RE: BMW M5 (E39): PH Heroes

[KungFuPanda]

Seesure said:

njw1 said:

E34-3.2 said:

KungFuPanda said:

So what do people think about this car then?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Toying with the idea given that these were out round the time I started driving.

Go for it. Have it inspected and take the plunge. M5 are great. Yes, running one is not a cheap affair but it is worth it. Once you floor it, you forget about the hole they just left in your bank account!

^^What he said!

Eyes wide open on that car. .. trim missing around nav screen, lower front splash guard has a hole in it, no front or rear pdc, although an option to have it deleted it was unusual to do so...for all the money spent on the car in maintenance to have silly bits missing / broken seems odd.

Also don't forget Mark Webber also had one.... as well as Tiff Needell... ??

I think I've got a keen eye for motors but I never spotted any of those defects!!!

[RDMcG]

In its time I felt it was the car to have. I had three E 39s. 528i,540i and M5. All from new. I just loved the M5. Had no problems with it in the two years I owned it. I went for a 645ci And then an E63 M6. The M5 was the most satisfying drivers car of all of them. I still remember it fondly.

[TheAngryDog]

Patrick Bateman said:

Expensive fixes can be a ballache but replacing mechanical components is at least fit and forget.

I'd rather have engine issues than body work. It is usually cheaper

[E34-3.2]

Aes87 said:

M cars from the 90s = high-watermark of automotive perfection

Oh yes!

[_Neal_]

Just my two-penneth on the E39 M5. My M5 was a post-facelift in Le Mans Blue, and in really nice condition - loved the understated looks, all the toys it had, and driving it was a pleasure, particularly on b-roads where it flowed really nicely and did the cheesy "car shrinks around you" thing. It was a really complete package.

However, I very much preferred my previous M car (E36 M3 Evo) to the M5, for a variety of reasons:

1. The engine - the howling six in the E36 was much nicer than the M5's V8 for me - the V8 just had torque everywhere, but no real top-end rush. Really good engine yes, but not great.
2. Brakes - the M5 felt under-braked on the road (and I'm not harsh on brakes) - just always felt its weight under braking.
3. Touring ability - the M5 was a fantastic mile-muncher, and the heated electric seats/adjustable steering column meant I was always comfortable, but the range of the car was irritating. I had no issue with the c.15-20mpg average fuel economy, but a total range of 200-250 miles grated.

I'd recommend one to anyone, but I'd say the E36 M3 (for a similar price to the M5, and most likely lower running costs) delivers a more sporty drive. It'd be my choice of 90s M car for £10-15k, unless you need the extra doors. Both are excellent though.

[Patrick Bateman]

That range doesn't look like 'touring' driving.

I'd get 300 miles to a tank comfortably, on long trips 350 was easy enough.

[_Neal_]

Patrick Bateman said:

That range doesn't look like 'touring' driving.

I'd get 300 miles to a tank comfortably, on long trips 350 was easy enough.

That was mixed driving with some motorway, but even so driving somewhere that was say 200 miles away, with 20-30 miles of mixed/b-roads at the end, I'd arrive with the fuel light on. I don't have a heavy right foot either.

[aaron_2000]

Aes87 said:

M cars from the 90s = high-watermark of automotive perfection

I'd say 1998-2008. E60 M5, E46 M3, E39 M5, E92 M3, M Coupe, Z4M Coupe. Still got the M2 these days though.

[Depthhoar]

Recent 4200 mile round trip to northern Norway:-

Average fuel consumption - 23.27mpg
Best fuel consumption on the trip, one tank at 26.74mpg
Worst - 19mpg

Most miles on a tankful (generally refilling before, or shortly after, the fuel light came on): 376 miles.
Tank refill range (discounting when I filled up early due to remote location etc.): 327 - 371 miles - excludes best/worst outliers.

(Includes some fast autobahn work on outward and return legs in Germany & Denmark, some enthusiastic non-motorway driving + general cruising & bimbling.)

[s m]

aaron_2000 said:

Aes87 said:

M cars from the 90s = high-watermark of automotive perfection

I'd say 1998-2008. E60 M5, E46 M3, E39 M5, E92 M3, M Coupe, Z4M Coupe. Still got the M2 these days though.

Not forgetting the old E36 M3 and 1M Coupé


Thanks to Leins for that clip

[_Neal_]

Depthhoar said:

Recent 4200 mile round trip to northern Norway:-

Average fuel consumption - 23.27mpg
Best fuel consumption on the trip, one tank at 26.74mpg
Worst - 19mpg

Most miles on a tankful (generally refilling before, or shortly after, the fuel light came on): 376 miles.
Tank refill range (discounting when I filled up early due to remote location etc.): 327 - 371 miles - excludes best/worst outliers.

(Includes some fast autobahn work on outward and return legs in Germany & Denmark, some enthusiastic non-motorway driving + general cruising & bimbling.)

That's really good - cold air helping a bit maybe?

For M car fuel economy comparison purposes I did 2000 miles (France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland) including fast autobahn, non-motorway stuff and half a dozen slow-ish laps of the Ring in my E36 M3 Evo - averaged 29mpg for the trip as a whole. My E39 530i wouldn't do any better than that I don't think.

[tektas]

I am hankering for a fast saloon for quite a while now. I am realistically still 4-5 years away from buying one (cars in Turkey are stupidly expensive to buy)

I am undecided on which "super saloon" would be right for me to be honest. Here in Turkey we do not have those nice B roads you have
It is either city driving or motorways.

Would the E39 M5 still be special enough on these roads or would a W211 E55 be the better bet?

[E34-3.2]

s m said:

aaron_2000 said:

Aes87 said:

M cars from the 90s = high-watermark of automotive perfection

I'd say 1998-2008. E60 M5, E46 M3, E39 M5, E92 M3, M Coupe, Z4M Coupe. Still got the M2 these days though.

Not forgetting the old E36 M3 and 1M Coupé


Thanks to Leins for that clip

I would add, e30m3, e28m5, e34m5 and M635csi.

[Seesure]

tektas said:

I am hankering for a fast saloon for quite a while now. I am realistically still 4-5 years away from buying one (cars in Turkey are stupidly expensive to buy)

I am undecided on which "super saloon" would be right for me to be honest. Here in Turkey we do not have those nice B roads you have
It is either city driving or motorways.

Would the E39 M5 still be special enough on these roads or would a W211 E55 be the better bet?

I've seen a few E39s kicking around in Turkey and did spot earlier this year one that initially looked like an M5 but I think it was actually a fake M5 as it didn't sit quite right with me ....It had quad exhausts, M5 front grill, M5 wing mirrors but a rectangular rear view mirror... + After market wheels that looked odd



In all honesty I think the roads in Turkey are pretty good on the main routes, it's just the back roads that can be poor although some of the B roads are appalling here and worse than some I've driven in Turkey...

There are certainly some odd cars kicking around and certainly Mercedes appear to be visible than BMW in the area I go to.

And this one took the biscuit last year ...

[aaron_2000]

Seesure said:

There are certainly some odd cars kicking around and certainly Mercedes appear to be visible than BMW in the area I go to.

And this one took the biscuit last year ...

That's awful. A real Bradford job

[MDL111]

Adam3441 said:

cerb4.5lee said:

Always lusted after these and I like the way they look too, I'm guessing it wouldn't feel all that quick though now(torque/quick Auto's rule nowadays), loved the fact these were manual as well.

Not at all. They’re still genuinely fast these days. I’m the mid 90’s they must have been game changing.

Do remember driving my friends car in 2004/2005 and it felt quick then and rapid on the autobahn - really loved that car as a 4-door 5-seater and to this day I think I will need to own one at some point - certainly does more for me than the newer versions and all it's competitors from then to today

[Hereward]

[njw1]

KungFuPanda said:

Seesure said:

njw1 said:

E34-3.2 said:

KungFuPanda said:

So what do people think about this car then?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Toying with the idea given that these were out round the time I started driving.

Go for it. Have it inspected and take the plunge. M5 are great. Yes, running one is not a cheap affair but it is worth it. Once you floor it, you forget about the hole they just left in your bank account!

^^What he said!

Eyes wide open on that car. .. trim missing around nav screen, lower front splash guard has a hole in it, no front or rear pdc, although an option to have it deleted it was unusual to do so...for all the money spent on the car in maintenance to have silly bits missing / broken seems odd.

Also don't forget Mark Webber also had one.... as well as Tiff Needell... ??

I think I've got a keen eye for motors but I never spotted any of those defects!!!

I think going in with your eyes wide open is extremely good advice when looking at any e39 M5. The above car would definitely be worth a (good) look if I was currently in the market. It seems they've upgraded to the later 16:9 nav screen but haven't fitted the surround, this wouldn't bother me as the wood trim would have to go anyway, e39 pdc can be problematic these days so I don't think a lack of it detracts from the car really (it was disconnected on my old M5 as it never worked properly!), and saying that it would only have had rear pdc anyway as the car is a pre-facelift. As for the broken splash guard, replacements are available but from experience they're all like that!

[TheAngryDog]

Seesure, as you know, the rectangular mirror was standard on pre face lift cars, so it could have been a real one.

Re the poster re mpg, I usually managed over 300 miles to a tank except when really pushing on. Sounds like it may have had an issue, fuel leak or you were more heavy right Footed than you remember :ROFL:

[Seesure]

TheAngryDog said:

Seesure, as you know, the rectangular mirror was standard on pre face lift cars, so it could have been a real one.

Re the poster re mpg, I usually managed over 300 miles to a tank except when really pushing on. Sounds like it may have had an issue, fuel leak or you were more heavy right Footed than you remember :ROFL:

I'm pretty sure the rectangular mirror was only on the very early 1998/9 cars, the oval mirror was a trademark of the M5 being introduced for the M5 and was around well before the 2001 facelift. There are a few cars in the UK that had the rectangular mirror but they were early in the production run.

But I agree on the fuel consumption 320 miles is easily achieved when at healthy motorway speeds ..... in fact it was a topic I started a few years back on the 5 series forum... http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/57819-fuel-consumpti...