About to pick up an E39 M5

[Chris Doyle]

Hi all, about to purchase an e39 m5, been to look at the car all all seems well.
Its a 02 51 facelift. seems like its in good condition. Can you guys please give me an idea the usual things to check for on an e39 m5 before handing the cash over..
Had a new clutch and flywheel
New front discs and pads
New gear linkage
New rear tyres

Ps with it being on that plate 51 02 that means its the later spec with lights and no vanos issues, is that correct?

Thanks in advance.

[Neil.D]

Chris.

Firstly - welcome (potentially) to the club.

I would recommend that you read these FAQ's by the excellent M5board.

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-dis...

The Clutch + flywheel is a £1200 job and provided you dont slip the clutch should last a long while.

The usual used car buying rules apply but bear in mind that parts will be 3x what they are of a regular E39.

If it needs new tyres all round, bushes, service, etc etc then you could quite easily have an initial bill of £1500, easy.

[Chris Doyle]

rite ok neil thanks. I think all the big stuff has been done then, 3 greens service lights, new tyres all around, clutch etc done. Doesn't sound too bad at all.

[R60EST]

What colour is it ,

[Chris Doyle]

black and black with smoked windows, got decent seat in it to.

[R60EST]

Good luck with the purchase , as with any car check as much as you can that everything works , all 4 e/w check all 4 doors lock / unlock ( central locking can be lazy on some ) Check each electric seat works in all directions. Last but not least the A/C . At this time of year you cant just go off it blowing cold air so lift the bonnet and look for the screw off valve covers on the A/C pipes. Remove the plastic cap and use a nail or similar to depress the valve for a split second. If you hear the gas escaping it's a good sign , if not budget for a regas at least and probably fixing the leak properly as the new gas may well escape a few hours / days / weeks later.

None of the above should be a deal breaker but you should allow for them in your final purchase price.

The heater blower control module can play up too so try and make sure the fan operates at various speeds

Got any links to the ad , I dont want to buy it ( I already have one ) just curious about price / spec / miles

Edited by R60EST on Saturday 9th January 17:52

[Chris Doyle]

black and black with smoked windows, got decent seat in it to.

[AC Motors]

R60EST said:

The heater blower control module can play up too so try and make sure the fan operates at various speeds

Edited by R60EST on Saturday 9th January 17:52

Yes, and can operate without the ignition on and while locked in the garage, flattens the battery quite quickly, I found out from experience. The cost to replace yourself is about £60 and not too bad to do, you can find full instructions on the web as I did, all is now fine and no flat battery.

[bananapieface]

Don't forget www.realoem.com very useful.