Why Are V8 M5 BMWs So Cheap ?

[redgriff500]

I keep looking for a manual V8 car and I keep seeing ridiculously cheap 5 litre V8 M5's around £6k.

Why have these dropped so far so fast ?

The older 6 cylinder M5's cost more at this age.

Are they stupidly expensive to run or is there just so many alternative these days ?

Just seen one with 78k for sub £7k which seems fantastic value to me.

[Chicane-UK]

redgriff500 said:

Are they stupidly expensive to run or is there just so many alternative these days ?

It must be this. There still seem to be plenty around so not super desirable yet, and getting to that age where expensive bits and pieces need doing on them.

I dread to think what a replacement exhaust system for one would cost for example, considering it's a single piece system complete with two catalytic converters and takes two or three people just to carry it when off the car!

[LHD]

See here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Fox-]

The low price is killing them off sadly - they are now being bought by knuckledraggers with the pre-purchase research skills of a dead walrus who either end up flogging them on even cheaper in a broken state after 6 months of neglect, or simply park them in a tree at 155mph.

[M5Tom]

I think it's a mixture of things really.....

Fuel...Insurance..Upkeep.....

There are also some real sheds around the bottom of the market.....it depends how fussy you are about presentation I suppose.

A lot of the cheaper ones are at mileages where they need fairly big jobs doing.

From looking around £8k now gets you a very good facelift.....£10k an exceptional one.

[M5Tom]

Fox- said:

The low price is killing them off sadly - they are now being bought by knuckledraggers with the pre-purchase research skills of a dead walrus who either end up flogging them on even cheaper in a broken state after 6 months of neglect, or simply park them in a tree at 155mph.

True. I've seen several come back on the market recently that appear to have been deployed in Libya and then shipped back for the next lucky owner.

[nickythesaint]

My friend had one of these, he bought it right near the end of the warranty. It was one of the models which had some kind of design flaw around the top of the engine meaning it would loose oil.

Once identified the dealer advised the whole engine needed to be replaced and refused to do it under warranty. After quite abit of arguing he managed to get the dealer to do it under warranty.

The cost of replacing the v8 at a main dealer on your own would have made the car a write off.

If you venture over the the numerous M/BMW forums you'll get much more information, I'm sure you can get a good one, if looked after I'm sure they'll be reliable like most BMW's just do your research and buy wisely.

[redgriff500]

Why on earth are some 3.8's fetching MORE than the V8's though ?

[Fox-]

redgriff500 said:

Why on earth are some 3.8's fetching MORE than the V8's though ?

Because a really lovely 3.8 is sought after by an enthusiast, whereas a cheap bottom of the market E39 M5 is sought after by the aforementioned knuckledraggers.

You'll note the lovely M5's are still £10k.

[redgriff500]

Fox- said:

redgriff500 said:

Why on earth are some 3.8's fetching MORE than the V8's though ?

Because a really lovely 3.8 is sought after by an enthusiast, whereas a cheap bottom of the market E39 M5 is sought after by the aforementioned knuckledraggers.

You'll note the lovely M5's are still £10k.

I don't know I've seen a fair few below £8k like this one (admittedly the ad is a bit short on info)

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3217112.htm

[ArmaghMan]

nickythesaint said:

My friend had one of these, he bought it right near the end of the warranty. It was one of the models which had some kind of design flaw around the top of the engine meaning it would loose oil.

Once identified the dealer advised the whole engine needed to be replaced and refused to do it under warranty. After quite abit of arguing he managed to get the dealer to do it under warranty.

The cost of replacing the v8 at a main dealer on your own would have made the car a write off.

If you venture over the the numerous M/BMW forums you'll get much more information, I'm sure you can get a good one, if looked after I'm sure they'll be reliable like most BMW's just do your research and buy wisely.

A little knowledge.....
the thing at the top of the engine is the VANOS system. It is known to rattle on some cars (not terminal usually). The oil loss is from the O rings. Most M5's use some oil, some use a lot.
The Vanos used to be a major issue with most BM dealers afraid to touch it and simply replacing the entire system or a least one bank. There is a guy called MRVANOS/DRVANOS who can repair /replace at a fraction of the cost.(Google is your friend)
I took my last one from 78k to 133k with a few minor issues and have already put 12k on my latest one with few issues. Where else could I get 400bhp, 4 doors a V8 and electric everything for 9 grand??

[Reardy Mister]

Pff! Never mind that, look what you can get the V10 for?!

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3231442.htm

[Mr Dave]

redgriff500 said:

I keep looking for a manual V8 car and I keep seeing ridiculously cheap 5 litre V8 M5's around £6k.

Why have these dropped so far so fast ?

The older 6 cylinder M5's cost more at this age.

Are they stupidly expensive to run or is there just so many alternative these days ?

Just seen one with 78k for sub £7k which seems fantastic value to me.

Because they are a big engined saloon car.

Look at the price drop of the competitors, a similar age XJR or E55 AMG can be had for less.

They arent really collectable as there was so many made, they are fairly dear to look after and there are more alternatives these days.

I was told that an M5 isnt all that fast as it is Rear wheel drive and those cant corner and it is too heavy to accelerate well by an integra type R driver so maybe that has something to do with it?

[Zwoelf]

redgriff500 said:

Why on earth are some 3.8's fetching MORE than the V8's though ?

Easy, a £6k E39 is akin to a £3k E34. Have a look at E28 prices too - dearer than both E34 and E39 generally.

Bear in mind relative numbers of vehicles produced influences availability and therefore pricing, the E39 is by far the most common.

E28: 187
E34: 524 3.6s, 343 3.8s (139 of which were the six-speed model, 50 of which were the run-out LE)
E39: 2,595

(RHD European numbers from M Registry)

I read very recently that there are fewer than 300 E34 M5s left on the road, so good ones will command a relatively high price compared with the much more plentiful later cars.

LHD said:

See here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Why did I think that was just going to be a link to Laird's garage/running costs blog?

Mr Dave said:

I was told that an M5 isnt all that fast as it is Rear wheel drive and those cant corner and it is too heavy to accelerate well by an integra type R driver

I strongly suggest a back to back drive in both cars in that case.

[Reardy Mister]

Mr Dave said:

I was told that an M5 isnt all that fast as it is Rear wheel drive and those cant corner and it is too heavy to accelerate well by an integra type R driver so maybe that has something to do with it?

I wont rest until I know if this ^^^ is serious or not.

[Rollcage]

[Zod]

Mr Dave said:

I was told that an M5 isnt all that fast as it is Rear wheel drive and those cant corner and it is too heavy to accelerate well by an integra type R driver so maybe that has something to do with it?

You're not being serious, are you?

[MattOz]

Sadly, many of them are falling into the grubby mits of those that don't look after them properly. It's not just the servicing, it's the incidentals. The bits that go wrong between services. A litre of TWS every 1-3k miles, 21mpg if you're lucky, the parts prices (think "M" tax), insurance, tyres etc.

I've owned a couple of E39 M5's and keeping on top of one properly isn't a cheap business. Still the best car I've had the pleasure of owning mind you.

[nickythesaint]

ArmaghMan said:

nickythesaint said:

My friend had one of these, he bought it right near the end of the warranty. It was one of the models which had some kind of design flaw around the top of the engine meaning it would loose oil.

Once identified the dealer advised the whole engine needed to be replaced and refused to do it under warranty. After quite abit of arguing he managed to get the dealer to do it under warranty.

The cost of replacing the v8 at a main dealer on your own would have made the car a write off.

If you venture over the the numerous M/BMW forums you'll get much more information, I'm sure you can get a good one, if looked after I'm sure they'll be reliable like most BMW's just do your research and buy wisely.

A little knowledge.....
the thing at the top of the engine is the VANOS system. It is known to rattle on some cars (not terminal usually). The oil loss is from the O rings. Most M5's use some oil, some use a lot.
The Vanos used to be a major issue with most BM dealers afraid to touch it and simply replacing the entire system or a least one bank. There is a guy called MRVANOS/DRVANOS who can repair /replace at a fraction of the cost.(Google is your friend)
I took my last one from 78k to 133k with a few minor issues and have already put 12k on my latest one with few issues. Where else could I get 400bhp, 4 doors a V8 and electric everything for 9 grand??

Thanks. Great info.

[MattOz]

Zod said:

Mr Dave said:

I was told that an M5 isnt all that fast as it is Rear wheel drive and those cant corner and it is too heavy to accelerate well by an integra type R driver so maybe that has something to do with it?

You're not being serious, are you?

I think he was Zod! Where's the ROFL-copter when you need one!