High mileage cars for sale

[Krikkit]

Aiminghigh123 said:

mattwhite709 said:

Krikkit said:

Limpet said:

mattwhite709 said:

I was doing one of my usual searches for an E39 M5 and came across this lemon with 245k on the clock. I think it is the highest mileage one I have seen for sale. The MOT history is very scary, It has practially failed every year! The last MOT was a failure in May 2019 so it has been without one for a year!

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Showing on Autotrader as a Cat S as well!

Looking at the last MOT fail, while you might not spot balljoint dust covers being split or even a shock leaking, why would you even present a car for test with lights not working and critical warning lights on? Just bizarre.

Look at that awful colour match between front wing and driver's door as well, was it painted by Stevie Wonder? I'm not usually one to spot them either.

Earlier when I first saw this I thought it could just be lemon of a car but the more I think about it seems to have 6 bad owners. Its 1st MOT it failed twice on the same thing. Maybe the current owner completely undereetimated the money it costs to upkeep a car like this. If this was the case i would still not present for an MOT with obvious fails. It surely has to be worth more in parts than a whole car.

Yeah agreed. Probably the worst one I have seen for a while. You can pick up ok ones for £8k but it’s still a £50k+ when new car and bills can add up.

I think I'm some kind of pervert, because all I want to do is buy it and sort it out! Imagine having an M5 that ran properly at 300k+ miles in a few years...

[Driver101]

mattwhite709 said:

Earlier when I first saw this I thought it could just be lemon of a car but the more I think about it seems to have 6 bad owners. Its 1st MOT it failed twice on the same thing. Maybe the current owner completely undereetimated the money it costs to upkeep a car like this. If this was the case i would still not present for an MOT with obvious fails. It surely has to be worth more in parts than a whole car.

It's not the first MOT. Online records don't go back far enough.

Clearly he didn't want to spend money on the brakes and tried to get it through an MOT at a friendlier garage on the test you're talking about.

[Toaster Pilot]

Krikkit said:

I think I'm some kind of pervert, because all I want to do is buy it and sort it out! Imagine having an M5 that ran properly at 300k+ miles in a few years...

We’re definitely on the same wavelength - it’s a bit overpriced sadly.

[mattwhite709]

Driver101 said:

mattwhite709 said:

Earlier when I first saw this I thought it could just be lemon of a car but the more I think about it seems to have 6 bad owners. Its 1st MOT it failed twice on the same thing. Maybe the current owner completely undereetimated the money it costs to upkeep a car like this. If this was the case i would still not present for an MOT with obvious fails. It surely has to be worth more in parts than a whole car.

It's not the first MOT. Online records don't go back far enough.

Clearly he didn't want to spend money on the brakes and tried to get it through an MOT at a friendlier garage on the test you're talking about.

Yes you are right the MOT online goes back to 2005 and this would of been 5 years old then.

[mattwhite709]

Toaster Pilot said:

Krikkit said:

I think I'm some kind of pervert, because all I want to do is buy it and sort it out! Imagine having an M5 that ran properly at 300k+ miles in a few years...

We’re definitely on the same wavelength - it’s a bit overpriced sadly.

Wow you guys are alot braver than me. Big mileage does not put me off my own F31 is sitting on 131K but the fact it has been so neglected would make me run a mile. If they have shown such disersgerd for it surely they would of treated routine servicing the same.

It is a shame it not listed on PH otherwise we could of had a brave pill article.

[Lincsls1]

mattwhite709 said:

Wow you guys are alot braver than me. Big mileage does not put me off my own F31 is sitting on 131K but the fact it has been so neglected would make me run a mile. If they have shown such disersgerd for it surely they would of treated routine servicing the same.

It is a shame it not listed on PH otherwise we could of had a brave pill article.

I think there is something nice and satisfying about taking a neglected car and slowly bringing it back to a really good standard. Costly mind!

[Speed addicted]

Lincsls1 said:

mattwhite709 said:

Wow you guys are alot braver than me. Big mileage does not put me off my own F31 is sitting on 131K but the fact it has been so neglected would make me run a mile. If they have shown such disersgerd for it surely they would of treated routine servicing the same.

It is a shame it not listed on PH otherwise we could of had a brave pill article.

I think there is something nice and satisfying about taking a neglected car and slowly bringing it back to a really good standard. Costly mind!

It’s a lot cheaper to buy a good one then slowly neglect it, far more popular too!

[Toaster Pilot]

Assuming it’s still running well I don’t see how it’s worse than buying a more expensive lower mileage one that isn’t in absolutely pristine order - it’s an E39 M5, it’s still going to abuse your wallet.

[seiben]

Part of me thinks that M5 wouldn't be that bad... the MOT history is ok until relatively recently, and it must have been looked after for at least some of it's life just to get to that mileage! It's clearly had a front end smack and unfortunately looks to have been put back together by a five-year-old... undertrays hanging of, bonnet latch not latching, and the strip below each headlight is missing. None of this stuff is that difficult to source replacements for...

At £4-5k it would be worth a punt. £7k is dreaming though

[Krikkit]

seiben said:

Part of me thinks that M5 wouldn't be that bad... the MOT history is ok until relatively recently, and it must have been looked after for at least some of it's life just to get to that mileage! It's clearly had a front end smack and unfortunately looks to have been put back together by a five-year-old... undertrays hanging of, bonnet latch not latching, and the strip below each headlight is missing. None of this stuff is that difficult to source replacements for...

At £4-5k it would be worth a punt. £7k is dreaming though

Yeah I'd guess the front end damage is what rendered it Cat.S.

I agree that the price is absolutely dreaming - a bad MOT fail in June and no re-test, bad paint, high miles, small market for the car.

On the flip side it's my favourite colour combo for an E39.

[ATM]

Should the bonnet catch be sticking out like that?

Is the fog light smashed?

Whats hanging off the bottom of the bumper?

[Jimmy Recard]

ATM said:

Should the bonnet catch be sticking out like that?

Is the fog light smashed?

Whats hanging off the bottom of the bumper?

No

Looks like it!

Undertray

[Welshbeef]

ATM said:

Should the bonnet catch be sticking out like that?

Is the fog light smashed?

Whats hanging off the bottom of the bumper?

Not much to fix really.

Likely someone pulled the bonnet release then took the pics.

You keen on buying it or not for you?

[TonyRPH]

Welshbeef said:

Not much to fix really.

I'll just leave this here...

I reckon it could be wallet busting in a very short time.

[Toaster Pilot]

TonyRPH said:

I'll just leave this here...

I reckon it could be wallet busting in a very short time.

If that list of fails / advisories scares you off a 250k mile car might I suggest that high mileage cars aren’t for you?

It’s not worth seven grand but it’s definitely not a lost cause, IMHO.

[TonyRPH]

Toaster Pilot said:

If that list of fails / advisories scares you off a 250k mile car might I suggest that high mileage cars aren’t for you?

It’s not worth seven grand but it’s definitely not a lost cause, IMHO.

It doesn't scare me.

The price scares me though. It's probably worth £5k at the most.

I've had a high mileage E39 (I ran it to just over 200k) and it cost me £3k over 3 years - so I'm no stranger to this...

[Tyre Smoke]

Speed addicted said:

jubo89 said:

Check out this beast (260k) - avg yearly mileage 46k!

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

193914 miles above average!

And £825 above average price!

[Jimmy Recard]

Toaster Pilot said:

If that list of fails / advisories scares you off a 250k mile car might I suggest that high mileage cars aren’t for you?

It’s not worth seven grand but it’s definitely not a lost cause, IMHO.

This. I think at half that I’d be tempted as a bit of a summer project

[aaron_2000]

Tyre Smoke said:

Speed addicted said:

jubo89 said:

Check out this beast (260k) - avg yearly mileage 46k!

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

193914 miles above average!

And £825 above average price!

If it was mid to low 2's, it'd be the kind of car that'd be worth buying with young kids and running until they've all moved out.

[Limpet]

I agree that M5 is perfectly salvageable, and would make a great project at the right money, but the seller is dreaming.

To buy at the right price, fix up and simply drive and enjoy, it would be a fun project I think. But I think it's closer to £4k than £7k

It probably needs a grand spending on it to deal with the MOT fails and advisories.
Another two grand (at least) getting the bodywork and paint right.

And then, however nice you make it, it will still be a moon mileage, Cat S M5, so even all done and together, it's never going to be worth much more than he's asking for it now. Especially when a quick scout through Autotrader suggests that nice high mileage examples that don't have the Cat S marker and won't need the immediate repairs can be had for around the £10k mark. And would be far easier to sell on again if you chose to.