RE: BMW M5 (E39): PH Buying Guide
Discussion
The Article said:
However, the plastic tensionors used on this engine will deteriorate, so need to be checked and factored in as a service item on higher mileage examples. Expect to pay £50 plus fitting for a new tensioner.
This bit's not quite right :PThe tensioners are the fancy hydraulic M ones instead of the regular spring found on non-M's of the time, and they are of course made of metal. A tensioner costs about £70 from a dealer and takes about 5 minutes to fit with a coffee break in the middle. Symptoms of an iffy tensioner are a startup rattle, not too dissimilar to the noise Vanos can make. I imagine the two noises are confused often - I did.
The plastic chain guides are also prone to failure as mentioned on higher mileage cars with bits of these often found in the sump. Fitting new guides requires the front of the engine to be stripped so it's quite involved and will certainly cost more than £50.
Motorrad said:
TheAngryDog said:
You say things have moved on, but that doesn't mean that the E39 M5 cannot hold its own.
Driver involvement and enjoyment haven't moved anywhere and the E39 M5 arguably offers at least as much of that as it's modern equivalents.Bigchiefmuffin said:
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.
I don't find the clutch that heavy, and I find mine is happy bimbling along at 30mph / 40 mph. 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.
mikEsprit said:
Not for me. Looks like every other Bimmer, just has a special badge.
This is one of the main reasons I like the car, I like a car that doesn't look like its up to much but when you have a go against it you can't see which way it went
. I fully agree with the comments on the e39 having an absolutely stonking chassis (apparently they didn't change the chassis design much when the e60 came out as the bmw engineers didn't see the need, true or not, I don't know?), I took my 535i for a good run on the weekend after not taking it far for a while (bloody weather!) and I forgot just how well it goes around the twistys, its more like a little sports car than an 1800kg saloon. I do think an e39 M5 is going to be my next car though and this is just tempting me even more.daytona365 said:
How can you not love something like this ? But what's all this talk of 'Failed rod bearings' ? Doesn't sound very nice !
Basically some owners car's experience an issue with the coating wearing on the crank shaft bearings where the con rod attaches to it.It's not a myth per say, but it's also not as common as some would have you believe.
TheAngryDog said:
daytona365 said:
How can you not love something like this ? But what's all this talk of 'Failed rod bearings' ? Doesn't sound very nice !
Basically some owners car's experience an issue with the coating wearing on the crank shaft bearings where the con rod attaches to it.It's not a myth per say, but it's also not as common as some would have you believe.
RWD cossie wil said:
TheAngryDog said:
daytona365 said:
How can you not love something like this ? But what's all this talk of 'Failed rod bearings' ? Doesn't sound very nice !
Basically some owners car's experience an issue with the coating wearing on the crank shaft bearings where the con rod attaches to it.It's not a myth per say, but it's also not as common as some would have you believe.
ks off all the time etc.I loved my M5 but I did spend a fortune getting it into pristine condition and it wasn't poor to begin with. The biggest difference came from replacing all the suspension arms, bushes and bearings.
The game has moved on, but I still don't think BMW build cars (or interiors!) as well as the E39.
The game has moved on, but I still don't think BMW build cars (or interiors!) as well as the E39.
The Article said:
while an Alcantara headlining was an option for pre-facelift cars and standard on post-facelift models.
Also not completely correct - still an option on facelift cars that came as part of the 'full leather' option. Unfortunately mine doesn't have it, but as a previous poster said, you can't get too hung up on getting a certain spec as there are not plentiful good cars out there to choose from.Also, on the oil consumption, the talk on here reminded me to go and check the level on mine and it is still bang on the max line on the dipstick, exactly where I filled it to when I changed the oil about 3k miles ago. I've never once needed to top it up between changes but it never goes further than 6k between oil changes so perhaps with longer stints I might notice some loss?
2stis said:
The Article said:
while an Alcantara headlining was an option for pre-facelift cars and standard on post-facelift models.
Also not completely correct - still an option on facelift cars that came as part of the 'full leather' option. Unfortunately mine doesn't have it, but as a previous poster said, you can't get too hung up on getting a certain spec as there are not plentiful good cars out there to choose from.Also, on the oil consumption, the talk on here reminded me to go and check the level on mine and it is still bang on the max line on the dipstick, exactly where I filled it to when I changed the oil about 3k miles ago. I've never once needed to top it up between changes but it never goes further than 6k between oil changes so perhaps with longer stints I might notice some loss?
Costs for mine(mostly inc fitting)
Thermostat £150
Oil service £100
New front brakes £400
Brake fluid change £50
New rear tyres £400
2 new suspension arms one front one rear(worn ball joints) £200
2 new drop links one front one rear £60
Pair of front arm bushes £100
Clutch flywheel and RMS(clutch was ok just did as preventative due to rms leak) £850
Gear linkage, gearbox oil etc) preventative £100
Exhaust brackets and mounts £300
Mafs(preventative) £150
Inspection 2 service: £350
New front tyres £270
Re spray bumpers and rear arches etc £800
Thermostat £150
Oil service £100
New front brakes £400
Brake fluid change £50
New rear tyres £400
2 new suspension arms one front one rear(worn ball joints) £200
2 new drop links one front one rear £60
Pair of front arm bushes £100
Clutch flywheel and RMS(clutch was ok just did as preventative due to rms leak) £850
Gear linkage, gearbox oil etc) preventative £100
Exhaust brackets and mounts £300
Mafs(preventative) £150
Inspection 2 service: £350
New front tyres £270
Re spray bumpers and rear arches etc £800
fantastic cars - had 3 of them the past 10 years and always as a daily driver. Utterly reliable, great in all conditions, will destroy a long haul, and still offer controllable fun on twisties. Versatile, and definitely shrink around you if you ask them to go. Currently have an 02 Individual and its the best all round car I've owned.......
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