E60 / E61 M5 Buyers Guide

E60 / E61 M5 Buyers Guide

Author
Discussion

bittenheroes

20 posts

133 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
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hi lads,
been reading your topics on reliability etc,very interesting....
however i'm looking to buy an e60 m5 (my 06,07)
most nowadays have 80k+miles.
whats your views, or should i stay well clear..??
advice much appreciated.
thanks again.

suprac19

7 posts

147 months

Saturday 1st November 2014
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I've had my 2006 bmw e60 M5 for 2 and a half years and I can honestly say its the best car I've ever had.
Make sure the clutch has been changed, the clutch release bearing can stick and this can be tested by pulling away fast in first or 2nd gear, there should be no clutch judder.
I changed the clutch in mine myself and noticed the release bearings have been improved, they are no longer metal sliding on the metal shaft, they are nylon which is a huge improvement.
If you are handy the gearbox can be removed easily and is no harder to remove than any other rear wheel drive car, in fact its actually easier as the complete unit comes out without having clutch cables, disconnecting gear sticks etc, the oil cooler/pump/wiring all come out attached to the gearbox, just have to disconnect the connecting plugs on either side of the gearbox before removal.
I sourced the bmw software from eBay, bmw inpa and this reset the clutch adaptations.
You can buy the clutch which is made by Sachs and not in a bmw box from eurocarparts/carparts4less.
Make sure the brake discs aren't worn, if they look used they are probably needing changed.
Apart from these things which need changed at some point on every car the M5 has been faultless, a joy to own and drive and everytime I take it out it feels special, the noise, the power, the driving experience, it really is an amazing car.

unfuegopordentro

1 posts

112 months

Wednesday 5th November 2014
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I would like to thank the original poster here and many other people for such useful information and also encouragement. I had a normal E61 with the 525 set up the last year that had the 6 cylinder diesel engine. This was LHD in Norway and whilst not as much fun as my first BMW, a 1 series 3 door "go-kart" it was the best car I have ever had in my life, comfortable and perfect for a family with 2 small children.

However at this time, when taking my car for a service I saw a second hand E61 M5 in the showroom. Priced at around the equivalent of £150k it was something no normal person could aspire to; Norway is like that, it kills your dreams, drags you down, tries to bring everyone down instead of trying to raise everyone up...

Now we're back in the UK for a couple of years at least and tomorrow I am driving down to exchange my sedate saloon for an E61 M5. I know it will be a challenge, I know it will drain resources. This is my dream, my midlife crisis car and I am lucky to get the chance. Hopefully I can learn how to use her properly and keep her in good condition for someone else in a few years time that also harbours the same dreams. Many people think I am weird for wanting an estate car but I don't really care!

M.

ecain63

Original Poster:

10,588 posts

174 months

Wednesday 5th November 2014
quotequote all
unfuegopordentro said:
I would like to thank the original poster here and many other people for such useful information and also encouragement. I had a normal E61 with the 525 set up the last year that had the 6 cylinder diesel engine. This was LHD in Norway and whilst not as much fun as my first BMW, a 1 series 3 door "go-kart" it was the best car I have ever had in my life, comfortable and perfect for a family with 2 small children.

However at this time, when taking my car for a service I saw a second hand E61 M5 in the showroom. Priced at around the equivalent of £150k it was something no normal person could aspire to; Norway is like that, it kills your dreams, drags you down, tries to bring everyone down instead of trying to raise everyone up...

Now we're back in the UK for a couple of years at least and tomorrow I am driving down to exchange my sedate saloon for an E61 M5. I know it will be a challenge, I know it will drain resources. This is my dream, my midlife crisis car and I am lucky to get the chance. Hopefully I can learn how to use her properly and keep her in good condition for someone else in a few years time that also harbours the same dreams. Many people think I am weird for wanting an estate car but I don't really care!

M.
I've spent quite a bit of time in Norway over the years and can understand your frustration with the pricing of goods. £50 for a beer and burger is never fun! At least now you have the opportunity to achieve the dream and experience for yourself the rush of the V10 M5. Go forth and enjoy. I still miss my E61 M5!

Eddie (guy who wrote this guide)

M5 PDK

1 posts

112 months

Friday 7th November 2014
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Hi guys, I've just joined PH and read all 18 pages of this guide & I must say that I'm very impressed. In the past I've owned an E34 525i, an E39 528i & an E38 728i. Next year,(May) will be my 50th birthday and I'd love to buy an E60 M5 as a treat for myself. I've found this thread invaluable and ill keep looking to learn more.
Cheers
Daz.

longintheleg

551 posts

142 months

Saturday 8th November 2014
quotequote all
unfuegopordentro said:
I would like to thank the original poster here and many other people for such useful information and also encouragement. I had a normal E61 with the 525 set up the last year that had the 6 cylinder diesel engine. This was LHD in Norway and whilst not as much fun as my first BMW, a 1 series 3 door "go-kart" it was the best car I have ever had in my life, comfortable and perfect for a family with 2 small children.

However at this time, when taking my car for a service I saw a second hand E61 M5 in the showroom. Priced at around the equivalent of £150k it was something no normal person could aspire to; Norway is like that, it kills your dreams, drags you down, tries to bring everyone down instead of trying to raise everyone up...

Now we're back in the UK for a couple of years at least and tomorrow I am driving down to exchange my sedate saloon for an E61 M5. I know it will be a challenge, I know it will drain resources. This is my dream, my midlife crisis car and I am lucky to get the chance. Hopefully I can learn how to use her properly and keep her in good condition for someone else in a few years time that also harbours the same dreams. Many people think I am weird for wanting an estate car but I don't really care!

M.
So which one did you buy then?

Schermerhorn

4,342 posts

188 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Chris4hrr said:
Are there actually m5 owners out there who have experienced no issues or reliability problems? Because all I seem to come across is horror stories?
Every person I've met and come across that has had the M5 or M6 has had issues. Mine are well documented on here.

The usual things to be concerned about are the clutch/flywheel and/or clutch position sensor. You're looking at around £1800 including labour to get it all done as a maximum price. I can get the parts slightly cheaper as I'm in the trade but only 10% or so. This WILL need replacing at one point or another. Very rare to see cars without having this changed at least once before 80,000 miles.

Other issues are VANOS related.

Parking sensors go often (there are 8 in total). This is a fairly easy job; they can be replaced or sometimes cleaned up with contact cleaner and re-installed.

Never use cheap supermarket fuel. I always use Shell, Texaco or BP. These seem to burn the cleanest and give good responses. I used supermarket fuel ONCE and it felt as though the car lost some power. Avoid that at all costs.

Steering pumps can also fail - as did mine - and are expensive to replace as it is labour intensive too.

The hardest part is finding someone who is qualified to work on these cars as they are quite specialist. Aside from interiors and external panels they share very little with the cars they are based on and need expert knowledge to keep them running right.

This is my 2 cents worth of information. I have a love-hate relationship with my M6 so a lot of memories are repressed biggrin

cosworth330

1,299 posts

236 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Schermerhorn said:
Chris4hrr said:
Are there actually m5 owners out there who have experienced no issues or reliability problems? Because all I seem to come across is horror stories?
Every person I've met and come across that has had the M5 or M6 has had issues. Mine are well documented on here.

The usual things to be concerned about are the clutch/flywheel and/or clutch position sensor. You're looking at around £1800 including labour to get it all done as a maximum price. I can get the parts slightly cheaper as I'm in the trade but only 10% or so. This WILL need replacing at one point or another. Very rare to see cars without having this changed at least once before 80,000 miles.

Other issues are VANOS related.

Parking sensors go often (there are 8 in total). This is a fairly easy job; they can be replaced or sometimes cleaned up with contact cleaner and re-installed.

Never use cheap supermarket fuel. I always use Shell, Texaco or BP. These seem to burn the cleanest and give good responses. I used supermarket fuel ONCE and it felt as though the car lost some power. Avoid that at all costs.

Steering pumps can also fail - as did mine - and are expensive to replace as it is labour intensive too.

The hardest part is finding someone who is qualified to work on these cars as they are quite specialist. Aside from interiors and external panels they share very little with the cars they are based on and need expert knowledge to keep them running right.

This is my 2 cents worth of information. I have a love-hate relationship with my M6 so a lot of memories are repressed biggrin
Yes there are E60 M5 owners that have had a painless ownership experience, myself for one and others reading the other posts above. Like any other car i'm sure something will go wrong at some point but no issues after over a years ownership so far its 100% perfect.

AW10

4,422 posts

248 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
And keep in mind it's a 507 bhp coupe/saloon/estate we're talking about - higher running costs and more rapid consumption of consumables such as brakes, clutch etc are to be expected.

Shaoxter

4,048 posts

123 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Schermerhorn said:
Every person I've met and come across that has had the M5 or M6 has had issues. Mine are well documented on here.
Mine's had zero issues, apart from some buggy electric stuff which were sorted by changing the battery (it was still on the original). Can't say the same for the previous owner of my car though! Some eye-watering bills in the history folder, albeit all done under warranty. So I think you really have to look carefully at what repair work has been done in the past.

A clutch that lasts 40-60k miles in a 500bhp manual car isn't bad at all. The clutches in Ferraris with F1 transmission last 15-20k.

Cactussed

5,292 posts

212 months

Friday 28th November 2014
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Just a heads up, if anyone is selling an E61 or knows a decent one for sale, pls let me know as looking to get into one. Preferably a dark colour, not silver or silverstone.

Ta

longintheleg

551 posts

142 months

Sunday 30th November 2014
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Had mine for around 10 days now and I absolutely love it.

It goes from a comfortable, luxury cruiser to an absolute weapon in a push of a button.

Don't let all the negative comments put you off going for one without warranty.

Good luck with your search.

Cactussed

5,292 posts

212 months

Monday 1st December 2014
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If the silverstone one for sale was a different colour, I'd have it on my drive now.

longintheleg

551 posts

142 months

Monday 1st December 2014
quotequote all
It's all about Sapphire Black exterior with Indianapolis Red leather. smile

Cactussed

5,292 posts

212 months

Monday 1st December 2014
quotequote all
Sounds perfect. There was one like that for sale privately a while back but I wasn't in any position then...

gazchap

1,523 posts

182 months

Tuesday 2nd December 2014
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longintheleg said:
It's all about Sapphire Black exterior with Indianapolis Red leather. smile
My E61 was that colour scheme, it was bloody lovely.

King Eric

291 posts

209 months

Wednesday 31st December 2014
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I'm back in an E60 M5. Interlagos blue AUC with a second years warranty thrown in...good spec although rear blinds and no usb is a bit odd. Anyway she's a beast and I am delighted to be back in a V10 having gone full circle from V10 to F10 M5 and had an M135i for a short time which left me feeling a bit lost.....


Now....how can you reset the previous owners tepid driving style from the gearbox, its properly lazy currently ( aside from using it in full manual)

Shaoxter

4,048 posts

123 months

Wednesday 31st December 2014
quotequote all
King Eric said:
I'm back in an E60 M5. Interlagos blue AUC with a second years warranty thrown in...good spec although rear blinds and no usb is a bit odd. Anyway she's a beast and I am delighted to be back in a V10 having gone full circle from V10 to F10 M5 and had an M135i for a short time which left me feeling a bit lost.....


Now....how can you reset the previous owners tepid driving style from the gearbox, its properly lazy currently ( aside from using it in full manual)
Congrats on seeing the light again biggrin

I don't think USB/AUX was even an option on early cars. I had AUX retrofitted, you could also go for one of those Dension things.

Why would you drive in a mode other than S5 manual? smile

jcolley

183 posts

125 months

Wednesday 31st December 2014
quotequote all
King Eric said:
I'm back in an E60 M5. Interlagos blue AUC with a second years warranty thrown in...good spec although rear blinds and no usb is a bit odd. Anyway she's a beast and I am delighted to be back in a V10 having gone full circle from V10 to F10 M5 and had an M135i for a short time which left me feeling a bit lost.....


Now....how can you reset the previous owners tepid driving style from the gearbox, its properly lazy currently ( aside from using it in full manual)
SMG Adaptation using BMW software (ISTA, DIS, or INPA). The laziness you perceive could be either a result of sensor calibrations being off or perhaps even a different SMG flash than your previous experience. You can flash to the latest SMG European software (ZUSB number 7842206) if you know someone who can code/program BMWs with WinKFP. This is OEM BMW software, so not a concern with warranty.

Sadface

104 posts

122 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
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I couldn't recommend ownership of a e60/61 enough as long as you spend carefully and make sure it's a relatively low mileage car as we can be getting on for 10yrs old these days,I'm sick of hearing about clutch problems in what is and has been said on here is a 500+ bop car from factory , super cars with these power figures get clutches done every 5k for some bizarre reason