E39 M5 Service History Thoughts
Discussion
ds666 said:
If the car has an auc warranty then it cannot have missed its first service - so I suspect the duplicate hasn't been stamped up fully .You may be able to fill in the gaps ...
Is your griff ex-surgeon car from Hereford ?
First service was the one stated, have spoken to BMW to check out all of the visits and they are still happy to warrant despite duration.Is your griff ex-surgeon car from Hereford ?
Griff came from North East when I bought it - remember the registration of previous owner as B16 OPS...
Depthhoar said:
Absolutely understand your reasoning based on the brief evidence of what I posted above. 
I drove many E39 M5s before buying the one I now own, some were just OK, quite a few had tired suspension and the usual hint of shimmying and/or slight juddering - quirks common to many E39s. One tramlined so badly it was comical! Some of the owners accepted these driving traits as normal/acceptable, something I found strange! I have to admit to being completely anal when it comes to the way my cars perform but know many others have a more relaxed view. The one I bought drove well, had brilliant provenance, immaculate bodywork and a thick folder of service/maintenance receipts.
I wanted an E39 M5 for its well documented super-saloon balance of performance and handling. It seems to me if you want this (and, critically, want to keep it that way) then you really have no option but to spend. Almost certainly I needn't have spent £3k on it immediately and it would have driven reliably up and down motorways and to the shops without knocking or banging from the suspension, or with any other mishap for that matter.
But it's a performance car and to keep its performance edge I feel you need to spend.
That's my take on M car ownership. A 'white goods' car it is not.
To illustrate, my car is at 84k miles now and fairly recently I replaced all the dampers and associated hardware on the car with BMW OE stuff. It totally transformed the ride/handling balance. The old dampers weren't leaking but they had lost a fair amount of their original damping effect. Some owners probably wouldn't have noticed the gradual deterioration. My spannerman reckons I should eBay the old dampers as he thinks there's still loads of life in them!
Depthhoar - is there a thread anywhere on exactly what suspension components you replaced and costs etc.? Would be interested as I'm considering whether to do a suspension refresh on mine. I drove many E39 M5s before buying the one I now own, some were just OK, quite a few had tired suspension and the usual hint of shimmying and/or slight juddering - quirks common to many E39s. One tramlined so badly it was comical! Some of the owners accepted these driving traits as normal/acceptable, something I found strange! I have to admit to being completely anal when it comes to the way my cars perform but know many others have a more relaxed view. The one I bought drove well, had brilliant provenance, immaculate bodywork and a thick folder of service/maintenance receipts.
I wanted an E39 M5 for its well documented super-saloon balance of performance and handling. It seems to me if you want this (and, critically, want to keep it that way) then you really have no option but to spend. Almost certainly I needn't have spent £3k on it immediately and it would have driven reliably up and down motorways and to the shops without knocking or banging from the suspension, or with any other mishap for that matter.
But it's a performance car and to keep its performance edge I feel you need to spend.
That's my take on M car ownership. A 'white goods' car it is not.
To illustrate, my car is at 84k miles now and fairly recently I replaced all the dampers and associated hardware on the car with BMW OE stuff. It totally transformed the ride/handling balance. The old dampers weren't leaking but they had lost a fair amount of their original damping effect. Some owners probably wouldn't have noticed the gradual deterioration. My spannerman reckons I should eBay the old dampers as he thinks there's still loads of life in them!
I have complete servicing and maintenance invoices for mine, from both the former owner and myself, from 2010 onwards. Car has 92k miles. Average spend on the car has been ~£2k per year over this 6 year period; the former owner did use a London specialist whose prices were (very) steep for routine work so this has pushed things up somewhat. Beyond routine servicing, the car has had new discs/pads, clutch/flywheel, a complete suspension overhaul including new OEM dampers, new driveshaft, various seals, MAFs, a few sets of Michelin SuperSports, etc. There have been no serious mechanical failures in the history and the VANOS is good.
My experience would therefore indicate that £2k per year is about what you should budget if you want to be keeping the car driving as it should - i.e. replacing things when they are no longer perfect rather than waiting for things to fall apart first. How much of the above would be covered under your warranty I don't know. Does it cover suspension components, or the clutch, or are these considered consumable?
My experience would therefore indicate that £2k per year is about what you should budget if you want to be keeping the car driving as it should - i.e. replacing things when they are no longer perfect rather than waiting for things to fall apart first. How much of the above would be covered under your warranty I don't know. Does it cover suspension components, or the clutch, or are these considered consumable?
Edited by csampo on Tuesday 3rd May 09:34
PH XKR said:
tjk123 said:
Depthhoar - is there a thread anywhere on exactly what suspension components you replaced and costs etc.? Would be interested as I'm considering whether to do a suspension refresh on mine.
could you do the same here too please? Thanks!TheAngryDog said:
Rod bearings and Chain aren't strictly necessary, there are cars with over 200k on them on original bearings and Chain.
Vanos board maintenance and cps replacement is more likely to be required
Agreed. I've been informed that the problem with the bearings and guides is that you won't get much notice before they go, mileage doesn't seem to be a reliable predictor of condition, and if they do go it's likely to be curtains. Worth pouring old oil through a filter and if you see metal...Vanos board maintenance and cps replacement is more likely to be required
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