How many E60 M5 owners do NOT have a warranty on their car?

How many E60 M5 owners do NOT have a warranty on their car?

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Discussion

wax lyrical

Original Poster:

881 posts

240 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
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...and have you experienced any eye-watering bills, or has it been just routine maintenance and consumables so far??

Thanks again guys! I know I'm being a bit of a pussy - but I like to do my due diligence before a purchase. smile

andygtt

8,344 posts

263 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
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unless you use an independant you will get hefty bills from BMW dealers.

I dont have a warranty, have done 18k and had no issues requiring car to go to garage... only bills are front brakes, tyres and a service about 2.5k all in as tyres are silly money.

Most have a warranty, if your on your budget limit, or are a worrier then don't even consider this car without the bmw warranty.

Aeroresh

1,429 posts

231 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
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Its finding an indy that you could trust with a beast like the M5 that stops me from going down that route.

Last couple of times Ive used them for other modern expensive cars they've mis-diagnosed problems. Not saying that doesnt happen with BMW main dealers but you've normally got some come back when they do.

Eg took my 4yr old ML to a well known mercedes specialist (their major sell is that they are all ex mercedes main agent master techs) for a stiff steering. Diagnosed a faulty steering rack at £3.5k to replace. I then took it to me local main agent who greased the universal joints in the steering column and it was fine therafeter!

Got a mate whose had big issues with a well known local BMW indy after the mis diagnoses of failed VANOS on his Alipina B3. Ended up taking it to BMW agent to sort out their mess so he was worse off than if he'd gone to them in the first place.

Not saying they dont exist but since the M5 is even more complicated than the 2 cars Ive mentioned above, there can't be many indys that are going to know their way round them too well without mis-diagnosis or making a mess.

Having said all that main agents offer a sizeable labour discount on 4 yr old plus cars, so even going in without a warranty need not cost as much as expected (well not for labour anyway!).

All depends on how much you are willing to swollow for the odd issue (which aren't as common as the internet forums will lead you to believe). If you dont mind forking out a grand or two every so often (or potentially a lot more if something major goes), then go for it.

No brainer for me with this car though....Mondial warranty all the way!

JCHill

159 posts

145 months

Thursday 2nd August 2012
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Totally understand where you're coming from with this OP. Cost versus risk is a decision we've all had to make.

Personally I wouldn't (and don't) run an 'M' car without warranty.

Eastern boy

125 posts

140 months

Tuesday 7th August 2012
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wax lyrical said:
...and have you experienced any eye-watering bills, or has it been just routine maintenance and consumables so far??

Thanks again guys! I know I'm being a bit of a pussy - but I like to do my due diligence before a purchase. smile
I would always recommend the best cover of warranty possible. Only today I was discussing with an M5 owner the benefits of his AUC warranty which covered his Clutch, flywheel and Master cylinder on his 06 55,000 mile M5.

I can't imagine exactly how many thousands that saved him!!!!!

gazchap

1,523 posts

182 months

Tuesday 7th August 2012
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The AUC warranty was pretty much the only reason I went via a BMW dealer for mine.

Wouldn't have considered an M5 without one.

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Tuesday 7th August 2012
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Another couple of grand saved by my BMW warranty today. New steering rack and front end tighten up. Wouldn't own one without it.

metsta

425 posts

222 months

Wednesday 8th August 2012
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about to extend the warranty on my e61 that i bought yesterday and going mondial comprehensive with the £250 xs, expensive but worth it im hoping...

ecain63

10,588 posts

174 months

Thursday 9th August 2012
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Go for zero excess, its worth it.

gazchap

1,523 posts

182 months

Thursday 9th August 2012
quotequote all
gazchap said:
The AUC warranty was pretty much the only reason I went via a BMW dealer for mine.

Wouldn't have considered an M5 without one.
The dealer picked up my M5 the other day to take it back and diagnose an EML, and they've now said they need to keep it for a couple of days to strip down the entire transmission and see what was causing the problem.

Yeah... I'm glad I went for one with a warranty!

gazchap

1,523 posts

182 months

Thursday 9th August 2012
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BMW have just called. They want my car until the middle of next week, all sorts of parts in the fuel system need to be replaced, as does the gear-lever position sensor.

They're also going to charge me £100 to code the car to play MP3s, which is annoying as it says it can do it in the manual - although as I noticed last night, the part of the manual that says it has a * on it that apparently means "Optional extra, or may not be available in early models."

So that's a bugger.

Still, I can stomach £100 compared to what it could have cost if I didn't have the warranty.

metsta

425 posts

222 months

Thursday 9th August 2012
quotequote all
i havent done the warranty yet, but I have a week to do it as it counts as an extension as the previous owner cancelled it just the other day.
So nearly £2k for the warranty and I do about 6k miles a year...... think I will do it, but today went for a car wash and they threw a bucket of water over the car, i was sitting in the car and noticed water dripping in at the front corners of the panoramic roof, nothing to worry about as it was an excesive force of water, a massive bucket being thrown with force? checked the warranty situation and rubbers are wear and tear.....

omniflow

2,545 posts

150 months

Thursday 9th August 2012
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metsta said:
i havent done the warranty yet, but I have a week to do it as it counts as an extension as the previous owner cancelled it just the other day.
So nearly £2k for the warranty and I do about 6k miles a year...... think I will do it, but today went for a car wash and they threw a bucket of water over the car, i was sitting in the car and noticed water dripping in at the front corners of the panoramic roof, nothing to worry about as it was an excesive force of water, a massive bucket being thrown with force? checked the warranty situation and rubbers are wear and tear.....
It's not the seals, it's the drains. The seals will ALWAYS let in water. Blocked sunroof drains can lead to thousands of pounds worth of problems. Investigate ASAP. Google is your friend.

metsta

425 posts

222 months

Saturday 11th August 2012
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Actually think it may be the rubbers with the roof closed poured some more water on and it's leaking past the rubbers into the cassette. Checked the drains at the front and the water runs through under the front wings.
Maybe the rears blocked can't see where to access topside, will look under bumper etc.
In the near side compartment in the boot there looks like an open ended pipe, would this be for rodding or an air line to blow through ? 07 e61 can post up a pic for ref.

Haven't done the warranty yet...... Still considering e gamble and spend the money on some h&s pipe work !
The car is above 60k so the comp warranty with 0 xs is just under £2000 ..........

metsta

425 posts

222 months

Saturday 11th August 2012
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Also should say that I stripped the boot out totally past all the looms and ecu's etc and they are all bone dry! Totally no sign of water at all!
Inside the headliner smells a little musty so assume rubber right?

Bearing in mind the car has about 72k would the comp warranty pay out on anything at all?.. Wiggle and squirm off as wear and tear across the board?
Ps Porsche hasn't moved since owning this partially the novelty partially it's a better car

Edited by metsta on Saturday 11th August 18:12

omniflow

2,545 posts

150 months

Saturday 11th August 2012
quotequote all
http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...

This thread contains what you need to know for an e61.

I've replaced the seal on mine, and water still gets through it. I assume that's how it was designed. Therefore the drains MUST be clear, otherwise you'll end up with water where it shouldn't be.

The warranty question is a hard one. I've read of people being told they must have spilt water in the boot......

However, for me, the height module for the rear suspension failed, and it was replaced without issue.

metsta

425 posts

222 months

Saturday 11th August 2012
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thanks all for the info, have read everything now, including the judder threads, clutch thread etc etc. i think i have unduly spooked myself on this one then, stil not sure about the warranty extension???

so i have a few drips of water that i can see that comes into the casette through the seal, from reading up this is normal right(how the f@ck that is normal) so some water drips in but runs through the channels and through the tubes, my case of being at a carwash and them lobbing a gigantic bucket of water over the pan roof cauased a bow wave that the casette couldnt handle.

the boot is bone dry and there is no evidence of ingress, the last owner had the car outside for the past 2 years.

in my offside boot cubby behind the fuses i can feel a rubber hose so assume i can pull that up and give her a suck so thats cool. On the nearside i havent got a rubber tube that i can see or feel, i have a solid metal tube with some foam round it though and an open tube/pipe assume this isnt anything to do with the drains and i need to keep looking, this is the pic of the nearside one, if not the gutter then what is this tube for??? thanks chaps....


omniflow

2,545 posts

150 months

Saturday 11th August 2012
quotequote all
There is a drain tube on the nearside, it's just not as easy to find as the one on the offside (same side as the fuses).

For what it's worth, I actually found more water in the boot after I'd cleared my drain hoses. Turned out that the offside tube had worked lose and the end of the tube was now pointing inside the car. The hose does have some kind of washer about 2" from the end that should seat in the metal hole, but even using washing up liquid I couldn't get this re-inserted. My plan is to use a small jubilee clip or similar around the rubber pipe to weight it down so it doesn't jump out, but any other suggestions welcome.

A watering can directly over the joins is ideal for testing for leaks. It's quite scary just how much water a new seal will let through.

The pain caused by water ingress is way out of proportion to the severity of the original issue. Sort out the root cause ASAP. Water ingress via the sunroof is the reason my BMW has had more unplanned visits to the garage in 10 months than my Alfa 156 GTA SW has had in 10 years.

M5MarkM

1,531 posts

170 months

Sunday 12th August 2012
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The real question to OP should be, how many miles will you be doing in the car, how aggressive will they be and how well looked after is the car now?

I do around 35k a year in mine and my first E60 M5 had 128,000 miles on it. NO way would I have owned it without a warranty. Same applies to me latest. BUT If I was just doing say 10-12k then maybe I would consider it if the car was tidy and well looked after. Price of the car has part to play also, clearly a car with say 30k on the clock will cost more than one with 60k on the clock, that saving alone could be worth the difference of warranty or no warranty.

My guess if you asking and worried then you should be wanting a warranty, pay the little extra and find something under 60k so that you can get the extended warranty

metsta

425 posts

222 months

Sunday 12th August 2012
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So that's exactly my situation, You can extend the warranty above 60k it just costs loads. Comp with £0 XS is £2400 !!
I do about 5k miles a year and the car is full service history from BMW.
I have the money to pay for the warranty just considering the gamble still....
E61 has a load of upgrades over a pre facelift and mine isn't displaying any current bad behaviour, although its never had a clutch either