Ruin, ruin and more ruin! Bring on the E60 BMW M5
Discussion
Finally found a non-tatty E60 M5 in the colour I wanted and with the 'essential' work done - I must be allergic to money 
A few cosmetic issues to sort, but in absolutely perfect mechanical condition as far as I can tell, with zero issues showing on the fancy-pants diagnostics kit I bought for the 530d.
81,000 miles, crank shells and VANOS solenoids / line done, A/C still lovely and cold and most importantly... the parking sensors work!
Slightly annoying that the alloys were freshly refurbished, but shod with Accelera tyres - those rolled away to a bin in a distant galaxy to be replaced with some Goodyear Eagle F1s.


Needs a wash, but I thought she deserved a decent plate given what an absolutely heroically capable machine she really is!
'Ring trip already being planned, and although the MPG is absolutely shocking (of course) I'm utterly convinced it's worth every penny.

Updates when it rinses me dry incoming, I'm sure

A few cosmetic issues to sort, but in absolutely perfect mechanical condition as far as I can tell, with zero issues showing on the fancy-pants diagnostics kit I bought for the 530d.
81,000 miles, crank shells and VANOS solenoids / line done, A/C still lovely and cold and most importantly... the parking sensors work!

Slightly annoying that the alloys were freshly refurbished, but shod with Accelera tyres - those rolled away to a bin in a distant galaxy to be replaced with some Goodyear Eagle F1s.


Needs a wash, but I thought she deserved a decent plate given what an absolutely heroically capable machine she really is!
'Ring trip already being planned, and although the MPG is absolutely shocking (of course) I'm utterly convinced it's worth every penny.

Updates when it rinses me dry incoming, I'm sure

Fantastic. What an engine!
Have a bit of a hankering for a Touring version to swap for our 525 touring. If I pick the right colour, the Mrs might not notice!
Would be interesting to hear how you find it vs the 530d doing the normal day to day stuff. I wouldn’t want to trade too much refinement as the chances to unleash 500bhp must be limited. But when you can....
Have a bit of a hankering for a Touring version to swap for our 525 touring. If I pick the right colour, the Mrs might not notice!
Would be interesting to hear how you find it vs the 530d doing the normal day to day stuff. I wouldn’t want to trade too much refinement as the chances to unleash 500bhp must be limited. But when you can....
Thanks all! What a car - and I'm sure I'll regret it all very soon.
I figured I'm at a point in my life where I'll be able to run something 'silly' for a few years, but I'm planning to 'cash in my chips' with investments in 2-3 years and spend most of my remaining pennies on a forever home.
Until then, I'll convert Super Unleaded into noise and fun...
Day to day I couldn't ask for a better car; plenty of room for 'tip runs', lots of power thanks to a remap and a few intake / exhaust modifications and it'll still do 45MPG+ at 65 on the motorway.
A group of friends and I head over to Germany every winter for a 'booze cruise' - it was a sharp contrast to the MG ZT-T CDTi we used previously in that we could comfortably sit on the Autobahn at rather silly speeds without the car even feeling slightly strained.
Thoroughly recommended if you can get on with the rather haphazard interior (especially pre-LCI) and the potential for rather large bills on occasion.
I figured I'm at a point in my life where I'll be able to run something 'silly' for a few years, but I'm planning to 'cash in my chips' with investments in 2-3 years and spend most of my remaining pennies on a forever home.
Until then, I'll convert Super Unleaded into noise and fun...

Gad-Westy said:
Fantastic. What an engine!
Have a bit of a hankering for a Touring version to swap for our 525 touring. If I pick the right colour, the Mrs might not notice!
Would be interesting to hear how you find it vs the 530d doing the normal day to day stuff. I wouldn’t want to trade too much refinement as the chances to unleash 500bhp must be limited. But when you can....
The 530d is actually incredibly capable for a 190,000 mile lardy estate - it's an M Sport so the ride is quite brash, but in terms of load carrying and ability to press on it's remarkable for a 6 pot diesel. Have a bit of a hankering for a Touring version to swap for our 525 touring. If I pick the right colour, the Mrs might not notice!
Would be interesting to hear how you find it vs the 530d doing the normal day to day stuff. I wouldn’t want to trade too much refinement as the chances to unleash 500bhp must be limited. But when you can....
Day to day I couldn't ask for a better car; plenty of room for 'tip runs', lots of power thanks to a remap and a few intake / exhaust modifications and it'll still do 45MPG+ at 65 on the motorway.
A group of friends and I head over to Germany every winter for a 'booze cruise' - it was a sharp contrast to the MG ZT-T CDTi we used previously in that we could comfortably sit on the Autobahn at rather silly speeds without the car even feeling slightly strained.
Thoroughly recommended if you can get on with the rather haphazard interior (especially pre-LCI) and the potential for rather large bills on occasion.
Edited by mattyprice4004 on Wednesday 23 September 13:27
mattyprice4004 said:
Thanks all! What a car - and I'm sure I'll regret it all very soon.
I figured I'm at a point in my life where I'll be able to run something 'silly' for a few years, but I'm planning to 'cash in my chips' with investments in 2-3 years and spend most of my remaining pennies on a forever home.
Until then, I'll convert Super Unleaded into noise and fun...
Day to day I couldn't ask for a better car; plenty of room for 'tip runs', lots of power thanks to a remap and a few intake / exhaust modifications and it'll still do 45MPG+ at 65 on the motorway.
A group of friends and I head over to Germany every winter for a 'booze cruise' - it was a sharp contrast to the MG ZT-T CDTi we used previously in that we could comfortably sit on the Autobahn at rather silly speeds without the car even feeling slightly strained.
Thoroughly recommended if you can get on with the rather haphazard interior (especially pre-LCI) and the potential for rather large bills on occasion.
Cheers. I think all the Touring M5's are post-LCI which is also what my current car is and that is nice enough. I guess my main worry (other than the spectacular wallet gobbling ability) is what the M5 drive train is like in day to day stop start and whether ride comfort suffers much over the 'cooking models'. The 525 we have is silky smooth and rides quite nicely on SE suspension and 17" wheels. Or as nicely as cars on run flats can ride at least. The downside of it is that the sheer smoothness of the engine and box combination has totally eradicated any feeling of acceleration whatsoever. It's pleasant but it's hard not to want a little bit more, such is the curse of being a petrolhead. I figured I'm at a point in my life where I'll be able to run something 'silly' for a few years, but I'm planning to 'cash in my chips' with investments in 2-3 years and spend most of my remaining pennies on a forever home.
Until then, I'll convert Super Unleaded into noise and fun...

Gad-Westy said:
Fantastic. What an engine!
Have a bit of a hankering for a Touring version to swap for our 525 touring. If I pick the right colour, the Mrs might not notice!
Would be interesting to hear how you find it vs the 530d doing the normal day to day stuff. I wouldn’t want to trade too much refinement as the chances to unleash 500bhp must be limited. But when you can....
The 530d is actually incredibly capable for a 190,000 mile lardy estate - it's an M Sport so the ride is quite brash, but in terms of load carrying and ability to press on it's remarkable for a 6 pot diesel. Have a bit of a hankering for a Touring version to swap for our 525 touring. If I pick the right colour, the Mrs might not notice!
Would be interesting to hear how you find it vs the 530d doing the normal day to day stuff. I wouldn’t want to trade too much refinement as the chances to unleash 500bhp must be limited. But when you can....
Day to day I couldn't ask for a better car; plenty of room for 'tip runs', lots of power thanks to a remap and a few intake / exhaust modifications and it'll still do 45MPG+ at 65 on the motorway.
A group of friends and I head over to Germany every winter for a 'booze cruise' - it was a sharp contrast to the MG ZT-T CDTi we used previously in that we could comfortably sit on the Autobahn at rather silly speeds without the car even feeling slightly strained.
Thoroughly recommended if you can get on with the rather haphazard interior (especially pre-LCI) and the potential for rather large bills on occasion.
Edited by mattyprice4004 on Wednesday 23 September 13:27
Nice colour, slightly darker hue than the colour of your massive stainless steel balls 
Seller apparently couldn’t stomach the wheel refurb on top of a decent set of tyres. What a waste of rubber.
Fingers crossed he didn’t skimp on other major essentials or your wallet will feel like the scrawny little guy come shower time in prison.
Petrol station owner next to the Ring will likely want to be bffs with you after your visit.

Seller apparently couldn’t stomach the wheel refurb on top of a decent set of tyres. What a waste of rubber.
Fingers crossed he didn’t skimp on other major essentials or your wallet will feel like the scrawny little guy come shower time in prison.
Petrol station owner next to the Ring will likely want to be bffs with you after your visit.
Congrats, and good luck. I hope it doesn't dry-bum your wallet completely.
The Angry Dog's thread has scared me to the point that I'd never dare buy an E61 M5 Touring, despite quite fancying one.
A chap on Instagram recently posted that he'd owned his M5 Touring for 5 years, in which time it has had £47k worth of warranty work and been recovered from the road side over 20 times.
Utterly terrifying.
The Angry Dog's thread has scared me to the point that I'd never dare buy an E61 M5 Touring, despite quite fancying one.
A chap on Instagram recently posted that he'd owned his M5 Touring for 5 years, in which time it has had £47k worth of warranty work and been recovered from the road side over 20 times.
Utterly terrifying.
Nuisance said:
Congrats, and good luck. I hope it doesn't dry-bum your wallet completely.
The Angry Dog's thread has scared me to the point that I'd never dare buy an E61 M5 Touring, despite quite fancying one.
A chap on Instagram recently posted that he'd owned his M5 Touring for 5 years, in which time it has had £47k worth of warranty work and been recovered from the road side over 20 times.
Utterly terrifying.
I had an M6 V10 for five years from new and it was not too bad. the ECU was a scary thing, immensely complicated, and an engine with ten throttles is a tad complex too.The Angry Dog's thread has scared me to the point that I'd never dare buy an E61 M5 Touring, despite quite fancying one.
A chap on Instagram recently posted that he'd owned his M5 Touring for 5 years, in which time it has had £47k worth of warranty work and been recovered from the road side over 20 times.
Utterly terrifying.
I had a full ECU meltdown in year 3, ( warranty) and it took a couple of weeks for the dealer to figure out to to get the replacement to work properly.
The engine is a stupendous, wonderful thing and at full clatter sounds amazing..
Here is my old vid of driving the wheels off it..identical to the M5 running gear and engine, but delimited by Hartge from new- love the sound of 7600 RPM in 7th gear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTMKkPxei0I
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