Where are all the decent E39 M5’s?
Discussion
So I’ve been quietly looking for one of these for a number of months and have struggled to find one that I’d actually want to own! Of course they’re of some age and seem to be particularly susceptible to rust in certain places. A shame that some of the cars out there haven’t had the attention needed.. I guess I can see why as at one point they were worth very little.
I’m not worried by mileage, just like to buy something that has a full history and loving owners! Would love to find a late Individual car.
The cars I’ve seen recently have almost put me off the idea! But then I remember back to when I was about 19 and my friends father let me drive his.. what a special car! That was indeed an individual in a lagoon colour, possibly Aegean blue? With Champagne interior.. super cool!
I’m not worried by mileage, just like to buy something that has a full history and loving owners! Would love to find a late Individual car.
The cars I’ve seen recently have almost put me off the idea! But then I remember back to when I was about 19 and my friends father let me drive his.. what a special car! That was indeed an individual in a lagoon colour, possibly Aegean blue? With Champagne interior.. super cool!
All hidden away over the winter probably, cant see any nice low milers under £20K!
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183146906072
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183146906072
they do come up, but you are likely to find them hard to locate through PH or Autocar adverts. Lots of the nice ones are now in collections / being held in garages and driven very few miles / sold to friends etc. There are sometimes a few through some of the dealers who sell low mileage cars (at high prices), but generally you will find them through a club / forum / etc.
as an example, I bought mine a year ago, it is in very good condition and has only needed tyres and rear brake pads since purchase... it goes in for its MOT tomorrow which I expect it to sail through as my mechanic fully inspected it when servicing it a month or so ago -no rust anywhere, and came with a full detailers report on how the car had been protected right down to the brake calipers... the car was bought off market from someone I knew who is fabulous in how his cars are looked after, I didn't even bother with any inspection, I knew it would be good and it has been superb...
you don't say your budget, but these are definitely cars where paying more is often cheaper in the long run, but the good ones are going up in value, there are a lot of bad ones out there...
eta - MOT - no issues / advisories / etc.
Edited by akirk on Tuesday 10th April 15:09
Sadly the rising prices for good cars drags up the prices of sheds too.
I’d be buying a cheap one and getting it right by spending on it, than trying to find a good one that’ll deteriorate soon enough any way.
As much as a low mile garaged car might be apparently ok, there are still many elements of a car that deteriorate or fail, perhaps prematurely, so all that glitters isn’t gold.
I have an AT search for certain engine sizes, 0-60 time, etc, and it’s quite full of E39 M5 right now... and LWB Bangle 7s haha!
The E39 do pique my curiosity.
I’d be buying a cheap one and getting it right by spending on it, than trying to find a good one that’ll deteriorate soon enough any way.
As much as a low mile garaged car might be apparently ok, there are still many elements of a car that deteriorate or fail, perhaps prematurely, so all that glitters isn’t gold.
I have an AT search for certain engine sizes, 0-60 time, etc, and it’s quite full of E39 M5 right now... and LWB Bangle 7s haha!
The E39 do pique my curiosity.
Mr Whippy said:
Sadly the rising prices for good cars drags up the prices of sheds too.
I’d be buying a cheap one and getting it right by spending on it, than trying to find a good one that’ll deteriorate soon enough any way.
As much as a low mile garaged car might be apparently ok, there are still many elements of a car that deteriorate or fail, perhaps prematurely, so all that glitters isn’t gold.
I have an AT search for certain engine sizes, 0-60 time, etc, and it’s quite full of E39 M5 right now... and LWB Bangle 7s haha!
The E39 do pique my curiosity.
I would agree to a certain extent - certainly I would be looking more for condition than just low mileage - but when I was looking, the same opinion came back from a number of places - this is a car which it is cheaper to buy well, then to buy cheaply and spend on it - so a £10k car with another £10k spent on it is not likely to be as good as a £20k car... etc. I think that this is probably because when things go wrong they are £60k - £90k new car costs to fix - but don't add the same in value to the car...I’d be buying a cheap one and getting it right by spending on it, than trying to find a good one that’ll deteriorate soon enough any way.
As much as a low mile garaged car might be apparently ok, there are still many elements of a car that deteriorate or fail, perhaps prematurely, so all that glitters isn’t gold.
I have an AT search for certain engine sizes, 0-60 time, etc, and it’s quite full of E39 M5 right now... and LWB Bangle 7s haha!
The E39 do pique my curiosity.
I’d be surprised if any E38 M5s are that good any more though.
Ie, I’d expect any example to have started rusting it’s arches a bit by now and need some work in any event.
I suppose it depends how handy you are too.
If you can and want to tinker with a project and being a car up to scratch it’s cheaper than buying one with most stuff done and enjoying it purely as a car to drive.
I think I’d buy one as a project and strip it right back and then rebuild.
No matter how well they’ve been cared for the bodywork will go... and I bet you’d pay a fortune for the few that haven’t (but might have nasties lurking deep in the monocoque)
Ie, I’d expect any example to have started rusting it’s arches a bit by now and need some work in any event.
I suppose it depends how handy you are too.
If you can and want to tinker with a project and being a car up to scratch it’s cheaper than buying one with most stuff done and enjoying it purely as a car to drive.
I think I’d buy one as a project and strip it right back and then rebuild.
No matter how well they’ve been cared for the bodywork will go... and I bet you’d pay a fortune for the few that haven’t (but might have nasties lurking deep in the monocoque)
e38 7 series or e39 M5?
I only know a few e39 M5s and feel I am probably lucky with mine - no rust anywhere - had my mechanic go through it with a fine tooth-comb a month or so ago. From my limited knowledge, it is not the only one in that condition - but you are right, it is probably rare...
I only know a few e39 M5s and feel I am probably lucky with mine - no rust anywhere - had my mechanic go through it with a fine tooth-comb a month or so ago. From my limited knowledge, it is not the only one in that condition - but you are right, it is probably rare...
My 2p is that the good ones re being held onto or offered at high prices. Every so often one will come along with an "interesting" spec but usually at high mileage and a flaw such as exterior colour or wood trim.
That one with the imola interior is quite tidy with a good engine - I've driven it.
That one with the imola interior is quite tidy with a good engine - I've driven it.
I took a bit of a risk and bought an E39 (2000) for 8k from a chap on here showing ~110k miles about 5 months ago.
The car was quite sad in terms of body work and interior and there were whines coming from the drive train. This concealed a variety of rattles and squeaks from inside the cabin. However, I felt the suspension and motor were in good health worst case you can part the car out or SORN it I figured.
I have broken down a few things below that might help you with your decision making. I couldn't afford a sorted one, so went cheaper. I have gone for as close to OEM restoration as reasonably and economically possible.
- Colour correction across all panels 2.5k (with corrosion repair) local chap
- Steering wheel re-trim £125 (A steering wheel retrimmer in Buckinghamshire)
- New handbrake and shifter gaiters - £200 (OEM)
- Wheel refurb (£350) S&P kent
- Face lift headlights/fog lights, bulbs, interior/exterior trim parts (£200 - breakers) lots of elbow grease and polish!
- Diff oil and prop donut (£250) OEM
- New brake pads (£60) OEM
- Leaky PAS (£40) expansion bottle and clips
- Lots of small jobs on pipes, clips, connectors, wiring, interior fittings and upholstery. (<£100)
- Leather recolonization (£30) + elbow grease
- New mats (£30) don't make these anymore so had to go to a well know local automotive retailer
- Wipers (£30)
- New key (cloned) £50
The good thing is there are loads of really useful materials on youtube. and E39 Source particularly around retrofit facelift.
As mentioned the big challenge is now the rattles inside. You fix one and then another comes along. I found a good guide on bimmerforums and working through them all now. I do feel its a car that you can have a go with, lots of cheap tools on amazon for those awkward screws and trims. I am leaving the archaic sat nav and head unit alone, though I found a good guy in Enfield who can reinstate.
She drinks about 1ltre of 10-60w every 800-1000 miles and returns about 17-19mpg. I guess there is always the risk of a massive bill round the corner, but the car wont depreciate much further (hopefully).
Hope that's some food for thought if you cant find a decent one.
RichE60/39
The car was quite sad in terms of body work and interior and there were whines coming from the drive train. This concealed a variety of rattles and squeaks from inside the cabin. However, I felt the suspension and motor were in good health worst case you can part the car out or SORN it I figured.
I have broken down a few things below that might help you with your decision making. I couldn't afford a sorted one, so went cheaper. I have gone for as close to OEM restoration as reasonably and economically possible.
- Colour correction across all panels 2.5k (with corrosion repair) local chap
- Steering wheel re-trim £125 (A steering wheel retrimmer in Buckinghamshire)
- New handbrake and shifter gaiters - £200 (OEM)
- Wheel refurb (£350) S&P kent
- Face lift headlights/fog lights, bulbs, interior/exterior trim parts (£200 - breakers) lots of elbow grease and polish!
- Diff oil and prop donut (£250) OEM
- New brake pads (£60) OEM
- Leaky PAS (£40) expansion bottle and clips
- Lots of small jobs on pipes, clips, connectors, wiring, interior fittings and upholstery. (<£100)
- Leather recolonization (£30) + elbow grease
- New mats (£30) don't make these anymore so had to go to a well know local automotive retailer
- Wipers (£30)
- New key (cloned) £50
The good thing is there are loads of really useful materials on youtube. and E39 Source particularly around retrofit facelift.
As mentioned the big challenge is now the rattles inside. You fix one and then another comes along. I found a good guide on bimmerforums and working through them all now. I do feel its a car that you can have a go with, lots of cheap tools on amazon for those awkward screws and trims. I am leaving the archaic sat nav and head unit alone, though I found a good guy in Enfield who can reinstate.
She drinks about 1ltre of 10-60w every 800-1000 miles and returns about 17-19mpg. I guess there is always the risk of a massive bill round the corner, but the car wont depreciate much further (hopefully).
Hope that's some food for thought if you cant find a decent one.
RichE60/39
RichE60 said:
I took a bit of a risk and bought an E39 (2000) for 8k from a chap on here showing ~110k miles about 5 months ago.
The car was quite sad in terms of body work and interior and there were whines coming from the drive train. This concealed a variety of rattles and squeaks from inside the cabin. However, I felt the suspension and motor were in good health worst case you can part the car out or SORN it I figured.
I have broken down a few things below that might help you with your decision making. I couldn't afford a sorted one, so went cheaper. I have gone for as close to OEM restoration as reasonably and economically possible.
- Colour correction across all panels 2.5k (with corrosion repair) local chap
- Steering wheel re-trim £125 (A steering wheel retrimmer in Buckinghamshire)
- New handbrake and shifter gaiters - £200 (OEM)
- Wheel refurb (£350) S&P kent
- Face lift headlights/fog lights, bulbs, interior/exterior trim parts (£200 - breakers) lots of elbow grease and polish!
- Diff oil and prop donut (£250) OEM
- New brake pads (£60) OEM
- Leaky PAS (£40) expansion bottle and clips
- Lots of small jobs on pipes, clips, connectors, wiring, interior fittings and upholstery. (<£100)
- Leather recolonization (£30) + elbow grease
- New mats (£30) don't make these anymore so had to go to a well know local automotive retailer
- Wipers (£30)
- New key (cloned) £50
The good thing is there are loads of really useful materials on youtube. and E39 Source particularly around retrofit facelift.
As mentioned the big challenge is now the rattles inside. You fix one and then another comes along. I found a good guide on bimmerforums and working through them all now. I do feel its a car that you can have a go with, lots of cheap tools on amazon for those awkward screws and trims. I am leaving the archaic sat nav and head unit alone, though I found a good guy in Enfield who can reinstate.
She drinks about 1ltre of 10-60w every 800-1000 miles and returns about 17-19mpg. I guess there is always the risk of a massive bill round the corner, but the car wont depreciate much further (hopefully).
Hope that's some food for thought if you cant find a decent one.
RichE60/39
Rich, daft question perhaps, but is yours fitted with the folding rear seats? Those can make one hell of a racket, mine hasn't and it's very free of rattles ("only" 84000 miles tho) My previous 530 had the folding rears and there was a squeak and rattle concert going on every time. The car was quite sad in terms of body work and interior and there were whines coming from the drive train. This concealed a variety of rattles and squeaks from inside the cabin. However, I felt the suspension and motor were in good health worst case you can part the car out or SORN it I figured.
I have broken down a few things below that might help you with your decision making. I couldn't afford a sorted one, so went cheaper. I have gone for as close to OEM restoration as reasonably and economically possible.
- Colour correction across all panels 2.5k (with corrosion repair) local chap
- Steering wheel re-trim £125 (A steering wheel retrimmer in Buckinghamshire)
- New handbrake and shifter gaiters - £200 (OEM)
- Wheel refurb (£350) S&P kent
- Face lift headlights/fog lights, bulbs, interior/exterior trim parts (£200 - breakers) lots of elbow grease and polish!
- Diff oil and prop donut (£250) OEM
- New brake pads (£60) OEM
- Leaky PAS (£40) expansion bottle and clips
- Lots of small jobs on pipes, clips, connectors, wiring, interior fittings and upholstery. (<£100)
- Leather recolonization (£30) + elbow grease
- New mats (£30) don't make these anymore so had to go to a well know local automotive retailer
- Wipers (£30)
- New key (cloned) £50
The good thing is there are loads of really useful materials on youtube. and E39 Source particularly around retrofit facelift.
As mentioned the big challenge is now the rattles inside. You fix one and then another comes along. I found a good guide on bimmerforums and working through them all now. I do feel its a car that you can have a go with, lots of cheap tools on amazon for those awkward screws and trims. I am leaving the archaic sat nav and head unit alone, though I found a good guy in Enfield who can reinstate.
She drinks about 1ltre of 10-60w every 800-1000 miles and returns about 17-19mpg. I guess there is always the risk of a massive bill round the corner, but the car wont depreciate much further (hopefully).
Hope that's some food for thought if you cant find a decent one.
RichE60/39
bullrunner said:
Contact Rob Milner @ Redline Specialist Cars.... he has a 2001 Individual M5 that is available for sale...Car has had full windows out respray and body is superb, Interior Refurb like new, mechanical overhaul new discs etc, nice immaculate car.......
I can also vouch for this vehicle having seen it in person - superb overhaul undertaken on this car. From what I could gather this is a personal vehicle of the director @ Redline who is reducing his personal collection , so is not actually advertised on their website.PowerslideSWE said:
Rich, daft question perhaps, but is yours fitted with the folding rear seats? Those can make one hell of a racket, mine hasn't and it's very free of rattles ("only" 84000 miles tho) My previous 530 had the folding rears and there was a squeak and rattle concert going on every time.
Haha, it does distract from the drive. I haven't checked....thanks! I think the doors might have sagged over time too....So do they suffer from rusty ingress underneath?
Ie, sub-frames, sills, all that stuff.
I know any car can be made to look nice up top, but it’s the underneath that I worry about on ~ 20yr old cars these days.
Everyone spends £££ on washing, detailing, polishing, resprays etc, but hardly anyone deep cleans and protects their underneaths.
Ie, sub-frames, sills, all that stuff.
I know any car can be made to look nice up top, but it’s the underneath that I worry about on ~ 20yr old cars these days.
Everyone spends £££ on washing, detailing, polishing, resprays etc, but hardly anyone deep cleans and protects their underneaths.
Mr Whippy said:
So do they suffer from rusty ingress underneath?
Ie, sub-frames, sills, all that stuff.
I know any car can be made to look nice up top, but it’s the underneath that I worry about on ~ 20yr old cars these days.
Everyone spends £££ on washing, detailing, polishing, resprays etc, but hardly anyone deep cleans and protects their underneaths.
totally varies - there are some out there which are rust buckets...Ie, sub-frames, sills, all that stuff.
I know any car can be made to look nice up top, but it’s the underneath that I worry about on ~ 20yr old cars these days.
Everyone spends £££ on washing, detailing, polishing, resprays etc, but hardly anyone deep cleans and protects their underneaths.
and others which are immaculate...
I have had mine inspected three times in the year I have owned it (my mechanic stores some of my cars and keeps a regular eye on them) - no rust at all...
depends on how they have been looked after (and mine is only 15 years old - one of the newer ones)
Definitely buy on condition, I'd suspect quite a bit of lower mileage cars have had a trim (not all but sadly a few).
My car was in very good condition yet is currently undergoing a full restoration to resolve all rust issues. I just did an. MOT check and its really interesting to see past failures, I've owned it since 2012.
Unfortunately mine is a keeper but to anyone looking, ignore the 100k myth. Yes things will have worn but sitting still causes seizures and crap to build up in places you don't want etc.
My car was in very good condition yet is currently undergoing a full restoration to resolve all rust issues. I just did an. MOT check and its really interesting to see past failures, I've owned it since 2012.
Unfortunately mine is a keeper but to anyone looking, ignore the 100k myth. Yes things will have worn but sitting still causes seizures and crap to build up in places you don't want etc.
I was watching a YouTube video about an M5 the other day it looked nice standard all bar “straight pipes” which I guess is no mufflers? Anyway it had done over 400,00 Miles
Only a could of things needed doing to it
1. Front alloy wheel was delaminating the other 3 had been done previously
2. The radio antenna wasn’t working so no radio but the owner didn’t mind as he could enjoy the engine sound instead.
3. Rear number plate light one had been changed but there was a fault in the wiring which he suspected was the wiring loom which flexed every time the boot opens and closes.
That was it.
Personally I much prefer the E39 to the E60 M5 but I do like he F10 M5 a lot.
Only a could of things needed doing to it
1. Front alloy wheel was delaminating the other 3 had been done previously
2. The radio antenna wasn’t working so no radio but the owner didn’t mind as he could enjoy the engine sound instead.
3. Rear number plate light one had been changed but there was a fault in the wiring which he suspected was the wiring loom which flexed every time the boot opens and closes.
That was it.
Personally I much prefer the E39 to the E60 M5 but I do like he F10 M5 a lot.
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