05 STI to E39 M5
Discussion
£5000) M5. Now I know it will need work. However, it made me recall the mentality I was advised to take when I was looking for an RX7: Buying a car suffering from the known ailments that is accordingly priced and give yourself piece of mind by spending the balance of your budget fixing these things. In this case, I take my £8000 and buy this £5000 M5, and then immediately take it to a specialist for 2 new MAFs, 4 new CPSs, new suspension components with polybushes and possibly a new set of tyres.
Would this make sense or am I thinking too much? I’m so concerned about blowing my budget on a car I believe to be perfect and then it demanding more money from me.
Would this make sense or am I thinking too much? I’m so concerned about blowing my budget on a car I believe to be perfect and then it demanding more money from me.
Just out of interest, how often do interiors come up? Theres only one on eBay. And theres a few cars Ive discounted because of heritage leather instead of sports seats, or because of the champagne white/cream that seamed a bit too 'Jag' for my tastes. Or am I best of not messing round and just wait for the right one?
m3psm said:
……still think it was the right choice getting a cheaper car with cash to fix known problems, rather than paying top whack and getting nasty surprises.
Is what I did also, but I wanted a certain spec, so looking do what I wanted in good condition was really going to narrow the field, so compromises had to be madeJim1985 said:
Just out of interest, how often do interiors come up? Theres only one on eBay. And theres a few cars Ive discounted because of heritage leather instead of sports seats, or because of the champagne white/cream that seamed a bit too 'Jag' for my tastes. Or am I best of not messing round and just wait for the right one?
You don't want heritage leather? The seats themselves are the same as the nappa point covered seats (those with the red/grey/blue/black inserts). I have read that the heritage doesn't wear as well if it's not looked after, but otherwise the same seats.The only other option that was offered was the comfort contours, those with the split back and no extending thigh support
Theres just something about the heritage leather to me that looks dated, and even if they are the same seats, they look less supportive. I'm buying the car as a performance dream car, and caramel heritage leather just screams 'Jaguar' to me. Not that theres anything wrong with that, but it doesnt appeal to me.
Because I want a black/anthracite/dark grey one (the two for sale in Imola red I've seen advertised dont look too great) with sports leather I think a compromise on condition would be on the cards.
If I was to find a M-car specialist in the area of a car I'd seen for sale, would they inspect it for their hourly rate and come back with the work required, and then potentially collect the car once I'd paid for it, take it to their premises, and do the work required, then I'd go down and collect it? Or is that fantasy-land?
I think that makes more sense than finding a good car locally.
I wouldn't let interior colour bother you too much, short of the carpet being an odd colour. It's easy to swap seats and door cards out. No point in missing out on a sorted car because of that, they're hard enough to come by. I certainly wouldn't be buying a worse car as a compromise on that basis.
Caramel isn't to everyone's tastes (they're wrong ) but it's pretty rare to find a set for sale so there's always going to be a buyer for them when you change them out. There might not be much on ebay at the moment but there are usually a decent number of seats/door cards for sale. Worth looking at breakers too (Quarry Motors et al.).
Caramel isn't to everyone's tastes (they're wrong ) but it's pretty rare to find a set for sale so there's always going to be a buyer for them when you change them out. There might not be much on ebay at the moment but there are usually a decent number of seats/door cards for sale. Worth looking at breakers too (Quarry Motors et al.).
Edited by Patrick Bateman on Wednesday 28th January 11:51
Jim1985 said:
If I was to find a M-car specialist in the area of a car I'd seen for sale, would they inspect it for their hourly rate and come back with the work required, and then potentially collect the car once I'd paid for it, take it to their premises, and do the work required, then I'd go down and collect it? Or is that fantasy-land?
I think that makes more sense than finding a good car locally.
Anyone have any idea of if this is possible? I'd prefer to send someone who knows what they're looking at to check the car and then have them fix whats wrong so my first experience of the car is when it is in tip top condition.I think that makes more sense than finding a good car locally.
The only way youd know mate would be to give any a call that you can find the numbers for.
Tbh though, just go look at some, get a feel for them, then make your own decision. There is no guarantee that any car, even bought by a specialist will be any better than a car you can buy yourself.
Eta, any specialist that I would want to go look at a car for me realistically should be too busy to do it due to volume of work anyway so it probably wouldn't happen.
Tbh though, just go look at some, get a feel for them, then make your own decision. There is no guarantee that any car, even bought by a specialist will be any better than a car you can buy yourself.
Eta, any specialist that I would want to go look at a car for me realistically should be too busy to do it due to volume of work anyway so it probably wouldn't happen.
When I bought mine it was dropped straight in to my indi. I did book it in in advance though and I know him well.
He ran a full check on the car and prioritised the issues into urgent, needs doing quickly or will cost you money, needs doing and should start saving for.
I had the urgent stuff done before I drove it, then sent it back for the next wave a few weeks later. It'll go in for next wave next month and by the summer it should be great without breaking the bank with any major failures.
Definitely worth doing.
He ran a full check on the car and prioritised the issues into urgent, needs doing quickly or will cost you money, needs doing and should start saving for.
I had the urgent stuff done before I drove it, then sent it back for the next wave a few weeks later. It'll go in for next wave next month and by the summer it should be great without breaking the bank with any major failures.
Definitely worth doing.
BenWRXSEi said:
Interesting thread, this - I currently have a 2.5 Impreza WRX and have a hankering for an E39 M5. It'd have to be my daily drive, year-round (about 20k miles) and tow a Westfield occasionally.
This is going to need some serious man-maths
I saw a couple of blob eyes today and thought about going the other way. It was a moment of weakness I think lol. This is going to need some serious man-maths
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