The Best ///M/Barge/General Rant/Look at this/O/T (Vol XVI)

[ferrisbueller]

E24man said:

m5wagon said:

tdm34 said:

I'll just leave this here, Speak to North, Personally it combines the best bits of both.......

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

Oof. Did they do those in touring form? THAT would be all the car I would need...

Four in E61 B5 form and one sole E61 B5S, down in numbers from the ten E39 V8 Tourings and four B10 V8S Tourings.

B5's can be upgraded to B5S form.

There are also five F11 B5 BiTurbo Touring cars and just one E34 B10 4.6 Touring and that's the lot for rhd five series V8 Tourings, 25 cars in 19 years so not many to choose from.

Edited by E24man on Friday 3rd October 23:35

What are the running costs like?

[ajcj]

ferrisbueller said:

E24man said:

m5wagon said:

tdm34 said:

I'll just leave this here, Speak to North, Personally it combines the best bits of both.......

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

Oof. Did they do those in touring form? THAT would be all the car I would need...

Four in E61 B5 form and one sole E61 B5S, down in numbers from the ten E39 V8 Tourings and four B10 V8S Tourings.

B5's can be upgraded to B5S form.

There are also five F11 B5 BiTurbo Touring cars and just one E34 B10 4.6 Touring and that's the lot for rhd five series V8 Tourings, 25 cars in 19 years so not many to choose from.

Edited by E24man on Friday 3rd October 23:35

What are the running costs like?

I'm on my second. Ran the first from 60k miles to 100k, then this one from 35k to 60k. In those 75k miles I have paid only for oil, filters, spark plugs and brakes. The parts required are top quality, therefore pricey, but the intervals are long. I wouldn't pay much mind to the scare stories about superchargers going bang, just get a decent warranty.

For my money, these are the best cars in the world , for real life driving anyway.

[E24man]

Most Alpina supercharger failures were traced (by Alpina) to the imcorrect fitting of a BMW 550i oil filter instead of the correct 545i oil filter. There is a difference between them and the difference can starve the supercharger of oil.

[ajcj]

That's interesting E24man, and would explain a lot. One of the things you do need is a good independent nearby who has the right databases to look up the correct parts. Or a friendly main dealer who doesn't mind being used as a reference point.

It is bizarre that these cars are not much better known. They are astonishingly capable. Last year the Domestic Chief of Staff and I did a weekend skiing, and on the way back needed to hit a particular Eurotunnel departure. Thanks to inaccurate alarm setting we left Austria a little later then planned, so had to make decent progress through Germany and Belgium to get there in time.

Including three stops for fuel and coffee, we did 665 miles in 8 hours flat. I don't claim a record - I'm sure others have done similar or better - but the stability, comfort, and lack of drama was nothing short of revelatory. These things eat kilometres tirelessly. And when you put your foot to the floor at 130mph, it kicks down and lunges forward like a falling safe.

Probably only the B7 would be better at that sort of thing (Der once referred to it on this thread as the definitive long-range bomber), but the B5 is equally happy on the school run, and if you debadge it, everyone assumes it's a 520 anyway.

I mentioned in my last post that I am on my second B5. I traded the first in fir a 650, which was quite a machine, but I got shot of it after 6 months. Because it wasn't a B5. Call me a fanboi!

[JamesK]

Absolutely love the B5 but that's strong money for a 9 year old car isn't it? Low mileage I guess.

[Patrick Bateman]

JamesK said:

Absolutely love the B5 but that's strong money for a 9 year old car isn't it? Low mileage I guess.

I can't ever recall seeing any for sale for much under £20k yet.

Looks like I'm off to see a Clio Trophy tomorrow. Keep dallying over the idea but when one appears within reasonable driving distance I can't help but watch that Harry Metcalfe video and get in the mood.

Edited by Patrick Bateman on Saturday 4th October 14:18

[Tonberry]

Speaking of Alpina's.

Where do you reckon this old bus will end up?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221562659401?ssPageName=...

[Gruber]

Tonberry said:

Speaking of Alpina's.

Where do you reckon this old bus will end up?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221562659401?ssPageName=...

Yours, I assume?

Maybe £3-3500? Mileage and LPG will limit its appeal.

[Tonberry]

Indeed.

The mileage I understand but I would have thought the LPG system was a plus point.

Obviously the purists won't be interested (though I imagine that pool is tiny) but I can only imagine the usual init crowd would appreciate cheaper motoring.

[GreatPretender]

Zwolf said:

Gruber said:

So of the 3, I'd be going "eyes wide open" to see the NJ car.

You've echoed my own thoughts mostly, not a fan of silver on an E39 M5 either, but it's mitigated by full leather - and we all know how much better that is. There's a lovely looking Silverstone one in Surrey on a private ad - it's perfect apart from having the flat bottomed 7 Series spec Comfort seats.

A few will be getting their tyres kicked this week and one hopefully found to be a good'un and bought by my birthday in a few weeks now the house is sorted at last.

The Imola Red GMS car is just going to be too dear I think based on what I'd expect he'd want for it, whereas ~£10k leaves a decent war chest for battling bork.

Personally, I'd be hunting down a private car. For me, it's imperative to get a feel for how it has been treated by the PO and you're also more likely to receive all the old invoices etc. than you are from a dealer; especially one who is to internet folklore as Myra Hindley was to childcare.

There are few cars out there more sensitive to provenance, and you'll pay less privately anyway.

Sure, you may get a 'warranty' from a trader, but try extending it beyond three months or even taking out a new policy on a 12 year old M5 and see how far you get...

Having bought an E39 from each scenario, the lack of precedence (other than the service stamps) on the first dealer supplied car came back and bit me square in the balls, as some of you long term threaists might recall... By which point, the warranty had lapsed and even back then it was uneconomical to try and extend it.

True, the second privately bought E39 also rogered me, but like the first, it did so well into my ownership and long after any warranty could have potentially eased some of the pain. Ultimately, it was a nicer car, and better value for having been sourced from a punter.

As you say: leave ample Bork fund, and you'll be reet.

Nice position to be in. Enjoy the search.

Edited by GreatPretender on Saturday 4th October 15:27

[SpeckledJim]

Tonberry said:

Indeed.

The mileage I understand but I would have thought the LPG system was a plus point.

Obviously the purists won't be interested (though I imagine that pool is tiny) but I can only imagine the usual init crowd would appreciate cheaper motoring.

As a huge LPG fanboy, I was already watching it and considering a punt.

Can you reassure me about your short ownership and and oil consumption issues please?

[Seek]

E24man said:

Four in E61 B5 form and one sole E61 B5S, down in numbers from the ten E39 V8 Tourings and four B10 V8S Tourings.

B5's can be upgraded to B5S form.

There are also five six F11 B5 BiTurbo Touring cars and just one E34 B10 4.6 Touring and that's the lot for rhd five series V8 Tourings, 25 cars in 19 years so not many to choose from.

EFA

[ferrisbueller]

olly22n said:

GreatPretender said:

Personally, I'd be hunting down a private car. For me, it's imperative to get a feel for how it has been treated by the PO and you're also more likely to receive all the old invoices etc. than you are from a dealer; especially one who is to internet folklore as Myra Hindley was to childcare.

There are few cars out there more sensitive to provenance, and you'll pay less privately anyway.

Sure, you may get a 'warranty' from a trader, but try extending it beyond three months or even taking out a new policy on a 12 year old M5 and see how far you get...

Having bought an E39 from each scenario, the lack of precedence (other than the service stamps) on the first dealer supplied car came back and bit me square in the balls, as some of you long term threaists might recall... By which point, the warranty had lapsed and even back then it was uneconomical to try and extend it.

True, the second privately bought E39 also rogered me, but like the first, it did so well into my ownership and long after any warranty could have potentially eased some of the pain. Ultimately, it was a nicer car, and better value for having been sourced from a punter.

As you say: leave ample Bork fund, and you'll be reet.

Nice position to be in. Enjoy the search.

Edited by GreatPretender on Saturday 4th October 15:27

Sage advice.

I fancy another.

Do the rear seats fold?

[ferrisbueller]

Like

[Patrick Bateman]

Can't be many with an LSD.

You look at that and you do have to wonder why they only put a 4 pot in the D3 given the 6 pot diesel engine that was available to play with.

[ferrisbueller]

olly22n said:

ferrisbueller said:

Like

That page was already open in my browser.

Nice, innit.

[Tonberry]

SpeckledJim said:

As a huge LPG fanboy, I was already watching it and considering a punt.

Can you reassure me about your short ownership and and oil consumption issues please?

1L every 800 miles.

Decided to mover it on as it wasn't practical for work.

The only person who came to see it was the person who ended up buying it / winning the auction.

[SpeckledJim]

Tonberry said:

SpeckledJim said:

As a huge LPG fanboy, I was already watching it and considering a punt.

Can you reassure me about your short ownership and and oil consumption issues please?

1L every 800 miles.

Decided to mover it on as it wasn't practical for work.

The only person who came to see it was the person who ended up buying it / winning the auction.

Well it's too late for me now!!!

[Gruber]

Gruber said:

Tonberry said:

Speaking of Alpina's.

Where do you reckon this old bus will end up?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221562659401?ssPageName=...

Yours, I assume?

Maybe £3-3500? Mileage and LPG will limit its appeal.

£3,252 winning bid.

{thank you very much - I'm here all week}

[LaurasOtherHalf]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...