E39 M5 Buying advice
Discussion
stuthemong said:
Jon, you must do the fuel consuption MAF test, and the clutch test too. These will be outlined on M5Board. If you can't find them, lmk, and ill go digging!
Stu
Would appreciate if you could dig these up Stu Stu
I will then pull together a definitive list of actions for me to consider before purchase
jon b16 said:
How much over the odds do you think you're paying for these two cars vs Private?
£2-3k? or....
http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/auc/national_search_res...
Anyone know about the cars or how long they have advertised them?
From what i can remember these two have been up for at least 4-5 months...I think that the Silver one has dropped from £26k to £20k already.£2-3k? or....
http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/auc/national_search_res...
Anyone know about the cars or how long they have advertised them?
But yes about 2-3k Premium maybe a little more, It depends on how much you value the Warranty.
Jon,
To be honest PH isn't the best place to find about these cars, get yourself onto m5board IMO.
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-dis... - this is the main FAQ I just found
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-dis... - this is the MAF test procedure, look at method A you can do this with no tools, although if you really are getting a M5 maybe getting a OBD tool would be sensible.
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-dis... - places to look for rust, petrol cap ares very common. Youll want to wax around there weekly to keep good if you are sensible.
rear sway bars are also apprently weak, more of an issue to check on a private buy I'd say
clutch test is just to find a long upwards hill, put the car in 4/5th at around 2-3Krpm and punch the throttle. You'll not want the revs to hunt up then snap down, the clutch shouldnt slip at all.
Have a good search around M5 board, all you'll need to know is there!
GL
To be honest PH isn't the best place to find about these cars, get yourself onto m5board IMO.
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-dis... - this is the main FAQ I just found
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-dis... - this is the MAF test procedure, look at method A you can do this with no tools, although if you really are getting a M5 maybe getting a OBD tool would be sensible.
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-dis... - places to look for rust, petrol cap ares very common. Youll want to wax around there weekly to keep good if you are sensible.
rear sway bars are also apprently weak, more of an issue to check on a private buy I'd say
clutch test is just to find a long upwards hill, put the car in 4/5th at around 2-3Krpm and punch the throttle. You'll not want the revs to hunt up then snap down, the clutch shouldnt slip at all.
Have a good search around M5 board, all you'll need to know is there!
GL
This is an excellent thread for those looking for an M5, cheers. I have been looking at a couple in the classifieds which have taken my fancy but I think I really need to drive a few.
I would be interested to know what the main dealers would knock off their prices, esp at the moment. I guess they must build in a fair amount for the years warranty.
The silver one at Munich legends looks nice but the blue leather inserts isnt to my taste. The car has been well prepped though (reflects in the price though)
I would be interested to know what the main dealers would knock off their prices, esp at the moment. I guess they must build in a fair amount for the years warranty.
The silver one at Munich legends looks nice but the blue leather inserts isnt to my taste. The car has been well prepped though (reflects in the price though)
Edited by 968CSReading on Friday 5th December 13:52
968CSReading said:
This is an excellent thread for those looking for an M5, cheers. I have been looking at a couple in the classifieds which have taken my fancy but I think I really need to drive a few.
I would be interested to know what the main dealers would knock off their prices, esp at the moment. I guess they must build in a fair amount for the years warranty.
Yeah, prob shooting myself in the foot here I would be interested to know what the main dealers would knock off their prices, esp at the moment. I guess they must build in a fair amount for the years warranty.
Do you have a 968CS to px or are you keeping?
stuthemong said:
rear sway bars are also apprently weak, more of an issue to check on a
It's not the bars that are week, the linkages are ally with plastic bits, so snap easy, and the bar mount as the tension is released. A weak design point common to all E39's. To fix mine when I snapped it in the Alps was under £20-25 including replacing the rubber mounts with new ones - though I got less than trade price through a service manager mate at a dealer.Found the RRP prices he sent me, ex VAT I think:
33552229604 STABILIZER RUBBER MOUNTING £4.00
33552283159 STABILIZER SUPPORT £2.29
33551092295 HEX BOLT WITH WASHER £0.14
33551095532 STABILIZER LINK £16.17
31351095452 HEX NUT WITH FLANGE £0.34
31351092199 FLAT WASHER £0.12
33321092382 SELF-LOCKING COLLAR NUT £0.63
Or you can get stronger steel aftermarket linkages.
jon b16 said:
968CSReading said:
This is an excellent thread for those looking for an M5, cheers. I have been looking at a couple in the classifieds which have taken my fancy but I think I really need to drive a few.
I would be interested to know what the main dealers would knock off their prices, esp at the moment. I guess they must build in a fair amount for the years warranty.
Yeah, prob shooting myself in the foot here I would be interested to know what the main dealers would knock off their prices, esp at the moment. I guess they must build in a fair amount for the years warranty.
Do you have a 968CS to px or are you keeping?
All I can say is BE FUSSY on what you buy , milage is not really an issue if their looked after , as with any car. In short these cars are not selling due to Mr Brown and his army so grab one and if you can make it a face lift one. I have just got one myself and haven't stopped grinning . 
Edited by mabjagm3 on Friday 5th December 21:45
thankyou to everyone fir some very good contribution
I have dug out my buyers guide from Evo issue 58 and road test (issue 52). There is no doubt about it, the e39 is a great car.
The main negatives from the road test seem to be about the long throw and feel of the gbox. The common line on this thread is 'take your time, look at plenty if cars" which seems to indicate there are a lot of cars out there that are rough or at best could end up costing a lot if money thru faults
There seem to be just 2 cars in the bmw network at 16 and 20k - the reality us there are a lot of E60s out there from £26k!
I have read the e39 vs e60 thread which didnt really conclude anything but to say the e39 has a proper manual ( I prefer a manual) but road test say it's not very good vs e60 better pace. I am not looking for 10/10ths pace ( I own an atom 300 plus other, which are faster )
I'm looking for an all round GREAT car which I guess applies to both e39 and e60
The questions
- it looks like I will be instantly taking a depreciation hit on an e60, however, how far can it really fall in the next year? If it falls 6k to sub 20k where does that leave the very best e39s?
- the e60s will keep falling and so the e39s will have to , do you think we are looking at a depreciation halt at £20k is and does this then make the e60 the much better solution?
- it strikes me that I could spend a long time finding a great e 39 whilst I could go and pick up a great e60 tomorrow or am I talking bollix?
I have dug out my buyers guide from Evo issue 58 and road test (issue 52). There is no doubt about it, the e39 is a great car.
The main negatives from the road test seem to be about the long throw and feel of the gbox. The common line on this thread is 'take your time, look at plenty if cars" which seems to indicate there are a lot of cars out there that are rough or at best could end up costing a lot if money thru faults
There seem to be just 2 cars in the bmw network at 16 and 20k - the reality us there are a lot of E60s out there from £26k!
I have read the e39 vs e60 thread which didnt really conclude anything but to say the e39 has a proper manual ( I prefer a manual) but road test say it's not very good vs e60 better pace. I am not looking for 10/10ths pace ( I own an atom 300 plus other, which are faster )
I'm looking for an all round GREAT car which I guess applies to both e39 and e60
The questions
- it looks like I will be instantly taking a depreciation hit on an e60, however, how far can it really fall in the next year? If it falls 6k to sub 20k where does that leave the very best e39s?
- the e60s will keep falling and so the e39s will have to , do you think we are looking at a depreciation halt at £20k is and does this then make the e60 the much better solution?
- it strikes me that I could spend a long time finding a great e 39 whilst I could go and pick up a great e60 tomorrow or am I talking bollix?
Edited by jon b16 on Saturday 6th December 09:12
Edited by jon b16 on Saturday 6th December 09:24
Edited by jon b16 on Saturday 6th December 09:25
carter711 said:
You mean that horrible raspy V10 exhaust should make everybody want the E39 V8 rumble? rassi said:
carter711 said:
You mean that horrible raspy V10 exhaust should make everybody want the E39 V8 rumble? 
It is lovely isn't it.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=grOGsHyhQv8
Oh....
presumably you have found this? M5 useful facts etc.
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-dis...
presumably you have found this? M5 useful facts etc.
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-dis...
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