E60 M5, AKA the wallet drainer.
Discussion
Finally picked up an E60 M5 yesterday. Driven from Aylesbury to Ipswich to have a look and bought it after a look around and test drive.
The car is a decent spec, silverstone blue II metallic, active seats, heated rear seats, retro fitted BMW rear screens, merino Silverstone II leather, rear blinds, adaptive headlights, alcantara headlining and shelf and also extended leather (dash top and tops of door cars are leather).
I am the 3rd owner, it's a 2006 car with 75k miles on it. Yeah I know it's the more expensive tax bracket but you don't buy a car like this and worry about that. It has full BMW main dealer service history. I don't have a local dealer so I will be getting my local trusted indy to service it for me from now on.
It has a cat back exhaust a k&n typhoon induction kit on it.
I only have a few pics as I have been either been busy driving it or busy eating lol.
Driving back from picking it up I managed to do around 130 miles to nearly half a tank lol. I wasn't beast mixing it either, but being sat on the M25 car park didn't help matters.
Initial thoughts?
I like it. It is different to my old E39's, less nimble but quicker. It sounds amazing with the exhaust on it. It sings for days. It feels bigger than the E39 (it is) and slightly less easy to hustle, but the steering feels positive. It isn't as fast as my old E55 AMG, but I didn't expect it to be. I wanted to own a V10 and this was the best way I could see of doing it.
The SMG......
You know what? I don't hate it. It is taking some getting used to, but I expected it to be much much worse than I am finding. I think it may be due a clutch at some point so I may get that done at the same time as I get the rod bearings done.
I'll get some more pics up as and when.
The car is a decent spec, silverstone blue II metallic, active seats, heated rear seats, retro fitted BMW rear screens, merino Silverstone II leather, rear blinds, adaptive headlights, alcantara headlining and shelf and also extended leather (dash top and tops of door cars are leather).
I am the 3rd owner, it's a 2006 car with 75k miles on it. Yeah I know it's the more expensive tax bracket but you don't buy a car like this and worry about that. It has full BMW main dealer service history. I don't have a local dealer so I will be getting my local trusted indy to service it for me from now on.
It has a cat back exhaust a k&n typhoon induction kit on it.
I only have a few pics as I have been either been busy driving it or busy eating lol.
Driving back from picking it up I managed to do around 130 miles to nearly half a tank lol. I wasn't beast mixing it either, but being sat on the M25 car park didn't help matters.
Initial thoughts?
I like it. It is different to my old E39's, less nimble but quicker. It sounds amazing with the exhaust on it. It sings for days. It feels bigger than the E39 (it is) and slightly less easy to hustle, but the steering feels positive. It isn't as fast as my old E55 AMG, but I didn't expect it to be. I wanted to own a V10 and this was the best way I could see of doing it.
The SMG......
You know what? I don't hate it. It is taking some getting used to, but I expected it to be much much worse than I am finding. I think it may be due a clutch at some point so I may get that done at the same time as I get the rod bearings done.
I'll get some more pics up as and when.
Prinny said:
Congratulations- Know you’ve been after (another M5) one for a while.
130miles to a half tank is pretty good going if you ask me. The absolute best I’ve managed in the M6 is 24.9mpg (calculated), and that was a daytime run at the speed limit, no more (why rush on work time). Lots of toys too by the sound of it.
Looking forward to updates.
Thanks Prinny.130miles to a half tank is pretty good going if you ask me. The absolute best I’ve managed in the M6 is 24.9mpg (calculated), and that was a daytime run at the speed limit, no more (why rush on work time). Lots of toys too by the sound of it.
Looking forward to updates.
Yeah, my first E60 lol. Some butt hurt E39 owners seem to be upset about it lol.
I managed on the obc over 25mpg going to Clacton today. Couldn't open it up on the M25 and A12. Little tickles sound glorious. Who doesn't get excited over the sound of a V10?
Yeah it seems well specced. Oddly some of it isn't mentioned on the vin check.
Will get more pics tomorrow.
Prinny said:
God, if that were mine, those rear screens would be removed already! What a poor design, not being ‘right’ unless you move the seat ‘right’. Gah.
Actually, I probably wouldn’t have been able to see past them on viewing... (pun not intentional).
Rest does look very nice though - I do love a car with rear blinds. Nothing has the feelgood factor against a tailgater than pushing the button so a blind appears to block their view does, especially if you then drop it again when they back off.
Lol, no one sits in the back as I have no kids so it doesn't bother me. I have no idea of their value but I suspect removing them would leave holes etc. Actually, I probably wouldn’t have been able to see past them on viewing... (pun not intentional).
Rest does look very nice though - I do love a car with rear blinds. Nothing has the feelgood factor against a tailgater than pushing the button so a blind appears to block their view does, especially if you then drop it again when they back off.
This might be the first car I have owned with rear blinds. The ones on the doors look like the netting isncoming away from the plastic parts that mount to the doors so may need to look at that.
alec.e said:
The car looks great, I think that light grey/black interior is the best colours available for the sporting versions. I would love to try the V10 someday. I see your steering wheel trim has peeled, I recommend swapping for the satin chrome version, the M sport insert can be swapped over.
Thanks Alec.I was unsure of the interior colour when I was looking, but I actually quite like it now. I am glad that I did not go for black in the end.
Thanks for the tip, I will look at that option for the trims. I think the leather around it needs some work as well.
strangehighways said:
I would love to drive one of these. An engine we will probably never see the likes of again. The fact that just about all quick cars now are turbos just makes this all the more special.
You mention it isn't as quick as your old E55. Was the E55 modded as the performance figures suggest similar performance (0 - 100 mph in the 9s for both). Maybe the E55 feels quicker due to more torque?
I love the engine. The noise it makes is an experience and an occasion. I have nothing against the new turbo engines, in fact I like them and my next car is likely to be a TT M5.You mention it isn't as quick as your old E55. Was the E55 modded as the performance figures suggest similar performance (0 - 100 mph in the 9s for both). Maybe the E55 feels quicker due to more torque?
The E55 was remapped, gearbox remap and had a smaller pulley as well. It had over 600 lbft of torque so much more. I am having my M5 remapped with a Fast Attack Motorsports map and SMG update so should hopefully add 25bhp and quicker shifts so hopefully it'll feel quicker. It definitely piles on the speed, it is just the way it feels.
J4CKO said:
TheAngryDog said:
Car is booked in for rod bearing replacement next month.
That sounds, er, "spendy", did you know about it needing them or is it precautionary ?I was looking at E55's and similar this time last year, bottled out and got a 2 year old, 9k mile m135i, pick it up on Friday.
I do not have your bravery
It is a precautionary thing, gives me some peace of mind. I picked the car up for a song so it will still be a good priced car after plus when I come to sell it, it will help with the sale.
M135i will be a good fun car. The E55 was great but a bit of a one trick pony.
Lol, my bravery or stupidity you mean?
J4CKO said:
Nah, you cant be that daft as you are having the rod bearings done, doesn't sound too bad at £1425 for changing them, sounds like a massive job but guess its a case of drop the sump, unbolt the big ends and put some new bearings in, specialist and time consuming but probably not that bad if you know these engines, after all, its a fairly well practised task, have they managed to sort it once and for all with more modern bearings ?
I know what you mean about the big Mercs, lovely but a bit one dimensional as a performance car, more a luxury car with a party piece, kind of like a more engaging and nicer sounding version of a Tesla Model S ?
Hoping the M135i covers a load of bases, practical and above all reliable after my TT, quick enough and fun, just get in it and use it and not have to think too much about it.
Good luck with this one, keep us posted !
There are different levels of stupidity I know what you mean about the big Mercs, lovely but a bit one dimensional as a performance car, more a luxury car with a party piece, kind of like a more engaging and nicer sounding version of a Tesla Model S ?
Hoping the M135i covers a load of bases, practical and above all reliable after my TT, quick enough and fun, just get in it and use it and not have to think too much about it.
Good luck with this one, keep us posted !
£1425 is cheap. It'll be done in a weekend so I am only without the car for a few days which is good.
The uprated bearings are better, but the initial issue is that the gaps are too small so suffer with oil not always being able to get where it needs to be.
Big Mercs are comfy, though my E55 rode bumps badly, but that could be down to the 19" wheels that were on it. My M5 rides the same bumps better and also has 19" wheels on it though. In a straight line a tune E55 is immense. If the E39 M5 had have had a supercharged V8 from the factory with a PD charger, I think it would have been perfect.
The M135i is perfect for every day a to b and hoons. It'll be comfy and have a good turn of speed when needed. If a cheeky remap finds it way into its ECU then you'll have a car that keeps up with a lot of bigger engined cars. I hope you enjoy it!
Cheers, I'll try and keep this thread up to date. I just usually forget to post stuff lol.
Had the car serviced today. Annoyingly the oil level sensor is showing there is too much oil in it so I need to get some drained.
Car also had a once over and the hand brake adjusted. It needs brake reaction bushes, a drop link and the rear tyres are getting low, as are the rear pads.
Booked in to get the work done. Can't run these half assed! My poor wallet lol.
Car also had a once over and the hand brake adjusted. It needs brake reaction bushes, a drop link and the rear tyres are getting low, as are the rear pads.
Booked in to get the work done. Can't run these half assed! My poor wallet lol.
Paracetamol said:
I would love to know whether that induction system actually adds any power? Rolling Road?
My friend had the DMS chip..it was night and day over the standard car. DMS had alot of press coverage at the time also saying it was was a must have conversion.
Hope you are not trsting the garage who ovefilled the oil to do any further work?
I'll get a power run done after the bearings have been done, don't want to spin a shell on the rollers. I'll have the remap on by then. My friend had the DMS chip..it was night and day over the standard car. DMS had alot of press coverage at the time also saying it was was a must have conversion.
Hope you are not trsting the garage who ovefilled the oil to do any further work?
They do supposedly make a difference but who knows?
They actually put less in than was needed to try and avoid this. They have said they will take the excess oil out for me. I've used the garage for years and this is the first time I've had a small issue like this so it won't stop me using them tbh. They always do more than they charge me for so I am happy to keep using them. Garages make mistakes sometimes.
Manners2001 said:
TheAngryDog said:
DM Worx is who I use. Tim always looks after me.
Ah - there you go! Least you know you're in good hands. Lovely M5 btw, good luck with it and I shall look out for you when I'm in Aylesbury. If you see some idiot giving you a thumbs up as you drive past it may well be meThanks, I like it, wasn't sure if I would and then I got in it
I don't drive around Aylesbury too much but I'll keep an eye out for a mad man Heaveho said:
Very easy car to overfill with oil. You have no choice but to place your trust in the dashboard warning system which I found to be a pathological liar. Tells you it needs a litre of oil, then when you do that, it tells you it's overfilled. Why the f
k they couldn't just put a bloody dipstick in is beyond me.
Yep, it is a very poor system. I believe the way to do it is to put half in and then see how the land lies.k they couldn't just put a bloody dipstick in is beyond me.Since I bought the car I have been plagued with an SOS call system failure. I was told it was because the subscription had expired but I didn't want to spend 100 plus quid to find out. A guy from the E60/E61 FB group gave up some of his time this evening and coded it out for me. At the time he disabled the windows opening with the key to help with that issue of it being stealable. A top guy and now I have a much better idea of how to code things.
Update time.
Fitted an iPod module on Wednesday night so I now have iPod music in the car as I haven't looked at the diversity antenna yet.
Took the car to Paris for a weekend away with the wife and it behaved great. Racked up 633 miles at around 21mpg (calculated) which isn't bad considering I was pressing on at times. I did spend over £200 in petrol though
Had an issue with catching the bumper in an underground petrol station, the driveways are just not wide enough for cars like mine so I need to get that repaired annoyingly. Also caught the passenger front alloy on a kerb at a toll station trying to get close enough for the wife to get a ticket out of the machine (she has short arms lol), so that is something else to do.
I also aren't sure if it is giving the full 500bhp in P500S, it feels very similar to P400. Need to look at that.
Apparently it has only used 0.1 litre of oil for the whole trip as well which is good.
It is at the indy today having new drop links, thrust arm bushes, lower arm bushes, new rear brake pads and coolant temp sensor fitted today.
Fitted an iPod module on Wednesday night so I now have iPod music in the car as I haven't looked at the diversity antenna yet.
Took the car to Paris for a weekend away with the wife and it behaved great. Racked up 633 miles at around 21mpg (calculated) which isn't bad considering I was pressing on at times. I did spend over £200 in petrol though
Had an issue with catching the bumper in an underground petrol station, the driveways are just not wide enough for cars like mine so I need to get that repaired annoyingly. Also caught the passenger front alloy on a kerb at a toll station trying to get close enough for the wife to get a ticket out of the machine (she has short arms lol), so that is something else to do.
I also aren't sure if it is giving the full 500bhp in P500S, it feels very similar to P400. Need to look at that.
Apparently it has only used 0.1 litre of oil for the whole trip as well which is good.
It is at the indy today having new drop links, thrust arm bushes, lower arm bushes, new rear brake pads and coolant temp sensor fitted today.
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