E60 M5 :warranty value for money?
Discussion
Hi all.
A small preamble first: I have decided to change my car for something slightly more practical for city use but still thrilling to drive. The mix of driving I do is a lot of London weekend driving and some nice longer short-break or Europe-bound trips. Oh, and I need 5 seats and something that would not intimidate the uninitiated driver (my wife). In fact daily drive-ability (not just GT) is quite important for me. Starts sounding utopic..
Anyway, I always had huge respect for the M cars, and I was so impressed with the E60 M5 when it first came out, that this is in the (very) short list. However, I am a bit concerned by the gearbox and clutch issues I have read so much about, that if were to leave emotions aside, it means that this is probably not the (more) practical car I am looking for.
I would be looking at a 57-08 car, aiming for 25-30k miles with full BMWSH, looking for clutch replacement history, paying for the full diagnostics before committing to it. I have read many owners stating that having the extended warranty is a must have. My (long-winded) question is, given the annual cost of this warranty and the fact that the most likely failure would probably come from smth not covered (clutch), why is this such a good deal?
many thanks
A small preamble first: I have decided to change my car for something slightly more practical for city use but still thrilling to drive. The mix of driving I do is a lot of London weekend driving and some nice longer short-break or Europe-bound trips. Oh, and I need 5 seats and something that would not intimidate the uninitiated driver (my wife). In fact daily drive-ability (not just GT) is quite important for me. Starts sounding utopic..
Anyway, I always had huge respect for the M cars, and I was so impressed with the E60 M5 when it first came out, that this is in the (very) short list. However, I am a bit concerned by the gearbox and clutch issues I have read so much about, that if were to leave emotions aside, it means that this is probably not the (more) practical car I am looking for.
I would be looking at a 57-08 car, aiming for 25-30k miles with full BMWSH, looking for clutch replacement history, paying for the full diagnostics before committing to it. I have read many owners stating that having the extended warranty is a must have. My (long-winded) question is, given the annual cost of this warranty and the fact that the most likely failure would probably come from smth not covered (clutch), why is this such a good deal?
many thanks
Not being funny mate but have you searched the forum for the exact same questions answered before? Theres info on the very first page. In a nutshell, i think the answer will be very 50/50. Some, like myself swear by the warranty whilst others claim its a waste of time as indy prices are low enough to justify not paying the BMW/Mondial fee. In my opinion (and i await a slating for it):
A car with a well used warranty will have had every little niggle, important or not, fixed as the cost is no issue for the owner. A car without a warranty may hang on to minor niggles if the owner cannot justify spending his cash on something he can live with. I could have lived with the little knock in my steering and it made no difference to the drive. But, when the warranty will cover this without question why should i not have it done? Nearly £3k for a new steering rack and tighten up at dealer costings for a simple knock/clunk is a large figure to stomach and sure it would have been done for less at an indy. But, at an indy i'd have paid. Without the warranty i probably wouldnt have had it done. People screaming that their car doesnt need to go to the garage and they dont need a warranty may be telling the honest truth, but i bet theres little things about thier cars that theyd have fixed if it wasnt them paying.
Eddie
A car with a well used warranty will have had every little niggle, important or not, fixed as the cost is no issue for the owner. A car without a warranty may hang on to minor niggles if the owner cannot justify spending his cash on something he can live with. I could have lived with the little knock in my steering and it made no difference to the drive. But, when the warranty will cover this without question why should i not have it done? Nearly £3k for a new steering rack and tighten up at dealer costings for a simple knock/clunk is a large figure to stomach and sure it would have been done for less at an indy. But, at an indy i'd have paid. Without the warranty i probably wouldnt have had it done. People screaming that their car doesnt need to go to the garage and they dont need a warranty may be telling the honest truth, but i bet theres little things about thier cars that theyd have fixed if it wasnt them paying.
Eddie
n1ikosgi said:
Hi all.
A small preamble first: I have decided to change my car for something slightly more practical for city use but still thrilling to drive. The mix of driving I do is a lot of London weekend driving and some nice longer short-break or Europe-bound trips. Oh, and I need 5 seats and something that would not intimidate the uninitiated driver (my wife). In fact daily drive-ability (not just GT) is quite important for me. Starts sounding utopic..
Anyway, I always had huge respect for the M cars, and I was so impressed with the E60 M5 when it first came out, that this is in the (very) short list. However, I am a bit concerned by the gearbox and clutch issues I have read so much about, that if were to leave emotions aside, it means that this is probably not the (more) practical car I am looking for.
I would be looking at a 57-08 car, aiming for 25-30k miles with full BMWSH, looking for clutch replacement history, paying for the full diagnostics before committing to it. I have read many owners stating that having the extended warranty is a must have. My (long-winded) question is, given the annual cost of this warranty and the fact that the most likely failure would probably come from smth not covered (clutch), why is this such a good deal?
many thanks
Yours Mrs might not get on with the SMG - My better half hates it.A small preamble first: I have decided to change my car for something slightly more practical for city use but still thrilling to drive. The mix of driving I do is a lot of London weekend driving and some nice longer short-break or Europe-bound trips. Oh, and I need 5 seats and something that would not intimidate the uninitiated driver (my wife). In fact daily drive-ability (not just GT) is quite important for me. Starts sounding utopic..
Anyway, I always had huge respect for the M cars, and I was so impressed with the E60 M5 when it first came out, that this is in the (very) short list. However, I am a bit concerned by the gearbox and clutch issues I have read so much about, that if were to leave emotions aside, it means that this is probably not the (more) practical car I am looking for.
I would be looking at a 57-08 car, aiming for 25-30k miles with full BMWSH, looking for clutch replacement history, paying for the full diagnostics before committing to it. I have read many owners stating that having the extended warranty is a must have. My (long-winded) question is, given the annual cost of this warranty and the fact that the most likely failure would probably come from smth not covered (clutch), why is this such a good deal?
many thanks
No offence Eddie! Believe me I have read tomes of topics, just got lazy I guess on that (or wanted to incite a convo on the pros and cons 
)
I am getting close to that (Masser) so I am getting more excited on what would replace it in the garage!
Stu, this is nagging me indeed. I keep telling myself that as long as there is no clutch, there is no reason for complaints..But maybe its my heart, not reason. I drove a C63 yesterday and it did feel a good all-rounder (albeit smaller as was expected). Easy to drive in city too..(dammit)
)I am getting close to that (Masser) so I am getting more excited on what would replace it in the garage!
Stu, this is nagging me indeed. I keep telling myself that as long as there is no clutch, there is no reason for complaints..But maybe its my heart, not reason. I drove a C63 yesterday and it did feel a good all-rounder (albeit smaller as was expected). Easy to drive in city too..(dammit)
n1ikosgi said:
No offence Eddie! Believe me I have read tomes of topics, just got lazy I guess on that (or wanted to incite a convo on the pros and cons )
I am getting close to that (Masser) so I am getting more excited on what would replace it in the garage!
Stu, this is nagging me indeed. I keep telling myself that as long as there is no clutch, there is no reason for complaints..But maybe its my heart, not reason. I drove a C63 yesterday and it did feel a good all-rounder (albeit smaller as was expected). Easy to drive in city too..(dammit)
It depends how much she needs to drive it I guess. My Mrs normally drives her auto Freelander. Sadly the auto mode on the SMG is pants. I don't use it myself but the Mrs does - despite my best efforts to sell her on the benefits of the flappy paddles )I am getting close to that (Masser) so I am getting more excited on what would replace it in the garage!
Stu, this is nagging me indeed. I keep telling myself that as long as there is no clutch, there is no reason for complaints..But maybe its my heart, not reason. I drove a C63 yesterday and it did feel a good all-rounder (albeit smaller as was expected). Easy to drive in city too..(dammit)
- I don't think it helps that when she passengers with me using flappy paddles this often involves S6 changes near the redline 
Not wanting to take this OT but if you are to use the car for a lot of city driving, I think the M5/M6 gearbox is not best suited.
I drive mine in S5 all the time (never ever D) and in stop/start traffic I feel that the SMG is not very well suited. I even get some clutch judder (yes, will need to be checked at some point as the car is under warranty) if the clutch get very warm, so an C63 may be better for city driving. I love the SMG at all other times!
I drive mine in S5 all the time (never ever D) and in stop/start traffic I feel that the SMG is not very well suited. I even get some clutch judder (yes, will need to be checked at some point as the car is under warranty) if the clutch get very warm, so an C63 may be better for city driving. I love the SMG at all other times!
Thanks all. My QP is heavy and cumbersome at traffic with the duo select (I believe this may be a good proxy after all for the SMG under traffic conditions). I would only drive w flaps and the mrs would just have to learn ( I had a nice bottle of Medoc over dinner! So life is rosier ). This is gonna be a close one, as I am pretty sure I know the sane answer, but I always wanted a V10 M5, and I think this is a future classic in the making.
Appreciate the suggestion, but I - bizarrely- also like the looks of the e60 from the e90 or the f10 for that matter.
Appreciate the suggestion, but I - bizarrely- also like the looks of the e60 from the e90 or the f10 for that matter.
Edited by n1ikosgi on Tuesday 13th November 08:49
I do the driving your going to do and with over 100k on the clock the car is still on its original clutch and still smooth... Only time it's not smooth is when I drive off forgetting to take it out of the default auto mode.
Mine has been totally reliable with only routine servicing etc being needed.
They are expensive to fix when they go wrong so if you are unfortunate enough to have issues then the warranty will quickly pay its way... But clutches can be replaced by indies for 1500 with original parts so it doesn't have to be a disaster if it goes,
Mine has been totally reliable with only routine servicing etc being needed.
They are expensive to fix when they go wrong so if you are unfortunate enough to have issues then the warranty will quickly pay its way... But clutches can be replaced by indies for 1500 with original parts so it doesn't have to be a disaster if it goes,
My version is 2005 and has no warranty on it at the moment,not sure on if I could get something put onto it??
One thing I would mention is that it is very thirtsy on fuel, if you do a muffler delete like I have then you'll love the noise and your MPG will go further down,currently getting just about 50 miles for £25 where as my usual DD will give me 180 miles for the same petrol
One thing I would mention is that it is very thirtsy on fuel, if you do a muffler delete like I have then you'll love the noise and your MPG will go further down,currently getting just about 50 miles for £25 where as my usual DD will give me 180 miles for the same petrol
re warranty - I read a lot now- and I would def get the pay-monthly (it's about 110 for an 07/57 car, if u start from scratch).
Fuel-wise, trust me, I am at peace with single digit mpgs by now. And given what I 'm looking at now (M5 or a 6.3 AMG monster) seems like my new car-buying criteria involve ultra-low mpg
. Thinking about it, its probably quite a good one.
Fuel-wise, trust me, I am at peace with single digit mpgs by now. And given what I 'm looking at now (M5 or a 6.3 AMG monster) seems like my new car-buying criteria involve ultra-low mpg
. Thinking about it, its probably quite a good one. so now that I have done some test driving, I honestly like the SMG. It's tight, responsive and pretty smooth (in S5). I was prepared for the worst. Plus my I have lived w the QP Duoselect for long enough now to be able to appreciate a good sequential.
The SMG was really really good. (auto was pants though, like a sweater 3 sizes too big)
And did I say how tight and ready to spring to action the car was! B hell..this is not going to be easy.
The SMG was really really good. (auto was pants though, like a sweater 3 sizes too big)
And did I say how tight and ready to spring to action the car was! B hell..this is not going to be easy.
Gassing Station | M Power | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff