RE: BMW M5 (E39): PH Buying Guide
Discussion
jakesmith said:
You'd have to be bonkers to drop £30k on this ugly heavy turdmobile
At £30k yes, but it is hardly a heavy turdmobile! Idiotic response. J4CKO said:
30k, wow, no thanks, you would have to be very keen.
Things have moved on
Sure, pick up on the top price and say so, but at £7k to £1Things have moved on
10k it is worth it. You say things have moved on, but that doesn't mean that the E39 M5 cannot hold its own.
£2-3k a year to run?! Nonsense.
My dad has owned one for 10 years now and doesn't have to spend anywhere near that.
Hasn't needed anything other than normal servicing and consumables.
No spends that you wouldn't expect on any car.
I whole heartedly recommend buying one. I've driven every BMW made between 1990 and 2008 and the E39 M5 sits near the top of the tree as an ownership experience.
Things may have moved on but that doesn't mean things have got better. You can keep your turbo's thanks...
My dad has owned one for 10 years now and doesn't have to spend anywhere near that.
Hasn't needed anything other than normal servicing and consumables.
No spends that you wouldn't expect on any car.
I whole heartedly recommend buying one. I've driven every BMW made between 1990 and 2008 and the E39 M5 sits near the top of the tree as an ownership experience.
Things may have moved on but that doesn't mean things have got better. You can keep your turbo's thanks...
jakesmith said:
You'd have to be bonkers to drop £30k on this ugly heavy turdmobile
Aha Mr Jakesmith! You love a contrary position I see. Rest of world loves car "X", Mr Jakesmith hates it. Whilst I agree £30k is a lot of money, if it were as new, an E39 M5 would be preferable to many £30k new cars available today, even at 1800 Kg...petrolveins said:
PaulsM3 said:
£2-3k a year to run?! Nonsense.
Things may have moved on but that doesn't mean things have got better. You can keep your turbo's thanks...
This. Just this.Things may have moved on but that doesn't mean things have got better. You can keep your turbo's thanks...
The E39 is the end of an era of proper cars from M for me.
Body is a different story, never garaged and every panel is rusting or has signs of rust! But I suppose 9 years of driving every week in Scotland, even through winter, will do that.
A full respray, rust repair, with new wings & boot lid is over £4k, which is close to car value!!
British Beef said:
petrolveins said:
PaulsM3 said:
£2-3k a year to run?! Nonsense.
Things may have moved on but that doesn't mean things have got better. You can keep your turbo's thanks...
This. Just this.Things may have moved on but that doesn't mean things have got better. You can keep your turbo's thanks...
The E39 is the end of an era of proper cars from M for me.
Body is a different story, never garaged and every panel is rusting or has signs of rust! But I suppose 9 years of driving every week in Scotland, even through winter, will do that.
A full respray, rust repair, with new wings & boot lid is over £4k, which is close to car value!!
Not for me. Looks like every other Bimmer, just has a special badge.
I remember the M5 being quicker than 0-60 at 5.3 secs, though? I thought it was much closer to the Esprit's 4.3 secs?
Well, found this: The 0-60 dash is quoted at anywhere between 4.8 and 5.2 seconds, and it certainly feels closer to the faster time.
Where? Here: http://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-features-he...
I remember the M5 being quicker than 0-60 at 5.3 secs, though? I thought it was much closer to the Esprit's 4.3 secs?
Well, found this: The 0-60 dash is quoted at anywhere between 4.8 and 5.2 seconds, and it certainly feels closer to the faster time.
Where? Here: http://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-features-he...
Triumph Man said:
Given the values now though, surely with your mechanically perfect car an outlay on some body work will be worth your while?
Yes & no. Spending approaching the cars value on a body respray for the engine to go boom the next day, rendering the car a write-off, would be sods law....To be honest, Ive had it so long now it is probably a keeper, in which case the bullet will need to be biten.
I'm taking mine over to the mechanic tonight, so he can have her tomorrow for service and then book MOT. Then she goes up for sale. Just not using it. 2500 miles since the last MOT.
Will miss it though. Bought at 48000 miles , now has 102000, my second E39 M5. Took the first one from 75000 to 140000 miles. Both fantastic cars. Agree with the poster re 0-60. My old Impreza turbo was probably as quick, but over 60, bye bye Impreza.
Re £3000 per year costs, yes I suppose in theory it could cost that, but in my ownership I replaced a lot of front suspension bits and bobs and still never got near that. Do have a bill for anew VANOS in the service file though. £1700 for one side!!
Good tyres can be expensive too, Michelins all round and no change from a grand, but putting ditch finders on a 155mph rocket is just asking for trouble.
They do like oil ( mine at any rate) but you just get used to checking.
Fantastic cars, if you're in the market for one, do it before the chance has gone.
Will miss it though. Bought at 48000 miles , now has 102000, my second E39 M5. Took the first one from 75000 to 140000 miles. Both fantastic cars. Agree with the poster re 0-60. My old Impreza turbo was probably as quick, but over 60, bye bye Impreza.
Re £3000 per year costs, yes I suppose in theory it could cost that, but in my ownership I replaced a lot of front suspension bits and bobs and still never got near that. Do have a bill for anew VANOS in the service file though. £1700 for one side!!
Good tyres can be expensive too, Michelins all round and no change from a grand, but putting ditch finders on a 155mph rocket is just asking for trouble.
They do like oil ( mine at any rate) but you just get used to checking.
Fantastic cars, if you're in the market for one, do it before the chance has gone.
ArmaghMan said:
I'm taking mine over to the mechanic tonight, so he can have her tomorrow for service and then book MOT. Then she goes up for sale. Just not using it. 2500 miles since the last MOT.
Will miss it though. Bought at 48000 miles , now has 102000, my second E39 M5. Took the first one from 75000 to 140000 miles. Both fantastic cars. Agree with the poster re 0-60. My old Impreza turbo was probably as quick, but over 60, bye bye Impreza.
Re £3000 per year costs, yes I suppose in theory it could cost that, but in my ownership I replaced a lot of front suspension bits and bobs and still never got near that. Do have a bill for anew VANOS in the service file though. £1700 for one side!!
Good tyres can be expensive too, Michelins all round and no change from a grand, but putting ditch finders on a 155mph rocket is just asking for trouble.
They do like oil ( mine at any rate) but you just get used to checking.
Fantastic cars, if you're in the market for one, do it before the chance has gone.
This is why it pays to shop around for parts. Pilot Super Sports from tyreleader are a little over £600 all round plus fitting.Will miss it though. Bought at 48000 miles , now has 102000, my second E39 M5. Took the first one from 75000 to 140000 miles. Both fantastic cars. Agree with the poster re 0-60. My old Impreza turbo was probably as quick, but over 60, bye bye Impreza.
Re £3000 per year costs, yes I suppose in theory it could cost that, but in my ownership I replaced a lot of front suspension bits and bobs and still never got near that. Do have a bill for anew VANOS in the service file though. £1700 for one side!!
Good tyres can be expensive too, Michelins all round and no change from a grand, but putting ditch finders on a 155mph rocket is just asking for trouble.
They do like oil ( mine at any rate) but you just get used to checking.
Fantastic cars, if you're in the market for one, do it before the chance has gone.
5.3 was the quoted 0-62 time from the factory (surpassing the old E34 official of 5.9)
Back in those days Bmw would quote gentle figures, so sub 5 is on the cards with a good launch.
When Autocar used to run their 0-100-0 challenges they recorded 0-60 in 4.6 and 0-100 in 10.6.
But that was in full hire car mode.
Back in those days Bmw would quote gentle figures, so sub 5 is on the cards with a good launch.
When Autocar used to run their 0-100-0 challenges they recorded 0-60 in 4.6 and 0-100 in 10.6.
But that was in full hire car mode.
I had one of these for a couple of years back in 2002. Lovely car, though had problems with the vanos which was expensive to fix ( though done under warranty ). Back in those days, you could get a BMW warranty regardless of model or mileage for only about £600 - those were the days...
Exchanged it for a B10 V8S with 44k miles on it. Still have that car, now showing 198K miles. Been very reliable, though , as mentioned, the body work does start to rust.
While superficially similar, they are very different cars. The M5 is a supercar in a saloon body - brilliant at 10/10ths, but not so good going slower ( heavy clutch was a pain in traffic ). Alpina a real GT - better than M5 up to 9/10ths.
They are both great cars, catering to different needs. I've driven lots of more "modern" cars in the interim, but have always struggled to see any real improvements over these.
Exchanged it for a B10 V8S with 44k miles on it. Still have that car, now showing 198K miles. Been very reliable, though , as mentioned, the body work does start to rust.
While superficially similar, they are very different cars. The M5 is a supercar in a saloon body - brilliant at 10/10ths, but not so good going slower ( heavy clutch was a pain in traffic ). Alpina a real GT - better than M5 up to 9/10ths.
They are both great cars, catering to different needs. I've driven lots of more "modern" cars in the interim, but have always struggled to see any real improvements over these.
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