E39 M5 or C5 RS6

[e12mat]

Simple problem I'm getting really fed up with the load space of my daily and fancy getting something to use and abuse as a bit of a smoker. Saving my current car for weekends.

Budget is £15k

Requirements:

Greater than 300bhp and 300lbft
4 doors and a fair amount of space in the back
MPG doesn't matter
Reliability reasonable (or if bad not ridiculous part replacement cost like £3k for a clutch kit)

I test drove a V8 M5 years ago and was really impressed with how well it handled with the weight as well as the power on tap, pretty cheap now but maybe hard to find a good one.

Never driven an RS6 but really impressed with the space instead and whats not to like about a twin turbo V8 - although if the gearbox goes then its the cost of a small car to replace!

Anything I've missed or opinions

[zip929]

I have had both, and still have the RS6.

The M5 was a fantastic car to drive, it really is a drivers car and very rewarding.
It is not very good for carrying dogs though!
Both cars cost a lot to maintain properly, but the RS6 has proved to be quite an expensive toy.

The M5 made me want to drive like it was grand prix time and the more you wrung its neck the better it felt.
The RS6 however is quite happy just pottering about, but push the loud pedal and there is some serious speed available.
If I was going on the track a lot then the M5 would make sense, but for pure comfort and practicality the RS6 is hard to beat.
Either way they are both fantastic cars.

[chriscoates]

For £15k, I wouldn't worry about condition, you can get a great, low mileage E39 M5 for that now.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2942256.htm

[e12mat]

Thanks for your response ZIP I won't be tracking either, to be honest it's going to be more of workhorse (albeit high speed) with bikes and windsurfing stuff etc.

The only thing that puts me off the RS6 is the M5 has a pretty good reputation for reliability and generally only requires consumables. The RS6 being turbo, heavier and 4wd it was just in the back of my mind as to the costs of replacing integral parts.

I've budgeted about £4k in running costs per year and it will probably do 5000 miles do you think this sounds realistic?

[M5Tom]

chriscoates said:

For £15k, I wouldn't worry about condition, you can get a great, low mileage E39 M5 for that now.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2942256.htm

There's something not quite right about the car........Very heavy wear on the steering wheel for that mileage......mismatched interior trim......hmmm

[al1991]

I don't think you'll be disappointed with either!

£4K for maintenance, does that inc. tyres and servicing or is that solely for things going bang?

[neil_bolton]

chriscoates said:

For £15k, I wouldn't worry about condition, you can get a great, low mileage E39 M5 for that now.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2942256.htm

Be warned: Low Mileage M5's do NOT = easy life in terms of maintenance costs.

There is a PHer here who can vouch for that.

Buy on condition, history and the owner itself - they will tell you whether the car will be a good un or not.

A 60-70k car will be requiring quite considerable costs with regard to suspension, clutch, diff service etc etc

Edited by neil_bolton on Friday 29th July 14:55

[RobM77]

neil_bolton said:

Be warned: Low Mileage M5's do NOT = easy life.

There is a PHer here who can vouch for that.

Buy on condition, history and the owner itself - they will tell you whether the car will be a good un or not.

Low mileage will be better for resale (until the day everyone realises what Neil's saying above, which is never..), although yes, low mileage could well mean lots of short journeys on cold oil, which is never good for an engine.

[Laird]

M5Tom said:

chriscoates said:

For £15k, I wouldn't worry about condition, you can get a great, low mileage E39 M5 for that now.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2942256.htm

There's something not quite right about the car........Very heavy wear on the steering wheel for that mileage......mismatched interior trim......hmmm

If you look at the vendor's website you'll see he has three M5's all with identical mileages...

I enquired about one of them and whilst very polite, the chap didn't exactly bend over to help me garner information about the car's history.

Also, the eagle eyed amongst you will note that his E38 7ers all appear to have similar mileages too.

[neil_bolton]

Laird said:

If you look at the vendor's website you'll see he has three M5's all with identical mileages...

I enquired about one of them and whilst very polite, the chap didn't exactly bend over to help me garner information about the car's history.

Also, the eagle eyed amongst you will note that his E38 7ers all appear to have similar mileages too.

Ah yes. Those ones.

I remember now.

[zip929]

e12mat said:

Thanks for your response ZIP I won't be tracking either, to be honest it's going to be more of workhorse (albeit high speed) with bikes and windsurfing stuff etc.

The only thing that puts me off the RS6 is the M5 has a pretty good reputation for reliability and generally only requires consumables. The RS6 being turbo, heavier and 4wd it was just in the back of my mind as to the costs of replacing integral parts.

I've budgeted about £4k in running costs per year and it will probably do 5000 miles do you think this sounds realistic?

I have had my RS6 for over a year now. I have spent about £4,000 in a year but that includes a recent remap, plus new discs and pads all round. Discs are very expensive. New alternator, service, gearbox oil service and a few other niggly items and the bills soon mount up.
Despite this it still puts a smile on my face everytime i drive it. Just wish the missus felt the same about it!