M5 touring (V10) - tell me all about it
M5 touring (V10) - tell me all about it
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fade2grey

Original Poster:

704 posts

271 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
Okay, the new owner picked up the uber car so I'm now looking for a more practical replacement. A friend of mine suggested an M5 touring would potentially do the job nicely.

Now, I'm kind of an Audi man having had S4 & RS4 avants & know nothing about BMW's.. so.. what are they like to live with? Obviously it's fast, but what about mpg\range on a tank. General servicing costs, tyres, brakes etc? Also what kit do they come with as standard & what is optional?

I guess equally important is what are BMW dealers like to deal with?

Cheers!

spacegrey335

210 posts

202 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
Most bmw dealers are blood sucking stealers....but there are still some good ones though...e90post.com UK section is the place to go for reviews and recommendations!!! ...

There has been loads of horror stories with bmw dealers, so be careful!!!

belleair302

6,995 posts

230 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
Post a few entries on www.m5board.com and spend some time searching for what touring owners have to say. Lots of good stuff on there.

Neil.D

2,878 posts

229 months

Zod

35,295 posts

281 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
I wouldn't bother. According to the great expet, Marquis Rex, in a thread in General Gassing, the engine is unbalance and underpowered. rolleyes

skeeterm5

4,436 posts

211 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
Why not try something radical - go and try one yourself???

S

mmm-five

12,070 posts

307 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
skeeterm5 said:
Why not try something radical - go and try one yourself???

S
That would only let him know how it drives - it would offer no insight into the ownership costs or equipment levels that he's asking for.

You've got one, maybe you can help?

skeeterm5

4,436 posts

211 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
ok - in an effort to be slightly more forthcoming.....

MPG:

I have owned my e60 m5 for a year now and according to the OBC is it has average 19.2 mpg over 13,000 miles. I drive about 25 miles each way to work, a mix of b road and a road but no real traffic.

I have seen as low as 7mpg on the journey computer when pressing on.

The biggest pain is that the fuel tank is small, meaning that I have to fill up at least twice a week and now have a very good relationship with the lady in the petrol station.

I only run it on Shell V Power.

Reliability:

Nothing has gone wrong with it

Servicing:

Condition based servicing means the last thing I had done was oil and brake fluid which cost 360.

Living with it:

It is easy to live with and comfortable. Sport setting on the suspension is far too bouncy for normal roads. The active seats are a must have option. The SMG takes a bit of getting used to and can be a real pain in slow moving traffic where it is jerky but on the open road it suits the car perfectly.

And if you have to ask about running costs you should probably look elsewhere, and do not buy one without AUC.

S

fade2grey

Original Poster:

704 posts

271 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
skeeterm5 said:
Why not try something radical - go and try one yourself???

S
Oh I will be but that's only 1/2 the story when it comes to ownership isn't it?

skeeterm5 said:
And if you have to ask about running costs you should probably look elsewhere, and do not buy one without AUC.
I love these comments.. I doubt very much whether BMW servicing & running will even come close to Maserati ones - generally speaking performance cars cost a few grand a year to keep on the road in tip top shape so info on which ones are the big bills to avoid or how long clutches last, weak spots etc are useful. Comments along the lines of "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" aren't.

Thanks for the info so far though.

fade2grey

Original Poster:

704 posts

271 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
Neil.D said:
Cheers, lots of useful stuff in there. Ta!

berry100

991 posts

233 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
Whilst I had the M5 saloon, so cannot comment on the touring as such apart from a 535d touring I have now...

What I can say is if you've had the RS4, I can confirm the M5 will be so much better...as long as the initimate petrol station relationships don't bother you, you'll be fine..

My profile still has some details on the M5 running costs which may help..

As for the 5 touring, the extra space is great assuming you need it, and potentially a better looking car...



skeeterm5

4,436 posts

211 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
I disagree smile it never fails to amaze me that people ask about buying and owning a 70k car and then wonder about the costs of ownership - hence my comment.

I guess you are really asking about unexpected costs as opposed to expected cost such as servicing etc and I cannot shed any light on this as nothing has wrong. Having said that I have just renewed my warranty with BMW at a cost of about 900 pounds - a must I think.

S


groucho

12,134 posts

269 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
skeeterm5 said:
The active seats are a must have option.
Why so?

skeeterm5

4,436 posts

211 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
Active seats do work - they hold you in as you go round corners and get tighter if the bend tightens up, and they have the added attraction of making me smile every time they kick in. A priceless feature in my opinion and makes the car feel different to other performance cars.

S

John D.

20,233 posts

232 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
groucho said:
skeeterm5 said:
The active seats are a must have option.
Why so?
Because they are really cool biggrin

fade2grey

Original Poster:

704 posts

271 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
active seats do sound endlessly entertaining biggrin - as do some of the other toys - I'm sure the HUD is useful when fully commited.

Yup, I appreciate it's a 70k car - though I was also refering to std\variable service costs too. I'm aware that they'll be in a similar ball park to the RS so should in theory be cheaper than my last steed. That said, how long to clutches, brake pads & discs last as a yard stick. Obviously it depends on the life it's had & the owner but an average is nice to be aware of. I'll be speaking to my local dealer but it's always nice to have it from the owners mouth so to speak.

Ta

djohnson

3,653 posts

246 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
skeeterm5 said:
I have owned my e60 m5 for a year now and according to the OBC is it has average 19.2 mpg over 13,000 miles. I drive about 25 miles each way to work, a mix of b road and a road but no real traffic.

I have seen as low as 7mpg on the journey computer when pressing on.

The biggest pain is that the fuel tank is small, meaning that I have to fill up at least twice a week and now have a very good relationship with the lady in the petrol station.
I think that 19 mpg average is probably top end of what most people see as an average from these cars and is probably down to your comment about 'no real traffic'. It's clearly not a M5 touring but my M6 is doing an average of around 13mpg with some runs and some city centre stuff.


Neil.D

2,878 posts

229 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
13mpg is much more like it, well done biggrin

groucho

12,134 posts

269 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
I'm getting 21 mpg out of mine. biggrin

clarkey

1,412 posts

307 months

Sunday 19th July 2009
quotequote all
I had a touring for a few months, and made a small profit in 8000 miles!

I didn't have any costs other than 2 litres of oil. About 17mpg average, worst of about 13mpg, best of about 21mpg. It's stop start driving around town that kills it - single figures is very possible.

Mine was a good spec. I'd find one with active seats, panoramic roof (not sure if this is standard) and full leather if you can, in that order of importance.

I think a touring looks better and feels nicer inside because of the panoramic roof, which makes it very bright. The active seats are the most comfy I've ever owned, and work superbly when pushing on.