going from a E36 m3 evo to a E39 m5. have i lost the pod
Discussion
Hi.
I don't think I have posted in the mpower section yet but I need so advice.
I am currently restoring a E36 M3 EVO convertible , I have spent a large fortune in trying to make it mint and handle/go as well as possible. So far I have spent enough to buy a very good E46 M3 and I haven't even finished the front yet!
These older bmws love rust and I went hunting for it and even really super clean rust free examples everyone raves about take about ,
10 seconds for me to upset the owners with rust in nasty areas.
Now after my waffle I have decided I'm not going to complete the m3 as I have my second child due to be born on Saturday and although it's only my play to I can't fit the kids in and also I have decided I want to see my family grow up and not laying under a car.
So I need a good handling rwd car with plenty of power that's exciting and can fit the family in if I want to take the car to the coast.
I have about 11k and thought a super clean E39 M5 would fit the bill perfectly and I have about 4k a year to run the car and I do about 4000 miles a year.
Will I end up with a rotten expense version of my E36 or will I actually find a good one abd keep it good? Will it be exciting like the m3?
Thanks for reading
I don't think I have posted in the mpower section yet but I need so advice.
I am currently restoring a E36 M3 EVO convertible , I have spent a large fortune in trying to make it mint and handle/go as well as possible. So far I have spent enough to buy a very good E46 M3 and I haven't even finished the front yet!
These older bmws love rust and I went hunting for it and even really super clean rust free examples everyone raves about take about ,
10 seconds for me to upset the owners with rust in nasty areas.
Now after my waffle I have decided I'm not going to complete the m3 as I have my second child due to be born on Saturday and although it's only my play to I can't fit the kids in and also I have decided I want to see my family grow up and not laying under a car.
So I need a good handling rwd car with plenty of power that's exciting and can fit the family in if I want to take the car to the coast.
I have about 11k and thought a super clean E39 M5 would fit the bill perfectly and I have about 4k a year to run the car and I do about 4000 miles a year.
Will I end up with a rotten expense version of my E36 or will I actually find a good one abd keep it good? Will it be exciting like the m3?
Thanks for reading
I had a S reg 1998 M3 Evo coupe for 3 yrs which i renewed the shocks & springs with oem & fitted Eibach antiroll bars. Ran it on R888's and used it for trackdays & took it to the Ring. It was a very very good example with no rust anywhere & perfect vanos. Also in Estoril blue. Sold it & bought a E39 M5, again i bought a very very good example & kept this for 4 yrs. I much preferred the M5, it felt more modern, it was quicker in a straight line (handling not as good but still very good) felt better quality inside, more room, 4 doors, V8 sound (Eisenmann exh). Just a better car all round for me, as much as i loved the M3 Evo the M5 is in a different league. I have now sold the E39 M5 after over 4 great years with it & onto the E60 M5.
Buy an E39 M5 they are superb value, just make sure you buy a nice one with no rust, you need at least 8k upwards for a good one with under 120k miles.
Simon.
Buy an E39 M5 they are superb value, just make sure you buy a nice one with no rust, you need at least 8k upwards for a good one with under 120k miles.
Simon.
Not quite the same but 3 weeks ago I went from a e36 328 to an e39 m5. Although still on the honeymoon period I think I made the right choice. Maybe I was naive at first thinking I could get a cheap one, looked at a couple and they were dogs. Set my budget at 8k and I got a tidy 2001 silverstone blue with 86k with decent history for under my budget.
Do get an E39 M5. You won't regret it.
As others have said there are a lot of dogs out there so go and see a lot to get a feel for the market before you buy. Your budget will get you a really nice one & your annual £4k fund will mean you can keep it well fettled. I spent £5k fettling mine a month after purchase and it was in outstanding condition before the work was done ( I am pretty anal about things and probably did a lot of what might be very loosely called 'preventative maintenance')
I bought mine in August this year and the driving dynamics of the car made me gasp (in a very good way!). Above 4k revs the engine and the exhaust note really comes alive. The car seems to beg to be driven hard but it can also bimble along below 3k revs too. What I really like about it is it's subtlety when used every day: it doesn't 'show its hand' in the all too common 'look at me' way some performance cars do . Someone once said it was a 'Ferrari in a Savile Row suit'. I buy into that. Seriously thinking of de-badging mine too.
Don't know what your E36 variant was like but I'm pretty sure the E39 M5 will exceed expectations...just make sure you're fussy and buy well.
As others have said there are a lot of dogs out there so go and see a lot to get a feel for the market before you buy. Your budget will get you a really nice one & your annual £4k fund will mean you can keep it well fettled. I spent £5k fettling mine a month after purchase and it was in outstanding condition before the work was done ( I am pretty anal about things and probably did a lot of what might be very loosely called 'preventative maintenance')
I bought mine in August this year and the driving dynamics of the car made me gasp (in a very good way!). Above 4k revs the engine and the exhaust note really comes alive. The car seems to beg to be driven hard but it can also bimble along below 3k revs too. What I really like about it is it's subtlety when used every day: it doesn't 'show its hand' in the all too common 'look at me' way some performance cars do . Someone once said it was a 'Ferrari in a Savile Row suit'. I buy into that. Seriously thinking of de-badging mine too.
Don't know what your E36 variant was like but I'm pretty sure the E39 M5 will exceed expectations...just make sure you're fussy and buy well.
Edited by Depthhoar on Friday 10th January 12:53
I've had two E36 M3 Evos and now an E39 M5.
I was building my first E36 M3 Evo coupe as a track car and as such it was on HSD coilovers, Rogue Engineering rear top mounts, Whiteline ARBs and had just had a full suspension refresh. I only sold this car as we had just bought a house, had our first child and the ancient single pipe backboiler system packed up. I'd budgeted to replace this, but not until the following winter, so the M3 went.
I later bought a standard E36 M3 Evo coupe with very good mechanicals, including new brake friction materials (Performance Friction pads with OEM discs on all four corners) and a complete OEM suspension refresh with Rogue Engineering rear top mounts.
My E39 M5 is one at the cheaper end of the market, of which one hears so many horror stories. It has been purchased as a stop-gap car intended for a bit of fun and no depreciation until the summer, when I intend to get something much more modern (E90 M3 or C63 AMG). The car is a 1999, so pre-facelift, and fairly standard with the only modifications being rear wheels so as to run 265s on the front and deletion of the rear back-boxes.
The M3 I was building as a track car handled far better than the M5 does, but that's to be expected, so a comparison there probably isn't particularly worthwhile. However, I think the M5 compares reasonably well in the handling department to the relatively standard M3 I owned. The M5 doesn't handle as well as the M3, but it certainly doesn't feel as heavy a car as it is and I don't think the difference in handling is vast, there's also far less body roll than I expected. The V8 is absolutely superb, pulling well from low revs and then becoming a bit of an animal above 4k. The M3's engine feels much more linear, though still pulls well enough at low revs and sounds pretty nice with the windows down. While I never felt the M3 required traction control, the M5 feels quite prepared to go sideways with application of the throttle in the first three gears, though that's possibly as a result of the Hankooks on the back I've yet to replace. If you're concerned about such things, the fuel economy on the M3 was far better, with low 30s possible. I found the brakes on the M3 better, but then ideally I should overhaul my M5s brakes before comparing. I guess one major point is that the M5 feels significantly faster, but then the M3 isn't exactly slow either. I suppose the engines just feel very different to one another and if you drove an E36 M3 Evo after an M5, you'd probably be disappointed in terms of acceleration, but that really is down to the different nature of the engines. In terms of comfort, the M5 is better, but my family never had any complaints when going in the M3 and it was actually one of the very few of my cars my wife has ever said she liked.
I've used both cars for the family and to be honest both do everything well. I think they are both excellent all-rounders, with the M5 being a bit more practical than sporty and the M3 a bit more sporty than practical. If I had one in the garage to go to the track in or blast around b-roads, it would be an E36 M3 Evo. As an overall car for doing everything, the M5 is definitely better.
I was building my first E36 M3 Evo coupe as a track car and as such it was on HSD coilovers, Rogue Engineering rear top mounts, Whiteline ARBs and had just had a full suspension refresh. I only sold this car as we had just bought a house, had our first child and the ancient single pipe backboiler system packed up. I'd budgeted to replace this, but not until the following winter, so the M3 went.
I later bought a standard E36 M3 Evo coupe with very good mechanicals, including new brake friction materials (Performance Friction pads with OEM discs on all four corners) and a complete OEM suspension refresh with Rogue Engineering rear top mounts.
My E39 M5 is one at the cheaper end of the market, of which one hears so many horror stories. It has been purchased as a stop-gap car intended for a bit of fun and no depreciation until the summer, when I intend to get something much more modern (E90 M3 or C63 AMG). The car is a 1999, so pre-facelift, and fairly standard with the only modifications being rear wheels so as to run 265s on the front and deletion of the rear back-boxes.
The M3 I was building as a track car handled far better than the M5 does, but that's to be expected, so a comparison there probably isn't particularly worthwhile. However, I think the M5 compares reasonably well in the handling department to the relatively standard M3 I owned. The M5 doesn't handle as well as the M3, but it certainly doesn't feel as heavy a car as it is and I don't think the difference in handling is vast, there's also far less body roll than I expected. The V8 is absolutely superb, pulling well from low revs and then becoming a bit of an animal above 4k. The M3's engine feels much more linear, though still pulls well enough at low revs and sounds pretty nice with the windows down. While I never felt the M3 required traction control, the M5 feels quite prepared to go sideways with application of the throttle in the first three gears, though that's possibly as a result of the Hankooks on the back I've yet to replace. If you're concerned about such things, the fuel economy on the M3 was far better, with low 30s possible. I found the brakes on the M3 better, but then ideally I should overhaul my M5s brakes before comparing. I guess one major point is that the M5 feels significantly faster, but then the M3 isn't exactly slow either. I suppose the engines just feel very different to one another and if you drove an E36 M3 Evo after an M5, you'd probably be disappointed in terms of acceleration, but that really is down to the different nature of the engines. In terms of comfort, the M5 is better, but my family never had any complaints when going in the M3 and it was actually one of the very few of my cars my wife has ever said she liked.
I've used both cars for the family and to be honest both do everything well. I think they are both excellent all-rounders, with the M5 being a bit more practical than sporty and the M3 a bit more sporty than practical. If I had one in the garage to go to the track in or blast around b-roads, it would be an E36 M3 Evo. As an overall car for doing everything, the M5 is definitely better.
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