Got my 2001 M5 on Saturday
Discussion
I wasn't even meant to be looking for one for another 6 months or so, but someone I vaguely knew advertised theirs and I just had to go and look at it. I put a deposit down 2 weeks ago and after waiting what seemed like an age I got it on Saturday 
98,000 miles, Late 2001 build date.
Quite a step up from my previous car (a 2000 530i Auto). The power is phenomenal for someone who isn't used to having something like this on tap. To say it's amazing doesn't do it justice. As an all round car I'm not sure you could really do much better than something like this. Quiet and comfortable on a motorway cruise, but good handling and plenty of power when you need it.
At 24 I'm not sure where I go for cars next... maybe I should have waited a little longer before jumping to 400bhp!? Maybe an E60 M5 in a couple of years...
I'm used to the water temperature gauge in my previous cars sitting exactly vertical all the time. The M5 guague sits a bit towards the cooler side (but still within "normal " ) and only gets near the the middle when being driven hard, it never goes to the right of vertical. I assume this bit of movement during driving is normal? The oil temperature reads around 75 under normal day-to-day driving conditions.
With friends' S2000 and 330D E46...
98,000 miles, Late 2001 build date.
Quite a step up from my previous car (a 2000 530i Auto). The power is phenomenal for someone who isn't used to having something like this on tap. To say it's amazing doesn't do it justice. As an all round car I'm not sure you could really do much better than something like this. Quiet and comfortable on a motorway cruise, but good handling and plenty of power when you need it.
At 24 I'm not sure where I go for cars next... maybe I should have waited a little longer before jumping to 400bhp!? Maybe an E60 M5 in a couple of years...
I'm used to the water temperature gauge in my previous cars sitting exactly vertical all the time. The M5 guague sits a bit towards the cooler side (but still within "normal " ) and only gets near the the middle when being driven hard, it never goes to the right of vertical. I assume this bit of movement during driving is normal? The oil temperature reads around 75 under normal day-to-day driving conditions.
With friends' S2000 and 330D E46...
Edited by PeterNem on Tuesday 11th March 00:00
Edited by PeterNem on Tuesday 11th March 00:00
Hi mate, nice choice.
Your coolant tempreture reading is normal, my oil sits just above 75C but never normally higher than 85C
If you havent already, open up the hidden menu on the OBC,
read post 11 here - http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=...
and do an L/H test in function 4. Anything less than 110 or so and you are not getting the full potential from the car. Sounds complicated I know but read it through and all will become clear. I would also suggest signing up to the M5board...if you havent already of cousre.
Im like you, 26 when I get my car, what do we progress to? I think an E60 M5 will have so many problems once about 5 years old or so...just too complicated!
Neil
Your coolant tempreture reading is normal, my oil sits just above 75C but never normally higher than 85C
If you havent already, open up the hidden menu on the OBC,
read post 11 here - http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=...
and do an L/H test in function 4. Anything less than 110 or so and you are not getting the full potential from the car. Sounds complicated I know but read it through and all will become clear. I would also suggest signing up to the M5board...if you havent already of cousre.
Im like you, 26 when I get my car, what do we progress to? I think an E60 M5 will have so many problems once about 5 years old or so...just too complicated!
Neil
The insurance is a lot better than I thought.
One of my original reasons for waiting is that I thought I'd need to wait until I was 25 (November).
I paid £650pa on the 530i (24 years old, 4 NCB), and they refused to quote online for the M5. I phoned up my insurer (Privilege) and asked them what it'd cost to extend my current cover. At first they weren't keen but after speaking with an underwriter, came back with £500 for the remaining 10 months of my policy.
650 + (500/10)*12) = £1250.... I'm quite happy with that. Should go down when I age another year and get another years NCB in 10 months time..
One of my original reasons for waiting is that I thought I'd need to wait until I was 25 (November).
I paid £650pa on the 530i (24 years old, 4 NCB), and they refused to quote online for the M5. I phoned up my insurer (Privilege) and asked them what it'd cost to extend my current cover. At first they weren't keen but after speaking with an underwriter, came back with £500 for the remaining 10 months of my policy.
650 + (500/10)*12) = £1250.... I'm quite happy with that. Should go down when I age another year and get another years NCB in 10 months time..
). I had one in 2003 and had lots of bits since....nothing has really lived up to it. Long runs in it were the stuff of dreams!Neil.D said:
do an L/H test in function 4. Anything less than 110 or so and you are not getting the full potential from the car. Sounds complicated I know but read it through and all will become clear. I would also suggest signing up to the M5board...if you havent already of course.
Hi,Thanks for pointing those tests out. I've been out and had a play, and the number peaks just above 110 (hard to tell when keeping an eye on the road too) - I think it was around 112/113.
I'm still grinning
The car is booked in at BMWorx on Wednesday for an inspection 2, along with coolant, brake fluid, gearbox oil and diff oil change in preparation for a trip to Germany, fingers crossed they find nothing amiss
Sounds like you have it covered with the fluids. Might be worth getting the fuel filter done too as this is a lifetime part.
The LH test should be done in 2nd or 3rd.
If your numbers still stay low then you may need to clean the MAF's or replace them like I have just done. 120 quid from VW - dont pay 500 from BMW for the same BOSCH part.
What date are you travelling to the Reinland? Im going with a few mates on the morning of the 16th May.
Neil
http://pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
The LH test should be done in 2nd or 3rd.
If your numbers still stay low then you may need to clean the MAF's or replace them like I have just done. 120 quid from VW - dont pay 500 from BMW for the same BOSCH part.
What date are you travelling to the Reinland? Im going with a few mates on the morning of the 16th May.
Neil
http://pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Neil.D said:
Sounds like you have it covered with the fluids. Might be worth getting the fuel filter done too as this is a lifetime part.
The LH test should be done in 2nd or 3rd.
If your numbers still stay low then you may need to clean the MAF's or replace them like I have just done. 120 quid from VW - dont pay 500 from BMW for the same BOSCH part.
What date are you travelling to the Reinland? Im going with a few mates on the morning of the 16th May.
Neil
http://pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Or £100 from GSF! The LH test should be done in 2nd or 3rd.
If your numbers still stay low then you may need to clean the MAF's or replace them like I have just done. 120 quid from VW - dont pay 500 from BMW for the same BOSCH part.
What date are you travelling to the Reinland? Im going with a few mates on the morning of the 16th May.
Neil
http://pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I think you might need a need thermostat: Check Test 7 in the instrument cluster. The thermostat opens at 79 degrees C, so once warmed up the temperature should never really fall below that.
I tried to blame my low coolant temperature (75 degrees when cruising on the motorway) on low ambient temperatures, but finally bit the bullet and got BMW to replace the thermostat. It now sits at 80-81 degrees when cruising and about 85 degrees in town.
Too early to tell if this had a negative impact on MPG but I suspect so.
If you, like me, see the coolant gauge sitting around the first dot on the motorway, and it goes to the 12 o'clock position in city traffic I can only encourage you to go and have that thermostat replaced. Paid €300 for it, which wasn't as painful as expected.
I tried to blame my low coolant temperature (75 degrees when cruising on the motorway) on low ambient temperatures, but finally bit the bullet and got BMW to replace the thermostat. It now sits at 80-81 degrees when cruising and about 85 degrees in town.
Too early to tell if this had a negative impact on MPG but I suspect so.
If you, like me, see the coolant gauge sitting around the first dot on the motorway, and it goes to the 12 o'clock position in city traffic I can only encourage you to go and have that thermostat replaced. Paid €300 for it, which wasn't as painful as expected.
Neil.D said:
The LH test should be done in 2nd or 3rd.
Got the readout to display 116 L/H in 2nd gear, so looks like it's all fine.The temperature readout seems to spend a lot of time in the mid-70s, so I've ordered a new thermostat from BMW and will get my indy to fit it tomorrow while it's in for it's service and fluid change. Even if it doesn't need it, it's worth it for peace of mind.
I factored about a grands worth of initial servicing etc into me being able to afford to buy it, and this all falls within that.
PeterNem said:
Neil.D said:
The LH test should be done in 2nd or 3rd.
Got the readout to display 116 L/H in 2nd gear, so looks like it's all fine.Huliganov said:
Neil.D said:
Is that for a genuine BOSCH part?
N.
I don't think it matters if it does the same thing. Besides, if it breaks, you can buy another (or another four!) for the price of the quoted BMW item.N.
Back from BMWorx, car in pretty good health.
Advisory about the breather pipes and some belts (A/C + V-belts) which I'll get it booked in for at some point, but not major stuff.
What is slightly more pressing is that the front pads are getting low and will be through to the sensor shortly, so it's back to them on Tuesday to get new pads fitted.
Should I stay with OEM or give something else a try? Nearly ordered some EBC redstuff but read hit and miss reports about poor cold performance (I need my car to work equally as well on my commute as on the 'ring), and about them being noisy.
Temperature is slightly higher with the new themorstat, with the KTEMP of Test 7 now being in the low 80s most of the time, compared to mid 70s before. The coolant temp needle points nearer to the middle too.
Can't recommend BMWorx enough. Friendly bunch, good service and a very reasonable price.
Advisory about the breather pipes and some belts (A/C + V-belts) which I'll get it booked in for at some point, but not major stuff.
What is slightly more pressing is that the front pads are getting low and will be through to the sensor shortly, so it's back to them on Tuesday to get new pads fitted.
Should I stay with OEM or give something else a try? Nearly ordered some EBC redstuff but read hit and miss reports about poor cold performance (I need my car to work equally as well on my commute as on the 'ring), and about them being noisy.
Temperature is slightly higher with the new themorstat, with the KTEMP of Test 7 now being in the low 80s most of the time, compared to mid 70s before. The coolant temp needle points nearer to the middle too.
Can't recommend BMWorx enough. Friendly bunch, good service and a very reasonable price.
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