Discussion
Yes, we still have it, 11 years old now and 109K miles, about 80K of those with us. It’s been quite expensive to run, as it seems that any visit to the dealer or specialist when something’s wrong results in a bill of about a grand. Most expensive issue was camchain replacement that was £2.5K or something… It has a nice quality feel inside, it’s quite fast, but the driving experience isn’t amazing, it doesn’t hide its massive weight that well ! Honestly I think a 5 Touring would have been a better car, but they were stupidly expensive in the used market when we bought this. I’d probably give it 7/10 overall.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. The 5 GT is on my radar as I have 3 kids (14,11 and 6) and any normal saloon or estate is just too tight. The elevated position will provide more space in the back so hopefully less squabbling. The wife has an smax for the family duties so I am on the look out for a different option as my daily.
Have the running costs been for any significant failures or more standard maintenance plus a BMW big car tax ?
Have the running costs been for any significant failures or more standard maintenance plus a BMW big car tax ?
A few updates. The presence of a garish courtesy car on the drive
meant it was MOT day plus an Oil Service for the CSL. Passed with no issues, as expected.
Also, the number of Up!s seems to have increased a bit.
The new one is a learner car for daughter number 2. "I only want a black one Dad". So I spent a few weeks looking at black Ups, Miis and Citigos. The prices asked were quite a bit more than I'd paid for the previous one, and I looked at several before finding one with working air conditioning, mechanically sound and with no dubious body repairs/damage. Amazingly, the car was the lowest mileage I'd seen, best priced, and the supplying garage did a full service, cambelt change and front discs&pads as part of the deal. So M J Wearing Garage of Carterton are thoroughly recommended.
Well, the thread title seems to have changed, so there's a bit of a clue as to what's coming next, but in the meantime, the 5GT has gone off to a dealer. We'd been looking to move it on for a while, but hadn't really done anything serious about it, then an opportunity came up I decided I couldn't refuse.
So that's 8.5 years, 84000 miles, £20000 in depreciation, £12000 in servicing and consumables, and about £15000 in diesel. 55 pence per mile ! So, not that cheap to run, but it did its job as a spacious family bus for all that time.
Bye !
So that's 8.5 years, 84000 miles, £20000 in depreciation, £12000 in servicing and consumables, and about £15000 in diesel. 55 pence per mile ! So, not that cheap to run, but it did its job as a spacious family bus for all that time.
Bye !
JakeT said:
I reckon the M5 is a local one, too!
The 5GT seems a rare beast now, the only one I ever used to see was yours, and I can’t think of any others.
Yes. it was always quite a rare vehicle, probably a niche too far, really.The 5GT seems a rare beast now, the only one I ever used to see was yours, and I can’t think of any others.
Anyway, before we talk about the new car, we should have some history of how we got here. And like everything in life, I'm blaming my parents, and Dad in particular. He had a succession of 3-series company cars, right back to E21s which were definitely not the normal choice for his car budget back in the mid-70s. There's a photo of the first two 316s earlier in the thread. Then came an E30 325i (I absolutely loved that car on the few occasions I got to use it as a 21 year old while they were on holiday), and lastly an early E36 325i, which was specced with an LSD instead of any alternative comfort option to use up his budget allowance ! After he retired he had an E46 325Ti for ages, and then an E81 125i. So you get the picture of what he liked in a vehicle.
So of course quite a lot of that rubbed off on me. After a selection of boring transport appliances, and then finally moving to a house with offroad parking for the first time, the first car I owned that I was actually proud of was this E36 320, previously owned by my father-in-law, and offloaded to me at a slightly salty price. Only 150bhp, but the smoothest 6 cylinder engine you could imagine.
We had this for a couple of years as a family car, but then it was replaced by a Saab 9-5 estate that coped better with small kids and associated junk that goes with them.
Later, Mrs Outnumbered's Fiat Punto needed changing, and it occurred to me that if she got the family wagon, that would let me buy something more interesting. Hence I started looking at M3s...
The E46 M3 had been out for a couple of years, so E36 EVOs were becoming quite affordable and in my budget. After looking at a few locally, and learning first hand what the dreaded failing Vanos noise sounded like, I came across an advert for a decent sounding car, but it was in Shropshire. After talking to the owner, there was nothing untoward so I arranged for an RAC inspection on it as a basic insurance against agreeing to buy a car with an obvious fault like a failing gearbox, oil leaks, corrosion or suspension issues. That came back with a clean bill of health, so off I went on a 3 train journey to a tiny station in Shropshire to buy the car and pick it up. I'd never actually seen an Atlantis Blue car before, and fortunately I really liked it. It was a rare colour on the E36, but it suited it well.
The E36 as a model was rather unloved at the time, and parts of the interior were certainly a bit shonky compared to later generations, but I loved this car. It looked great, it was really fast compared to anything I'd had up until then, it was fairly small, and fun to drive. No driver aids apart from ABS, so you relied on the long travel analogue throttle to avoid getting into trouble.
I had this for two or three enjoyable years, and over that time there was just one issue that really started to grate with me (literally). The car had a sunroof, and as a tall person, the top of my head used to brush the headlining unless I adopted a slight slouch. So eventually that was the reason to double my investment and get an E46.
The car is actually still on the road as far as I know, a subsequent owner transplanted an S54 engine into it, plus lots of other things. I'd still have it original for preference, but at least he's looked after it.
https://www.instagram.com/atlantis_s54/?hl=en
The E36 as a model was rather unloved at the time, and parts of the interior were certainly a bit shonky compared to later generations, but I loved this car. It looked great, it was really fast compared to anything I'd had up until then, it was fairly small, and fun to drive. No driver aids apart from ABS, so you relied on the long travel analogue throttle to avoid getting into trouble.
I had this for two or three enjoyable years, and over that time there was just one issue that really started to grate with me (literally). The car had a sunroof, and as a tall person, the top of my head used to brush the headlining unless I adopted a slight slouch. So eventually that was the reason to double my investment and get an E46.
The car is actually still on the road as far as I know, a subsequent owner transplanted an S54 engine into it, plus lots of other things. I'd still have it original for preference, but at least he's looked after it.
https://www.instagram.com/atlantis_s54/?hl=en
Edited by outnumbered on Monday 31st January 17:39
I get what you mean about BMW’s running in the family.
An uncle who I was very close to had a few which left quite an impression on me. He had an E36 323 cab (pool car from work) for a while that I had a few driving lessons in. At 17 I thought it was the bees knees.
A fair bit later on he had a lovely E38 735i, another car which I got to drive. After that he had an E53 X5 3.0.
I’ve had a string of BMW six pots but haven’t quite made it to a full fat M car (yet).
An uncle who I was very close to had a few which left quite an impression on me. He had an E36 323 cab (pool car from work) for a while that I had a few driving lessons in. At 17 I thought it was the bees knees.
A fair bit later on he had a lovely E38 735i, another car which I got to drive. After that he had an E53 X5 3.0.
I’ve had a string of BMW six pots but haven’t quite made it to a full fat M car (yet).
I started looking at E46s when I got fed up with the lack of head clearance in the E36. I wanted SMG, but otherwise ended up with a fairly low spec car, no NAV/TV, 18" rims, and the less popular Mystic Blue with a black interior.
SMG vs manual is an eternal debate on the E46, but I was an instant SMG convert. It's not perfect and you have to learn the quirks and work with it to get the best result when using the paddles, but that makes it more interesting, and you have the convenience of the semi-auto box for normal and fun driving. The automatic mode is, though, totally useless unless you're just creeping in slow traffic, or driving like you have an extremely picky black box fitted that won't allow more than 0.1G of acceleration.
I fitted CSL wheels after a while, but looking back at the photos now, I think I prefer it with the 18s, although the handling was a bit more positive with the 19s.
After three years or so in 2010, I was getting a bit bored with it, considered getting a higher spec CS or maybe a 996, but eventually thought I might as well just get the ultimate version...
SMG vs manual is an eternal debate on the E46, but I was an instant SMG convert. It's not perfect and you have to learn the quirks and work with it to get the best result when using the paddles, but that makes it more interesting, and you have the convenience of the semi-auto box for normal and fun driving. The automatic mode is, though, totally useless unless you're just creeping in slow traffic, or driving like you have an extremely picky black box fitted that won't allow more than 0.1G of acceleration.
I fitted CSL wheels after a while, but looking back at the photos now, I think I prefer it with the 18s, although the handling was a bit more positive with the 19s.
After three years or so in 2010, I was getting a bit bored with it, considered getting a higher spec CS or maybe a 996, but eventually thought I might as well just get the ultimate version...
I didn't quite buy the first CSL I saw, but I think it was the second. The first was a black one at a dealer in Bucks, but it was in a bit of a state cosmetically, and had a nasty aftermarket stereo installation in the boot.
The one I did buy is silver, and was owned by a guy who'd not long been put in a wheelchair by a motorcycle accident, so the car actually had hand controls fitted when I first saw it. He was selling because unfortunately it wasn't quite working for him - in fact he didn't own it long enough for his name to be on the V5. Anyway, I was blown away by the noise and general violence of the car, so we agreed a price.
I ended up spending quite a bit on it in the first year as the car hadn't been used a lot and needed some general maintenance stuff sorting out (broken spring, diff seals, seized brake caliper, top mounts/RTABs etc). It also had a discrete "garage door opener" fitted, which I took out along with an unused tracker that I found while doing it, as I didn't fancy an accidental PCoJ charge.
A cslregister outing to Elms in Cambridge. I am spoiling the picture by having 18s with winter tyres fitted at the time
:
So that gets us back more or less to the start of this thread, and we can finally go on to the title change.
I mentioned that we'd been thinking about getting rid of the 5GT, but hadn't done much about it beyond mooching around Cooper's used car section one day. Then the Saturday before last, I saw Mdifficult's post mentioning he was going to sell his M5. That instantly caught my attention for a few reasons.
Firstly I knew it had been well looked after as documented in his thread, and it had a relatively easy life mostly doing motorway commuting. Then there's the whole impending death of IC engines, that meant the time to own a ridiculously OTT twin turbo V8 is now, if I ever wanted to. Plus all the Covid business of the last couple of years that has definitely made me think more about living for the present.
It only remained to convince Mrs Outnumbered that the car met her requirements, which were quite simple: Better rear visibility than the GT, Xenon/LED headlights, and comfy seats. Nothing in there about 550bhp
She took it for a short test drive and agreed that it ticked all her boxes, also really liked the head-up display. So we agreed to buy it straight away, and picked it up a week later, which was my first chance to drive it.
The ride quality in comfort mode is good, and with all the modes turned right down in auto mode it's just a luxurious relaxed cruiser. Turn the "M" levels up a bit and start using the paddles and it's just insane. What a car...
I know it has massive bork potential, but at least Tom had a couple of the expensive jobs done already. Probably the rod bearings would be a good thing to get done at some point.
So here's a photo in it's new home on the other side of Reading. Or if you're an estate agent, let's say that it moved from Wokingham to West Berkshire.
Firstly I knew it had been well looked after as documented in his thread, and it had a relatively easy life mostly doing motorway commuting. Then there's the whole impending death of IC engines, that meant the time to own a ridiculously OTT twin turbo V8 is now, if I ever wanted to. Plus all the Covid business of the last couple of years that has definitely made me think more about living for the present.
It only remained to convince Mrs Outnumbered that the car met her requirements, which were quite simple: Better rear visibility than the GT, Xenon/LED headlights, and comfy seats. Nothing in there about 550bhp
She took it for a short test drive and agreed that it ticked all her boxes, also really liked the head-up display. So we agreed to buy it straight away, and picked it up a week later, which was my first chance to drive it.The ride quality in comfort mode is good, and with all the modes turned right down in auto mode it's just a luxurious relaxed cruiser. Turn the "M" levels up a bit and start using the paddles and it's just insane. What a car...
I know it has massive bork potential, but at least Tom had a couple of the expensive jobs done already. Probably the rod bearings would be a good thing to get done at some point.
So here's a photo in it's new home on the other side of Reading. Or if you're an estate agent, let's say that it moved from Wokingham to West Berkshire.
This is probably where I should jump back in! These recent posts have been a brilliant confirmation that my car couldn't have gone to a better home.
I couldn't be happier that the 'big fella' has ended up with someone who clearly has absolutely the right approach to cars
but also flattered that someone with such great taste would pick 'my' car for their next adventure.
I've everything crossed for you and hope it brings you half as much fun and joy as it did us!
(BTW, I checked out your old E36 on IG. I hope you agreed first refusal if he ever sells it because it looks absolutely fantastic!)
I couldn't be happier that the 'big fella' has ended up with someone who clearly has absolutely the right approach to cars
but also flattered that someone with such great taste would pick 'my' car for their next adventure. I've everything crossed for you and hope it brings you half as much fun and joy as it did us!
(BTW, I checked out your old E36 on IG. I hope you agreed first refusal if he ever sells it because it looks absolutely fantastic!)
A very minor update, I had to fix a problem with the M5, which was that the console fag lighter sockets were not working, and as we know, lack of charging facilities is a serious issue for the modern family. So I watched a few YT videos on how to change the fuse. "Piss easy" I thought and went off to Halfords for a spare 20A. But, it turns out, on a RHD car, the fuse panel is on the other side and mounted upside down, so you can't even see the fuse in question as it's up in the top of the dashboard, and it all has to be done blind.
I ended up having to take a picture to check I'd got the right one, everything above the purple line is invisible, and it'd be very easy to drop either the old or new one down behind the glovebox.
Anyway, finally got there and the next day went for my first long-ish drive in it, to pick my Mum up for a few days stay. The car cruises on the motorway well, if not very economically. We had lunch at her tennis club, then headed back.
Spent 70 minutes stationary on the M25 staring at this view due to a 4 car pileup ahead. Last time I'll believe Waze's delay estimate ("9 minutes") ! The crash looked pretty nasty, there was a Yaris with the back stoved in about half way to the front seats, anyone sitting in there would have been in a bad way.
I ended up having to take a picture to check I'd got the right one, everything above the purple line is invisible, and it'd be very easy to drop either the old or new one down behind the glovebox.
Anyway, finally got there and the next day went for my first long-ish drive in it, to pick my Mum up for a few days stay. The car cruises on the motorway well, if not very economically. We had lunch at her tennis club, then headed back.
Spent 70 minutes stationary on the M25 staring at this view due to a 4 car pileup ahead. Last time I'll believe Waze's delay estimate ("9 minutes") ! The crash looked pretty nasty, there was a Yaris with the back stoved in about half way to the front seats, anyone sitting in there would have been in a bad way.
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