Finding it very difficult to find a nice E39 M5
Discussion
I have done just over 700 mi The les in the last 4 days to look at 3 M5's. None of them seem to be upto the condition of the E36 M3 Evo i have just sold.
1st one was a 2000 facelift Silverstone blue with satnav & black leather, couple of small dents on body i could live with but the black trim around the windows was corroded really bad, slight corrosion on fuel recess but nothing to worry about, had lots of service reciepts & full BMW service hist (due an oil serv) all 4 tyres were about 2-3mm. Of the 3 i drove it was the slowest & when i gave it some stick in 2nd the EMLight came on & it ran like a bag of s
t,sorted its self once the EM light went back out, this was up for £9950 private. The best thing about this car was the paperwork & history & original bill of sale but it just didn't go to well & had a 2 ft crack in the screen aswell. 101,000 miles.
2nd car was x plate 2000 facelift, le mans blue up for £9000, hist up to 80k now on 114,000 miles, owner had not kept an reciepts & not had the book stamped ! Car was remapped & seemed quicker than the 1st one, rumbled a bit on cold start up but went after about 3 secs. no rust at all but poor paintwork repair on front wing & overspray underbonnet. ouldn't believe that the guy had not bothered getting book stamped but had just put 4 new Michelin pilot sport tyres on it ! Drove really well but was a bit tatty.
Just got back from seeing this one today. 2001 Y plate Le mans blue facelift black/grey leather. Engine on this one sounded the sweetest with no noise whatsoever when cold or hot. Full BMW service history & all MOT's but absoultly no reciepts for anything ! Owner only had it for 7 months & its had 6 previous owners which is quite a lot for a 2001 car. Interior was mint apart from some missing pixels. Bodywork was very straight with no repairs but front end was peppered with stone chips really bad & had rust spot of about 1 inch on rear quarter by petrol flap & rust spot where rear number plate had rubbed through paint & bubbled. Car drove really well & went well to (its had new MAF's) just slight vibration when braking gently but only did it a couple of times. In general it had a few scuffs & scratches & high amount of owners but was a straight car with full hist, this was £9500. I am slightly tempted by this one but it would need at least £500 paint to make it look pretty good.
My budget is £10k max am i looking for the impossible a very good condition facelift for under £10k ?
I feel like giving up & looking for an E46 vert as it seems you have to travel 100's of miles & still not found a really good condition one.
Cheers Simon.
1st one was a 2000 facelift Silverstone blue with satnav & black leather, couple of small dents on body i could live with but the black trim around the windows was corroded really bad, slight corrosion on fuel recess but nothing to worry about, had lots of service reciepts & full BMW service hist (due an oil serv) all 4 tyres were about 2-3mm. Of the 3 i drove it was the slowest & when i gave it some stick in 2nd the EMLight came on & it ran like a bag of s
t,sorted its self once the EM light went back out, this was up for £9950 private. The best thing about this car was the paperwork & history & original bill of sale but it just didn't go to well & had a 2 ft crack in the screen aswell. 101,000 miles.2nd car was x plate 2000 facelift, le mans blue up for £9000, hist up to 80k now on 114,000 miles, owner had not kept an reciepts & not had the book stamped ! Car was remapped & seemed quicker than the 1st one, rumbled a bit on cold start up but went after about 3 secs. no rust at all but poor paintwork repair on front wing & overspray underbonnet. ouldn't believe that the guy had not bothered getting book stamped but had just put 4 new Michelin pilot sport tyres on it ! Drove really well but was a bit tatty.
Just got back from seeing this one today. 2001 Y plate Le mans blue facelift black/grey leather. Engine on this one sounded the sweetest with no noise whatsoever when cold or hot. Full BMW service history & all MOT's but absoultly no reciepts for anything ! Owner only had it for 7 months & its had 6 previous owners which is quite a lot for a 2001 car. Interior was mint apart from some missing pixels. Bodywork was very straight with no repairs but front end was peppered with stone chips really bad & had rust spot of about 1 inch on rear quarter by petrol flap & rust spot where rear number plate had rubbed through paint & bubbled. Car drove really well & went well to (its had new MAF's) just slight vibration when braking gently but only did it a couple of times. In general it had a few scuffs & scratches & high amount of owners but was a straight car with full hist, this was £9500. I am slightly tempted by this one but it would need at least £500 paint to make it look pretty good.
My budget is £10k max am i looking for the impossible a very good condition facelift for under £10k ?
I feel like giving up & looking for an E46 vert as it seems you have to travel 100's of miles & still not found a really good condition one.
Cheers Simon.
Remeber you are looking at 8 year old cars, so there will usually be prep to do if you are fussy (particually as you are at the bottom end of the budget scale for a facelift car).
If the car has FBMWSH and you get a PPI done that comes up ok, why do you have to have reciepts??
Granated its "nice" to have them but you dont drive the paperwork, do you??
http://www.jasonbarker.co.uk/background.htm
Jason had a nice one in last week when i was up there. If he has not got one he will find you one pronto.
Jason had a nice one in last week when i was up there. If he has not got one he will find you one pronto.
I agree, if the book is stamped and everything is done why do you need receipts??
I have replaced the rear springs on mine, going in tomorrow to have wishbones, arb bushes, rta bushes and droplinks replaced, but all under warranty so I won't see any receipts.
Also I need keep receipts for things like brake discs or pads, nor tyres etc.
I think the person will see if it is mint or tatty.
I have replaced the rear springs on mine, going in tomorrow to have wishbones, arb bushes, rta bushes and droplinks replaced, but all under warranty so I won't see any receipts.
Also I need keep receipts for things like brake discs or pads, nor tyres etc.
I think the person will see if it is mint or tatty.
Contact BMW customer services and give them the chassis number of the car you're looking at, they will then give you the details of every time the car has visited the dealer network and what was done.
They used to do it for free, but it's now a premium rate number, although still well worth it if you have any doubts about the car's history.
They used to do it for free, but it's now a premium rate number, although still well worth it if you have any doubts about the car's history.
Keep looking! There are cars out there. I bought mine last year for just less than £10k, 2001 Y Carbon Black, 74k absolutely fantastic condition with no swirl markes etc, just corroded alloys which I got done for £300. Full BMW same dealer history with invoices. Like I say, keep looking as there are some sharp cars out there.
Carfiend said:
Tried searching about but does anyone have a link or some idea of what to look for apart from the usual on an M5?
Have a mate saying the pre 2001 engines are a bit weak with high miles and I trust him as he has never steered me wrong... well not often
Never heard that one before. If anything this will be a more reliable engine with miles as it is less likely too have been low on oil in its life. Having said that not sure whether there is some benefit on the older engines of oil passing the piston rings as it may lube the bores. Have a mate saying the pre 2001 engines are a bit weak with high miles and I trust him as he has never steered me wrong... well not often
Altrezia said:
Jeez, if I was in the market for a new car...
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