So, I drove an M3 and M5 today...

[Hedgeman]

Toying with another car purchase so drove an E92 M3 DCT (this was the dealers demo, if I was ordering one it would be the saloon for practical reasons) and an E61 M5 Touring back to back today. I was expecting to much prefer the M3, but came away surprised...

The M3 was fantastic - it sounded awesome and combined with the DCT box was smooth up to silly speeds. The ride was excellent too, firm but very well damped. The Saturday roads were quite busy, so no real hooning around but the car felt lithe and well balanced.

But good as the V8 in the M3 was, the V10 in the M5 was just something else. The acceleration felt ballistic, rather than just "very fast" in the M3. Sure, compared to the DCT box, the SMG box in the M5 felt like the product of a previous technology ages (which I guess it is), but the rawness and brutality of the box felt kind of at home in the car. This was only the second time I've driven an M5 and again I came away surprised at just how well balanced it felt and how well it hides its weight.

As I said, busy Saturday roads so no hooning, but rather lots of "normal" driving. If twisty country lanes were in the mix the result may have been different, but if I had to pick one car out of the two I drove today it would be the M5 all the way.

Now I just need to persuade the missus we need a 4th car...anyone else had direct experience of the two?

Gary.

[gaz1234]

im surprised its that much more mental than the v8

[x5x3]

surely there is little difference between the 4th car and the 5th?

Get them both and then you will never have to worry about making a mistake!

But seriously, both are great, just get either and enjoy it.

[jontysafe]

Try an M6 convertible, all the better for hearing the V10.

[Nedz]

Ive not driven either but ive been out in both cars with a(loony) friend of mine.Both are great but the one thing that got me was the M5' acceleration over 100mph.Naughty i know but the way the M5 goes from 100mph to 150mph in a short space of dual carriageway is simply shocking and something the M3 cannot match.

This isnt really relevent though in everyday driving and the M3 is still plenty quick enough and the one i would go for.

[ecain63]

M5 is all about illegal speed. Its always at its best above 70mph. In fact it returns best mpg at 85mph. The E61 is gonna hold its price too, mark my words.

Eddie

[Hedgeman]

jontysafe said:

Try an M6 convertible, all the better for hearing the V10.

Unfortunately I need 3 seats in the rear of this one.

ecain63 said:

The E61 is gonna hold its price too, mark my words.

I can see it commanding some premium to the saloon, but I'd be surprised if they hold their price. The combination of fuel price, costly maintenance, and general running costs will hurt. And ultimately the price of the saloon will drag them down.

I went for another look at the M5 today, and whist it's generally sound, there are just too many small things which point to the previous owner not really cherishing it.

[Jazzer]

I think they're all fab, but it boils down to this.....

Drive an M3 and you'll want one, BUT.....drive an M3 and an M5 and you'll want the M5.

The M5 has always been better than the M3 in my humble opinion....it's The Daddy!

[x5x3]

Hedgeman said:

Unfortunately I need 3 seats in the rear of this one.

The E92 (i.e. the coupe) has only two seats in the back - for the once a year I need to carry five people it is a pain but otherwise with a family of 4 it is not an issue.

[Hedgeman]

x5x3 said:

The E92 (i.e. the coupe) has only two seats in the back - for the once a year I need to carry five people it is a pain but otherwise with a family of 4 it is not an issue.

Yup, I know the E92 only has 2 seats in the rear. The dealer only had an E92 as a demo though, and E90 M3's seem few and far between. I have 3 kids and anything that can't take us all just won't get used enough to justify.

[neil_bolton]

inkiboo said:

Well it hasn't so far. Last year when I was looking at 2007s, a decent one was around £40k. They are now worth £30k, and that is being generous.

They will hold better than a E60 but fall they will. The E60 is already close to the price of a decent E39.

Agreed.

Irrespective of the ability of the car, the frightening prospect of even bigger bills than the E39 M5 when it goes wrong are seriously screwing the resale values.

That the gearbox will st itself if not serviced every 20k or so is a huge worry, and a big cost, so says my (very knowledgeable) BMW mechanic.

Additionally, there is a LOT of electronic trickery to go wrong, in addition to the rather ridiculous fuel economy of the V10.

Hence, they're falling like a stone.

[Cheburator mk2]

There is no way prices will stay high - it is the nature of the mkt in the UK. Where I live I have just noticed that most of my neighbours have replaced their euroboxes which were all on 02/03/04 reg with new euroboxes that are 60/11 reg. The older cars seemed perfectly good and usable for many years to come...

What makes people think that the E60/61 is immune from the same effect? One of the best cars that BMW ever produced, but depreciation proof it ain't...

[ecain63]

Nobody said they were immune to anything. What I mean is it looks like the E60 M5 has hit a comfortable figure and prices of good examples are holding steady. The E61 has held well for 12 months now and in actual fact I've seen average mileage car prices go up by £2k since I got mine last year.

[Laird]

ecain63 said:

M5 is all about illegal speed. Its always at its best above 70mph. In fact it returns best mpg at 85mph. The E61 is gonna hold its price too, mark my words.

Eddie

You hope

[Mermaid]

ecain63 said:

.. The E61 is gonna hold its price too, mark my words.

Eddie

I follow your thinking, but in general heavy cars don't hold their prices. However, the RS4 Avant has held it's value better than most.

[derestrictor]

Using co-sine theta extrapolative Mundell-Fleming negative reality mapping, researchers at the Amorphous Pro Spillers Winalot particle accelerator facility in Bloxham, England, have uncorked an immutable truth defining a consistent but undeniable relationship between the two items illustrated.

However, using V box technologies first designed for understanding how American Rennlisters were able to produce power outputs in excess of 800 bhp for their Porsche Turbos using nothing more than a Moulinex blender and some Bruce Springsteen, the time frame in which the housebrick bounced off the ground from the top of a specially reinforced 'Wonder Wheels' hoop-the-hoop set was less pronounced in comparison to the depreciative anal mashing received by 98.7% of V10 //M respondents within nano seconds of driving their vehicles from the BMW showrooms.

[Laird]

[rb5230]

ecain63 said:

The E61 is gonna hold its price too, mark my words.

Eddie

They will probably hold their money there or there abouts once they get to around the £10k mark, and even then the high milers will continue to lose money.

[Mermaid]

rb5230 said:

ecain63 said:

The E61 is gonna hold its price too, mark my words.

Eddie

They will probably hold their money there or there abouts once they get to around the £10k mark, and even then the high milers will continue to lose money.

A great used car bargain for someone who does not do that many miles, but then there are so many.

[ecain63]

I should get you to write my best mans speach next time. Lol


On topic, and as unbiased as possible, I would expect the E61 to hold better for 2 reasons.

1. Only 222 RHD E61 M5's were made.
2. There is no intention to build an F10 M5 Tourer.

But I'm probably wrong.