Just Bought an E60 M5!!

Just Bought an E60 M5!!

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w8pmc

Original Poster:

3,345 posts

239 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
Having sold my heavily modified RS6 in January this year, i then replaced it with a 535D M-Sport which received the DMS treatment, however i was offered a very good price for my car (was not considering selling) & that's meant i've now ordered an E60 M5 for collection on the 12th May (busy until then). Spec as follows:

BMW E60 M5 in Interlagos Blue
May 2005 05 Reg with 8000 miles

Extras are:
Full Black Merino Leather
Extended Voice Control
Aluminium Cube Trim
BlueTooth Phone Preperation & Nokia Cradle
Extended Voice Control System
Hi-Fi Professional Logic 7
M-Multi Functional Seats (active back, lumbar & side bolster as also found in new RS4)
Side & Rear SunBlinds (Rear Electric)
TV Function (Freeview Digital & Analogue)
Through Load System Inc Ski Bag
Universal Remote Control

Looking forward to some silly motoring for a few months. Will be sorry to see the 535D go & will miss the 35MPG+ i've been getting, but at least i can now start attending VMAX's again.

dazren

22,612 posts

262 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
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w8pmc said:

Looking forward to some silly motoring for a few months. Will be sorry to see the 535D go & will miss the 35MPG+ i've been getting, but at least i can now start attending VMAX's again.

You certainly will.

Make sure you monitor the oil usage, and check out the measuring instructions over on www.m5board.com

DAZ

granville

18,764 posts

262 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
Congrats.

I'd be very interested to hear your views on the 535d: against the RS6 and the newbie.

My recent experiences increasingly convince me of a daily weapon which is more torqular than rev-reliant - how will the on-road delivery of a DMS'd 535d compare to that of the new M5?

Btw, how big is the boot on the E60? ()

hunttheshunt

1,093 posts

241 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
Good move, just taken delivery of my 6 month old E63 M6. Great car, looks are definately growing on me. The performance in M Power mode is verging on the scary...at least on public roads anyway.

M6's have dropped quite a way and are now less than M5 money. For that you get all the options included. I even got Full Leather which is a £5K option. So long as it doesn't continue to drop at the same rate I reckon I have a bit of a bargain (famous last words!!)

Enjoy it.

w8pmc

Original Poster:

3,345 posts

239 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
hunttheshunt said:
Good move, just taken delivery of my 6 month old E63 M6. Great car, looks are definately growing on me. The performance in M Power mode is verging on the scary...at least on public roads anyway.

M6's have dropped quite a way and are now less than M5 money. For that you get all the options included. I even got Full Leather which is a £5K option. So long as it doesn't continue to drop at the same rate I reckon I have a bit of a bargain (famous last words!!)

Enjoy it.


It's surprising you saying that, as the same dealer i've bought the M5 off had a loaded silver M6 in the showeroom with a screen price of £76K, however he reckoned i could drive that away for closer to £70K if i asked very nicely. I need the practical nature of a saloon & the M5 is a little more stealth than the M6 which i also like, however you're bang on about the money & savings right now. Got my fingers crossed that these new M's don't go into freefall.

w8pmc

Original Poster:

3,345 posts

239 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
dazren said:
w8pmc said:

Looking forward to some silly motoring for a few months. Will be sorry to see the 535D go & will miss the 35MPG+ i've been getting, but at least i can now start attending VMAX's again.

You certainly will.

Make sure you monitor the oil usage, and check out the measuring instructions over on www.m5board.com

DAZ


Cheers Daz, i'll be sure to keep an eye on it.

CU at the next VMAX!!

w8pmc

Original Poster:

3,345 posts

239 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
derestrictor said:
Congrats.

I'd be very interested to hear your views on the 535d: against the RS6 and the newbie.

My recent experiences increasingly convince me of a daily weapon which is more torqular than rev-reliant - how will the on-road delivery of a DMS'd 535d compare to that of the new M5?

Btw, how big is the boot on the E60? ()


Can comment on RS6 to DMS 535D M-Sport & that was a pleasant move/comparison. The RS6 was just costing too much, as i'd bitten the modifying bug & spent over £14K on the car & she was chewing through tyres, discs & pads at a crazy rate, so i wanted to get out of that scenario & save myself some pennies (that didn't last long). The 535D M-Sport is a far nicer drive than either a standard or modified RS6 & i can't rate the experience highly enough as they're truly a fabulous car, although you do notice the power difference but with a DMS re-map, the 535D will hit 60 in 5.5secs so less than a second slower than a standard RS6. I just hope the new M5 does not cost as much as the RS6 in consumables.

The boot in an E60 is easily as large as the RS6 & of course the interior appears so much more modern & plenty more toys.

I'll post my M5 experience once i've had her for a few days, as i don't collect her until next Friday.

hunttheshunt

1,093 posts

241 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
So......anyone for a DMS remap, not bothered about the power increase but the de-limit could be useful......uh well maybe at VMAX.

Anyone had it done to their M6/M5???

granville

18,764 posts

262 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
Thanks for that, Paul.

I came up against a 535d not so long ago and it's seemingly interminable, elastic urge, was nothing short of breathtaking.

Fellow PHer Rods has just acquired one and despite also running a ridiculously rapid DMS prepared 996tt, waxes several vats of lyrical about it every time I speak to him.

From what he says, it sounds like one of these might be a good change from my venerable (E39) M5: whaddya reckon? (Not sure I could be arsed with another manual/semi-manual for the day to day.)

Oh yes, one last thing, what about your thoughts on the Alpina B5, conspicuous, as ever, by it's abscence from most folks' reckonings?

stefan1

977 posts

233 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
Derestrictor said:

Oh yes, one last thing, what about your thoughts on the Alpina B5, conspicuous, as ever, by it's abscence from most folks' reckonings?


To give an entirely biaised answer (best to be upfront about these things ), I think the B5 is a great alternative.

I've been a BMW fan for years (E39 M5, CSL and then 535d), and naturally test drove a new M5. Fabulous car of course, but I couldn't get on with the SMG for everyday driving and commuting. At the time, May last year, there were some tests of the B5 which had just come out, and so I rang Sytner, who brought a demo B5 all the way down from Nottingham just for me for the day.

After 4,000 miles, I can safely say it is a great car. Quite ridiculously fast when you want it to be, but very quiet and refined when you just want to relax. The Switchtronic gearbox is very smooth, and in manual mode nearly as effective as SMG. However, with 700 NM of torque, all you really need is 4th or 5th gear! One thing that really impresses me after the 535d is the ride - it is much better, although I suspect a lot of that is due to the lack of runflats.

It isn't an M5 - it's too soft for that, and on a twisty road it would be shown up - but as a fast GT it's really fantastic.

Steve

Joe911

2,763 posts

236 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
stefan1 said:
At the time, May last year, there were some tests of the B5 which had just come out, and so I rang Sytner, who brought a demo B5 all the way down from Nottingham just for me for the day.

After 4,000 miles, I can safely say it is a great car.


You had a 4,000 mile test drive - wow, that's nice of Sytner!

w8pmc

Original Poster:

3,345 posts

239 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
hunttheshunt said:
So......anyone for a DMS remap, not bothered about the power increase but the de-limit could be useful......uh well maybe at VMAX.

Anyone had it done to their M6/M5???


Rob (co-owner of DMS) has an E60 M5 & this replaced their 535D M-Sport. The M5 has been re-mapped & they've also tinkered around with the rev limiters in each gear to refine the curve. It's a quick car as i raced it at the last but one VMAX in my very modified RS6.

No experience of the Alpina's however i think the above comments seem close to the mark. They're probably more accomplished crusiers than an M5 but not quite the raw sporting experience of an M5.

granville

18,764 posts

262 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
Steve, that's just what I needed to hear.

As brilliant as my limited experience of an M5 was, I can imagine the cog swappage being somewhat buggery in traffic (i.e. the majority of the time) so your insight is valuable.

How does the handling/damping compare to the old E39 M5? I've become accustomed to chucking a large barge around - could you expect to enjoy similar liberties in a B5?

Irrelevantly enough, I profoundly 'dig' the twin piped exhaust arrangement on an E60 to the quadularity of the M version.

B5 or not to B5?

hunttheshunt

1,093 posts

241 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
Well call me sad....but on my E63 I actually run about in auto mode quite a bit. So long as you dial up 3 or 4 it actually works surprisingly well as a full auto, at least as good as my X5.

From my very limited experience of the switchtronic on the Alpina's (and we are talking some while ago)it suffers from the same things as the BMW switchtronic box on my 4.8, e.g. either holds the gear too long, or.......in 6th within 500 yards. At least the SMG is adjustable. I think it works better and offers the best of both worlds.

I spoke to DMS the other week, might pop down for a look. They did my Disco...very pleased with the result on that.

w8pmc

Original Poster:

3,345 posts

239 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
hunttheshunt said:
Well call me sad....but on my E63 I actually run about in auto mode quite a bit. So long as you dial up 3 or 4 it actually works surprisingly well as a full auto, at least as good as my X5.

From my very limited experience of the switchtronic on the Alpina's (and we are talking some while ago)it suffers from the same things as the BMW switchtronic box on my 4.8, e.g. either holds the gear too long, or.......in 6th within 500 yards. At least the SMG is adjustable. I think it works better and offers the best of both worlds.

I spoke to DMS the other week, might pop down for a look. They did my Disco...very pleased with the result on that.


Can you explain the "dial up 3 or 4"??

To satisfy my bank balance & retain my license, i don't fancy driving this M5 everywhere as though i've stolen it, i'd quite like to drive business trips of a few hundred miles in relative comfort & in a non hooligan stylie, so i'd welcome how to run the car in an Auto-esque manner with reduced power, thus saving a few quid in revenue juice.

hunttheshunt

1,093 posts

241 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all

Hi Paul,

When I put mine into auto mode it starts off at programme 1 (being it's least aggressive setting). If you use this mode you will find that it changes up rather too soon and (like the Alpina's) is in 6th before you have gone 500 yards. If you increase the setting to programme 3 or 4, this holds the gear a little longer and works like a sporty auto. I find that in this setting with EDC off, it makes for a very comfortable cruiser.

You then just need to prod the M button for full on attack mode when you feel in the mood.

w8pmc

Original Poster:

3,345 posts

239 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
hunttheshunt said:

Hi Paul,

When I put mine into auto mode it starts off at programme 1 (being it's least aggressive setting). If you use this mode you will find that it changes up rather too soon and (like the Alpina's) is in 6th before you have gone 500 yards. If you increase the setting to programme 3 or 4, this holds the gear a little longer and works like a sporty auto. I find that in this setting with EDC off, it makes for a very comfortable cruiser.

You then just need to prod the M button for full on attack mode when you feel in the mood.


Cheers.

EDC is Electronic Damping Control so switching this off leaves it in Comfort or Normal Mode?? Is the M-Button pre-programmed to transform the car by applying all the mental settings & therefore giving the car its maximum performance & handling capabilities??

i.e, just sat at the lights in a cruise style mode as per your advice & then some boy pulls up alongside & wants a piece of me, do i just press the M-Button a wave him goodbye? nothing more for me to do??

Julian64

14,317 posts

255 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
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Out of interest mind telling us what a year old car has lost in depreciation.

I assume your buying from a BMW dealer and not privately.

hunttheshunt

1,093 posts

241 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
Paul,

Yes with EDC in 'comfort' mode and the box in auto mode programme 3 or 4 it is a very accomplished cruiser. Assuming you have programmed your M button, pushing it at the lights will give you the works, full on manual, 507bhp and EDC set to rock hard....light fuse and retire!

Alternatively you could try launch mode if you really want to scare your opponent and yourself...but have yet to try this.

To answer the depreciation question, can only speak for M6, 6 months old and -£20K approx so mid £60's. Can't see it dropping a huge amount further in the next 6-12 months....but then what do I know!! Great value now in my opinion, but as above!!

Zod

35,295 posts

259 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2006
quotequote all
good colour choice!