Another ‘M’ car on cards
Discussion
Having briefly owned a E46 ‘M’ I found that the ride was really far to harsh and I decided to sell the car. However I do miss that rather nice tactile feel found in the BMW and am now chewing over purchase of a E39 ‘M’ . Done my research and very tempted to take the plunge. Hopefully the ride will be at least a little more forgiving.
Comments and advise as always gratefully received.
Comments and advise as always gratefully received.
If ride quality is important then make sure you buy an E39 M5 with standard OE suspension. There'll be quite a few out there on aftermarket Bilsteins and Konis etc. etc. that come near but don't really match the compliant ride characteristics of the stock set up. I find the OE suspension to be the perfect balance of comfort and body control. I've done several long cross continent trips in mine and found the OE suspension to be great on the autobahn and more than acceptable on alpine twisty bits as well. It is a big car so it'll never handle like a Caterham of course but the BMW engineers struck a pretty good handling/comfort compromise, I think.
As ever, buy on condition. Ignore the "Full BMWSH" clickbait in many adverts. You want to be buying a car from an enthusiast who's spent money on proper maintenance, not just fluids and filter changes - which is what 'Full BMWSH' actually amounts to.
If you've had an E46 M3 for any length of time you'll know about spending big when refreshing suspension, steering and drivetrain components. A good E39 M5 will drive arrow straight, without shimmy or judder and there shouldn't be any knocking from the steering gear at low speed over bumps - that'll be the centre tie rod, probably. And, of course, there should be massive shove in 3rd gear from 3500 revs all the way to the red line.
I've kept on top of all the maintenance issues on mine - some pre-emptively - because mine's a keeper. Others won't be as fussy so do your due diligence when assessing a car's real condition. They do rust, too. The boot lid, inside the fuel filler, arches all suffer to a greater or lesser degree but the real nightmares can lurk in the sills and jacking points. Those plastic covers underneath the sill can hide many horrors, though some cars are unaffected.
Fundamentally, they're robust vehicles if serviced and maintained properly. There are internet tales of rod bearing and VANOS issues but you only ever hear about the bad ones when in reality most cars won't be afflicted. There are a couple of 300,000+ mile cars running around in the USA. Ageing electronic systems can present problems but most are fixable, often at reasonable cost.
Apart from the VANOS and rod bearings, almost all other maintenance can be done by competent local garages, or DIY if you're handy with the spanners. They're not difficult cars to work on. Set yourself up with a copy of INPA diagnostic software and you'll be able to problem-solve many common issues. Parts are readily available and often reasonably priced since they share the same DNA as other E39s. However some M-specific parts carry a pretty hefty premium. 'M', the most expensive letter in the alphabet.
Springtime or early summer might be a good time to buy. Could be quite a few 'distress sales' once the economic impacts of COVID-19 unfold.
As ever, buy on condition. Ignore the "Full BMWSH" clickbait in many adverts. You want to be buying a car from an enthusiast who's spent money on proper maintenance, not just fluids and filter changes - which is what 'Full BMWSH' actually amounts to.
If you've had an E46 M3 for any length of time you'll know about spending big when refreshing suspension, steering and drivetrain components. A good E39 M5 will drive arrow straight, without shimmy or judder and there shouldn't be any knocking from the steering gear at low speed over bumps - that'll be the centre tie rod, probably. And, of course, there should be massive shove in 3rd gear from 3500 revs all the way to the red line.
I've kept on top of all the maintenance issues on mine - some pre-emptively - because mine's a keeper. Others won't be as fussy so do your due diligence when assessing a car's real condition. They do rust, too. The boot lid, inside the fuel filler, arches all suffer to a greater or lesser degree but the real nightmares can lurk in the sills and jacking points. Those plastic covers underneath the sill can hide many horrors, though some cars are unaffected.
Fundamentally, they're robust vehicles if serviced and maintained properly. There are internet tales of rod bearing and VANOS issues but you only ever hear about the bad ones when in reality most cars won't be afflicted. There are a couple of 300,000+ mile cars running around in the USA. Ageing electronic systems can present problems but most are fixable, often at reasonable cost.
Apart from the VANOS and rod bearings, almost all other maintenance can be done by competent local garages, or DIY if you're handy with the spanners. They're not difficult cars to work on. Set yourself up with a copy of INPA diagnostic software and you'll be able to problem-solve many common issues. Parts are readily available and often reasonably priced since they share the same DNA as other E39s. However some M-specific parts carry a pretty hefty premium. 'M', the most expensive letter in the alphabet.
Springtime or early summer might be a good time to buy. Could be quite a few 'distress sales' once the economic impacts of COVID-19 unfold.
Edited by Depthhoar on Friday 3rd April 19:19
Edited by Depthhoar on Friday 3rd April 22:29
Edited by Depthhoar on Friday 3rd April 22:35
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