Leaving the fold...
Discussion
In about a week, I'll be part-exing my M5 in for a Mini Cooper S convertible.
Bit of a step down, for sure, and I can't really fault the car other than it ended up costing me a fortune to run - even with the AUC warranty. I expected high running costs, but having to fork out £2.5K to replace the clutch and flywheel after only four months of ownership (not covered under warranty) did sour my experience somewhat.
Lots more has gone wrong since, which fortunately has all been covered under warranty so far, but Mondial quoted £3K a year to continue the warranty after it runs out, so I'm getting rid now, for something that doesn't get 11mpg (with my usage pattern) and doesn't drink a litre of 10W60 every 1,000 miles.
S'been a fantastic 6 months with the car though, and I'm sure I'll rejoin the M-fold at some point. The dealer selling the MCS had a near-mint E36 M3 for sale, but the interior was a bit shoddy so I passed on it. Kinda regretting it now, it had a full service history and a ridiculously fastidious previous owner who saved every bit of paperwork (including SORN notices!)
Bit of a step down, for sure, and I can't really fault the car other than it ended up costing me a fortune to run - even with the AUC warranty. I expected high running costs, but having to fork out £2.5K to replace the clutch and flywheel after only four months of ownership (not covered under warranty) did sour my experience somewhat.
Lots more has gone wrong since, which fortunately has all been covered under warranty so far, but Mondial quoted £3K a year to continue the warranty after it runs out, so I'm getting rid now, for something that doesn't get 11mpg (with my usage pattern) and doesn't drink a litre of 10W60 every 1,000 miles.
S'been a fantastic 6 months with the car though, and I'm sure I'll rejoin the M-fold at some point. The dealer selling the MCS had a near-mint E36 M3 for sale, but the interior was a bit shoddy so I passed on it. Kinda regretting it now, it had a full service history and a ridiculously fastidious previous owner who saved every bit of paperwork (including SORN notices!)
Sorry to hear that mate but it really is the luck of the draw. I had a better experience and had a new box out of my warranty and at the same time I paid for the clutch to be replaced and it's never driven better.
For me I'd rather keep the car if it's had the most expensive wear and tear item replaced but I understand how it can knock your confidence.
Good luck and Happy Motoring!
For me I'd rather keep the car if it's had the most expensive wear and tear item replaced but I understand how it can knock your confidence.
Good luck and Happy Motoring!
Sorry to hear that. It's all bad news on here about the E60 M5!
Just to balance this out, I've had mine 6 months and it has had no faults at all! It's a one owner car previously owned by a mature gentlemen who hardly used the M button. I reckon a lot of them have been abused by previous owners hence the issues with clutches, etc.
True, fuel economy is an issue but I went in eyes open in that regard. And, yes, they do drink oil and sound like a diesel on idle... even when warmed up!
Enjoy the Mini... quite a change... but great car!
Just to balance this out, I've had mine 6 months and it has had no faults at all! It's a one owner car previously owned by a mature gentlemen who hardly used the M button. I reckon a lot of them have been abused by previous owners hence the issues with clutches, etc.
True, fuel economy is an issue but I went in eyes open in that regard. And, yes, they do drink oil and sound like a diesel on idle... even when warmed up!
Enjoy the Mini... quite a change... but great car!
And as if it's throwing up arms in protest, today my up-shift paddle has stopped working.
I'll be keeping my eye out for a decent E39 M5 or E46 M3, although one of the reasons for the change is parking at work is now at a premium (no marked out spaces, just a driveway that we have to park on) so a smaller car will be a boon - and I was surprised to find that the Mini is smaller than the previous shape Nissan Micra!
I'll be keeping my eye out for a decent E39 M5 or E46 M3, although one of the reasons for the change is parking at work is now at a premium (no marked out spaces, just a driveway that we have to park on) so a smaller car will be a boon - and I was surprised to find that the Mini is smaller than the previous shape Nissan Micra!
Mate, think about it carefully. I went from a db9 to a mini cooper s, for similar reasons. But I just couldn't get on with the mini. Moved it on a month later (at huge loss). Now in a E63 645, which is a good compromise for me...until times get better.
Going from a M5 to a mini is quite a step in terms of type of car. I'm not knocking the mini cooper S - great car and nothing beats it around corners. But if you are the type of person who was attracted to a M5, you might get itchy feet very quickly in a mini.
All IMHO, of course.
Going from a M5 to a mini is quite a step in terms of type of car. I'm not knocking the mini cooper S - great car and nothing beats it around corners. But if you are the type of person who was attracted to a M5, you might get itchy feet very quickly in a mini.
All IMHO, of course.
It does seem as if a number of the V10s are reaching the very expensive point in their lives. I had a fair number of BMWs from new including an E39 M5,645ci and E63 M6 most recently which I kept for 6 years from new.
It had a complete ECU meltdown under warranty which was a week long project to replace,ultimately successfully. However,I was not using the car enough and was getting worried about the red cog of death ,so exited BMW owneship after decades,migrating mainly to Porsche.
I will be interested to hear how you like the Cooper over the next while. I have driven them often so understand the difference.
Stii,when I hear the very distinctive sound of a V10 passing by I recall the brilliance of that engine and how astonishibgly fast that car was,the only one I ever managed 200mph in after it was delimited. Very glad I had the time with it.
It had a complete ECU meltdown under warranty which was a week long project to replace,ultimately successfully. However,I was not using the car enough and was getting worried about the red cog of death ,so exited BMW owneship after decades,migrating mainly to Porsche.
I will be interested to hear how you like the Cooper over the next while. I have driven them often so understand the difference.
Stii,when I hear the very distinctive sound of a V10 passing by I recall the brilliance of that engine and how astonishibgly fast that car was,the only one I ever managed 200mph in after it was delimited. Very glad I had the time with it.
Aye, but the astonishing speed is - if anything - just another reason to move it on. The more I think about it, the more I realise that in the M5 it's so accomplished that it's difficult to have fun at "normal" speeds, unless going sideways around roundabouts counts, but that just invites a DWDCA charge! 
At least in the Mini, I can hopefully have more fun at lower speeds.
Still, at least I've scratched that V10 itch. I figured I wouldn't keep the car for long, but just wanted the chance to say I'd owned an F1-inspired V10 and used it in anger Just gotta hope I don't suddenly get a V12 itch now
At least in the Mini, I can hopefully have more fun at lower speeds.
Still, at least I've scratched that V10 itch. I figured I wouldn't keep the car for long, but just wanted the chance to say I'd owned an F1-inspired V10 and used it in anger
Just gotta hope I don't suddenly get a V12 itch now simonpieman said:
Going from a M5 to a mini is quite a step in terms of type of car. I'm not knocking the mini cooper S - great car and nothing beats it around corners. But if you are the type of person who was attracted to a M5, you might get itchy feet very quickly in a mini.
I get itchy feet very quickly in most cars to be honest. I'm amazed I've kept my Celica for as long as I have (four years) because every other car I've had has come and gone within a matter of months.The dealer sold my M5 a couple of days ago, went far quicker than either of us expected.
I drove past it quite by chance earlier, being piloted by its new owner. Curiously enough, when I dropped the car off at the dealer to swap for the Cooper S, I felt no emotion towards the M5 at all - no regret, nothing. Yet when I drove past it earlier, I felt a little pang of jealousy and "what have I done?"
Something tells me I'll be back in an M before too long. Maybe not the V10, but who knows.
I drove past it quite by chance earlier, being piloted by its new owner. Curiously enough, when I dropped the car off at the dealer to swap for the Cooper S, I felt no emotion towards the M5 at all - no regret, nothing. Yet when I drove past it earlier, I felt a little pang of jealousy and "what have I done?"
Something tells me I'll be back in an M before too long. Maybe not the V10, but who knows.
I did something similar, but possibly even more of a step. Had the E60 M5 for 2 years, and loved it. But with the downturn it was becoming a pain to keep shelling out on fuel and tax. I already had a MCS for the station, but the wife needed a new daily. So she came down from the M5 to an X1 23d xDrive.
So that was a drop of; 6 cylinders, 3 litres of capacity, and 300hp (actually, slightly more than that as the M had been remapped). But, the wife gained AWD and my bills went dramatically down .. oh, and i don't have to suffer 12.2mnpg (my average of the 2 years). I miss the M, but don't regret the swap.
So that was a drop of; 6 cylinders, 3 litres of capacity, and 300hp (actually, slightly more than that as the M had been remapped). But, the wife gained AWD and my bills went dramatically down .. oh, and i don't have to suffer 12.2mnpg (my average of the 2 years). I miss the M, but don't regret the swap.
gazchap said:
And as if it's throwing up arms in protest, today my up-shift paddle has stopped working.
I'll be keeping my eye out for a decent E39 M5 or E46 M3, although one of the reasons for the change is parking at work is now at a premium (no marked out spaces, just a driveway that we have to park on) so a smaller car will be a boon - and I was surprised to find that the Mini is smaller than the previous shape Nissan Micra!
I run a Mini Cooper S as a daily and an E46 M3 for fun. Thoroughly recommended I'll be keeping my eye out for a decent E39 M5 or E46 M3, although one of the reasons for the change is parking at work is now at a premium (no marked out spaces, just a driveway that we have to park on) so a smaller car will be a boon - and I was surprised to find that the Mini is smaller than the previous shape Nissan Micra!
This is my dilemma. Thinking of moving mine on in a year. It will be on about 36k miles then. I know I would miss it though and that worries me. Can't afford to shell out on a similar car at the moment, have to spend too much on the house and I couldn't justify it.
Really is a dilemma, I think I would get depressed if I didn't have a car of this ilk.
Really is a dilemma, I think I would get depressed if I didn't have a car of this ilk.
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