Discussion
So after spending far too much time on both the bargain barge thread and the ///M thread (and missing my M3) I ended up with an e39 M5 with 160,000 miles on the clock. 
This appeared to be against all common sense or internet buying advise, it didn't even have a full history or proof of running in service, I've been living with my decision since the start of March and hope it was a good one. It's Titanium Silver, even after saying I'd never own a silver car, the appeal of 400bhp and what was to me a perfect spec M5 in all other ways washard impossible to walk away from! This video and certain PHers, especially those that frequent VMax are also to blame for me wanting to see if an e39 M5 really is as good as I'd heard and witnessed.
DSC_3098 by no-nuts, on Flickr
I'm trying to keep the PH Blog up to date with every single cost as I did for the M3. I'm also hopeful it won't be as ruinous to own as you'd expect from the various scare stories on the internet.
MPG is pretty much as expected, on a trip from Reading to Nottingham and back in a day it averaged around 25mpg without trying to be on an economy drive. Stop start traffic will easily see below 10mpg. It's clear to me you shouldn't be looking an e39 M5 unless you can tolerate ~16mpg on average, luckily I can walk to work so mpg isn't a big concern and, well, it's never going to get cheaper to own a V8 than it is right now.
As for how it drives, it's less alive than my old e36 M3 evo however it's very similar at sensible speeds in performance terms. Where it is very different is in power delivery and sensation of speed. It has the torque to spin the wheels in the first few gears with little provocation, builds speed without any fuss and gives you little or no idea of how fast you're travelling. The size (which was a brief concern) doesn't appear to be an issue at all, only a few times have I had the inevitable 'think thin' moment when coming across other traffic on b roads. The noise is rather muted compared to the M3 as well, that may have to change but so far seems to fit with the character of the car. Make no mistake these are genuinely rapid fun cars to drive.
I'll try and update this thread with the niggles too, so here goes:
Stereo
The stereo appears to have a mind of it's own on occasion, either staying on when the car is turned off, hanging and not letting you change anything but the volume, or plain not working. Seems to be a common e39 issue from what I can see, if it gets any worse will be trying to pick up a new radio unit or get it repaired.
Rust
There is some cosmetic rust around the arches which will need dealing with before the end of the summer and the rear bumper doesn't appear to have had an easy life.
Vibrations
The only annoying mechanical issue appears to be a vibration at almost exactly 70mph, I'm hoping it's just down to the rather near death rear tyres however will be taking a closer look over the coming weeks.
Battery
The car had a brand new Bosch S5 battery just before I bought it, however after having had the car exactly a month it decided it didn't want to play after having been neglected for 3 days. Battery charger bought, battery charged out of the car and no issues since. I've been monitoring the battery voltage through the on board computer and it still seems to be charging fine so I'm assuming the stereo or alarm must have drained it as it was so dead the only sign of life was the oil light on the dash just about coming on. Will be keeping an eye on this one! Would be interested to know other owners experiences, mine is showing ~12.5 volts before starting the car and when charging around 13.6-13.8 from test 9.
A few other pics from when I was able to find time to give it a clean prior to the hosepipe ban:
DSC_3099 by no-nuts, on Flickr
DSC_3105 by no-nuts, on Flickr
DSC_3101 by no-nuts, on Flickr
DSC_3102 by no-nuts, on Flickr
DSC_3103 by no-nuts, on Flickr
So next things to do, are pop along to Surrey Rolling Road and find out how many of the 400 horses are left, then get the rear tyres / alignment / vibration sorted out.
This appeared to be against all common sense or internet buying advise, it didn't even have a full history or proof of running in service, I've been living with my decision since the start of March and hope it was a good one. It's Titanium Silver, even after saying I'd never own a silver car, the appeal of 400bhp and what was to me a perfect spec M5 in all other ways was
DSC_3098 by no-nuts, on Flickr
I'm trying to keep the PH Blog up to date with every single cost as I did for the M3. I'm also hopeful it won't be as ruinous to own as you'd expect from the various scare stories on the internet.
MPG is pretty much as expected, on a trip from Reading to Nottingham and back in a day it averaged around 25mpg without trying to be on an economy drive. Stop start traffic will easily see below 10mpg. It's clear to me you shouldn't be looking an e39 M5 unless you can tolerate ~16mpg on average, luckily I can walk to work so mpg isn't a big concern and, well, it's never going to get cheaper to own a V8 than it is right now.
As for how it drives, it's less alive than my old e36 M3 evo however it's very similar at sensible speeds in performance terms. Where it is very different is in power delivery and sensation of speed. It has the torque to spin the wheels in the first few gears with little provocation, builds speed without any fuss and gives you little or no idea of how fast you're travelling. The size (which was a brief concern) doesn't appear to be an issue at all, only a few times have I had the inevitable 'think thin' moment when coming across other traffic on b roads. The noise is rather muted compared to the M3 as well, that may have to change but so far seems to fit with the character of the car. Make no mistake these are genuinely rapid fun cars to drive.
I'll try and update this thread with the niggles too, so here goes:
Stereo
The stereo appears to have a mind of it's own on occasion, either staying on when the car is turned off, hanging and not letting you change anything but the volume, or plain not working. Seems to be a common e39 issue from what I can see, if it gets any worse will be trying to pick up a new radio unit or get it repaired.
Rust
There is some cosmetic rust around the arches which will need dealing with before the end of the summer and the rear bumper doesn't appear to have had an easy life.
Vibrations
The only annoying mechanical issue appears to be a vibration at almost exactly 70mph, I'm hoping it's just down to the rather near death rear tyres however will be taking a closer look over the coming weeks.
Battery
The car had a brand new Bosch S5 battery just before I bought it, however after having had the car exactly a month it decided it didn't want to play after having been neglected for 3 days. Battery charger bought, battery charged out of the car and no issues since. I've been monitoring the battery voltage through the on board computer and it still seems to be charging fine so I'm assuming the stereo or alarm must have drained it as it was so dead the only sign of life was the oil light on the dash just about coming on. Will be keeping an eye on this one! Would be interested to know other owners experiences, mine is showing ~12.5 volts before starting the car and when charging around 13.6-13.8 from test 9.
A few other pics from when I was able to find time to give it a clean prior to the hosepipe ban:
DSC_3099 by no-nuts, on Flickr
DSC_3105 by no-nuts, on Flickr
DSC_3101 by no-nuts, on Flickr
DSC_3102 by no-nuts, on Flickr
DSC_3103 by no-nuts, on Flickr
So next things to do, are pop along to Surrey Rolling Road and find out how many of the 400 horses are left, then get the rear tyres / alignment / vibration sorted out.
Lovely!
Re: Flat battery. It's got to be the tempremental stereo. I had this (in a completely different car tbf, mk2 golf) but I ended up changing the battery twice and the alternator before seeing an auto electrition who sorted some wiring or something in the stereo area and sorted it - it was doing the same kind of stuff as your, not turning off, turning on on its own etc.
Re: Flat battery. It's got to be the tempremental stereo. I had this (in a completely different car tbf, mk2 golf) but I ended up changing the battery twice and the alternator before seeing an auto electrition who sorted some wiring or something in the stereo area and sorted it - it was doing the same kind of stuff as your, not turning off, turning on on its own etc.
Thanks for the comments, I really can see why people think they are one of the best all round cars for the money. As for the colour, as I said I'd never normally have bought a silver car but it's growing on me!
1974nc said:
Vibration at 70 will more than likely be propshaft rubber donut in centre.. mide had a similar vibration at times.
About £100 - 150 to fix
Thanks, will take a closer look at that.About £100 - 150 to fix
Regarding the battery discharge - I've had similar issues with mine. Now I must state I don't currently drive it as it's SORN due to me not requiring use of a car at the present time (I will be taxing it for the summer though) and it hasn't had any road use for a long time, but I can't face selling such a nice, low mileage E39.
I start it up and move it around on the driveway occasionally to stop the handbrake seizing / brake discs rusting etc. Last year, the car was left idle for varying periods and in some cases it would have insufficient charge to start after as little as a week. Other times it would happily start after several weeks. I've just fired it up this morning some 6 weeks after last running the engine and it burst into life immediately.
The car is a 2002 535 on it's original battery. I'm not quite sure why the battery would occasionally randomly discharge in a relatively short period, but at other times it's fine after extended periods of being left unattended.
I start it up and move it around on the driveway occasionally to stop the handbrake seizing / brake discs rusting etc. Last year, the car was left idle for varying periods and in some cases it would have insufficient charge to start after as little as a week. Other times it would happily start after several weeks. I've just fired it up this morning some 6 weeks after last running the engine and it burst into life immediately.
The car is a 2002 535 on it's original battery. I'm not quite sure why the battery would occasionally randomly discharge in a relatively short period, but at other times it's fine after extended periods of being left unattended.
Edited by 58warren on Monday 16th April 10:31
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