E39 M5 Buyers guide?
Discussion
Hi Chaps,
Sold my 944T last week so on the lookout for a new car now, going to have a look at a couple of M5's on monday so any tips or pointers would be great!
I'm a total BMW noob so need a full explaination of servicing ect. any good guides on the net available?
Looking to spend 10K on the car.
Cheers,
Rick.
Sold my 944T last week so on the lookout for a new car now, going to have a look at a couple of M5's on monday so any tips or pointers would be great!
I'm a total BMW noob so need a full explaination of servicing ect. any good guides on the net available?
Looking to spend 10K on the car.
Cheers,
Rick.
This is from M5 board
[b]Buy the E39 M5 and join an exclusive club where there were about 2,500 RHD made compared to around 10,000 of the E36 m3.
I had a couple of E36 M3's, a saloon and a coupe, both evo models with the revised (more feedback) steering and of course that extra grunt. Looking and comparing the BHP per ton the E36 shows 215 against the E39 M5's 236 so not a lot in it in the performance stakes. I had an early evo coupe with the aluminium doors and taking the weighbridge weight of 1400kg this equated to 229bhp/ton so for me there is little difference in performance between the m3 and m5.
Of course there is the little matter of over a hundred lb/ft of torque difference between them and although the M5 is heavier it will help when in the higher gears at lower revs.
For me the E36 was a cracking car, very fast and very economical, i would say i get about 10 mpg less in the five compared to the three and if i had to go back to it i would. For your money the E36 is a performance bargain, yes its looking a little dated and yes there are a few with baseball caps that drive them but it takes some beating.
For me the E39 M5 is a similar car, the looks are understated, the performance similar but you do get the difference between the 3 and the five series which is better trim and more gadgets to play with.
The servicing costs will be similar in fact the E36 will be dearer on inspections (due to the valve clearence adjustment needed) but given what your main dealer actually does over and above the oil change you are really better off doing work yourself or using a decent garage.
As for things to look for to avoid a nightmare or at least chip away at someones asking price:
1) Corrosion - lower edge of boot, fuel filler bowl , shadow line trim (around windows) and roof rail inserts. Note the last two are not covered by the six year anti corrosion warranty.
2) Dead pixels on the instrument binnacle readout, an expensive fix but not essential to prevent driving.
3) Door rubbers seem to suffer from early fatigue.
4) Diff seals are prone to go (same as e36) so stick your head under and take a look.
5) Rocker cover gaskets prone to leaking so have a good look.
6) MAF sensors can go off and are detrimental to the engines performance and driveability, BMW charge £195.00 plus v.a.t each but they can be sourced a lot cheaper through VW!
7) The clutch, £1200 for a clutch and flywheel (flywheels seem to need replacing at the same time) so make sure its recently been done or give it some hard gear changes to see if it slips.
8) Check the state of the brake discs, those floating rotors are £250.00 each on the front.
9) Suspension bushes are more than likely in need of replacement given the age of most cars so budget £130.00 for a full set of powerflex ones plus a fitting charge if you can't do it yourself.
10) Check all the electrics work from the folding mirrors to the sat nav/tv /obc system. The heater motor control module is a know problem but at £60.00 its not a fortune to replace yourself.
11) And finally our old friend the VANOS! Much the same as the E36 but you have two to contend with. Accept a bit of noise on start up but it should dissapear within a few seconds. If all is working correctly the car should pull strongly up until the redline, if it doesn't then either walk away or ask the seller to get a diagnostic done at the dealers, it could be worn out MAFS (cheap to sort) but also it might be a faulty VANOS unit, this should normally bring on the yellow EML light on the instrument binnacle.[/b]
[b]Buy the E39 M5 and join an exclusive club where there were about 2,500 RHD made compared to around 10,000 of the E36 m3.
I had a couple of E36 M3's, a saloon and a coupe, both evo models with the revised (more feedback) steering and of course that extra grunt. Looking and comparing the BHP per ton the E36 shows 215 against the E39 M5's 236 so not a lot in it in the performance stakes. I had an early evo coupe with the aluminium doors and taking the weighbridge weight of 1400kg this equated to 229bhp/ton so for me there is little difference in performance between the m3 and m5.
Of course there is the little matter of over a hundred lb/ft of torque difference between them and although the M5 is heavier it will help when in the higher gears at lower revs.
For me the E36 was a cracking car, very fast and very economical, i would say i get about 10 mpg less in the five compared to the three and if i had to go back to it i would. For your money the E36 is a performance bargain, yes its looking a little dated and yes there are a few with baseball caps that drive them but it takes some beating.
For me the E39 M5 is a similar car, the looks are understated, the performance similar but you do get the difference between the 3 and the five series which is better trim and more gadgets to play with.
The servicing costs will be similar in fact the E36 will be dearer on inspections (due to the valve clearence adjustment needed) but given what your main dealer actually does over and above the oil change you are really better off doing work yourself or using a decent garage.
As for things to look for to avoid a nightmare or at least chip away at someones asking price:
1) Corrosion - lower edge of boot, fuel filler bowl , shadow line trim (around windows) and roof rail inserts. Note the last two are not covered by the six year anti corrosion warranty.
2) Dead pixels on the instrument binnacle readout, an expensive fix but not essential to prevent driving.
3) Door rubbers seem to suffer from early fatigue.
4) Diff seals are prone to go (same as e36) so stick your head under and take a look.
5) Rocker cover gaskets prone to leaking so have a good look.
6) MAF sensors can go off and are detrimental to the engines performance and driveability, BMW charge £195.00 plus v.a.t each but they can be sourced a lot cheaper through VW!
7) The clutch, £1200 for a clutch and flywheel (flywheels seem to need replacing at the same time) so make sure its recently been done or give it some hard gear changes to see if it slips.
8) Check the state of the brake discs, those floating rotors are £250.00 each on the front.
9) Suspension bushes are more than likely in need of replacement given the age of most cars so budget £130.00 for a full set of powerflex ones plus a fitting charge if you can't do it yourself.
10) Check all the electrics work from the folding mirrors to the sat nav/tv /obc system. The heater motor control module is a know problem but at £60.00 its not a fortune to replace yourself.
11) And finally our old friend the VANOS! Much the same as the E36 but you have two to contend with. Accept a bit of noise on start up but it should dissapear within a few seconds. If all is working correctly the car should pull strongly up until the redline, if it doesn't then either walk away or ask the seller to get a diagnostic done at the dealers, it could be worn out MAFS (cheap to sort) but also it might be a faulty VANOS unit, this should normally bring on the yellow EML light on the instrument binnacle.[/b]
M5board is definately the place to go for advice, I lived on that forum when I had my car. The 50k mark is what I used to refer as the needy stage of it's life. MAFs get changed, O2 sensors, CPSensors, bushes, tranny oil, flex disk... and so on. One thing that does break which is more annoying rather than costly is the rear arb bracket, so much so I invested in a reinforced one and never had to worry about it again.
It is by far the best car I have owned as an all rounder, I miss it.
It is by far the best car I have owned as an all rounder, I miss it.
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