05 STI to E39 M5
Discussion
I brought an M5 a number of years back. Looked at quite a few and settled on a two owner car with 170K on the clock, fully loaded he had owned it since it was 1yr old.
I factored in new discs all round, a clutch and a service because he hadnt used it much in the last couple of years.
Got the above work done and then I had issues, inc the following but not all at the same time
- Discs warped but managed to get BMW to replace under warranty
- Fuel pump packed up while in at BMW getting above sorted, they actually did a good price
- No end of suspension/braking issues with wobble etc. Replaced bushes had it in at two specialists and still had issues
- Rocker clover leaked
- Replaced diff seals
- BMWorx said the engine needed decoking
- Rust on wing and boot lid
In the end i had spent too much and I traded it in. However, the car was epic esp when I got rid of the mufflers. I have owned a lot of decent cars and I couldn't fault it for the mix of handling, comfort and speed. There is nothing like being in an E39 M5 for feeling smug.
I still look at them in the classifieds
I factored in new discs all round, a clutch and a service because he hadnt used it much in the last couple of years.
Got the above work done and then I had issues, inc the following but not all at the same time
- Discs warped but managed to get BMW to replace under warranty
- Fuel pump packed up while in at BMW getting above sorted, they actually did a good price
- No end of suspension/braking issues with wobble etc. Replaced bushes had it in at two specialists and still had issues
- Rocker clover leaked
- Replaced diff seals
- BMWorx said the engine needed decoking
- Rust on wing and boot lid
In the end i had spent too much and I traded it in. However, the car was epic esp when I got rid of the mufflers. I have owned a lot of decent cars and I couldn't fault it for the mix of handling, comfort and speed. There is nothing like being in an E39 M5 for feeling smug.
I still look at them in the classifieds
If you want an m5 buy an m5. However buy the best one you can afford. I would suggest if you are able increase your budget. Unless you are buying from an owner who has lavished and loved the car over a number of years. I suggest you buy from an independent reputable dealer such as 4 star classics, Munich legends, Image Automotive Holdings etc.
I also suggest you go and drive one. I like you wanted an M5 and found a low mileage car that had 2 owners and full history. I travelled 200 miles and was seriously disappointed. The car had seen a lot of track time and had gone through 10 sets of front discs in 10k, was heavily stone chiped, the jacking points were wrotten, the mafs where knackered so it would not Rev properly. I was so disappointed that I ended up buying a different v8. Vauxhall/holden monaro vxr.
Servicing costs are quite reasonable, but this is half the story. discs, pads, suspension components and tyres are not cheap and will wear quickly on track. While the engine is brilliant it has a couple of issues that affect its performance and it's not cheap to fix and fairly common. Maf's fail and are I believe £300-400 each and you need 2. Then you have vanos issues more common on the earlier cars and as I understand could cost up to £1000 and that's assuming no engine damage. Then a number have now been scraped due to terminal rust in the sills that starts in the jacking points. The sills are covered with plastic trim and this harbours water that can do major damage. You have to remember that it may cost £6-15k now, but it still is a £65k car and servicing and repairs reflect this. Personally I find them as standard a little quiet, but a sports exhaust won't be cheap Miltek seems to work very well, but may render the car too loud for many tracks.
A good port of call is the BMW car club and the e39 m5 guru is a guy called Tristan within the mpower section. He may also be able to help you source a car.
Hopes this helps
I also suggest you go and drive one. I like you wanted an M5 and found a low mileage car that had 2 owners and full history. I travelled 200 miles and was seriously disappointed. The car had seen a lot of track time and had gone through 10 sets of front discs in 10k, was heavily stone chiped, the jacking points were wrotten, the mafs where knackered so it would not Rev properly. I was so disappointed that I ended up buying a different v8. Vauxhall/holden monaro vxr.
Servicing costs are quite reasonable, but this is half the story. discs, pads, suspension components and tyres are not cheap and will wear quickly on track. While the engine is brilliant it has a couple of issues that affect its performance and it's not cheap to fix and fairly common. Maf's fail and are I believe £300-400 each and you need 2. Then you have vanos issues more common on the earlier cars and as I understand could cost up to £1000 and that's assuming no engine damage. Then a number have now been scraped due to terminal rust in the sills that starts in the jacking points. The sills are covered with plastic trim and this harbours water that can do major damage. You have to remember that it may cost £6-15k now, but it still is a £65k car and servicing and repairs reflect this. Personally I find them as standard a little quiet, but a sports exhaust won't be cheap Miltek seems to work very well, but may render the car too loud for many tracks.
A good port of call is the BMW car club and the e39 m5 guru is a guy called Tristan within the mpower section. He may also be able to help you source a car.
Hopes this helps
Mafs are about £100 each from the MAF shop (the correct ones) and vanos failures are very rare. The solenoids getting gummed up is more common but it's a £120 job to fix
It is misinformation like this that often gives the car it's unreliable tag, which is undeserved. Things fail with age.
The rust, yes that can be bad but many older cars rust, just look at Mercedes Benz of the same era.
It is misinformation like this that often gives the car it's unreliable tag, which is undeserved. Things fail with age.
The rust, yes that can be bad but many older cars rust, just look at Mercedes Benz of the same era.
Great info thank you!
Ill sign up to BMW Car Club and look out for Tristan!
My only concern is that if I was to stump up the £12,999 for this one at Image Automotive Holdings
http://www.millenniumheroes.com/cars/bmw-e39-m5-7-...
The is it really guaranteed to be better than a lower car? I.e. will it really be free from issues/have sound suspension/brakes etc.
Jim1985 said:
Great info thank you!
Ill sign up to BMW Car Club and look out for Tristan!
My only concern is that if I was to stump up the £12,999 for this one at Image Automotive Holdings
http://www.millenniumheroes.com/cars/bmw-e39-m5-7-...
The is it really guaranteed to be better than a lower car? I.e. will it really be free from issues/have sound suspension/brakes etc.
That is an unknown quantity unfortunately. It all depends on how the previous owners have looked after it, if they've replaced anything etc. You would hope that it would be fine given the price point, but that doesn't really mean much. I know of someone who paid a decent amount for one, and ended up spending a few grand on replacement parts.Ill sign up to BMW Car Club and look out for Tristan!
My only concern is that if I was to stump up the £12,999 for this one at Image Automotive Holdings
http://www.millenniumheroes.com/cars/bmw-e39-m5-7-...
The is it really guaranteed to be better than a lower car? I.e. will it really be free from issues/have sound suspension/brakes etc.
I don't think the price point gives any dependable indication as to what will need doing unless it is a very clued up dealer selling that prices them accordingly - when looking for mine I found some at higher price points that were not up to standard. It's a minor point but the front tyres make me think that it hasn't exactly been run with a 'no expense spared' mentality by the owner. Perhaps when the dealer took it in they were low on tread so they thought they would replace them in which case it doesn't tell you anything about the previous owner?
Yes - I have Vreds on mine too as they came highly recommended by other owners, but I haven't seen anything similar re: the Hankooks. They could be good too but even with the Vreds I wasn't kidding myself that they would be better than PS other than in the VFM stakes - so you could say that it isn't 'no expense spared' as I would have just stuck PS on it.
2stis said:
Yes - I have Vreds on mine too as they came highly recommended by other owners, but I haven't seen anything similar re: the Hankooks. They could be good too but even with the Vreds I wasn't kidding myself that they would be better than PS other than in the VFM stakes - so you could say that it isn't 'no expense spared' as I would have just stuck PS on it.
I can only comment on my experience of the Hankook's on other cars and have found them to be pretty decent tbh 
.Re the Vred's, I prefer them to the PS2's that were on originally. "No expense spared" doesn't mean "best always bought". Some things are just expensive because they're expensive
.Good points folk thank you. I think I'd prefer to buy a cheaper car (cheaper than £12,000) with the knowledge that it will most likely need some fettling, rather than buying a more expensive car and crossing my fingers it will be fine.
My realistic budget is approx £7000-£8000. But obviously, if I don't find a car straight away, I'll have more time to save up. But realistically I'll start looking approx March.
That said, I'll miss 4wd, locked the centre diff in my STI today and drove up a steep hill nobody else had conquered today!
I'm sure the V8 will ease my pain! That and the fact that I've waited 2 years for the need to do that in the STI!
I bought one that I would guess almost nobody would touch (159,000 miles, limited service history, not fantastic condition) and so far the bills really haven't been too bad and I would also suggest the things I've had to pay for so far could happen to almost any of these cars regardless of whether it's £15k or £5k. Mine is now on 187,000 miles.
Just buy one with your eyes open and they're great. Some of what has been posted on this thread by non owners really needs ignoring.
I went for a drive in mine this afternoon for the sake of it and even in the wet (and I guess patches of ice) with non winter tyres and almost certainly knackered dampers / suspension it's really not hard to make serious progress.
The only things I wish I could change about mine are the rust and the colour.
Just buy one with your eyes open and they're great. Some of what has been posted on this thread by non owners really needs ignoring.
I went for a drive in mine this afternoon for the sake of it and even in the wet (and I guess patches of ice) with non winter tyres and almost certainly knackered dampers / suspension it's really not hard to make serious progress.
The only things I wish I could change about mine are the rust and the colour.
Jim1985 said:
Good points folk thank you. I think I'd prefer to buy a cheaper car (cheaper than £12,000) with the knowledge that it will most likely need some fettling, rather than buying a more expensive car and crossing my fingers it will be fine.
My realistic budget is approx £7000-£8000. But obviously, if I don't find a car straight away, I'll have more time to save up. But realistically I'll start looking approx March.
That said, I'll miss 4wd, locked the centre diff in my STI today and drove up a steep hill nobody else had conquered today!
I'm sure the V8 will ease my pain! That and the fact that I've waited 2 years for the need to do that in the STI!
This is what I did Jim.My realistic budget is approx £7000-£8000. But obviously, if I don't find a car straight away, I'll have more time to save up. But realistically I'll start looking approx March.
That said, I'll miss 4wd, locked the centre diff in my STI today and drove up a steep hill nobody else had conquered today!
I'm sure the V8 will ease my pain! That and the fact that I've waited 2 years for the need to do that in the STI!
I looked at a few expensive ones that were s
te, so decided to look at cheaper ones with good history and known problems.Ended up with a great one that had been pampered for all of its (full bmwsh)life except the last two years. Budgeted £2k to bring it back to standard and was about £2k light. Nothing too scary though. Did the urgent stuff straight away like diff seals, clutch and flywheel, but the minor stuff is scheduled in over the coming year to ease the pain.
It'll end up costing me £10k by the end of the year, but it'll be A1 mechanically and I'll know everything is done properly.
Got to buy one with eyes wide open and expect to spend at least £2k a year keeping it up to scratch with preventative work. That should save big surprises... hopefully.
I had mine dropped off at my local indy before I drove it, to be sure I knew what the issues were. I now know what's coming, to a degree.
Worth every penny though. Absolutely love the old girl
Edited by m3psm on Sunday 18th January 20:38
Patrick Bateman said:
It tends to be death by a thousand cuts rather than heart failure, if that makes sense. Don't let issues snowball.
Is this not the case with all old, high end cars? Everything needs replacing in the end and it's always going to be expensive.A necessary evil to keep them on the road.
Expect mine to be like Trigger's broom in a few years
m3psm said:
Patrick Bateman said:
It tends to be death by a thousand cuts rather than heart failure, if that makes sense. Don't let issues snowball.
Is this not the case with all old, high end cars? Everything needs replacing in the end and it's always going to be expensive.A necessary evil to keep them on the road.
Expect mine to be like Trigger's broom in a few years
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