F10 M5 – Three years on...

[JCHill]

My M5 has just received its first MOT, end of warranty inspection and had the heat protection retrofitted so I was wondering how other F10 M5 owners are getting on now we’re 3 years down the road.

Mine was an ex-BMW car, sold with service pack, which I took delivery of with just under 5000 miles on the clock back in the summer of 2012. Since then I’ve added nearly 50,000 miles with only one niggling problem which was diagnosed as a faulty Vanos solenoid (kept throwing the infamous "Drivetrain Error" on cold starts which then re-set shortly afterwards). Other than that it’s been trouble-free ownership being used daily in all weathers.

I’ve just opted for Mondial extended warranty simply because it’s an F10 M5, which I use daily, with the potential of eye-watering bills. Hopefully everything will be fine but it’s a machine at the end of the day...a machine which generates 560hp (give or take) uses 2 clutches and has 7 gears...so the potential for expensive problems is high.

Interested in hearing how other F10 owners are doing...

[JCHill]

HoHoHo said:

I'm only 13k miles in and 13 months into ownership but I still find it an amazing machine to drive

Some early niggles and one of the rear boot lights has now eveloped a leak when I wash the car (it fills with water) but that aside it does exactly what it says on the tin!

Glad to hear it! Boot light leak is a pain but I presume easily sorted.

I must admit that I did have my reservations initially. The technology packed into the car (even the doors have to close using the maximum amount of tech) left me wondering whether it'd spend most of its time sat in the dealership's workshop. But those doubts have (so far) proved unfounded for me and, like you say, it's an amazing machine to drive!

I drove across to Nürburg last year (cruising at 130mph - 150mph). The car was so planted and unruffled that, on arrival, I could have quite happily turned around and driven back to the UK just for the hell of it!

Sure, there are cars out there that beat the F10 M5 in many areas...but as a complete package I can't think of anything else I'd want. I guess that sums this car up for me...50,000 miles in and every day I can't wait to drive it!

[JCHill]

Schermerhorn said:

The Ultimate Driving Machine by far. It does everything so well.

It's amazing just how far ahead of the E6x series BMW the F1x models are.

I'll have to take your word for that as I've never driven the V10 M5. As the last naturally aspirated M5 the E60 / E61 has a dedicated following but for me it was always out of reach due to its MPG figure.

Although mine is not a company car (I do own it outright) it had to have an official combined MPG figure of at least 28 because I have a company fuel card, so for that reason the V10 was always a no-no.

[JCHill]

Schermerhorn said:

Even in the Middle East, you'd struggle to declare the V10 M5 as a company car.

Put it this way; £90.00 to fill up with 70 litres of unleaded can be finished off in 150 miles with moderately short journeys. Exclusively motorway running may see close to 350 miles.

Combined (for me anyway) has been around 280 miles for 70 litres. You can actually see the fuel gauge move and you're always scared you'll run out of juice before you get home


But..................that sound!

Despite the best efforts of the M1 (between Nottingham and Sheffield) I'm still managing to average 25+ MPG giving me roughly a 450 mile range per tank.

That V10 certainly does sing! I think it's safe to say, as I've posted previously, it's as far as BMW could have taken it. The next step ended up being in a different direction.

[JCHill]

Schermerhorn said:

M1 between Sheffield and Notts you say? That's cheating.....it's all 50mph due to roadworks at the moment

Yep, average speed cameras for about 25 miles. The irony is that hardly a day goes by without someone deciding to run into something or break-down. It's become a car park I'm afraid. My record so far is 3 hours to clear that stretch!

[JCHill]

zedstar said:

You a Sheffield guy? Only seen one F10 M5 driving round here and it was black, nice car!

I am zedstar. I'm usually found on the M1, M62 or 'flying' over Woodhead pass. I have clocked another blue F10 M5 around Meadowhall a couple of times but generally speaking we're thin on the ground.

[JCHill]

joscal said:

pjv997 said:

Mine was an ex-demo bought Feb 12 with 1,500 on the clock, now done just over 40,000 miles.

Also just had end of warranty check and MOT. Been having a few fault messages recently and the culprit it seems was the Vanos which has been replaced.

It is an amazing all-rounder - wharp factor fast - lugs the family in real comfort - has amazing tech (never realised I NEED so many gadgets).

No plans to move on to something else - roll on the next 40,000.

I'm intrigued by the comments on tech, can you elaborate please? I have one arriving in Jan and haven't even considered this aspect as I just knew I wanted one! Will be my fourth M5 so to say I'm excited is a bit of an understatement.

I'm just a pessimist at the end of the day.

I was convinced that the comfort access system was going to break within months (it does still make me smile when I watch the doors to their little in-out action as they close). Then there's the touch sensors and the grip sensors to lock / unlock the doors, never mind the HUD, cameras, motors to move absolutely everything etc...etc.

But all have worked flawlessly...and you're right pjv997 you do NEED them all!

[JCHill]

thegreatdogwood said:

I'm intrigued by the fact that in a very short thread there are two owners who have experienced Vanos issues......sense of deja vu

Yep, these little devils are at it again...



Although considering I now have two units to potentially go wrong, with "just" a faulty solenoid so far, it's a huge improvement in reliability from when I had an E46 M3. The mileage I covered in that meant it did almost live at the dealership's workshop. It never technically broke-down but had lots of work in it's lifetime (gearbox replaced, 2 x rear diffs, complete vanos and countless sensors replaced).

[JCHill]

Schermerhorn said:

Sounds like your M5 and my M6 were built by the same technician

[JCHill]

James_G said:

Serious question ... do you find it frustrating not being able to use all that performance 90% - 95% of the time? Or do you live somewhere where you can often stretch its legs?

I ask because I am in the market to upscale from my M135i and even now I get irritated that I barely get to the upper reaches of the rev range even once on a normal journey.

Most of my daily driving is either motorway or peak district A-roads so I do get the opportunity to enjoy the performance from time to time... traffic / road works permitting!

But the problem is, and I’m sure you’ll have experienced this with your M135i, that cars at this level are so capable that you hardly ever truly get the chance to push them to their limits. Even the autobahns have traffic...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d7Dif3FH2w&fe...

[JCHill]

W8PMC said:

That's good to know.

My first F10 M5 was obviously a Friday afternoon car so after it's second failure got rejected. The replacement however has been rock solid & by far the best & most fun car i've had. She's had a day out at Anglesey Circuit, a day hooning round Nordschleife (between closures) & 2 days round Spa Francorchamps where she excelled & got very close to 3min laps & was hitting just short of a GPS 160mph down Kemmel

[JCHill]

James_G said:

JCHill said:

Most of my daily driving is either motorway or peak district A-roads so I do get the opportunity to enjoy the performance from time to time... traffic / road works permitting!

But the problem is, and I’m sure you’ll have experienced this with your M135i, that cars at this level are so capable that you hardly ever truly get the chance to push them to their limits. Even the autobahns have traffic...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d7Dif3FH2w&fe...

Thanks. Funnily enough it was a recent trip to Germany to visit BMW and Porsche that made me realise how little of the performance I am able to tap in to in the UK. Mine did the numbers though, which was fun.

[JCHill]

BobSaunders said:

Mine is coming up to being three years old. Just gone over 20,000 miles. New set of tyres just been put on due to wear and tear on the outer edges - they are stacked in the garage for a track day.

Odd bit of wear and tear on the inside, mostly around the door handles and the leather - it's noticeable from a couple of inches away.

Overall it is still pulling strong and no issues - drinking oil however. I'd like to change the exhaust out for something a little more punchy, probably exchange the downpipes as well to get the full sing.

I'll consider the Modial warranty when it comes along, i suspect costs will mount up fairly quickly if something goes wrong. I'll get popped in for a service and review before it comes to that point.

M

Mine's consistently used a litre every 3000 miles or so, always has and I guess always will.

I did notice that the Ring Taxi's all have Akrapovic exhausted fitted...not looked into changing yet, just an observation.

I went for the full Mondial cover, zero excess, including break-down cover and paying monthly...£104 pm.

Speaking of costs...

Tyres are costing me £300 per corner (Michelin Super Sports).
Servicing and recent break fluid change has been free due to service pack.
MOT at BMW was £30.
For the Tracker I paid a lifetime membership as I knew I'd be keeping the car for a while so it made a yearly subscription pointless (for memory I think the lifetime membership was the same as 2 years subscription).

[JCHill]

HoHoHo said:

I've just been quoted £380 for 15k oil service and £247 for rear pads

Do those costs sound in line?

I've not paid / been quoted for either yet, sorry (I only press the right pedal, not the left )

[JCHill]

HoHoHo said:

JCHill said:

HoHoHo said:

I've just been quoted £380 for 15k oil service and £247 for rear pads

Do those costs sound in line?

I've not paid / been quoted for either yet, sorry (I only press the right pedal, not the left )

Has your car not been serviced at all yet

Many times...but always covered by the service pack = £0.00

[JCHill]

HoHoHo said:

W8PMC said:

HoHoHo said:

20,000 miles and first set of tyres?

I went through my first set of rears in 9k miles

I win, new fronts were needed at just shy of 4k miles. Rears are oddly enough holding out so may see 10k out of them.

Spotted mention of £300 per corner for Pilot Super Sports. Unless rubber has shot up in price, i paid £240 per front & at there time was quoted £260 per rear.

I just paid £500 on the nose for two SS rears fitted which I thought was pretty good.

Micheldever would supply SS's at £480 but it's a 120 mile return trip so not worth the saving.

I'm clearly not trying hard enough!

[JCHill]

BobSaunders said:

I'll be going full akrapovic, not sure on the downpipes - nothing else really compares.

What tracker did you install? I need to consider it to drop the insurance.

BMW Trackstar

It was already fitted when I bought the car, I just had to register myself as the new owner (which was actually done during the initial handover when I picked up the car from the BMW dealership).

[JCHill]

beefsbms said:

Good to hear most of you enjoying your M5's. Mine has now done 45k miles and has suffered turbo failure and has been in at Stratstone BMW derby since Nov 5th thats 45 days so far!!! and still no date for the new turbo's being delivered as there on back order from garret! best BMW Uk have told me is late dec early Jan but when I contacted a Garret retailer personally the date he was given is mid to late Jan!!! BMW's lack of spares to fix the car under warranty sucks and they dont seem to bothered by all my complaining either.

That sucks!

If something isn't in stock in the UK and has to be shipped over you can understand a delay up to a point but to actually have a part still on backorder with the original manufacturer is ridiculous and is an embarrassment for BMW's supply chain model!