E39 M5

[Iamnotkloot]

So the Alfa V6 has gone and I'm now getting itchy feet for a replacement. I've got growing boys so it's got to be 4 drs and I've always admired the E34 M5. However, I'm not that brave.
So E39 sounds about right; happy to pay up to about £10k for a good one.
Lots of threads on here but can someone back up my assumptions below?

18-25 mpg average
tyres consumed rapidly
some oil use (usual BMW, my 330i's the same)
VANOS can be noisy but rarely actually fail
watch for rust on bootlid
new brakes/clutch would be good (again, usual stuff)

and here's the key bit:

£2000 a year to keep in good fettle? That is servicing/parts etc but not fuel/insurance - thats on top.

If this is wrong and it's more like £4k then it's a non-starter - what do people think? I only do about 5k miles a year and it would be garaged.

Cheers

Edited by Iamnotkloot on Friday 2nd August 14:35

[TrickyTrevM5]

I think this is pretty much spot on
Roll up the fund if you don't use it
The only thing is that you will only get 18-25mpg if you drive it like a parish priest
More like 13-20mpg
Bottom line - it's an awesome car - you won't regret it

[Quinten]

I start to sound like a broken record (remember vinyl? ) but have a look at my garage. Every penny spend on the car is listed, along with yearly summaries... Do it, you will not regret it.

[TheAngryDog]

TrickyTrevM5 said:

I think this is pretty much spot on
Roll up the fund if you don't use it
The only thing is that you will only get 18-25mpg if you drive it like a parish priest
More like 13-20mpg
Bottom line - it's an awesome car - you won't regret it

^^^^ this.

In the 4 weeks I have had mine, I've spent around £600 in upgrades and maintenance. That does include £100 in oil and oil filter and £350 on rear tyres.

My vanos units are a bit noisy, but performance isn't affected so I am putting up with it for now. Next year ill get the anti rattle kits fitted. Could also be the st oil a previous owner seems to have in it, so 7.5 litres of Castrol Edge 10w60 is going in on Subday morning.

It's £60k car. Things go wrong. They're expensive. I'm averaging 17.3mpg on the computer. I reckon that's more like 15.

But, it's soooo worth it. It's all things to all men.

[TheAngryDog]

Quinten said:

I start to sound like a broken record (remember vinyl? ) but have a look at my garage. Every penny spend on the car is listed, along with yearly summaries... Do it, you will not regret it.

I've just looked in your garage. I used to have an Octavia vRS too. Natural progression? Lol

[Iamnotkloot]

Quinten said:

I start to sound like a broken record (remember vinyl? ) but have a look at my garage. Every penny spend on the car is listed, along with yearly summaries... Do it, you will not regret it.

Thanks Quinten - just checked out those costs and, yep, they tie in with what I was thinking.

Thanks again.

[Hedgetrimmer]

I would expect slightly lower fuel economy but tyre usage is reasonable given the level of torque.

There are few other points to look out for:
Some cars are now starting to blister around the arches. Most will have be repaired inside the fuel flap.
The steering oil pipes will be porous now so check steering fluid levels.
My rear main seal leaked but it wasn’t bad enough to change.
Diff seals may be leaking but not too expensive to resolve

I absolutely loved mine and will at some stage in the near future buy another. Happy looking.

[rm163603]

You are about right there.

2k is realistic and allows for semi major borkage on an annual basis.

I'd pay close attention to rust though. The bootlid is the least of your worries as it unbolts.

There is plenty of pics showing what to look for around including on the smoker m5 thread....

[161BMW]

£2k per year for servicing ? Maybe if you got a neglected one ?

[tjlazer]

Quinten said:

I start to sound like a broken record (remember vinyl? ) but have a look at my garage. Every penny spend on the car is listed, along with yearly summaries... Do it, you will not regret it.

That's a cracking blog. I couldn't bear to track spend like that but I admire the dedication

[Quinten]

Have to admit that every year when I do a summary it makes the eyes water slightly, but the permanent smile on my face makes up for all of it

[Patrick Bateman]

Check for rust everywhere- jacking points, sills, doors (undersides/edges especially, arches), fuel filler.

You're looking to see a fairly substantial history, at least showing that it's had things sorted- thermostat, diff seals, ideally clutch and flywheel, other bits and pieces.

If I was paying as much as £10k it'd have to be immaculate and have had lots of preventative maintenance. From what I've read, a low miler (say, 80k miles for one of these) may well need a fair whack spent on it soon if it hasn't had some of the typical issues sorted so you might have better luck with ones around 100k that have already had things like the clutch done.

[Cemesis]

Patrick Bateman said:

Check for rust everywhere- jacking points, sills, doors (undersides/edges especially, arches), fuel filler.

I echo this. Check everywhere, then check again. The jacking points are the real killer as repairing them would be very expensive. Almost all now will have rust in places which can (and should) be addressed for not that much money but you must keep on top of it.

I would try and get as many options as you can too, with Nav and Phone being 'must have's for me. The phone, even if its old, can be replaced with a bluetooth unit (its best to have DSP as it helps).

Other interesting options were double glazing, rear blinds, split fold seats and the very rare 'M-audio' which consisted of two large subs in the parcel shelf.

[EddieFelson]

£2000 a year is way over the top unless you're buying a heap.

[tjlazer]

Not really a lot of expensive maintenance can go wrong and I don't think it's that difficult to hit 2k. I'm very nearly there this year thanks to some suspension parts, rust treatment, fsu and front discs/pads. I could spend more but I've called time for a bit whilst I recover from a house move. It runs fine but I want more, i want tight and lusty

[TheAngryDog]

re fuel economy. Im averaging about 15mpg real world.

[nonuts]

My profile also includes pretty much every penny I've spent so far on my car and the 16.8mpg is the longest term average figure I've seen on mine.