 

[Adam1323]

you could always call the used factory... :biggrinbounce:

i understand where you are...i just bought a jet black over caramel leather and my first choice was alpine white... but i love the look of black its just a ***** to take care of. If i could go back i would of waited so do yourself a favor and wait on the right car...

 

[snowmants]

Yeah I am looking right now as well (but for an e60) same issues. The thing with the colors that BMW chose for the M5 though, is that I like pretty much all of them! If I have a choice, I will go with silver simply becasue it looks clean even when filthy. For me though, my criteria rank this way:
1. Well taken care of
2. Options
3. Low miles
4. color
5. Distance from seller

 

[desmotesta]

Thank you all for your input.

It has all come down to this following, all 2002 :

1- My favorite color, 1500 miles away, 60K miles, average service history (owner has done simple oil changes and spark plugs etc)

2- Silver, 1200 miles away , 82K miles, Service history is in a 2 inch thick folder, everything documented and changed

3- Silver, Local, 78K miles, Older gentleman, M5 has her own detached garage, Driven sparingly and gently, Average service history (oil changes, braked etc - has not needed O2, CPS, Valve gaskets, clutch yet

All are priced with in $1500 of each other.

You see why I am confused.

 

[Hdhntr23]

Thats the thing, the lust wont ever wear off. I promise.

 

[jamesrothwell]

I want to buy myself a bit of a fun fast car in Jan and I basically come to the conclusion that an M5 would be cool.
I've had too many E class Mercedes to want an AMG version. I can't afford a bi-turbo V12 S600. Audi S6 is too slow plus I've had A6s and A8s before. I wouldn't mind an S8 but they aren't good value. I thought about a newer model (2004) A8 but they are rather boring. I can't afford a 996 Porsche but I could afford a Boxster but I've driven these and the 2.5 is slow, the 2.7 is okay the 3.2 is great but they are a little small plus the 3.2 is out of my price range. Don't want a Maserati 3200 coupe. Thought about an old Bentley for the cool factor but they certainly aren't fast.

Basically there isn't a car in my price range that I want that actually interests me apart from the E39 facelift M5.
Since I've been looking into it there are a few options that I want and a few colours that I want, but I've told myself not to be fussy when buying a used car!! Wish me luck!!