To sell or not to sell... (E60 M5)
Discussion
Having difficulties making the right decision: I have had my E60 M5 only since September 2012, it has a BMW warranty until September 2014, and with 85.000 km it is in very good condition. I paid 30.000 euro for it (Belgium), yet I put it up in a classified for 26999 euro.
Now, why would I even consider selling it? Good question!
I love the engine, have grown to like the SMG and the car has all the options I was looking for, including the High End Audio and alcantara roof.
However, I underestimated its thirst and the overestimated the size of the fuel tank and consequent range, which is around 400 km with my predominant use, namely a montly 450 km motorway trip at a steady 150-160 kph. My E39 M5 in the same conditions could easily do 500-530 km on a tank.
I have somehow fallen out of love with it, despite a very recent autobahn blast where its ridiculous top-end thrust never failed to amaze me, yet had me fuming when I had to stop and fill after 350 km. It may simply be a question of wrong car for my use, which I accept, and which is why I think I will sell. At 20.000 km per year, a comfortable diesel A6/5 series would actually be better suited to my needs...
However, I had psycologically prepared myself to deal with the great unwashed tyrekickers and joyriders, but after only a week I am increasingly frustrated by the time wasters and ridiculous offers (no, I will not accept 20.000 euro if it is advertised for 27000)
That brings me to my dilemma: A trader came and saw the car, no test drive requested but gave the M5 a thorough going over, and after much negotiations by telephone the current (and I think, absolutely final) offer is 24000 euro.
I could try to keep it on the market and see what other offers there will be, but would you:
1) sell at 24.000 euro and foot the "loss" of 6000 euro for 7 months of M5 ownership (am I completely mad??)
2) keep it, and just keep feeding it 98 octane, accept the range as the price of V10 ownership
3) keep it on the market and see what happens
I appreciate that this may read as a cry for help of a confused fellow PH but would be grateful for any sound advice.
Now, why would I even consider selling it? Good question!
I love the engine, have grown to like the SMG and the car has all the options I was looking for, including the High End Audio and alcantara roof.
However, I underestimated its thirst and the overestimated the size of the fuel tank and consequent range, which is around 400 km with my predominant use, namely a montly 450 km motorway trip at a steady 150-160 kph. My E39 M5 in the same conditions could easily do 500-530 km on a tank.
I have somehow fallen out of love with it, despite a very recent autobahn blast where its ridiculous top-end thrust never failed to amaze me, yet had me fuming when I had to stop and fill after 350 km. It may simply be a question of wrong car for my use, which I accept, and which is why I think I will sell. At 20.000 km per year, a comfortable diesel A6/5 series would actually be better suited to my needs...
However, I had psycologically prepared myself to deal with the great unwashed tyrekickers and joyriders, but after only a week I am increasingly frustrated by the time wasters and ridiculous offers (no, I will not accept 20.000 euro if it is advertised for 27000)
That brings me to my dilemma: A trader came and saw the car, no test drive requested but gave the M5 a thorough going over, and after much negotiations by telephone the current (and I think, absolutely final) offer is 24000 euro.
I could try to keep it on the market and see what other offers there will be, but would you:
1) sell at 24.000 euro and foot the "loss" of 6000 euro for 7 months of M5 ownership (am I completely mad??)
2) keep it, and just keep feeding it 98 octane, accept the range as the price of V10 ownership
3) keep it on the market and see what happens
I appreciate that this may read as a cry for help of a confused fellow PH but would be grateful for any sound advice.
Firstly I feel once the thought to sell a car comes into your mind, its time to move on, I have always worked this way, and its why I have had so many cars. You may regret it later however.
If you don't think like me, and its just its range that's putting you off the car, not its immense thirst then I personally would keep it, however if its the latter you were unprepared for and its becoming too much, its time to sell
You could hang on and wait for another 1000-2000 euros or cut your losses and any further dealings with time wasters etc and accept the 24000 euro, its probably what I would do for least hassle if I'm honest.
If you don't think like me, and its just its range that's putting you off the car, not its immense thirst then I personally would keep it, however if its the latter you were unprepared for and its becoming too much, its time to sell
You could hang on and wait for another 1000-2000 euros or cut your losses and any further dealings with time wasters etc and accept the 24000 euro, its probably what I would do for least hassle if I'm honest.
Having owned an E60 M5 myself I know where your coming from on the range and the mpg. If you like the car and the only thing that bugs you is the range and mpg, what will you be swapping it for? Any other car with that kind of performance is going to be thirsty. The hit your going to take on selling the M5 will surely be more than any fuel savings from getting something else with decent power.
If your going for a 120d ecobox then yes, your going to save money at the pump. Will take you a lot of miles to make up the hit on the M5.
If your going for a 120d ecobox then yes, your going to save money at the pump. Will take you a lot of miles to make up the hit on the M5.
Thanks for the replies!
I don't have a new car in mind, and may actually try to make do for a while using my wife's car until I decide on the right one. The shortlist, as any man would mentally start to prepare, has focused on A4 Allroad 3.0 TDI, 330DX, Mercedes C300 CDI 4matic, but not another performance car, yet not a complete eco car. I did that mistake last time, when I sold my E39 M5 and moved into a 2009 MB C220, which had the most agricultural engine and gearbox imaginable. 6 cylinder diesel is more or less a given, should I decide to change.
I was mentally prepared for the poor MPG, but not really a 400 km range. Add the 2300 euro annual road tax, versus 700 euro for a 3 litre car, and I would be saving about 5000 euro on fuel and tax /year at 20000 km/year if I were to change to a more sensible motorway cruiser.
Another element is the frustration that lies with the M5, in that it really only comes into its own on derestricted autobahns, whereas I in my current use of cruising on Belgian and French motorways at 150-160 kph only get to really enjoy the V10 when exiting the peage!
Finally, any new car with more than 211 bhp faces a 5000 euro registration tax, which goes down by 10 % per year. So in addition to the 6000 euro loss, it is in reality 9000 euro, as I paid 3000 euro to register the car back in September 2012, and would have to pay another registration tax on any new car that I choose. So, it all adds up, and as was remarked, a lot of petrol could be bought for that!
Final final thought is also the underlying theme that the value M5 for all of the reasons above, not least tax, is likely to plummet in general and in particular in Belgium, as there is very little demand for this costly a car to tax, fuel and service. So part of me is also thinking that if I were to keep it to the end of the warranty (September 2014) I woould get more enjoyment out of the initial purchase but would have paid 20.000 euro to run it, and it would be worth 15000 euro if I were lucky.
Decisions decisions...
I don't have a new car in mind, and may actually try to make do for a while using my wife's car until I decide on the right one. The shortlist, as any man would mentally start to prepare, has focused on A4 Allroad 3.0 TDI, 330DX, Mercedes C300 CDI 4matic, but not another performance car, yet not a complete eco car. I did that mistake last time, when I sold my E39 M5 and moved into a 2009 MB C220, which had the most agricultural engine and gearbox imaginable. 6 cylinder diesel is more or less a given, should I decide to change.
I was mentally prepared for the poor MPG, but not really a 400 km range. Add the 2300 euro annual road tax, versus 700 euro for a 3 litre car, and I would be saving about 5000 euro on fuel and tax /year at 20000 km/year if I were to change to a more sensible motorway cruiser.
Another element is the frustration that lies with the M5, in that it really only comes into its own on derestricted autobahns, whereas I in my current use of cruising on Belgian and French motorways at 150-160 kph only get to really enjoy the V10 when exiting the peage!
Finally, any new car with more than 211 bhp faces a 5000 euro registration tax, which goes down by 10 % per year. So in addition to the 6000 euro loss, it is in reality 9000 euro, as I paid 3000 euro to register the car back in September 2012, and would have to pay another registration tax on any new car that I choose. So, it all adds up, and as was remarked, a lot of petrol could be bought for that!
Final final thought is also the underlying theme that the value M5 for all of the reasons above, not least tax, is likely to plummet in general and in particular in Belgium, as there is very little demand for this costly a car to tax, fuel and service. So part of me is also thinking that if I were to keep it to the end of the warranty (September 2014) I woould get more enjoyment out of the initial purchase but would have paid 20.000 euro to run it, and it would be worth 15000 euro if I were lucky.
Decisions decisions...
As soon as you sell it and replace it with a 330d or some other oil burner you will lose the will to live. Honestly you will crave the performance and comfort of the M5. The M5 is a nicer place to be than any top of the range Diesel imo. Up to you but I honestly think you will regret it.
I would take the offer if you really want rid. These cars are currently still depreciating quite badly so his offer won't stay on the table for long.
You may take a month or so to decide to sell at the agreed price only to find the offer has been reduced and the whole decision process starts again .
If you're adamant your cut off point is more than 24k and you can't bring yourself to accept less then keep it and buy a much cheaper diesel car for the commute and use the M5 for fun / weekends.
I speak from experience , although 10 yrs ago and with the E39 M5.
When I sold I thought I'd let it go much too cheap but within 3-4 months there were dozens for sale below what I'd sold for , some newer and lower miles
You may take a month or so to decide to sell at the agreed price only to find the offer has been reduced and the whole decision process starts again .
If you're adamant your cut off point is more than 24k and you can't bring yourself to accept less then keep it and buy a much cheaper diesel car for the commute and use the M5 for fun / weekends.
I speak from experience , although 10 yrs ago and with the E39 M5.
When I sold I thought I'd let it go much too cheap but within 3-4 months there were dozens for sale below what I'd sold for , some newer and lower miles
And... I sold it. Not happy about selling it, trying hard to forget what each km has cost, but happy to have had the experience of an M Power V10, even if the lasting thought is probably that of a somewhat compromised car.
The SMG worked brilliantly on the motorway and B-roads, and less successfully in town, where it (in my hands at least) was a bit jerky and not particularly relaxing in stop-start traffic (always in manual mode, never D). The engine is a master-piece and I liken it to a musical instrument that has the most extraordinary range of tones, from deep below at low rpm up to the piercing crescendo at 8300 rpm. Amazing!
What finally pushed me over and made me sell it was running costs and practicality: I had the clutch and flywheel replaced under warranty, and apart from 2 litre of Castrol's finest 10W/60 in 14000 km, I had no other expense but tax and fuel. I accept that a 5 litre petrol V10 will be expensive to run, but at 16-17 l/100 km, combined with the size of the fuel tank, where the stated 70 litre capacity seemed to be closer to 65 litre, it gave a range of 400 km max. For my use of motorway driving, it meant some involuntary petrol bingo, that was rather stressful, and severely compromised its role as a grand tourer, in the original sense of the word.
Not sure what the future brings carwise, but for those that are fortunate enough to drive the V10 the way they were intended, it surely is the epithome of what M Power was about: High revving, NA with a manual (albeit with automated clutch).
The SMG worked brilliantly on the motorway and B-roads, and less successfully in town, where it (in my hands at least) was a bit jerky and not particularly relaxing in stop-start traffic (always in manual mode, never D). The engine is a master-piece and I liken it to a musical instrument that has the most extraordinary range of tones, from deep below at low rpm up to the piercing crescendo at 8300 rpm. Amazing!
What finally pushed me over and made me sell it was running costs and practicality: I had the clutch and flywheel replaced under warranty, and apart from 2 litre of Castrol's finest 10W/60 in 14000 km, I had no other expense but tax and fuel. I accept that a 5 litre petrol V10 will be expensive to run, but at 16-17 l/100 km, combined with the size of the fuel tank, where the stated 70 litre capacity seemed to be closer to 65 litre, it gave a range of 400 km max. For my use of motorway driving, it meant some involuntary petrol bingo, that was rather stressful, and severely compromised its role as a grand tourer, in the original sense of the word.
Not sure what the future brings carwise, but for those that are fortunate enough to drive the V10 the way they were intended, it surely is the epithome of what M Power was about: High revving, NA with a manual (albeit with automated clutch).
Edited by rassi on Wednesday 15th May 17:14
Contigo said:
So you completely ignored what I said and sold it! Well done lol!
I reckon you will kiss it despite it's misgivings.
Give us a report of the oil burner lol!
I know... When I bought an oil burner right after selling my E39 M5 I realised that was a step too far almost immediately (from 400 bhp to 163 bhp!), may very well have the same scenario again. I reckon you will kiss it despite it's misgivings.
Give us a report of the oil burner lol!
Enjoy your M5 Contigo!
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