Cat D £7,000 BMW M5 V10?
Discussion
How problematic is a 15 year old, 112,000 miles M5 likely to be? There's one for sale on a driveway near me and it has taken my fancy, but i've also heard that the gearbox is crap, the engines unreliable and so on. A car that was apparently £70,000 15 years ago for 7 grand sounds like the buy of the century to me. That sonorous V10 has to be one of the best sounding engines out there. Would you take the plunge at that money? 10 months' MOT, 90% service history, Cat D.
There's a very good thread on here to give you the idea of running costs - basically you'll be looking to do the bearings with someone like Mr Vanos
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
It may look like a bargain for £7K, but I'd want to have at least another £7K as a bork fund!
But they do sound fantastic - I once followed one a few miles out of my way just so I could listen to it! I would probably have followed it further, but it went into a filling station - which is probably something you'd be doing fairly often.
Although as I have no need of anything as big as a 5 Series I'd rather have the V10 in something a bit smaller!
If you have some time to spare here is a (long) thread about putting the V10 into a Z4 Roadster:- https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&...
But they do sound fantastic - I once followed one a few miles out of my way just so I could listen to it! I would probably have followed it further, but it went into a filling station - which is probably something you'd be doing fairly often.
Although as I have no need of anything as big as a 5 Series I'd rather have the V10 in something a bit smaller!
If you have some time to spare here is a (long) thread about putting the V10 into a Z4 Roadster:- https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&...
StephMurphy said:
How problematic is a 15 year old, 112,000 miles M5 likely to be? There's one for sale on a driveway near me and it has taken my fancy, but i've also heard that the gearbox is crap, the engines unreliable and so on. A car that was apparently £70,000 15 years ago for 7 grand sounds like the buy of the century to me. That sonorous V10 has to be one of the best sounding engines out there. Would you take the plunge at that money? 10 months' MOT, 90% service history, Cat D.
Why is it a Cat D; I'd want to know thatBut also, £7k? That for me rings alarm bells...
Lovely car, amazing sound (more so with an aftermarket exhaust); but they really, REALLY need to have been looked after very well and need to have the essential maintenance done to them like said above... Look at 'Angry Dogs' build and see what he's gone through
Personally I'd be walking away unless, again, as already mentioned, you've got another £7-£10k to use as a slush fund to fix things before they go...
StephMurphy said:
How problematic is a 15 year old, 112,000 miles M5 likely to be? There's one for sale on a driveway near me and it has taken my fancy, but i've also heard that the gearbox is crap, the engines unreliable and so on. A car that was apparently £70,000 15 years ago for 7 grand sounds like the buy of the century to me. That sonorous V10 has to be one of the best sounding engines out there. Would you take the plunge at that money? 10 months' MOT, 90% service history, Cat D.
Look, I bought an E60 550 last year.Now look at the car and can you afford to lose the money?
This is what I did, I bought a gas guzzler img unreliable car that I liked, I am perfectly prepared to loose the purchase price and throw it away. That’s the mindset for buying this, it’s a gamble.
Can you stomach loosing 7.5 k?
In reality you won’t ( you could break it ) but go in with that mindset.
This car will let you down and will break your heart, but when it’s right it’s a world beater.
StuntmanMike said:
Look, I bought an E60 550 last year.
Now look at the car and can you afford to lose the money?
This is what I did, I bought a gas guzzler img unreliable car that I liked, I am perfectly prepared to loose the purchase price and throw it away. That’s the mindset for buying this, it’s a gamble.
Can you stomach loosing 7.5 k?
In reality you won’t ( you could break it ) but go in with that mindset.
This car will let you down and will break your heart, but when it’s right it’s a world beater.
The above is spot on. It comes down to your individual financial position regarding 7K. Realistically the car will need new shells, possible accuators and gearbox looking at, unless there's proof these have been done. Also you need to try and understand the CAT D damage as regardless to possible engine issues is the car safe. Now look at the car and can you afford to lose the money?
This is what I did, I bought a gas guzzler img unreliable car that I liked, I am perfectly prepared to loose the purchase price and throw it away. That’s the mindset for buying this, it’s a gamble.
Can you stomach loosing 7.5 k?
In reality you won’t ( you could break it ) but go in with that mindset.
This car will let you down and will break your heart, but when it’s right it’s a world beater.
Ive been looking at M6 v10s, and M5 v10s. Have tempted to get one as a project / gamble. However Im going in eyes open and it will come down to what I buy it for considering the potential costs.
Any pics ?
As the above have already said, sounds good at 7k and even if it's a let down and worst case scenario you could easily scrap half of that back quickly on parts. However it could be fine and only cheap as cat d and you could have plenty fun miles in that gliorius v10 then sell it on at no loss.
Does it actually start and sound ok?
I imagine there is a reason its sat on a driveway but maybe im wrong.
For 7k if it runs ok id take a punt personally but then im handy at fixing things.
Put anothet way you could easily spend 12k and find it needs work doing so youre 5k up already.
The main thing that id be concerned at is the cat D status. So info needed there, but it could be something fairly benign.
I imagine there is a reason its sat on a driveway but maybe im wrong.
For 7k if it runs ok id take a punt personally but then im handy at fixing things.
Put anothet way you could easily spend 12k and find it needs work doing so youre 5k up already.
The main thing that id be concerned at is the cat D status. So info needed there, but it could be something fairly benign.
bmwmike said:
Does it actually start and sound ok?
I imagine there is a reason its sat on a driveway but maybe im wrong.
For 7k if it runs ok id take a punt personally but then im handy at fixing things.
Put anothet way you could easily spend 12k and find it needs work doing so youre 5k up already.
The main thing that id be concerned at is the cat D status. So info needed there, but it could be something fairly benign.
CAT D is the least of his worries....I imagine there is a reason its sat on a driveway but maybe im wrong.
For 7k if it runs ok id take a punt personally but then im handy at fixing things.
Put anothet way you could easily spend 12k and find it needs work doing so youre 5k up already.
The main thing that id be concerned at is the cat D status. So info needed there, but it could be something fairly benign.
Throttle actuators
Rod bearings
Clutch/Flywheel
Adaptive dampers
I-Drive
Brake Discs
If any of these need doing, then it may be better to buy a £10k non CAT-D car...
Had an E61 M5 for 2yrs and 20k so I know the car inside out...
Sorry for the late reply, i am not a forum regular, anyway basically it's for sale due to the owner retiring and buying a small 4x4 diesel. He doesn't want or need the running costs. I test drove it today, it shot up to 120 like a rocket (km/h officer) and sounds lovely. Cat D was where it got side-struck by a van and the BMW repair bill was over £8,000. It was mended by a friend of the owner quickly and easily and you can barely see the paint difference. The underneath all looks good, it was fully serviced 1800 miles ago and has new tyres. I'm having it, i see no reason not to at this price.
StephMurphy said:
Sorry for the late reply, i am not a forum regular, anyway basically it's for sale due to the owner retiring and buying a small 4x4 diesel. He doesn't want or need the running costs. I test drove it today, it shot up to 120 like a rocket (km/h officer) and sounds lovely. Cat D was where it got side-struck by a van and the BMW repair bill was over £8,000. It was mended by a friend of the owner quickly and easily and you can barely see the paint difference. The underneath all looks good, it was fully serviced 1800 miles ago and has new tyres. I'm having it, i see no reason not to at this price.
nice onehow did you find the gearbox? its really the only thing that puts me off buying one of these and ive never had a chance to drive one.
StephMurphy said:
Sorry for the late reply, i am not a forum regular, anyway basically it's for sale due to the owner retiring and buying a small 4x4 diesel. He doesn't want or need the running costs. I test drove it today, it shot up to 120 like a rocket (km/h officer) and sounds lovely. Cat D was where it got side-struck by a van and the BMW repair bill was over £8,000. It was mended by a friend of the owner quickly and easily and you can barely see the paint difference. The underneath all looks good, it was fully serviced 1800 miles ago and has new tyres. I'm having it, i see no reason not to at this price.
Glad to see you know the ins and outs of it... Get a project going in Readers Cars when you can
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