E39 M5, should I sell or keep?

[Ritchie335is]

I have had my M5 for about 3 years now, and have loved it, no problems with it apart from a fuel pump and consumables.
Its starting to get pretty rusty now at the fronts of the sills, and quite a few bad stonechip scabs on various panels.
I was going to get it fully resprayed (circa 2k) but I work away from home 6 months of the year and it just sits there so I am wondering if its worth it.
I am considering punting it on cheap, probably 4k ish and putting the 2k for the paint to that and picking something else up.
Or as I know the car inside out now and its not worth that much do I just stick with it and get it painted?

Any thoughts?

[carter711]

I was going to suggest that you sell it to me but I've just seen that you live in Scotland. If I were you I'd keep it mate, better the devil you know and all that, not to mention the E39 M5 is a beautifully epic beast.

[Ritchie335is]

carter711 said:

I was going to suggest that you sell it to me but I've just seen that you live in Scotland. If I were you I'd keep it mate, better the devil you know and all that, not to mention the E39 M5 is a beautifully epic beast.

Whereabouts are you? Delivery could be possible!

I really don't know what to do, I was just looking through the classifieds for some sort of replacement, preferably something thats pretty corrosion resistant (probably Jap but I hate the image) and I'm finding it hard to justify a fast car for only 6 months of the year. Especially when I have my bikes for a buzz when I feel the need.

[broster]

Check the underside for rot properly before you decide! I recently had a nasty shock!

[Ritchie335is]

broster said:

Check the underside for rot properly before you decide! I recently had a nasty shock!

I have had a look under it in the last 6 months and it looked ok.
I have been looking at Audi S8s but I'm struggling to love them, they just look soooo dull!

[Ritchie335is]

broster said:

Check the underside for rot properly before you decide! I recently had a nasty shock!

What is your plan with this? Are you fixing or moving it on?

[Cemesis]

I've broken two now due to the rust (the jack point had collapsed due to rust on both). I now have a garage full of M5 bits again!

I had a similar decision to make and chose to get something ecconomical and just pocket the money. You can get something that is still fun to drive and yet much cheaper to run. I bought an Arosa 1.4 TDI. Tiny thing with £30 road tax and 60mpg. Parking it was brilliant as any space was big enough, and it was so nippy it brought a new element to driving that I hadn't experienced in a number of years as the M5 is quite large.

Best thing is, the Arosa is the only car I've ever sold for profit. Tiny cheap 1.4 TDI? £30 road tax and 60mpg all day? People are biting your arm off for things like that so when you decide to dip your toe back in, its easy to 're-invest'.

[broster]

Ritchie335is said:

What is your plan with this? Are you fixing or moving it on?

fully repaired, deffinatly not worth breaking the car over to be honest, i had a friend who is a fabricator repair it for me, he would usually charge around £600 to do the work which involved:

remove fuel tank, cut out jacking point outer skin, weld in new section then remove front seat and carpet, repair front sill, refit and re seal.

mine was only the drivers side which needed doing, passeneger side is rock solid.

[Ritchie335is]

Had a good poke around it today on the ramp and it all looks solid, so I think I'm probably just going to get the work done and hang onto it for a while.

[jas xjr]

Ritchie335is said:

Had a good poke around it today on the ramp and it all looks solid, so I think I'm probably just going to get the work done and hang onto it for a while.

maybe refresh the suspension whislt you are at it . are there any common upgrades just to keep it fresh for you ?

[Ritchie335is]

jas xjr said:

maybe refresh the suspension whislt you are at it . are there any common upgrades just to keep it fresh for you ?

Hmm, a few bushes here and there, a shortshift kit and it could be doing with a fresh clutch.
I will probably do these then punt it on in a year or two. Look out if your after one!

[Pip1968]

Keep it. Just get a garage to put it in or some sort of cucoon to store it in. Especailly up in Scotland where it is always p@ssing down. I have just sold mine following my little shunt and all the peeing around with insurers. I am sure I will regret it but can only console myself that it has gone to a friend of a friend who will freshen her up following the repairs.

I hope to see her in her former glory soonish.

Pip